AK Review???

[Mortblanc]

FIELD STRIPPING AND CLEANING

First a word about the nature of the AK. This is not a weapon that was ever intended to be coddled. It has no need for the attention of the anal-retentive, obsessive-compulsive gun cleaner.

It was developed at the end of WW2 with the realization that the average soldier was not in a position to stop at the end of each day and clean his/her weapon. A Russian soldier might walk into battle with a clean weapon and that weapon then might be fired continuously for the next 8 days without a cleaning.

The weapon might be dragged through the mud, dropped in the snow, dunked in a river, carried for miles in pouring rain and fired under extremes of temperature from -40c to +40c.

When the soldier did get a chance to stop and maintain his weapon he might not have to proper tools or lubes at hand. There was a war on with shortages of all kinds, so a make do attitude prevailed.

The AK was designed to endure that treatment, and has done so for nearly 70 years service.

I personally witnessed a group of four young men arrive at the shooting range early one afternoon with an AK and a case of ammo. They took turns loading magazines and firing at the steel clangor targets at various distances down the range. At the end of several hours of shooting, soda drinking, bull $h!&ing and general fun, the owner of the rifle stopped the party when there was only one magazine of ammo left in the box.

That group had fired 970 rounds of ammo through one rifle in one afternoon without cleaning or maintenance to the weapon in any way. Not even a drop of oil added as the shooting progressed.

So let us say that you have found an AK. It might be under a dead and rotting body, in the bottom of a dry stream where it lay for 6 months, wrapped in a plastic tarp and hidden in a sewer or stuffed in a hollow tree. You do not know its history or the condition of its internals so a cleaning is in order immediately.

You will need a little equipment.

First, a cleaner. That might be just clear water, soapy water, diesel fuel, paraffin, or if one is lucky real gun cleaning fluid!

Next you will need a lubricant of some form. The same diesel/paraffin will do, or oil drained from an abandoned vehicle, sunflower seed cooking oil or vegetable oil, lard or anything else that will grease the parts.

You will also need some old rags, an old tooth brush or bristle brush if you can get one. A cleaning rod is nice, and the AK has one located under the barrel. If it is not there then a boot lace or piece of cord will work for pulling patches through the bore.

With all that taken care we will begin.

First, clear the weapon as was instructed in the first section. Magazine out, weapon cocked, safety on.

Look at the back of the receiver cover on top of the rifle. There is a rectangular button poking through the cover at the rear. Press that rectangular button and lift the cover up and to the rear.

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With the cover removed the innards (that's a Kentucky word) will look like this.

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The cover latch button at the back is secured in a groove. Push it forward and lift up. The spring and spring guide will pull out to the rear. It is a captive unit and will not come apart or fly off into space.

Just lay it aside for now.

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Now grab the charging handle and pull the bolt carrier and bolt back to the rear of the receiver. They will lift up and out of the rails when you get to the back.

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The bolt and bolt carrier are not fused together and they will slip apart. Study them to see the way they work together and insure you reassemble them properly when finished with the job.

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Field stripping is now complete. There is seldom a need to go any farther with a breakdown. Everything that needs cleaning can be accessed at this time.

Run patches through the bore, but also run patches through the gas tube above the barrel. Wipe down and brush the bolt and carrier. Clean the recoil spring and guide as needed.

Look down into the receiver where the trigger group is located. It is an incredibly simple device. Brush or wipe it out as needed. This is where the old brush comes into use. Get in there and scrub all the crud out.

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No matter how bad an AK looks on the inside or out never give up on it. Dump it into a bucket or tub of water, let it soak, and keep scrubbing until everything is clean. No matter how bad it was, when enough crud is removed it will normally return to service.

And there is very little you can break, so do not worry about that. As you can see, the parts are far from delicate and they were designed for extreme use.

Scrub it up and get it clean.

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When everything is clean it is time to reassemble. It is easy to say "just do everything in reverse", but we will not do that. There are a couple of tricks.

First trick, lube the trigger group. No need for delicacy, just slop a little oil on the unit. You are about to cover it back up so lube it now.

Put the bolt back into the bolt carrier. Make sure you have it right and the bolt moves freely in the grooves. Get it back together and hold it in place.

Now comes the second trick. Turn the receiver upside down and install the carrier into the gas tube, then slip it upward into the back of the receiver rails. If you do this upside down you do not have to fight to keep the carrier and bolt together for this phase.

When the bolt carrier slips into place slide it forward until the bolt locks into the chamber area.

Now turn the gun over and slip the recoil spring into place, front in the gas piston, back in its groves.

TIME TO LUBE BEFORE CLOSING UP!

A few drops of whatever oil you have goes on the rails. A few drops on the bolt carrier where it goes in the gas tube. Turn the gun over and drip a few drops onto the bolt from underneath. Turn it upright and dribble some oil on the recoil spring and guide.

Replace the receiver cover.

Another trick here too! As you slide the cover into place in front, lift up on the sight leaf so the cover will slide completely into place. (I have seen people that did not know this trick get very frustrated)

Now lower the cover at the rear and press the button so the cover can slide shut. When it is secure the rectangular button will pop through the hole in the cover with a snap.

slide the operating handle back and forth several times to insure everything is lubed and operating properly and you are done.

MOVE THE SELECTOR LEVER TO THE SAFE POSITION

Wipe down the outside of the rifle with a rag, and either replace the magazine or secure the weapon safely.


Now that I am at the end I will give another tip. If you have a camera or cell phone with a charge available you can take pictures as you disassemble the rifle to guide you on your return trip.

You might also jump over to one of the u-tube videos for a look at the breakdown and reassembly. They do it so fast and jabber so much in their deadpan monotone it is distracting. I wanted to give a few close up shots of what you will see as you go.

After you have done this job a couple of times you will realize that the rifle just falls apart in sequence and an experienced user can take it apart in about 15 seconds, clean it and have it back together in 5 minutes.