Screwed Up My M-44

[MassMark]

Well, perhaps screwed up may be too harsh....

I got all excited today when I got a new Troy BUIS from a member at another site for an incredible price. I went down to stash my goodies in the safe and pulled out a few rifles and all the AR-15 parts just to mess around - this included my M-44. It became immediately apparent that I had neglected to clean it properly after my last range trip. I was shooting a mixed bag of new and surp 7.62x54R and apparently shot some corrosive and failed to clean it properly, (if at all - I can't remember). A line along the bolt to the handle, the chamber, bore and part of the bayonet were all pretty rusty. There seems to be a lip of rust just inside the bore near the crown. I have it soaking in CLP at the moment and was thinking of wiping it down and hitting it with some PB Blaster. The rest of the rifle looks perfect, so you can tell this was likely a corrosive ammo issue and not a safe issue - the rest of my stuff is as should be. I'm kind of bummed about it, as this M-44 was my first old milsurp and was pristine....I think I caught it in time to save it, but any suggestions would be appreciated...Looks like I'm still a noob to the whole milsurp thing after all....

 

[vellnueve]

#1, CLP, M7Pro, and the like are not sufficient for corrosive ammo cleanup. You need some of the good old Hoppes #9 which is formulated to inactivate corrosive salts. Preceding the cleaning, you should run 2-3 patches soaked in Windex through the bore and wipe it down the bolt face as well. Be sure to clean it immediately after this windex cleaning as the ammonia will etch the metal otherwise.

Ammonia will immediately inactivate the corrosive salts. Then, clean with Hoppes, then use the CLP of your choice.

 

[MassMark]

Thanks vellenuve - I used the Windex/Hoppes 9 method in the past, but obviously failed last time, (note to self: be more anal retentive). I've never been a maintenance guru, which I why I always chose weapons that were able to be beaten, (M1A, HK, Uzi etc). Now with my new foray into milsurps and corrosive ammo, I need to be more attentive.

Any suggestions as to remedying the situation now, (de-rusting) - or am I on the right track?

 

[vellnueve]

I would literally pour a cup of windex down the barrel. Use a funnel and a plastic hose. Quick and easy, follow with Hoppes.

Speaking of which, I shot one of my M44s yesterday and still haven't bothered cleaning it.

For derusting, I like to soak the barrel in WD40, follow by intense, repeated cleaning brush passes with Hoppes. Stainless steel brush wouldn't be a bad idea. The stuff on the exterior you can get with a toothbrush and some WD40. Make sure you strip down the bolt and remove the firing pin so you can get anything inside there as well.

 

[SKS Ray]

http://northeastshooters.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=6140
All you need to know.

I have about 60 rifles and handguns that get fed corrosive ammo and not one has a speck of orange in the bore.

As for your M44... Windex is good for a clean up after a range trip before you use an oil based cleaner like Break Free, but the only reason why anyone recomends window cleaner is because it has ammonia and water. Water neutralizes the salt deposits, ammonia loosens copper fouling. Thats it.

What you need to do know is funnel some scalding hot water or pass about 6 wet patches of water based cleaner through the bore, run a brush through, another couple of pases with water based cleaner, then dry it thoroughly and start cleaning with some Kroil or Break Free.

I'd soak the bore with Kroil (or Break Free) and let it sit for about 5 minutes, then run a brush soaked in Kroil through it about 6 times and dry patch until they're clean, then lightly wet a patch with oil and pass it through once to coat everything.

I usually keep a Bore Snake in my range bag and run it through a rifle dry before shooting to get any oil or loosened deposits out.

BTW... Don't forget about your bolt too. Corrosive primer deposits can often blow back inside and rust a firing pin and spring quicker than you think.

 

[BillK]

One of my M44's really never gets cleaned down, it goes out in the rain and snow to the range. As bad as this sounds to many my thoughts are.. "this is a old gun, shes seen a lot and there is no reason to bring it into retirement. If I had this firearm back in history, would I have really stopped my forward movement on the field due to the weather?.. I think not."

I do clean the barrel and bolt from time to time. The bolt goes into a ultrasonic machine with military bore cleaner. After that the bolt is cleaned I wipe it down then coat with a very small amount of lubricating oil.

 

[MassMark]

Thanks guys - just bummed me out for a bit...It's soaking in Break-Free at the moment. Going to scrub it down and get to the range...Nothing says I'm sorry better than a box of ammo... Never rusted a gun this bad before.....I got all sad...

 

[vellnueve]

One of my M44's really never gets cleaned down, it goes out in the rain and snow to the range. As bad as this sounds to many my thoughts are.. "this is a old gun, shes seen a lot and there is no reason to bring it into retirement. If I had this firearm back in history, would I have really stopped my forward movement on the field due to the weather?.. I think not."

I do clean the barrel and bolt from time to time. The bolt goes into a ultrasonic machine with military bore cleaner. After that the bolt is cleaned I wipe it down then coat with a very small amount of lubricating oil.

Yeah, but do you use corrosive ammo?

 

[Dench]

ive had some rust form on my M38's bolt, which i found odd becuase i cleaned it with brake cleaner and hoppes #9. i re cleaned it and removed all the rust (with the same 2 cleaners) and the bolt performs fine.

Yeah, but do you use corrosive ammo?

i think it has to really sit and be rusting for a long time in order to become so damaged its dangerous to use anymore. like billk said, his m44 is hardly cleaned, and me and billk tend to share our ammo so that means allllllll sorts of pre 1950's corrosive jazz going on there.

 

[BillK]

Yeah, but do you use corrosive ammo?

I sure do, in fact I use "collector" ammunition some times. (if it is not sealed in the case, it is going to end up at the range)

If you knew what types of ammo I have run in it you would really cringe thinking why I did not clean her after...

 

[m44]

I always clean my m44 after the range I would suggest either hoppes or windex, I have had great results with both.

 

[vellnueve]

I've used Bulgarian, Czech, and Russian in mine. Some of it corrodes faster than others. One of my 91/30s suffered heavy bore corrosion after about a week.

 

[MassMark]

Well, she come out none the worse for wear. The overnight soak in BreakFree CLP did the trick. I dried it out with patches, hit it with BreakFree Bore Foam, passed a stainless brush a few times and patched again. By the way, the M-14 chamber brush works pretty good on the M-44, (hey, my first Mosin tip!). The bore is bright and shiny. Went over the bolt with some 0000 steel wool, wiped down the bayonet with CLP and lightly coated the rest of the metal and she's looking good...Lesson learned.

 

[BillK]

Live and learn.. Thats great that you got it back to normal.