hogpatrol
Silver $$ Contributor
If you see it on the internet, it must be true.Solid answer.
Until you ask a second shooter....
The right way to clean a gun...
- Thread starter Dave Armento
- Start date
Many years ago (about 30) I was at Camp Perry and there was a representative from Anschutz who gave a lecture on the proper care and cleaning of an Anschutz rifle. There were at least 100 people in attendance. He began with a rifle in a horizontal cleaning stand, "now you remove the bolt and insert the cleaning guide. With a one-piece steel cleaning rod you push a patch coated with light machine oil through the bore, breech-to-muzzle, removing the patch at the muzzle. Repeat several times. Replace bolt. Any questions?" Most of the shooters there were in shock. They couldn't believe that he used no solvents, just a few drops of light machine oil, to clean the bore.
Some rules I follow. 1) Use a one-piece solid-steel or teflon-coated rod 2) Don't buy a rod mail-order. Go to the shop and test each one like a pool cue. Reject any rod that is not perfectly straight. 3) Always clean the rod before use. 4) Always use a rod bore guide.
Some rules I follow. 1) Use a one-piece solid-steel or teflon-coated rod 2) Don't buy a rod mail-order. Go to the shop and test each one like a pool cue. Reject any rod that is not perfectly straight. 3) Always clean the rod before use. 4) Always use a rod bore guide.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Most likely you have bronze brushes and most shooters i know use butchs bore shine or shooters choice. No need for a box full of solvents. Good bore guide (tk nollan or lucas) pair of ivy rods, bronze brushes and pro shot patches
Patches are a big deal to me. I buy pure cotton flannel with no flame retardant and cut my own to get the fit I want on a jag well below bore size. The thicker patch is more absorbent and shapes deeper in the grooves. Takes fewer patches and worth the effort.
Dusty Stevens
Shiner
Thats a good point. Pure cotton flannel and for a 6mm i use 1.75" sq patches and a 22cal jag
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
A couple of points that are worth mentioning..
Any discussion of rifle barrel cleaning needs to make it clear that cleaning a typical factory barrel and an aftermarket barrel that has been properly lapped are two related but different propositions. The next point is that while there is no doubt that bore scopes are very useful tools, they can lead new shooters astray, in that it may not be desirable to clean a barrel to the extent that it appears to have never been fired, and also that what is seen when viewing some barrels could lead the shooter to believe that his barrel need replacement, when his targets tell him a different story. Beyond these, personally, I try to use procedures and products that are least likely to harm a barrel, while at the same time cleaning it with some efficiency. Finally, I would caution anyone that is new to this subject that they should not get in a hurry when using a cleaning rod, and pay strict attention to technique, including alignment and how far brushes and jags extend past the muzzle.
Any discussion of rifle barrel cleaning needs to make it clear that cleaning a typical factory barrel and an aftermarket barrel that has been properly lapped are two related but different propositions. The next point is that while there is no doubt that bore scopes are very useful tools, they can lead new shooters astray, in that it may not be desirable to clean a barrel to the extent that it appears to have never been fired, and also that what is seen when viewing some barrels could lead the shooter to believe that his barrel need replacement, when his targets tell him a different story. Beyond these, personally, I try to use procedures and products that are least likely to harm a barrel, while at the same time cleaning it with some efficiency. Finally, I would caution anyone that is new to this subject that they should not get in a hurry when using a cleaning rod, and pay strict attention to technique, including alignment and how far brushes and jags extend past the muzzle.
If you follow this advice using a brass jag, you'll be cleaning till hell freezes over waiting for a clean white patch.
hogpatrol
Silver $$ Contributor
I've used every concoction known to the free world and a few from the unfree. Pretty much anything works if you have enough time. The key is using a jag with an 800 thread count, long fiber, Egyptian cotton patch. You have to buy sheets and make these up yourself. After cleaning, I inspect with a my new, Lyman, barrel condemning bore cam scope and depending on what I see, either start over or place my order for a new barrel.
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For a brief time I was using Sweets .762 but then an article came out in Precision Shooting about how the ammonia would disolve steel and an switched back to Hoppe's P.D.Q.
I guess I can check back in about 6 months and this post will still be going on. Someone up earlier stated something to the effect of someone will give you the very best way to clean a barrel until the second, third or fourth person gives you his idea. The list will go on and on. Not meaning to down anyone.... There's just so many different theories and believe it or not a lot of them will work very well. I guess it's ..... What works best for you!
