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What if the gasket was like a condom, so the gunk wouldn't drop down into the gun but could be cleaned out by taking out gasket and wiping with an oiled rag
I agree, a battle rifle that doesn't have a bunch of tiny parts that can and will need to be dealt with sometime. Folks don't realize, the AK rifle slings a big 30 caliber bullet with a projectile weighing 123 grains and burning close to 1.64 grams of powder, and it has to do that upwards of 10,000 times usually at a fast rate on full auto; thats a lot of wear and tear on an intricate connected piece of steel metal.
As a former "arctic" trained troop, I can attest to the content of this video! I can also attest to that rifle obviously being Rob Ski's official "baby" by looking at the cleanliness of the interior. Great info right here!
@@SALTYCOMBATDIVER-ExInstructorgarand thumb had some freeze test videos which showed among other guns, ARs and AKs. It was more to test if it fires or not when totally frozen, but AKs performed very well.
@capella95 I'm a GT fan but my heart is that of an AK operator. Let's be honest, despite seeing one RU-vidr show a firearm doesn't mean we don't want to see others show the same firearm.
@@SALTYCOMBATDIVER-ExInstructor I’m not telling you to do anything, personally I don’t like most RU-vidrs. I merely saying if you wanted to be potentially entertained by a video that kinda depicts what you described what you want to see, it’s something to look up.
As a US air borne machinegunner I have used powdered graphite as a lubrication in extreme heat or extreme cold, it is a dry lubricant that wont gum up in the cold or evaporate in heat. it is very dirty but it works.
Thanks for this post brother. I just did my own winter testing and the AK (Draco) had zero issues at all. Handled it like a champ. My AR-15... not so much ;)
Mp, watched your video yesterday. Main reason I went outside an took a stroll. My ar was dry as was my ak. Ak functioned fine, ar had issues til I warmed it up
I watched your video. Some G96 would've gotten your AR working again in the temperatures you tested it in. But then again... the AK ran like nothing was an issue.
My buddy and I decided to brave the extreme cold here in Wyoming and go shooting. We brought bunch of different guns. -40 degrees with wind chill and no guns worked flawlessly except for the AKs! ARs struggled. Even our Glocks had a hard time but we ended up drying them up and they ran much better. Sure love the AK platform! Also just ordered that gasket from the AK4774 store!
-35F here this morning, not as cold as it was last winter or the Polar Vortex of 2018, but definitely can cause serious function issues. Good stuff! For what it's worth-- The only lubricant I use in these kinds of extreme temps is Milcomm TW-25b Grease, it is rated up to -90°F (-67°C) to +450°F (232°C) and I have never had issues with it in the cold, my Zastava zpap M70 AK and my Short Stroke Piston AR run great in these conditions with it. Army Cold Weather/ Arctic Operations doctrine also says that certain Automatic Transmission Fluids are rated for and good to use in extreme low temps (they have demonstrated this before on video too), just something else to take into consideration for those that do want a lubricant in these kinds of extreme temps.
Run motor oil and you will never have a problem with anything gumming up! If it can flow in a vehicle at 20 below and lubricate engine it will work in a firearm! That is all I use in My guns and its cheap! Many many days in the cold northern Wisconsin deer hunting for days back and forth from cold for 12 hours and then in house and repeat and rifle always functioned!
From all the testing I have seen of multiple AKs vs multiple ARs, AKs are pretty much built to work well in artic conditions vs ARs. The last time I was using a C7 on a winter ex, the safety, mag catch, and even charging handle latch all froze up (-25 degrees celcius). Fortunately, our issued CLP works in that temperature and it quickly unfroze. But from what I've seen of other AR freezing tests, they weren't so lucky.
@@user-qn7ui7sb1q A CLP not available on the civilian market called Sent CLP. Closest thing to it is Slip 2000 variants. G96 was one of several lubes that passed extreme cold weather CLP testing (-45 degrees celcius) the RCMP did a decade or so ago.
