operation after submerging in sea water

[vigilant 0]

looking for a defense weapon for a boat and to plink flying fish on the open ocean.

 

In case I drop it, will the saiga function after total immersion?

 

Anyone have experience with this?

[Arik 565]

No experiance dropping my Aks into the ocean/lake but generaly speaking unless you leave it there for the next 5 years it will function just fine. Donno about the ammo. If you do drop it in the ocean it wouldnt hurt to rinse it off, you know SALT water and all. Also salt water ant corrosive ammo prolly isnt a good idea. Other than that you can pretty much burry it in sand and its still good to go

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

looking for a defense weapon for a boat and to plink flying fish on the open ocean.

 

In case I drop it, will the saiga function after total immersion?

 

Anyone have experience with this?

Yes, it will operate just fine.

Hell, drag it thru a big'ol mud puddle, run it over with a truck... Give it a shake and fire for effect!

Edited November 1, 2009 by ChileRelleno

[Shandlanos 1,470]

Depends how long it's submerged, as stated above. If it's been there long enough for the action to rust shut, you might be out of luck. If we're talking a quick dip of a few seconds, meh. Just clean it when you get a chance, or even just rinse it with tapwater, dry and oil it.

 

Are you planning to have it attached to yourself or the boat with a lanyard of some kind? Otherwise, it might be a trifle difficult to retrieve...

[dlcjr1973 24]

to plink flying fish on the open ocean.

 

Go with the S-12, and post videos! BTW, what kind of loads are recommended for flying fish?

 

Welcome to the forum!

 

Regards,

 

Sapper

[BpS12 512]

So do you pluck'em or scale'em, and is there a bag limit? And make sure their not on the endanged list, that'd be a quick way to loose boat, gun and all.

[G O B 3,516]

Shoot those flying bastards, they HURT when they fly into you! The S-12 should handle salt water immersion, but a lanyard will keep it from finding the botom of the ocean. Seriously, the biggest danger is loosing it overboard.

[vigilant 0]

Those flyers are amazing - glide forever. They leave a mess on the deck too.

 

So, shake it out and it's ready?

[Cobra 76 two 2,677]

+1 on the videos! That sounds fun!

 

You could probably store it hanging from the lanyard in the ocean, and it would do just fine. Not many shotguns out there you can say that about...

 

Seriously...shake and go. The gas system has a drain hole built in. Just be sure to keep that gas block cleaned out and oil the action good.

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

Water is NOT going to affect this shottie, neither is a little mud, snow, or whatever else, this is AK not a AR.

Yes, just give it a shake to clear the water out and FFE, later give it a fresh water bath, dry it and lightly oil.

 

[Azrial 1,091]

At the grave risk being called a "salty old sea dog" .... Your firearm really doesn't have to be submerged to be effected by saltwater and air. Sea spray and water over the rails will turn in into an unworkable piece of rusty crap pretty fast. We used to pack our long arms in long plastic bags with water dissipation packs. I did this on top of my FAL and 870 being "stainless" models.

 

The Ruger Mini-14/30 has always enjoyed a good bit of popularity in this usage/market. For a gauge, I have always been fond of the Remington 870 Marine Magnum. I also like the Stainless FALs, but they are now collectors items.

 

Also, AR's do a little better then the AK platform in this usage, in my opinion.

Edited November 2, 2009 by Azrial

[Bvamp 604]

OP -

 

 

I have discussed this saltwater issue/boat duty/LEO/MIL use issue with Tom a bit actually, and his opinion is that your INTERNALS would be affected by the saltwater WAY before the rest of the gun is.

 

 

I have tossed around the idea of coating a few sets of parts with copper, but Im afraid that the moving points on the internals just would wear it off anyway, especially on the trigger and hammer contact point(s), and also looked into flexible coatings that might be used instead, but cannot come up with anything that isnt owned by NASA that would work.

 

You would be MUCH MUCH less likely to have salt water erosion on your saiga than other firearms, but you would still need to clean it out good.

 

 

now if the trigger group were to be MADE from high tensile copper alloy, well, that might do it. I thought about approaching TAPCO with the idea, actually, but I just havent had the drive or the time with other projects I have going on, to go into my little black book, and make some new calls.