Your right. It will all scrub it out. Bad cleaning may not compare to a cartridge and bullet going off in this baby. Just fine details, some want it and some don't. Some of this seems pointless but we keep trying for some reason.
If you read books then you will find the same, we have to pull the weeds as we learn. That's just part of shooting partner.
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read what it says....
I have no pick for copper removal other than good old number 9.
I would suggest getting fibre brushes or just patches if you have a lot of copper.
BoydAllen
Gold $$ Contributor
Regular Hoppes #9 is probably the least active on jacket fouling of any solvent that I can think of. On the subject of ammonia, it depends on the overall composition of the solvent. I will not put Sweets in a barrel any more, but there are other solvents that I use with not apparent issues that have ammonia, but it is in combinations with other chemicals that seem to protect from ammonia related damage. If you want a little more activity than Butch's, try the regular Montana Extreme. I do not need it in my good barrels, but I have used it in them without any problems.
The only way that you really know what is inside of your barrel is to look with a bore scope. Everything else is a guess. The guys that shoot the smallest groups, short range benchrest shooters, pretty much all use bronze brushes, no all but a very comfortable majority. People talk about carbon, when what they are referring to is powder fouling. The reason that I make this distinction is that if you run over patches of powder fouling enough, it coalesces into something that is a LOT harder to remove, which is generally referred to as hard carbon. This is the stuff that only something like IOSSO will remove. No brush or solvent, will touch the stuff. A while back, a friend was getting started in short range benchrest, and I told him that the powder he uses, a very good one, will build some hard carbon over time, and for that reason he should plan on careful IOSSO use every so often. Well he let that go, until at about 600 rounds on his barrel he had accuracy drop off, at that point he used the IOSSO and the barrel was back to shooting better than he had for some time. Currently, his plan is to do that every hundred rounds, working in the back 10" of the bore, since that is where the carbon forms.
The only way that you really know what is inside of your barrel is to look with a bore scope. Everything else is a guess. The guys that shoot the smallest groups, short range benchrest shooters, pretty much all use bronze brushes, no all but a very comfortable majority. People talk about carbon, when what they are referring to is powder fouling. The reason that I make this distinction is that if you run over patches of powder fouling enough, it coalesces into something that is a LOT harder to remove, which is generally referred to as hard carbon. This is the stuff that only something like IOSSO will remove. No brush or solvent, will touch the stuff. A while back, a friend was getting started in short range benchrest, and I told him that the powder he uses, a very good one, will build some hard carbon over time, and for that reason he should plan on careful IOSSO use every so often. Well he let that go, until at about 600 rounds on his barrel he had accuracy drop off, at that point he used the IOSSO and the barrel was back to shooting better than he had for some time. Currently, his plan is to do that every hundred rounds, working in the back 10" of the bore, since that is where the carbon forms.
+1- About 5 years ago, the fad was to avoid bronze brushing in favor of nylon brushes due to supposed bore damage.......well guys quickly discovered what a carbon ring is....and that fad quickly disappeared even though quite a few shooters like and swear by Wipe Out. For me, Butches and bronze brushes has always done well for me-followed by Iosso. It is what I am used to, like a ritual-I have gained confidence in my system. Wipe-out takes too long and is a bit messy for my needs. One bit of advice is to keep your solvent out of sunlight...I keep my clear dispensers covered, and use small dispenser bottles to keep it fresh.
Tell your significant other that when your rifle gets dirty you have to throw it away and get another.
I use a patch or 2 barely wet with Hoppes #9 after each 5 shot group and let it sit while I shoot something else. If I see fouling I might use a brush.
Before shooting again I use 2 dry patches.
Then I clean it again before I go home. A week later I might clean it again. Then it is stored with Hoppe's.
That is about it. No huge ritual or huge collections of specialized chemicals. Time does most of the work. I live in a climate where I can keep the RH at 50% or below to avoid rust. If you are in a salt water swamp you might need more work to preserve your rifles.
I use a patch or 2 barely wet with Hoppes #9 after each 5 shot group and let it sit while I shoot something else. If I see fouling I might use a brush.
Before shooting again I use 2 dry patches.
Then I clean it again before I go home. A week later I might clean it again. Then it is stored with Hoppe's.
That is about it. No huge ritual or huge collections of specialized chemicals. Time does most of the work. I live in a climate where I can keep the RH at 50% or below to avoid rust. If you are in a salt water swamp you might need more work to preserve your rifles.
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