How to clean a Mosin Nagant after using Surplus Ammo?

[Mosin-Marauder]

I would just like a simple way to clean my rifle after I fire about 10/15 Surplus rounds through it. I don't want to use 15 different chemicals but I also want it to be effective. Thanks for any help you can provide.

[the rifleer]

Soapy water, then rinse the soap with clean water, then dry it and then clean/oil like normal.

People make a big deal out of it, but that really is all you have to do to get it clean.

[DPris]

That'll work.
So will the Windex patches we discussed elsewhere, followed by a couple dry patches, then a regular cleaning solution till the patches come out mostly clean, ending up with a dry patch.

If you only shoot a few surplus rounds, three or four Windex patches, couple dry, four or five solvent patches for the copper, then a couple dry.
Denis

[Gbnk82]

Windex the action and bore very well and wipe it all out then follow up with a normal cleaning and you are gtg ..it really doesn't have to be a long drawn out process it can be kept short sweet and to the point..honestly so long as you give it a very thorough cleaning nothing extra is needed it just helps make it easier and less time consuming

[MitchSchaft]

Just dump plane ol' tap water through the bore, maybe couple patches. It's salt so you don't need anything else but water.

[DPris]

I do on mine.
Just plain water doesn't break loose all of the carbon & copper residue, even the Windex doesn't get it all, it just starts the process.
I have to follow with something else.
Denis

[MitchSchaft]

Definately. All the water does is wash away the salt to stop the corrosion. Then you do your regular cleaning.

[Josh Smith]

Hello,

1. Affix bayonet.

2. Pull bolt.

3. Stick rifle in ground by bayonet.

4. Use funnel to pour lukewarm to warm water down the barrel. (Hot water can cause flash rust when it dries.)

5. Clean and lube as you would any other rifle. Make sure you get the bolt face, though if you have proper chamber sealing, you'll not have any salts on the bolt. It's just a precaution.

Salts are not "neutralized" by any commonly available cleaning technique, and are in themselves not corrosive. They are hygroscopic; ie, they attract moisture and cause rust that way.

In a very dry environment, you could shoot surplus and let the rifle sit with no adverse effects. I don't recommend it but it is true.

Ammonia has no special effect on salts. Windex is a detergent so it does a decent job of cleaning.

What ammonia does do is it removes copper fouling. Hoppes makes a cleaning solution with ammonia present and it does a wonderful job.

On the other hand, so does CLP on a boresnake.

After I stopped being paranoid about 'corrosive salts' and began cleaning normally after shooting, that's the exact method I used. Same as my target/long range hunting .22 rifle, in fact.

Precision as not suffered:


Why 60 yards? Because 50 yards is in a creek and 100 yards is further than I can see uncorrected, and I was shooting uncorrected the day I shot this. 20/60 vision in my shootin' eye you know.

I still have a few corrosively primed surplus rounds on hand even though I handload. Why? Because they light all the time.

Most of the rest of the world thinks we are odd for preferring primers without potassium chlorate -- which deflagrates into potassium chloride, the salt we're so concerned about.

Primers with it are just so much better. They are hotter and have a longer shelf life.

Is Mosin. Is shoots dirty ammo. Is cleaning kit. Clean!

It's fun to reload for precision, and for convenience. If the chips are down, though, likely I'll be grabbing surplus ammo after my current handloads are depleted. If it becomes a long-haul situation, my cleaning kit will be a shoestring knotted and dipped in oil. I flat don't approve of cleaning from the muzzle, especially with steel cleaning rods.

That said, I've done a lot of work to this Mosin of mine. A lot of it has to do with prototyping and R&D, but a lot more has to do with experimental archaeology and recreating what the Finns were doing in the '20s and '30s.

I have a stock that's pillar bedded, but that's mostly to support the shims I use as I have the rifle apart a lot and don't want to squish the wood.

I do not want the bore ruined as it's very good for a Soviet-era Mosin, slugging at 0.299" x 0.3095". My simple cleaning methods have not shown any degradation in accuracy and precision.

Regards,

Josh

[Gbnk82]

^great idea about using the bayonet to help hold up the rifle when you clean I'm going to try that out next time I use it

[DPris]

The Windex I use has vinegar, another mildly acidic mix that seems to do a pretty good job as a "starter" cleaning fluid, followed by regular cleaning processes.

Two reasons I don't dump water down the bore is that it can migrate into the wood if you're clumsy like I am, and it can get all over the carpet in the living room if you clean your rifle in front of the TV, like I do.

Besides the which, Bubbles would get sooooooooo angry if I stuck a bayonet into that carpet......
Denis

[10-96]

I've found so many handy uses for Ballestol, it's just way too handy for me to keep a 50/50 mix of it and water (Moose Milk) around. This place: http://www.firehawktech.com/ballistol.html does a good job of listing it's uses and benefits.

Granted, water and windex is pretty handy to have around too.

[garryc]

Why do people get all freaky about this? I clean mine with Hopes#9 then wet the bore with it real good with a mop. Then I wait and hour or so and clean it again. Just a wipe with a good oil and its done. I have surplus rifles that have sat in the cabinet for years after shooting and the bores are pristine.