I’ve seen the opposite in multi-day high volume live fire shooting courses in Finland, which always seemed to be -30 C for some reason. TDP AR-15s ran like raped apes. Arsenal AKs had notable malfunctions that seemed to happen every course. Finns use various types of lubes that are proven to work in the Arctic and sub-Arctic conditions. I’ve never seen a Valmet Rk62 or SAKO Rk92 or Rk95 malfunction though. I know they have, but it is pretty rare. They are also boat anchors I wouldn’t want to carry when an 11.5” AR works just fine at significantly-less weight.
@@LRRPFco52 11.5” AR? Lol, lol… oh man you really had me going in the first half I won’t lie. Enjoy hauling a rifle that’s a glorified .22 past 150 yards, all to save a pound over an AK. 5.56 in sub 13” barrels is a meme for anything outside of CQB.
@@TheDiameter Even from 11.5”, 5.56 hits pretty hard out to 200yds. With the right bullet, it will still be effective out farther. I shoot mostly 6.5 Grendel now though, so I feel you. I have an 8.5” on the way to add to my 10.5”, 12”, 16”, 17.6”, 18”, and 22” Grendels. 8.5” Grendel will match 20” .223 for velocity with the same bullet weights. Big problem with the AK is when you start carrying mags. A chest kit full of 7.62x39 mags kinda sucks. Same for 7.62x51.
I had to work in -12 temps yesterday; first thing I thought was whether or not you had any tips on how to keep my zpap functional in this cold weather. Needless to say, this video was awesome to see today ✊
My personal experience contradicts your claim. Had an SKS gum up with Ballistol at 10° (no minus). A competitor at our PRS rimfire matches this winter (around 20°) was having malfunctions in his semiauto, kept spraying lube into it. It was Ballistol.
Video Frame Rates. RU-vid recommended upload encoding settings. Best to upload videos at lower frame rates: 24, 25, 30 FPS. Professional media standard. Higher frame rates like 50/60FPS show imperfections and can cause other playback problems. High FPS is for slow motion and post production editing.
I've shot a lot in well below zero temps and I agree with this sentiment. Or using a really thin layer of thin viscosity extreme cold weather rated oil like Rob said. I've never had any issues with any of my AKs in this weather but I have experienced some malfunctions with rifle length gas ARs using budget brass and steel cased ammo once in a great while. Temperature fluctuations are a huge issue too like Rob said. I've tested it and had the rifle freeze up. Also if left outside don't leave it anywhere where there will be lots of blowing snow or dripping water obviously.
Every winter high volume course I ran in Finland, we had AKs that malfunctioned on the line. It usually distracted from training because immediate action did not bring them back into operation. These were usually Arsenals. I never saw a Valmet or SAKO rifle go down. I have seen imitation AR-15s with RLGS 20” experience short stroke in the summer even. Upon inspection, the gas tube flange was worn out and no longer providing enough gas pressure into the carrier with Wolf steel case. 11.5” AR-15 carbines fired over many years in extreme cold (-30 C) and the summer ran fine. I never saw them malf in Finland from 2005-2016. They had proper parts in them per the TDP.
@@LRRPFco52 a lot of it seems to boil down to gassing and tolerances between crucial components. I’ve seen AKs fail in the cold too but they were undergassed American produced ones. I’ve seen several recently produced Arsenals that were way overgassed as well. I know my ARs with pistol or carbine length gas systems are gassier than my mid or rifle length guns and that’s just the nature of the beast unless you run an adjustable BGC or gas block or had a custom gas port size. I’ve done a lot of shooting in the extreme cold and carried a lot of guns around in those conditions and it seems like the piston guns do just a little bit better if it’s lower powered or temperatures sensitive ammunition. If we are talking freezing condensation then they all have their own different failure points be it magazines or ejection port or safety selector and so on.
@@operator1192 Most of my AK experience is with real ones across the variants since 1988. I’m not sure I’ve even handled a US-made one other than at SHOT or LGSs. I own 2 samples of AKs myself, a Maadi AKM and a Norinco that I never shoot. They were my brother’s. The Finnish guns ran great in extreme cold or summer though. Could be partially due to their different op rod/piston head with the flutes, people who are very good with QC and standards, and their superior brass ammunition and polymer mags. I’ve never seen any 7.62x39 ammunition approach the accuracy and reliability of the Finnish ammo. I have zero reservations about just using an 11.5” AR in Arctic conditions though. That would be my first pick.
