Guys, I took my AR and HK 93 clones out of the safe, and saw what appears to be the preliminary effects of oxidation in the barrel and flash hider. This was the first time that I've seen this on any of my rifles. After shooting them, I always clean them with the regular cleaning solvents (Hoppe's Elite, No. 9 (sometimes) and CLP. I then out them back in the safe. The last time I fired my C93 rifle, I used mostly Wolf 55 gr. FMJ and may have put a couple of round of PMC brass FMJ through it. Well, here are some pics of what seems to be oxidation. Any idea as to why this happened and what I can do to prevent it from recurring in the future? Thank you.
it looks to me that your not getting all the residue off the flash suppressor and over time it turns white no big deal in my book. May want to look into a carbon remover like GM top end engine cleaner or something like that. Me I would hit it with some gun scrubber and a milspec tooth brush and it should be ok. It doesn't look like rust or something that is going to affect function of looks other than a little bit of gizz at the end of the barrel.
Yeah, I used a toothbrush and some Hoppe's No.9 solvent on it and that seemed to do the trick. However, I did the same on the flash hider of my AR about two weeks ago.....and it's back! Well, I've shot corrosive ammo through an old surplus rifle of mine before, and forgot to clean it. I saw the same GREEN film..I put some warm water through barrel and dried it. That took care of the green film (oxidation?) for good. So, I looked into the ammo can that I use to store my firearm cleaning supplies and found some type of green slime in the base. It looked lime some old corrosive ammo was left in the can and mixed with some lubricant! Well, guess what else was resting at the base, mixed in with the slime...???...my bore snake! I guess the corrosive solution got onto the bore snake and I then used it to clean my rifles without noticing the slime. So, I threw the bore snake away and tonight I'll have to clean the rifles...again. If I remember correctly plain old soapy warm water works on corrosive salts/slime. Is there any other water based mix I can use? Thanks!
On another forum, one of the members suggested that it could just be Copper solvent eating the copper in the brass that I'm are seeing. He recommended that I test it by putting some Hoppes no. 9 on a copper slug and let it soak a few days. I have to admit that this is a new take on the situation, that I hadn't thought of. On my gas piston AR, the green film appeared near the end of the piston plug too. I believe (not 100% sure) that I ran the dirty bore snake through that area as well. I will try the new test and let you guys know. In the meantime, if you guys know the best way to get ride of existing corrosion/oxidation, please let me know.
I cleaned all my rifles that had the copper deposits,oxidation, etc. last night. I used a brass brush dipped in Hoppes No.9 down the barrel and inside the flash hider. I looks like that did the trick. Now, I'll have to check them again after a couple of days of storage in the safe. I'm pretty sure that it's taken care of though. My original concern and what I thought to be the cause of this whole "issue", was the bore snake. The corrosive ammo left in the ammo can rolled around in a puddle of gun oil, and formed a toxic looking green slime. The bore snake got tangled up in that mess and I thought that it worked as a medium to spread the corrosive sludge in the barrels and flash hiders of my 5.56 rifles. I'm still not entirely convinced that this did not happen. So, I tossed the snakes.
It's nothing...scrub it down and oil it up. I would avoid corrosive ammo in the future unless you just can't avoid it in which case hot soapy water and a good displacer afterwards and again oil.
Thanks. I checked the rifles after giving them a good cleaning and storing them for several day, and.....they're fine.
Don't know what causes it, but I get the same thing in my rifle flash hiders and brakes that have never seen corrosive ammo. I think the guy was right, probably has more to do with copper & lead residue than anything else. I don't mess with it, too lazy and it won't hurt anything. I just use a tooth brush wet with bore cleaner on them when I clean the rifle. Any crud that hangs on, deserves to live!
What's up with Boresnake's? I've used them every since they were sold and have never had any problems with them. But then again,I only use mine to clean the bore's at the range or in the field. And then I clean(wash) the boresnakes regularly. They were designed as a cleaning tool,not a complete gun cleaning kit.You still need to clean your guns the old fashion way(right way) before storing them,and that includes a good oiling after you use industrial strength cleaners on metal parts.
I think there was some concern about using the same boresnake on a barrel that had run corrosive ammo and then through his AR barrel and possibly transfering some of the corrosive agents...As you stated, washing them is a good idea and of course refraining from using corrosive ammo is a good plan too.
I like boresnakes for cleaning rimfires. Just put a little oil on it, pull it through and I'm done. On centerfires however, I only use them when I'm out and firing a lot of rounds in one day. Pull it through every 50 rounds or so. -Fred
