[slorelord]

I shoot a lot of corrosive stuff through my Nagants and I'd like some tips on cleaning. A couple old-timers turned me onto the method I currently use by pouring boiling water down the receiver before I start cleaning. This way works fine, but it’s very time consuming. I’ve read in a couple of these forums that some shooters use Windex before they clean. This seems much faster to me than boiling water, but is it effective? Any advice is appreciated.

[Mooseman684]

Windex will neutralize the salts that form from Corrosive primers , long enough to get the gun home and clean it thoroughly with solvent, brush, and patches. Invest in a bore snake , it works wonders.
Rich

[damage855]

Works for me.

[shollis]

From what I understand, it's the water in the Windex that takes care of the salts and the ammonia that takes care of any copper/metal residue, still the point is, it's effective.

I tend to take a spray bottle to the range and when I am finished shooting, I remove the bolt and spray down the barrel from the receiver while the barrel is still hot until the Windex drips out of the barrel. The heat from the barrel helps to evaporate residue and it takes care of things until I can get home and clean.

Edit: Also forgot I spray the bolt with Windex and wipe it down too, then I usually leave the bolt out of the rifle until I finish cleaning.

[SwedeSteve]

All sound advise! Nothing beats good old elbow grease!

[DWARREN123]

Any warm water solution will work to clean the corrosive salts out then clean as a modern rifle.
I do like Balistol for cleaning, it was developed for these type of powders/primers.

[Oxford]

There's a large number of gun cleaning kits and solutions available. Personally, I use Hoppes and another synthetic solution called S&L Gun Cleaning Solution.

Here's just one of many links where excellent gun cleaning kits and supplies can be bought...or at least studied. Their displays are definitely made appealing.

Outers - Cleaning Kits

[kortik]

Windex is a good stuff.

Boiling water is a thing of the past, when Windex was not available. I do not believe boiling water is needed at all if Windex is available.

[billy]

i bring a big thermos (the kind with a spout) filled with scalding water and use a funnel while at the range.
and then just clean it regular like.

[SwedeSteve]

Thought Billy's recipe would've included a hammer (ha-ha).

[just_a_car]

I use windex when I have it, warm water if I don't.

Mainly, you just want to rinse out the potassium chloride salts formed from the potassium chlorate in the corrosive primers (it's not the powder that's corrosive, it's the primer!). The water will solvate the salts and rinse them out.

Just as table salt (sodium chloride) will dissolve faster in hot water than cold, so will the salts in the barrel. Thus, the reason to use the warmest water you can get your hands on... it will remove the salts faster and more efficiently.

The ammonia in the windex begins to work on the copper fouling in the barrel by way of an oxidation/reduction reaction (turning it green) and making it easier to remove.

If you are in combat or absolutely desperate without water to clean your gun, it is perfectly acceptable (and historically accurate) to URINATE into your barrel to rinse out the salts, as the main idea is to get the salts out to prevent them from attracting water and causing rust.

[gandog56]

So pi$$ on it could be a good thing?

[HandsomeRob]

Could you Imagine? I mean we've all gone to a tree to take a leak or something like that but just imagine going to your local range and seeing a gun in the corner wizzin' on his gun! although in combat or battle I'd take a leak on anything to save my life.

I got one of those Outers cleaning kits, that Oxford posted earlier, when I got my Ruger 10/22 its a pretty nice little kit.