@@LRRPFco52 I’d love to get my hands on a Valmet someday, you’re certainly fortunate. And as for the ARs I agree. I’m pretty partial to the 11.5” and it seems to work well no matter what the environmental conditions are and it works well suppressed or unsuppressed and still remains handy.
@@operator1192 The Valmets and SAKOs are boat anchors. All the guys in Finland I know who have them shoot their ARs for the same reasons everyone else does that has a choice.
Your the man Mr. Ski!! I absolutley hate that they have forced you to change your channel! I miss the torture test so much! But you have mastered the change and are still HERE BABY!!!!
I personally just use shooters choice FP-10 on my guns. Canadian police trials found it to continue to work well into the negatives. Not just rated for those temps either- ratings don’t always apply to real world function- but they found that it continued to work as a lubricant at those temps. If it gets below -50 (which to be fair has happened where I grew up) then I might need to run my gun dry, but I’m confident with my guns running until that point.
nice video as always. I remembers years ago seeing something that troops in the battle of Stalingrad diluted their weapon oil with gasoline to "winterize" their mosins. keep them function smoothly during that brutal winter.
Played around with my AK at an ambient temp of -40°F (-40°C for our Canadian and European friends), haven’t cleaned it in months and the gun oil is completely evaporated - zero issues at all, in fact in it cycles smoother than usual
Thank you for the good advice. Years ago, in anticipation of a deer hunt, a friend had cleaned and oiled his rifle the night before. The following day, it was -10F (-23C), and, as luck would have it, he came across a trophy class buck, but the firing pin was "frozen" because the oil's viscosity, now the consistency of molasses, prevented it from moving. He was one angry/frustrated guy for a while.
I had somethng similar happen except it was on a surplus pistol I was using for a winter match. All my prep with it the week before warmed up the cosmoline that was in some nooks and crannies I hadn't been able to get fully cleaned and it oozed into the firing pin channel where it congealed in the winter temps. that was a very furstrating pistol only stage. I was originally afraid I had broken the firing pin. After the match and breaking it all the way down in the hotel room I discovered what had happened.....Lesson learned....
A guy in my unit had to have some of his nose removed due to frostbite. He didn't realize that his nose was touching the charging handle on his M4 while qualifying. The cold is no joke.
i was told to use diesel fuel to winter lube the ak...it wont freeze and coats the exposed parts...it doesnt last as long as oil but easy to obtain for more frequent uses...was basically told first thing in the morning use diesel and you're good to go all day...
@@BeatniKkers probably why I haven’t had it gum up…I only buy it in the winter…pretty sure they use some kind of additive to keep it fluid in the tanks…however it works it has always worked well for me…just an old school thing a lot of people overlook…or don’t know about 👍
Thank for the reminders man. I was using something with “Fire” In their name and my sam7 got gumped up on that cold day. This year I will wipe it completely dry because it makes lot of sense. Thx
Guess I'm good, I don't think I've ever lubed my AK's with anything other than russian vodka. I think I cleaned the one i use the most once. I live in FL anyway so its already winterized LOL. I love the smell of russian gun powder and vodka in the morning, it smells like AK victory. AK-Shoot to unfreeze A/R-Unfreeze to shoot
Rob I know you are a busy man but could you possibly look at the PSA AK 101?,,, I know you have a 102 but I've read many reports of issues>. Especially with the rivets at the trunnion not being dimpled correctly. Thanks for this great video information!!,,,,, have a great 2024
To prevent condensation when bringing ice cold steel back to a warm house, keep it in a padded rifle case. The gun will gradually warm without moist indoor air contacting the metal. Give it 8 hours or so to acclimate. Learned that little trick in North Dakota.
