BAR shorttrac cleaning

[tkv]

I bought a BAR shorttrac 243 new and wanted to tear it down to get rid of all the grease before I fired it. I made the mistake of firing my silver before cleaning and the grease on the action tube turned to varnish. I've taken the older ones down with no problems, but the shorttracs have the bolt release on the side and it gets in the way of removing the action bars on one side. Didn't know if the release has to be removed first. any hints would be much appreciated