Friday 15 February 2013

You Need To Clean Up That Dirty Little AK-47

By Terrence Ames


The AK-47 is a remarkable piece of machinery, isn't it? I own a few myself, mainly because it's hard for me to pass up picking one of the work horses up when I see one at a decent price. What makes these rifles so great lies in the fact that you have to bury one in sand for two years and then beat it against a tree to get it to stop functioning. Even though the AK-47 will continue to fire under adverse conditions, that doesn't mean you can ignore the poor thing. It's time to break out supplies and clean your AK-47!

Be a good Boy Scout and check your rifle for live rounds before working on your AK-47 assault rifle. This is a very dangerous machine that can harm or kill in the flash, and you need to triple check your weapon with both your hands and your eyes before moving forward. Once triple checked, it's time to strip the rifle down to its component parts. For information on this process, please consult your owner's manual or even other online resources. This is actually something you should know by heart as a gun owner, so practice it until you have it down pat.

The initial cleaning process is only slightly time consuming. You can use any number of solvents, even kerosene if you feel like a real cheap skate. Use wet patches down the bore and along the disassembled bolt carrier group to knock out any built up carbon deposits and to get the large areas free of fouling and residue. Toothbrushes work really well for this, and brass brushes are especially recommended for the crevices of the bolt carrier group.

Throw on your good protective gear, because the chemical you're working with next isn't so great to get on your skin, face, or eyes. You can use other super cleansers, like Simple Green, but if you really want to get your gun cleaned down to the bare metal you need to use good, ol-fashioned brake cleaner. It's harsh, but it will do the best job with the least amount of effort. All of that grease and solvent will be cleaned out and the brake cleaner will evaporate away quickly.

It's time for lubrication! You need a good grease, like Tetra, for the rails and the contact points of the bolt. You won't need much grease, since an excessive amount will only attract grit and dirt. Use machine oil, or gun oil, on all of the interior parts. Get a good coating on everything, as a gun's biggest enemy is rust (and liberals.) You also need to use a rag wet with motor oil to get every last bit of exposed metal. A light film of oil is all that's really required here.

Of course, the AK-47 can be cleaned with a garden hose if you're feeling particularly lazy on cleaning day. All you have to do is run the hose into the housing for a while, dry it in the sun, and then re-lubricate it. If you think I'm joking, I'm really not. I've known people who have cleaned their AK like this for years. You try that once with an AR-15, and it'll never fire a bullet again. Such is the magic of the Kalashnikov.




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