Aside from the obvious solution of "don't use corrosive-primer ammo", what is the extent you'd be comfortable with cleaning the rifle after firing, say, Yugo surplus rounds? I hear everything from 'just put a couple of wet patches through the barrel' through 'immerse the rifle in hot water' - clearly both of these are a bit extreme in their own ways!

I'm leaning towards cleaning the rifle as I normally do after I shoot (barrel, chamber, field strip bolt carrier assembly and clean individual parts) but including an extra step of hot water through the barrel, chamber, on the bolt face etc. to dissolve the salts before chasing the moisture away with CLP or similar, finishing with the usual application of oil. Another concern is the gas tube. Like most AR owners I'd not normally clean it, but that might be a weak link for salt to hide.

Any thoughts from you guys who are experienced with this chambering in an AR would be appreciated. The Yugo ammo is amazingly cheap, but more importantly it shoots well, far better than Wolf etc. It'd be a shame not to shoot it out of this rifle for fear of missing some corrosion.

Well, looks like I won't get the chance to find out how the Yugo ammo runs in this rifle. I've realized I can't really justify owning more than one AR, as finances are about to get tight for me (yeah, I know - me and everyone else). So you'll probably see a For Sale post soon.

An AR in a 7.62x39 configuration?

Quoted from Groosbro

An AR in a 7.62x39 configuration?

I have a 20" barrel A2 config rifle built on a Model 1 Sales kit and I have a 16" upper on the way from AR performance. Both are built with ER Shaw barrels. I love the A2 but need to put a scope on it since my eye's aren't 21 anymore. When I spoke to AR Performance they are claiming 1" groups with hand loads, 1 1/2" - 2" groups with Wolf.
I picked up 5K of the Lapua and Sako surplus that was available earlier this year. It is very accurate and non corrosive. I would not fire corrosive ammo in an AR due to the design of the gas system, too much to clean.

Ken

I use the Yugo surplus in my Saiga. I don't bother with the water/ Windex/ammonia anymore. I clean the barrel/chamber/piston/gas port with Birchwood Casey bore scrubber 2-1, it seems to remove everything but the steel.
I stopped the water/Windex thing with my Mosin too. The bore scrubber, followed by a few dry patches, then a few passes with oil does the job quite well.

I shot corrosive out of PSL but the AR gas system looks a lot more difficult to clean I bought some Lapua when it was $12 a box of 30 and when the Lapua and Sako ammo price dropped from $12 a box of 30 to $7 a box of 30 I loaded up. Once I get a scope on the 7.62X39 I'll be able to see how accurate it really is, so far I have been impressed with groups I got with iron sights.

Re: gas system - Yeah, this was my biggest concern, and why I haven't run corrosive-primer ammo through the rifle. On an AK I'd have no problem with it, but ARs...

Quoted from Groosbro

An AR in a 7.62x39 configuration?

Yep! There are several suitable uppers available. There are two things to remember: use C-Products magazines (others don't seem to deal so well with the cartridge geometry into the AR's straight mag well) and don't use lacquer-coated Wolf due to the tighter tolerances of the AR design. Works for some people, but... I usually feed mine Silver Bear for plinking, which it seems to like. I'd use something higher quality and soft-point for going after whitetail; indeed, the ability to hunt deer without "is .223 enough?" concerns is a nice advantage of this caliber in an AR also.

Like you said yourself, I wouldn't shoot corrosive ammo in an AR, just because of how much of a PITA it is to clean the gas system.