I have had several folks ask me to do a post on cleaning and lubing an AK, so here goes.

Before we even start, I will tell you that there are many folks that would tell you that it is not necessary to clean an AK. Tman had a friend that was in Viet Nam back in the 1970's, and he said that they captured an old AK47 and some ammo.

They shot it a bunch and put it in a locker for a couple of months. The ammo was corrosive and when they took the rifle out, it was frozen solid with rust. He said that he placed the butt on the ground and used the heel of his boot to kick the bolt open. He then loaded a mag and went out and shot it. It never even hiccuped.

But just because this design is "tough" doesn't mean that we need to abuse them. If you keep one clean and lubed, it will last a lifetime.

I have a Egyptian Maddi AK. It is a semi-auto version in 7.62 X 39. We shot it this morning, about 100 rounds, and will now clean it.