First Clean of factory new gun questions

[grimreaper21]

Just got my gun today and it seems pretty dirty from the factory with dust and such stuck all around it, i wanted to clean it up properly before going out to shoot it. searched and I've read about the Hoppes viper boresnake which I guess isn't bad for $20, i'll bite. Is that the best way to go though? I have not disassembled before so i'm not eager to get it apart and use a rod style. CPL is also mentioned alot, what specifically do i do with it in combination with the boresnake? Do i coat the boresnake with CPL and pullthrough or what, or do i squirt the cpl in there and soak in? Any recommendation on a similar style CPL product made by hoppes i could find at the local store if CPL isnt available? Does that Lubricate properly or do i need a different product for that too? pictures would help i'm not exactly up on all the part name terminology just yet.

 

[Scuds03]

I swear by the boresnake. 10x easier than a rod and cleans just as good. Especially with the 15-22 because using a rod you run the risk of bending your extractor which is right in the way. I use the cheap Winchester CLP that is sold in Wal-Mart. It cleans, protects from rust, and lubes the gun just fine. I can't say its the end all best CLP but its abundant, cheap, and works. You want to give everything a good cleaning because the stuff on the gun fromt he factory is more of a grease meant for maximum protection while the gun gets shipped around and sits on store racks. Clean all that goop off, snake the barrel (with some CLP on snake) and make sure all the moving parts are lubed up and your good to go. After that you should actually avoid cleaning the inside of your barrel because it is more accurate dirty believe it or not. Belt-Fed on here has like 20k rounds through his gun without cleaning the barrel haha.

 

[grimreaper21]

by "good cleaning" would that include seperating both receivers and poking around inside? What exactly are the methods for applying CLP, do you dab it on a cloth and wipe, or pour liberally, or soak it for a couple hours, or just a couple seconds? little confused which parts of the gun do and don't like the clp. this is my first rifle so i'm a bit of a noob thanks for the help.

 

[DownRange&Upwind]

Here, this is directly from the instructional videos section of this site. Also I asked S&W about the whole Clean or dirty bore discussion. Was told 100% by 6 different reps( different days/calls in total) that to maintain its 100% functionaly and overall life span the bore MUST be cleaned regularly. ( whether that is 100% true or not.. this is just S&W's responce)

I tried it myself and after about 1300-1400 or so rounds in the past 4 days. My rifle started to act up ever so often.. not much at all, but it did effect it rarely and occasionaly. I Tried the next day with a few more shots with the rifle still dirty, then cleaned the rifle. And procedded to fire off another 375 Federal bulk box. It worked great, 100% without the occasional issues I was having with it running dirty. Granted this "could" be due to the now clean bolt and FCG. But the barrel was VERY black from firing Winchester.. Federal.. CCI and Wolf target ammo for 4 days. If Beltfed has gotten 20k rounds without EVER cleaning his bore, he must have the holy grail of 15 22's lol. But hey, its your rifle, clean it as you see fit. I am not a expert on such matters.. not by a long shot., nor claim to be. But to me at least, doesnt a clean gun thats properly maintained seem to be the right choice over a dirty one? But it seems to me that since the 15 22 has a "match grade" barrel. Why not keep it as clean as possbile? Any way here is the video.

YouTube - Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Instructional Video Series: Cleaning and Lubricating

 

[Scuds03]

Here, this is directly from the instructional videos section of this site. Also I asked S&W about the whole Clean or dirty bore discussion. Was told 100% by 6 different reps( different days/calls in total) that to maintain its 100% functionaly and overall life span the bore MUST be cleaned regularly. ( whether that is 100% true or not.. this is just S&W's responce)

I tried it myself and after about 1300-1400 or so rounds in the past 4 days. My rifle started to act up ever so often.. not much at all, but it did effect it rarely and occasionaly. I Tried the next day with a few more shots with the rifle still dirty, then cleaned the rifle. And procedded to fire off another 375 Federal bulk box. It worked great, 100% without the occasional issues I was having with it running dirty. Granted this "could" be due to the now clean bolt and FCG. But the barrel was VERY black from firing Winchester.. Federal.. CCI and Wolf target ammo for 4 days. If Beltfed has gotten 20k rounds without EVER cleaning his bore, he must have the holy grail of 15 22's lol. But hey, its your rifle, clean it as you see fit. I am not a expert on such matters.. not by a long shot., nor claim to be. But to me at least, doesnt a clean gun thats properly maintained seem to be the right choice over a dirty one? But it seems to me that since the 15 22 has a "match grade" barrel. Why not keep it as clean as possbile? Any way here is the video.

YouTube - Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 Instructional Video Series: Cleaning and Lubricating

Just to clarify; I was talking about leaving only the bore dirty. The bolt and other moving parts should be cleaned and lubed regularly. All I know is that when I snaked my bore my groups got about 2MOA bigger then after about 200 rounds it got back to its original accuracy which leads me to believe Betlt-Feds' theory. I'm just saying try it and see if your 15-22 likes a dirty bore or a clean one, as far as accuracy goes. Let a few hundred rip and pay attention to your group sizes with the dirty bore, then clean it and see if your groups get better or worse.

 

[jsimmons]

I shot in silhouette competitions for several years in with .22 rifle (lever action and bolt action), and here's what I've found.

