Routine Maintenance

[quillgordo 0]

As normal with eastern bloc weapons, the instruction manual doesn't give the whole story. I would like to know things like:

How often to clean

How far to break down

What to lube/oil- what kind of lube?

Any initial tips/tricks for a new gun?

 

Also, I was given some Lubriplate by a gunsmith who swears buy it for all moving -wear prone- parts of guns. But I don't know if this turns gummy in lower temps and what that temp might be. Anyone have a knowledgeable opinion?

 

Thanks.

[Bigfoot Wallace 0]

I clean my rifle with a regular Hoppe's cleaning kit. I use the oil that comes with the kit. I clean after every tri to the range. I use the solvent on the barrel only. I disassemle enough to clean the gas tube. I clean the gas tube and piston with a small amount of oil. A 12 or 20 guage soft cotton brush works well to clean the tube. I lube the internal parts. That is about it.

[aka108 0]

Don't let any solvents stay on the painted finish very long as they will soften it up and eventually remove the finish. I'm not certain what effect leaving solvent in the chrome lined bore has. I do know that if you have a nickel plated firearm, the cleaning solvents will work under the nickel wherever there is a scratch and start the nickel peeling. I dry out the bore and light oil it after using the bore solvents.

[Bigfoot Wallace 0]

very good points aka108

[KySoldier 2]

That rem oil Verson (if I remember correctly) mentioned as bad for the eyes, is it any good for cleaning/protecting?

 

What advantage does it give you over bore cleaner followed by gun oil?

[SammoH 0]

I clean after every trip to the range. I've heard of people cleaning their saigas/ak variants after so many hundreds of rounds but considering I burn about 1000 rounds of ammo every day that I spend at the range, I don't bother cleaning at the range.

 

Cleaning steps are similar to Bigfoot's except that I do use solvent on the gun outside of the bore. A little solvent on a rag goes a long way in wiping up powder residue (especially after shooting wolf ammo) and picking up the lacquer that they use to seal the rounds.

 

For cleaning, Hoppe's #9 solvent. Lubrication, I use motor oil, usually 5w30 (since it's what I have around). I figure, if it's good enough to keep my car engine from seizing, it's good enough to keep my firearms working. Sometimes, I use a touch of axle grease on the rails and the bolt/bolt carrier where the bolt cocks the hammer back as it's pushed back through the cycle. I've got near 10k rounds through my saiga 7.62 and thus far, it's in prime condition. I think I may be shooting out my barrel though since my groups are opening up slightly. That's another problem altogether though.

[KySoldier 2]

OK, thanks...That raises another question as well, when do you know your barrel is toast?

[SammoH 0]

OK, thanks...That raises another question as well, when do you know your barrel is toast?

I'm not sure really. From speaking with the guys at my local gunshop (or at least the one that I frequent), I was told that when the pattern the gun shoots starts to open up, it's all down hill from there. If you've owned the gun and put a lot of rounds through it, take note of how it shoots from a bench compared to how it shot before.

 

For me, I got lucky and actually got a Saiga that shot 1.5 inch groupings at 100 yards with a 12x scope (Winchester FMJ 7.62x39). Yeah. Now, at the same range, using the same ammo etc., I'm shooting 2.5 to 3.5 inch groups. I've really beat up my Saiga though, putting about 1,000 rounds through it each time I go to the range. I keep it as clean as I possibly can after shooting but perhaps bump firing all those thousands of rounds was just too much for it.

 

Of course, one of the gunsmiths at the shop also told me that it may not be the barrel's shot out at all. An AK type weapon, particularly if it's made to AK specs and by Izhmash, should be good for at least 25k rounds of fire... even at full auto speeds. He told me that I may just have excessive lead fouling in the barrel... fouling that I wasn't able to get out even with solvent, brass brushes, etc.

 

I guess there's a method of eliminating this fouling where the barrel's immersed in an electrolyte bath a charge is run through it. This makes the lead crack and pop off the barrel. Then they go through and give it a good scrub down with solvent afterwards and a brass brush to remove what didn't just pop off. Sadly, the none of the shops in my community has the equipment to do this.

 

Ah well. I guess I'll just keep shooting it till I'm peppering the entire target with ammo. I'm going to get a few more Saigas anyway. 2 in the 7.62 caliber and perhaps one in .308. If not that, then 3 in 7.62 and I'll just go buy a Dragunov lol. My wife'll love that.

 

At the price the Saigas go for currently, it's ok if you shoot out a barrel and then go get another. I get them for just under $200 at the local Dunham's in the 7.62 caliber.

[KySoldier 2]

Thanks for the response. When I saw the pattern my friend (a comparable marksman) did last weekend with my AK I got worried. I bought it from a guy less then a year ago who had many AK versions, and this one had the most rounds threw it. Oh well, looking at getting another anyway!