Cleaning Questions
Hey guy's have a question for yall, Do you prefer the foaming Solvent, or the normal Hoppes Liquid Solvent? The reason I ask, I have a Russian M44 that's great for plinking, I opened a new can of ammo yesterday, it's the stuff that's just started popping up with the rounds on strippers.
Anyways, I put about 30 rounds through it yesterday, I started cleaning it this evening, and well it's been a royal pain in the butt, I sprayed a load of the foam in, let it sit for 30 min. I then started putting regular patches down, after 10 patches they were still coming out as dirty as the first one. So I sprayed another load of foaming solvent in there, let it sit for 30 and started again, again after another 10 patches, they're still coming out just as black as the first one I did.
I know the surplus Russian ammo is dirty, but man I don't seem to remember it being THIS dirty. Long story short, just wondering if you guys would recommend just going with the plain old solvent to try and this this bugger clean? Any secret tips for cleaning up after using the dirty surplus ammo? sorry for the excessively long post..
Anyways, I put about 30 rounds through it yesterday, I started cleaning it this evening, and well it's been a royal pain in the butt, I sprayed a load of the foam in, let it sit for 30 min. I then started putting regular patches down, after 10 patches they were still coming out as dirty as the first one. So I sprayed another load of foaming solvent in there, let it sit for 30 and started again, again after another 10 patches, they're still coming out just as black as the first one I did.
I know the surplus Russian ammo is dirty, but man I don't seem to remember it being THIS dirty. Long story short, just wondering if you guys would recommend just going with the plain old solvent to try and this this bugger clean? Any secret tips for cleaning up after using the dirty surplus ammo? sorry for the excessively long post..
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I would use neither. I would use Shooter's Choice, or Butch's Bore Shine. I might even boil some water, and add some dawn to it, and stick the muzzle end in the bucket of water, and use a jag and patch to swab out the bore like a muzzle loader. Then use the BBS, or Shooter's Choice.
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I think guys that use the foam tend to let it sit overnight. Then do a lot of rod work.
I have tried a lot of solvents and all require more work than I really want to do. I realize it is almost Un-American, but I cannot stand the odor of Hoppes. Lately I have been using Gunzilla: http://www.gunzilla.us/0 -
Was it clean before shooting? That stuff sounds very bad! 0 -
What's happening is the foam is unburying layers of copper and pits that previously had been sealed under all the other crud.
What I'd do is pour a pint of boiling water through to wash out any corrosive primer residue, then use your foaming cleaner and let it sit overnight; then another point of boiling water to wash all THAT out; then a normal brushing and cleaning. For the first time. After that, just hot water, dry, brush and clean as normal. You'll drive yourself nuts if you are trying to get a frosty or pitted bore squeaky clean every time. Finish with a light oiling.0 -
You neglect to say if the ammo is corrosive. If it is, then water is the only solvent that will dissolve the corrosive salts, preferably hot or warm. If you are not familiar with WW2 corrosive ammo then please read up on it. Old military rifles often have neglected bores. It may take a week or more to clean the bore with many soakings and scrubbings. 0 -
Its not the dirt from the ammo you've just shot that you're unearthing here.
Your foam is dissolving out all the fouling, copper, salts, and grunge that have been lodged into the corrosion induced pits in your gun barrel for 60 years!
Remember, almost all of the Mosins on the market were actually used during WWII by poor conscripts under wretched conditions. Lots of them have bores that literally look like sewer pipes.
Even the guns with rotten bores can sometimes shoot surprisingly well, but if you were to take a look in the bore of your gun with a bore-scope, I think you're likely to get quite a rude surprise!
Anyway, I agree 100% with jonk's prescription here.
You can probably spend hours with brushes, jags, solvents, polish and elbow grease to scrape the crud out of this barrel and put in a mirror shine, but in the end its still just a $150 surplus beater and its probably not really going to shoot any better for all your time and work.0 -
I like shooter choice, or home made ED's Red. You might consider a multi lube groved cast bullet (Loverin design) with JB bore paste. 0 -
Alrighty, thanks for the input guys I really appreciate it! So one last question, if I want to use boiling water mixed with dawn to clean the M44, should I plug up one end of the barrel, and leave it in for a few min at a time, then run a couple of patches down, then plug it up again and repeat? Also, I generally shoot brown bear out of my AR15, doesn't make much sense to use the good stuff if im just plinking in the woods, brown bear isn't really THAT dirty, but would you recommend doing that to the AR as well? Luckily the AR has a chrome lined barrel, so it's pretty easy to clean it up, just thought I would ask while we're on the subject. Again, I really appreciate it! 0 -
quote:Originally posted by DerBarbarian
Alrighty, thanks for the input guys I really appreciate it! So one last question, if I want to use boiling water mixed with dawn to clean the M44, should I plug up one end of the barrel, and leave it in for a few min at a time, then run a couple of patches down, then plug it up again and repeat? Also, I generally shoot brown bear out of my AR15, doesn't make much sense to use the good stuff if im just plinking in the woods, brown bear isn't really THAT dirty, but would you recommend doing that to the AR as well? Luckily the AR has a chrome lined barrel, so it's pretty easy to clean it up, just thought I would ask while we're on the subject. Again, I really appreciate it!
Nope...just work the cleaning rod back and forth pulling and pushing the hot water in and out of the bore. Just like cleaning a muzzle loader after firing black powder in it.
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Brown bear isn't corrosive, so hot water is not needed as there are no potassium chlorate salt residues in the primer. So just a normal cleaning. Not that hot water would hurt the AR, it would just accomplish very little, and leaves more little nooks and crannies to dry.
Now if you somehow found corrosive ammo and put it through your AR- unlikely with .223 but I'd not say impossible, who knows what's out there- then yes, that would be appropriate, as well as flushing the gas tube.0 -
put a stopper in the barrel fill barrel from other end or a section of lawn mower starter cord wet with KROIL from chamber to muzzle leave 24 hours then brass brush will get out all the old CRUD works like magic compared to ANYTHING ELSE. 0
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