[Mosin-Marauder]

I think what I'm going to start doing is running a brass brush and patches of Birchwood Casey's Mule Magic down the barrel, with a few swabs of copper solvent. Thanks for your help guys.

[volkstrm]

Garryc your right. Hoppies#9 is all you need. I some times for an ex-step use Ballistol 1st. A 50/50 mix with water then Hoppes#9. It all you need. I have been shooting mauser's for many years & cleaning this way.

[tangolima]

Did the Soviet soldiers pour water down the bore of their mosins when the Germans were not attacking their positions? Did they bring any Windex? Did they ever even get to clean they rifles at all weeks on end when they were locked in bitter battles with the Nazis? Did they not all use corrosive ammunition?

How come then your surplus rifles still have pristine bores? They might have been rebarreled, but all of them?

I don't doubt the harm corrosive ammunition can do. Rifles should be properly cleaned as soon as possible. Common sense should suffice.

-TL

[Mosin-Marauder]

No, they didn't have time time to clean their rifles because 70% of soldiers died in battle because of the stupidity of their commanders and their philosophy of "if we throw enough guys at them, they'll surrender. "

[Gbnk82]

They didn't have time to strip and clean there guns..instead to prevent corrosion they would pee down the barrel to keep it going..believe it or not this was the way most all mosins in battle where cared for the ammonia in pee prevented any corrosion

[tangolima]

Doesn't urine has content of sodium chloride, aka salt? Ammonia doesn't neutralize anything. Peeing down the bore of a rifle? My goodness!

The poor soul on the Soviet line could be dead before he got to clean his rifle, but the rifle almost never died. They didn't have enough rifle to give every conscript so the rifle would be picked up before he hit the ground.

All this peeing and dying aside, the question still stands, why didn't all the mosins have rotted bores?

Besides we owe respects to the Soviets in wwii. They killed the most number of Germans. They endured the conditions that we can't even image. The mosin nagant rifle itself is a living testimony of their heroic deeds, when compared to the much refined and sophisticated design of the k98k.

I'm not saying I don't need to clean my rifle properly and as soon as possiple after shooting corrosive ammunition, but I know I don't need to hyperventilate over it.

-TL

[Gbnk82]

Ammonia neutralizes the corrosive salts from the primers that is the reason peeing down the bore was down..but yes for the punishment most rifles went thru they are in amazing shape

[tangolima]

The corrosion comes from the potassium chloride in the residue of the spent primer. Ammonia doesn't do nothing to potassium chloride. It is the water in Windex that dissolve the salt. Ammonia helps ridding copper fouling though.

Wait a minute. Isn't ammonia harmful to bore, according to some writing on guns? Now what do you do?

-TL

[Mosin-Marauder]

Indeed. I think my rifle was used in combat, as the Ball on the bolt is a brownish color that looks almost like Rust. I'm not saying the Soviets didn't sacrifice it all, but their fighting style could have been better.

[tangolima]

The Russia tactics and strategies were fine during the war. All those scenes of seemingly sheer waste of human lives we saw on movies were desperate measures.

They were not ready to fight, due to different reasons, when the German attacked. The whole front collapsed, and the Germans were about to overrun their industrial and oil producing centers. Russia would be done for if they succeeded. Stalin himself issued an order, I read the English translation of that order, that any retreating unit the CO would be shot on spot and officers would be sent to the "punishment companies". They threw in human bodies to slow down the German momentum so that they could organize counter attack, just like what the USMC did during the early stage of the Korean war. Once the situation stabilized, the Russian brilliantly maneuvered around the Germans and had they trapped and their asses kicked.

OK, I have gone off the tangent here. Back to the original topic. All the surplus guns were shooting corrosive ammunition, including American arms. Most of them, at least one that appear in surplus market, seem to be doing just fine. The salt from corrosive primer would probably be a serious problem if the rifle were left uncleaned in high humidity. It is always a good practice to clean the rifle with water based solvent as soon as possible. No need to spend money on fancy products. Water will dissolve the salt. You need to flush it out, no just dissolve it, so use more. Oh, don't pee to your rifle.

-TL

[Gbnk82]

In large amounts it is harmful to the bore..but then again in the middle of a battlefield when you don't have time to stip your gun for fear of being ambushed what other choice do you have if you really want to prevent rust and keep your firearm going..

Also perhaps I am mistaken but I do believe the ammonia does break down and neutralize the corrosive salts..if it is just the water in windex why do people use it at all and just use water instead???
Like I said I could very well be mistaken but I have always been under the impression that it is the ammonia that helps neutralize it and that was why so many people use windex.it has always worked for me a little winded in the bore followed by a good cleaning and I have never had rust problems

[Gbnk82]

Also I just have to say I do not support the notion of peeing on your gun to clean it..I was simply saying that was a common practice back then..lol

[tangolima]

Windex is fine. It has water to dissolve the salt. Ammonia attacks copper but is safe on steel, contrary to what some people believe.

People do just use water. I'm one of them. Never have used Windex. My mosin is doing OK. It doesn't smell pee for what I can tell.