Start with a clean barrel, and shoot at least 20 rounds of a given type/brand of ammo before shooting for accuracy. It takes that long to season a clean barrel to the lube used on the cartridges. If you change ammo (brand or type, even if the new type is within the same brand), you should shoot at least 20 rounds of the new ammo before you see the ammo's true accuracy through your barrel.

That's why people say the rifle works better when it's "dirty".

I always clean my weapons after using them, and always go through the 20-round seasoning phase before shooting for accuracy.

When I was looking for the ammo my guns liked, I took my cleaning kit with me to the range so I could "start fresh" with each type of ammo. My Henry lever-action likes CCI MiniMags, but my CZ's like Wolf Match Target. I have not yet taken my 15-22 to the range, but I'll be starting with MiniMags.

One other thing - I use Hoppes Elite or ML-Pro7 to clean with. On my M&P15, I put axle grease on the BCG rails and that's all the lube I use. I'm going to try the same thing on my 15-22 and see how it reacts.

I have yet to give the 15-22 its first cleaning, but I plan on completely disassembling it and cleaning each part individually before shooting it the first time. I will also take that opportunity to improve the trigger group (it's a heavy, gritty piece of crap right now).

 

[OKFC05]

Before shooting any new gun, i field strip, clean, and lube. Also strip and clean the magazines. Must be the military training that got me started doing this.
However, any semiauto rifle will stop shooting if you don't keep the action clean and properly lubed, and the chamber clean. That should not be a question in your mind. Fouling in the bore affects accuracy, not function.
Had an ATF agent bring a brand new AR to the range when I was stationed in DC. It had never been cleaned, and he didn't know how to field strip it. So I showed him how, and discovered the action had been sprayed full of sticky preservative oil. No wonder it wouldn't work.

 

[DownRange&Upwind]

Just to clarify; I was talking about leaving only the bore dirty. The bolt and other moving parts should be cleaned and lubed regularly. All I know is that when I snaked my bore my groups got about 2MOA bigger then after about 200 rounds it got back to its original accuracy which leads me to believe Betlt-Feds' theory. I'm just saying try it and see if your 15-22 likes a dirty bore or a clean one, as far as accuracy goes. Let a few hundred rip and pay attention to your group sizes with the dirty bore, then clean it and see if your groups get better or worse.

I re- read it.. and yep I see that now. Sorry my bad. But still its good for a new owner to get used to the cleaning procedure of his weapon. And Im STILL in love with the color shceme on your rifle( aka jealous) lol

 

[maverick88]

Wouldn`t it depend also what type of ammo you were using ?
If you were using ammo like CCI Blazer with the lead tip wouldn`t you want to clean the barrel so you don`t get lead build up,as opposed to using an ammo like Fed 550 with the copper plated hollow point?

 

[grimreaper21]

i've decided to get the hoppes elite cleaner and CLP, (both are seperate). do I put the cleaner on the boresnake or the CLP on the boresnake? Or do i do a pass with both on it?

 

[cjcutter1]

Just need one or the other not both,they both clean,lube and protect just spray right on the bore snake and pull through a few times.

 

[grimreaper21]

well from most of what i am reading, one is a cleaner the other the lubricant. heres a reference and it is the 7th post Reviews of gun care/maintenance solutions - PerfectUnion BBS

 

[cjcutter1]

They are both all in one products, CLP stands for cleaner,lubricant and protectant. Hoppes elite does all three things also.

 

[grimreaper21]

took it apart, what a breeze! It was very clean inside, almost no dirt or anything, except for minor metal shavings on the part infront of the bolt assembly (ejector? pic 2) I couldn't find any of the red grease or anything that looked like it needed to be cleaned off. My concern now is just lubricating it properly- but i don't know where. Heres some pictures with numbers i put on them to make it easier, post what numbers you think should receive the oil. Also please point out other areas i may not have paid attention to.

 

[Brett248Vista]

Lightly coat #7 and a drop on the recoil spring and I like to put a drop down the firing pin hole and down the extractor slot.

 

[Scuds03]

Anything marked with red is where you want lube...Key thing is you dont want to over do it. Just a light thin coat is all you want. If anyone wants to add to this feel free to use my pics. PS..I need to clean mine

 

[jppezz23]

I have never cleaned a new gun just fired it and cleaned after.Never in all my years of owning guns have i had a problem.

 

[jsimmons]

i've decided to get the hoppes elite cleaner and CLP, (both are seperate). do I put the cleaner on the boresnake or the CLP on the boresnake? Or do i do a pass with both on it?

With Hoppe's Elite, it's best to soak a patch with it, and run it down the barrel. Let it sit there for five minutes, and then run a brush down the barrel three or four times. I usually follow that process up with lighter application of Elite, and then run dry patches through the barrel until they don't come out dirty.

Finally, I put a dry patch with a couple of drops of gun oil on it and run it through the barrel a few times.

I don't use a boresnake (personal preference is the only reason).

 

[jsimmons]

Anything marked with red is where you want lube...Key thing is you dont want to over do it. Just a light thin coat is all you want. If anyone wants to add to this feel free to use my pics. PS..I need to clean mine

You should only have to lube the side rails, extractor, and maybe the firing pin. I use axle grease for the rails, and gun oil for the extractor and (if necessary) the firing ping.

 

[Scuds03]

You should only have to lube the side rails, extractor, and maybe the firing pin. I use axle grease for the rails, and gun oil for the extractor and (if necessary) the firing ping.

I lube my spring because I don't know what kind of metal its made out of and dont want it rusting.