I use a mix of tungsten disulphide WS2 in oil (typically Slip 2000) using a 15%Wt mixture. The movement of the parts and the friction burnishes the WS2 into the metal parts. WS2 is more slippery than Teflon, graphite and moly. Once it's burnished in, it's considered permanent. If you remove the oil, the WS2 remains. Is also resistant to almost every chemical out there. Another way to apply is to mix it in rubbing alcohol. You apply the mix and cycle the parts to burnish it in, and then let the alcohol evaporate. You are left with an ultra slick dry lube.
Thank you for all the information you share with us. I'll pass the word on to our group as I know many of us run the AK platform. I want some of those gaskets.
Thanks for the info. It has been right at 0° here and a little below for a few weeks now. High around 9°. I keep a 12 inch AK pistol in a back back in my car we i go to work. It is an hour fifteen minute drive from home. I do have some grease from tge ice company i worked at. A lot of our stuff was at 0° and below
It you run several rounds just before bringing rifle indoors and warm it up, it won’t condensate. IF you are able to. I fire 10-15 rounds at a faster pace, right off my porch and then bring it in while it’s still hot. I know that not everyone is able to do that but for those that can, it works.
I personally like silicone lubricant. Any general purpose works great for both cold and warm temps alike. Learned this the hard way when I lived in Fairbanks.
Well, dry lubricants work well, graphite grease, in principle, is not designed to work on moving parts with high speeds, and at very low temperatures it freezes itself...
Ive ran AKs in temperatures as cold as 7-12 degrees. Never once failed me. Safety, trigger group, action all functioned with no hiccups. Cant say the same for my AR.
I use a small gas station torch to cook off the grease/lube deep where the cloth can't reach, then I use rubber o rings on the recoil spring button to mitigate suppressor gasses.
Ultrasonic cleaners are really good at removing oil. The easy way to deal with bringing guns in from the cold is keeping them in cases until they warm up.
Hey brother in my opinion you're the go to guy on ak platform. I have a wasr10, m70 and m77 and would like your input on using alg trigger in my guns. Heard they may damage the tail on the bolt carrier assembly. What do you say about it?
I have seen some damage done for sure, but I have seen damage done on Arsenal and Saigas and Veprs from tapco triggers and etc. I was always smoothing out trigger hammer curve on my AKs with that trigger and never had an issue...but that's me.
I know ammo is expensive, but i miss those 5k round torture test videos. I would love to see those come back even if it isn't tortured up to 5k rounds .
The AR-15 actually performs extremely well in Arctic conditions, always has. I’ve run courses and observed AR-15s and various AKs in extreme cold in Finland from 2005-2016, all live-fire events 2-3 days of high-volume shooting. AR-15s perform boringly-well, while we saw Arsenal AKs malfunctioning enough to be a problem and distraction from the flow of training. The Finnish Rk rifles did not have any problems, however.
@@LRRPFco52 Not from my experiences or from what I’ve seen. It’s funny, KitBadger just posted a video.. has to forward assist like 10 different ARs in the cold.
@@roul3688 I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone touch the FA in the cold over many years of high-volume, multi-day courses in Finland or in my mountain winter courses in Utah at 6300ft elevation.
@roul3688 Never seen that either in -20 here in Iowa. AR works just fine. Key is running dry or with molybdenum. You don't need an AK. Big myth. Many up in Alaska use AR in super cold all the time.
I run super lube ( -45 F is the claim on the tube ) , but it is only 34 F on the Coast of Texas right now and the lows are expected in the 20 F range , so I will just stay as I am for now .
Neg 4 in TN this week. Gonna retest my AR again this week. Ran totally dry with zero issues. Especially once you mag dump the first mag and warm it up.
I have a galil ace 308 11.8in gen 1. Buy me living in Ohio right underneath the lake. We have a abundance of aggressive salt everywhere. Whenever anything is ran dry. It rusts rapidly. I make sure my pistol is wet with royal purple motor oil, right along with my Galil Ace or any rifle I have with me. As many winter classes I went to or just going out shooting and single digit temperatures. I don't have any issues and the rifle is clean
Thanks Rob for a very timely video considering I and some others are going to be shooting a winter AK match this weekend. Here is my question and it has also been asked below. What about using dry graphite powder ? Is this a bad idea as well ? Thanks !
