Cleaning Garand parts with water

[hundy]

I was reading some articles about corrosive berdan primed military ammunition. I am probably going do a trade for an old 1907 German Mauser used by the Mexican Army. It comes with a lot of ammunition that I am positive is probably corrosive.
That got me thinking that I have shot old military grade 30-06 in my garands that are listed on the sites as corrosive.
I read that actually washing down all the parts in mild soapy water gets rid of all the corrosive salts. I was just curious if anyone has done this in the past, as I cringe at the thought.

Thank you

[NapalmCheese]

I've not cleaned a Garand with soap and water, but I do shoot a lot of black powder and clean my black powder guns with soap and water.

Cleaning guns with soap and water feels weird at first, then you realize it's just like doing the dishes and cleaning your favorite carbon steel knife; no big deal.

Shop air (or canned air if necessary) helps quite a bit with getting the water out of the little nooks and crannies. A water/Ballistol mix is nice IMO as any water that's left behind evaporates leaving behind the (once emulsified) Ballistol.

[Spaffo]

In Army basic training, we cleaned our M14s with soap and hot water, dried it thoroughly, and oiled it up. Worked fine.

[bohoki]

hot water works best because it almost instantly dries if you have an air compressor it blows off water good and use some spray oil like rem-oil or any other "lubricant/protectant"

dont "fear" water

[SVT-40]

Not soap and water, but Ballistol and hot water. 5 or 6 parts water to 1 part ballistol. Flush the barrel and gas system. Use a bore brush in the mix and let the brush pull the liquid up into the barrel

Ballistol emulsifies (mixes) in water and turns the mixture white. After you have flushed all the corrosive salts from the parts rinse with some clean mix, then clean like normal.

This is how I have done it for years. I learned from a friend who has dozens of machine guns of all types.

No corrosion or rust.

[hundy]

Thank you for information. I will definitely look into getting some ballistol before I start. I appreciate all the information.

[beerman]

Used to clean my SVT 40 with soapy water all the time.

[Citadelgrad87]

In Army basic training, we cleaned our M14s with soap and hot water, dried it thoroughly, and oiled it up. Worked fine.

Cadets at the Citadel have been washing M14s for fifty plus years with HOT water. The aspirants for various drill teams used to come back with mud encrusted rifles.


No problem.

[smle-man]

Boiling water, because it dries instantly.

[hambam105]

How did the World War One, 1914 to 1918, troops keep their firearms rust free from corrosive ammunition? I'd lay odds Amazon and Bass Pro were not making deliveries to trenches at Verdun on weekends.

[BrokerB]

pee on the rifles in the trenches : )

I use a 50/50 mix of windex and water to wipe down all exposed to corrosive gas ammo I use. I only shoot corrosive ammo in my vintage bolt action surplus rifles. They are in great shape after many years.

If I used semi auto with corrosive then I probably would have to make a pot of tea/ hot water to clean the gas system.

I follow Dennis' technique.

https://www.empirearms.com/clean.htm