 

 

my opinion to your question, however, is still that the saiga would be tough to beat in your use/situation you are proposing. probably much better than other firearms, actually.

[JK-47 33]

could one simply chrome plate or nickel plate the smaller internals of the AK? I'd love to have the bolt, firing pin and extractor of my guns that use corrosive ammo chromed or nickel plated.

 

not sure if I am allowed to post this link but here goes:

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/nickel.htm

Edited November 2, 2009 by JK-47

[Azrial 1,091]

.... You would be MUCH MUCH less likely to have salt water erosion on your saiga than other firearms, but you would still need to clean it out good. ...

Please explain and justify this statement. Why is the Saiga "MUCH MUCH" less likely to have a problem salt water corrosion?

 

Is it the notoriously cheap and soft factory paint over the all steel receiver?

 

Or perhaps the fact that every single Saiga I have ever taken the Trigger guard off for restoration had rust there on the receiver, from the factory?

 

Maybe the fact that stainless or chrome is not used to protect any of the internal lock work?

 

I have seen AKs under these conditions, not Saiga to my knowledge mind you, and they rusted as quickly as one would expect a piece of sheet metal covered by cheap paint.

 

I like the Saiga, I really do and I admire your work on them, but they need a lot of work to be made ready for a corrosive atmosphere! As anyone that has seen rusty AK's in the field will swear.

[WILLIEVEE 15]

Use your 12 gauge and mount is as a deck gun

[Bvamp 604]

bill - rusty AK tool == hammer

 

 

but yeh, there isnt any coating under the parts, or in the gas block, or the muzzle threads, etc. give it a couple coats of BBQ paint (just to get away cheap and be repeatable) paying attention to where parts meet, etc.

 

the biggest issue will be the internals. Just rinse the bloody thing off with a garden hose with fresh water when you get back to shore, and dry it and oil it.

 

there arent many tiny little parts on these guns, after the two spring pins and bolt head, so that makes it a better candidate for saltwater than other guns because of the paint and simplicity of design.

 

I have been the one cooking up the back straps many times when everybody else was sitting around the table completely stripping thier shotguns or rifles.....The park'd gun I coated this spring hasnt had to be scrubbed clean of rust since i reassembled it, and stopped rusting in the florida salty air. I have had rust attack a couple other rifles I have here twice since I did the other one, just from sitting in the humid salty air here.

 

so yeh, it will hold up BETTER.

[RobRez 1,895]

Shoot those flying bastards, they HURT when they fly into you! The S-12 should handle salt water immersion, but a lanyard will keep it from finding the botom of the ocean. Seriously, the biggest danger is loosing it overboard.

Yes!!!! Water damaged or not, that sucker will sink like it's wearing cement shoes!! Tie a rope to that thing or something!

[diamondback 56]

Seriously, has anyone ever built a functional gun that floats by itself?lol

 

Great... new accessory for Mall Ninjas: rail-mounted flotation-device, "for all your Dick Marcinko wannabe maritime-shooting needs! Includes Tactical Beer Bottle Holder!" *snort*

[Nailbomb 10,221]

Seriously, has anyone ever built a functional gun that floats by itself?lol

 

Great... new accessory for Mall Ninjas: rail-mounted flotation-device, "for all your Dick Marcinko wannabe maritime-shooting needs! Includes Tactical Beer Bottle Holder!" *snort*

Please search "Henry U.S. Survival rifle"

[G O B 3,516]

The AR-7 is made to float. The hollow but stock has Styrofoam and it will float with a full mag of 22lr, either with the parts stowed in the stock or fully assembled. As this is a Stoner design and is fussy about being clean to work reliably, I keep mine stowed in the stock when not actually in use. It takes 15 seconds to assemble so there is no real need to leave it assembled, and if you put a bit of auto dielectric grease on the but cap seal it is water and dust proof, so nothing rusts or gets dirty when you throw it in the truck or boat.

[diamondback 56]

Gents, thank you for the education.

 

The snark against Gecko45's ilk stands, though, and I'm surprised they didn't take me up on the Rail-Mounted Tactical Toilet-Paper Holder... (take a vertical foregrip, mount it sideways and stick your TP roll on it lol)