Rifle cleaning.

[HAWKEYE10]

In the past year or so I have bought some rifles and started making holes in paper. It's fun to see how small a group you can get. I have bought a CZ 22LR, an Anschutz 22LR and a Savage in .223. I have been cleaning them with a Patch Worm, that is a flexible line that you can pull a patch through the barrel. Looks like it's made of weed eater line. Well yesterday I got it stuck in my Savage and had to run a coat hanger wire down the barrel to unstick it. Yes I was very careful and did it very slow. I am finished with the Patch Worm. What do y'all use to clean your rifles so not to damage the barrel? Don

 

[Lenny_D]

I'm old fashioned I use a cleaning rod with appropriate tips, patches and patience.

 

[Texas Star]

Warning: your rifles are small bores, but hunters may want to avoid Barnes and other copper bullets. A friend said that he thought he'd never get his bore clean after shooting them. I hear that Barnes sells some special solvent for their bullets. Anyone had experience with it?

Frankly, if I can't kill an animal with Nosler Partition bullets, I probably wouldn't hunt it! ("Solids" for heavy game like elephant, of course.)

 

[gunfish]

I use the Otis pull thru cleaners or a cleaning rod. The Otis pull thru is made of aircraft cable and will not separate in the barrel, just keep the patch small enough to get thru the bore. I seldom clean the 22 rimfire bores. For copper fouling in my 30cal rifles I am using Butch's Bore Shine.

 

[OFT II]

I'm with Lenny D. I use a rod with bore guide and appropriate jag. I clean from the breach when possible.

 

[jrd1976]

I've used a Savage 12FV and a Reminton 700, both heavy barrel in 223, for prairie dogs the last 10 years, using Sierra, Hornady and Nosler bullets.

My cleaning equipment consists of a one piece Dewey rod with pointed brass jag and Pro-shot 100% cotton flannel patches. I use BoreTech Eliminator solvent and a nylon brush, as recommended by BoreTech. I found out about BoreTech from a technical article written in the Sierra email they used to send out.

I use Eliminator for jacketed bullets in centerfire rifles and handguns, and for 22 Magnum.

The 16oz is more economical. I bought the first bottle and the nylon brushes from BoreTech. I think the last I bought was from Midway.

 

[wbraswell]

Put your gun in a secure stand, cover your stock to protect it from solvents. Use a bore guide, and use a pointed jag. That way you don't drag a dirty patch back through the bore. Use a coated rod, like the Dewey, to protect the bore. Be sure to get all the solvent out of it. A couple of jags soaked in brake cleaner work good. Be careful with the powerful solvents, they can be real nasty.

 

[HAWKEYE10]

Put your gun in a secure stand, cover your stock to protect it from solvents. Use a bore guide, and use a pointed jag. That way you don't drag a dirty patch back through the bore. Use a coated rod, like the Dewey, to protect the bore. Be sure to get all the solvent out of it. A couple of jags soaked in brake cleaner work good. Be careful with the powerful solvents, they can be real nasty.

I have always used Hoppe's # 9. I use it once in the mourning after I shave and when I clean guns. Don

PS Dang that stuff smells good.

 

[Ron H.]

Sir, FWIW, I use Dewey one-piece coated rods and clean from the breech when possible. If not possible, as with M1s, I use a Dewey rod guide as well. I even used a rod guide that fit inside the action when cleaning my match AR from the breech. I don't want the rod rubbing on either the muzzle crown or the chamber leade. I also wipe the rod clean after each pass so that I'm not dragging crud through the bore.

Dewey rods and various sorts of rod guides are available from Sinclair International and (IMHO) are well worth the money.

Hope this helps, and Semper Fi.

Ron H.

 

[mwtdvm]

I hear that Barnes sells some special solvent for their bullets. Anyone had experience with it?

Yes made the mistake of leaving it in 7-8 hours. The first patch after had brown rust on it. Bore looks OK but I don't do that any more. There is a warning on the label. They are not kidding. I usually use Shooter's Choice #4 copper solvent and Hoppe's.

 

[Cyrano]

I use a smooth stainless steel rod and a bore guide. I clean from the breech if possible. Coated rods pick up grit and act like a file; I keep my stainless rods clean.

 

[Bat Guano]

Well,as a matter of fact, I DO use .060 weed whacker line for a pull through. Just to pull a bore cleaner or final oiled patch through, though. Otherwise a good steel or coated steel rod with a bore guide.

I have re barrelled some of my rifles and I have a strong interest in taking good care of my babies.

 

[Rule3]

Tipton carbon fiber rod, correct size bronze brush jags or slotted patch tip. Bore guide.

Deluxe 1-Piece Cleaning Rod 22 to 26 Cal 26 Carbon Fiber 8 x 32 Thread

Old #9 to clean out most fouling. If you read the reviews none of the so called copper removers actually work. The only one that works well is KG 12. (not going to debate the millions of cleaning products) Final pass with anything like Break Free CLP or similar. I have pretty much every product known to man. Most is snake oil. Regular kerosene or Eds Red will clean most bore fouling except copper just as well. Any oil will protect the bore (Mobile 1 synthetic)

You are wasting your time with sting trimmer line and bore snakes, the only good part of a bore snake is maybe a touch up at the range and as a final pass through the barrel as it is a really long patch.

Gun Cleaning Product Tests

 

[H Richard]

I pretty much follow Rule3's same methods. KG12 is one of the new "wonder" cleaners that actually seem to work for removing copper fouling. I use a carbon fiber rod (from the breach) with a pointed jag and soft cotton patch's. Nylon brush's. Break free a pass or two to keep bore lubed in storage. I only use a pull through snake when I am in the field shooting prairie dogs, and I am putting the gun down to rest it after maybe 30-50 rounds so it cools off. You mention you have some excellent rifles, take good care of them.