sks ammo

[JTD]

]Hello to all

i have a tula arsenal 1955 sks and i bought about 1,050 round or Yugoslavian surplus ammo and the last time i have shot it was about 2 weeks ago and today i cleaned it and i don't know what is up with the ammo but the gun was rusted in the beach and the gas tube the flash hider had rust on it and in the barrel the bolt had corrosion on it and i had to remove the gas piston with a punch and a hammer.

please help i don't know what the deal is with the ammo i bought [IMG]http://www.keepshooting.com/catalog/product/gallery/id/706/image/1504/[/IMG

i did not buy from hear i bought at an gun show

[Richard Simmons]

Some surplus military ammo has corrosive primers. The Yugo 7.62x39 you purchased as shot is one example. You need to scrub everything as good as you can and apply a light coat of oil. Hopefully the rust hasn't gotten to much of a hold. When shooting corrosive ammo it's very important to clean your firearm right away. Hot soapy water works well to dissolve the corrosive salts left by the primers. Follow up with a hot water rinse then a regualr cleaning and oiling.

This might help explain a little better

http://huntnetwork.net/modules/wfsection/html/Ahcorrosive%20Primers-Watch%20That%20Barrel.pdf

[JTD]

thanks for the advice but i'm afraid the rust has taken a hold o on the breach, gas tube and the end of the barrel under the flash hider i have on it.

would you think a good filing with a fine grit sand paper and a new bluing will help?

[stinker]

I'd go with a wire brush of some sort drenched in hoppes first. Don't go cheap with the hoppes. Buy say...maybe a .410 wire brush for the breech and stick it in a drill perhaps. Use heavy paper towels inside the barrel rammed through hard with a rod until they come out spotless. Heat it by running the hottest water through it you can get first. The flash hider is probably going to have to come off at a bare minimum for cleaning too. Not sure if the .410 would be big enough for the gas tube but a 20 gauge brush sure as hell would.

[JTD]

ok thanks for the help

[groovy mike]

1st clean it with a water based solution like Hoppes 9 EVERY time after you shoot that ammo and again the next day. You have corrosive ammo. If you clean the gun it is fine to use, but ignore it and you will destroy the rifle. Don't forget to clean inside teh gas system as well.

Now that the rust has started I would use break free or the dreaded WD40 to get the rust off. No need for file or steel wool yet. Just use a rust remover and wipe it down until clean. Then clean it all again in the normal way.

[Richard Simmons]

You can get three brush packs at places like Harbor Freight or home centers that have brass, nylon and stainless steel bristles. Try the brass, use the steel if the doesn't work then follow up with the nylon.

The SKS doesn't let you go staight into the chamber from the rear like other rifles but you can try this. Chuck the end piece of a 3 piece cleaning rod into a drill motor, (either electric or battery powered) and stick a brass/bronze bore brush on the end. Try and find a bore brush that fits the chamber, you may have to go with a shotgun size as mentioned in stinker's post and spin it in the chamber and the gas tube. You can also take a bore brush that is worn or slightly undersized and wrap it with 0000 steel wool so that it's a snug fit. Either way apply lots of bore cleaner and spin the in the chamber and gas tube moving back and forth as you can.

You can pull the brush out every so often and spray it off with brake cleaner, reapply the bore cleaner and repeat. You can also flush the rifle out with the brake cleaner as you clean. Be aware that as it washes away the crud and rust the brake cleaner will also strip all oil and grease away so make sure you apply a light film of oil on everything when you are done.

If you do this I think you should be good to go. You may end up with some pitting but hopefully you will have gotten the rust out and stopped any further damage. I'm pretty sure your 55 Tula has a chrome bore and chamber so you shouldn't have any real damage but you won't know until you get it cleaned up.

Good luck and please let us know how it turns out.

[oddcaliber]

Most sks's have a chrome bore,the Yugo does not.