308 Disassembly for Cleaning

[Crazy Ivan 0]

I just acquired my first Saiga 308-1 and love it. I could only find the 21-inch barrel model with wood stocks, and while I love its appearance, I may have to swap the wood furniture out for something a little lighter. Some of the stocks combinations with bipods look interesting though it would probably eliminate only a few ounces.

 

My question is...the service manual is generally adequate, but not too descriptive about the disassembly for inspection and cleaning. Other than routine cleaning of the barrel after shooting, and obvious lubrication, is there a need for more complete breakdown and cleaning on a regular basis? The design has a reputation for rugged reliability so I suspect little more is needed.

 

Appreciate your help and have enjoyed reading the postings!

 

Bob

[Kaiser 0]

I just acquired my first Saiga 308-1 and love it. I could only find the 21-inch barrel model with wood stocks, and while I love its appearance, I may have to swap the wood furniture out for something a little lighter. Some of the stocks combinations with bipods look interesting though it would probably eliminate only a few ounces.

 

My question is...the service manual is generally adequate, but not too descriptive about the disassembly for inspection and cleaning. Other than routine cleaning of the barrel after shooting, and obvious lubrication, is there a need for more complete breakdown and cleaning on a regular basis? The design has a reputation for rugged reliability so I suspect little more is needed.

 

Appreciate your help and have enjoyed reading the postings!

 

Bob

 

 

I clean mine after every shooting, but thats just me. Some people say you don't need to clean as often. I don't clean the gas tube every time, since the cleanliness of that part is not going to affect the rifle as say the barrel would. I would say I clean the gas tube every 500 - 1,000 rounds or so, it gets pretty dirty after that much firing. But when i do the basic clean I use Hoppes on the barrel, and break away on the receiver, bolt, bolt carrier, and spring. I try to keep the bolt carrier as shiny as possible. and I lubricate lightly on the rails in the reiceiver... thats about it for me. Its a very durable rifle that could probably shoot adequately without cleaning for a very long period of time.

[buckandaquarterquarterstaff 5]

Cleaning is pretty straight forward. I'd suggest buying one of the references from Lymann or another reputable company that covers the basics of cleaning. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

• Buy a flexible carbon cleaning rod. This is especially important with AK's since the receiver causes you to bend the rod when cleaning.
  
• Keep the barrel pointed down so solvents run out of the barrel, and not back into the chamber
  
• Always push shit out from the breech to the muzzle (and remove the brush/patch once it's out of the muzzle to avoid dragging crap back into the chamber, draw the rod back through without the patch/brush on it and reassemble before pushing it out again).
  
• Get rid of the carbon before you attack any copper fouling problems (a product like hoppes 9 or butch's bore shine is good for carbon).
  
• Don't overbrush it (20 strokes per session is plenty unless you have a visible copper fouling issue). Many of the copper solvent products really don't require any brushing. My view is use a good copper solvent, or brush, but both may be overkill unless you're only cleaning every 500 rounds.
  
• Use a product like sweets to get rid of copper fouling (follow the instructions on the bottle) - leaving it in the bore too long can damage the gun, too little and it won't be effective.
  
• Use cotton patches, and enough of them to push them through until they come out clean
  
• Always oil your barrel before shooting again. Don't shoot off a dry barrel
  

Another thing to keep in mind is that everyone develops their own routines, and has their own opinions about what's best. The points I've made above are those that I've seen most people do as part of their routines.