Cleaning & Maintainance of precision rifles?

Torch

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So for those of you who missed my first post in this forum,My wife and I are starting into the precision shooting disipline and will posting up questions that although i may think I know the answer too, I'm still gonna ask :) ...

I'm not sure if there will be any value in making these stickies as the come up as I hope that they will be helpful to ANYONE new to the precision shooting game....


What equipment do you use to clean your boltgun? I have a Rem 700ss 5r in .308

What cleaning rods,jags,etc do you prefer? why?
What cleaners do you use?
What lubes do you use?

How often do you clean and to what degree?
What are the steps you use in your cleaning routine?

THANKS
 
I like to use a one piece cleaning rod and bore guide. I use CLP and gunslick products. I normally lube the barrel with CLP and then run the wire brush through it,,followed by patches with clp...then dry patches

After every range session...I do a few pull through and give the gun a good wipe down. Once a year I detail strip and clean my guns
 
Clean when you get it wet, muddy, or covered in ice, or when it needs it because performance is deteriorating. The stainless will help with the moisture of course, but it will still rust. Even in super dry Alberta.

Provided that you are taking care of the moisture, overcleaning is a bigger problem then not cleaning for most people IMO.

Use a push through rod, like a Dewey, and a good bore guide. For cleaning, wipe out, or sweets work well. Dewey also makes a lug recess/chamber cleaner that I like.
 
Probably everyone's a bit different, but:
I clean my .308 with a one piece Dewey rod with a screw on brass jag with a short pin-like point on the end. Spear a corner of the patch on the point, wrap the patch around the jag. I only work from the breech, always pushing out the muzzle, not back and forth.
I prefer Wipeout as a cleaner, but have Hoppes on hand. I leave the Wipeout in overnite, patch it out the next day.
For lube, both on my bolt guns and pistol slide- white grease.

I used to clean after every shoot, but this place has changed my mind on that. Now I clean only when my groups start to open up. Saves wear and tear, on me and the gun. :D
 
Cleaning

A bore guide is a must , a good quality coated cleaning rod as well, I use sweets to clean out the bad stuff , I would shy away from running any type of metallic brush down the bore of your stainless barrel, some may disagree but I feel a nylon brush and patching is easier on the barrel , I would not want to run a metallic brush over any surface I have just machined :eek:
 
I clean my precision rifles much differently than my .22 Cooey.

I use a good quality dewey rod with a good brass jag and when required a nylon brush.

as for products I use either wipeout or G96 with soft patches. I prefer the cotton patches that the military uses, but I've found the twill ones nice too.

I also keep my lugs greased with preferrably flourinated grease from Chris Reeve Knives (They don't make the grease just throw their label on the tube) Awesome stuff. Otherwise another thickish grease works too. Only a tiny bit required. This advice came from Guntech and makes sense.

I use an old toothbrush on the boltface and a small dental pick to remove any brass or other debris from the corners.

As for how often I clean my rifle. I clean it every time I bring it home from the range or hunting, etc. I know I probably don't have to but it is a force of habit.
 
Dewey coated rod and a pierce jag, sometimes a nylon bore brush. I only clean when the groups start to open up (yes I have gone over 800 rounds between cleanings). I use Sweet's 7.62, JB bore paste, Parker-Hale 009, Shooters Choice, Kroil and foaming bore cleaners. In other works whatever is handy. The Sweet's will let you know if there is any copper fouling left in the bore after you think it's clean.
 
another thing I do is run a bore snake through my gun the day after cleaning to get out any residual gunk and access oil.

I know that a LOT of people do not like the bore snake...but I like it for this purpose.
 
All great advice guys...thanks to those who responded.

I'm gonna put together a kit for this rifle specifically and keep it seperate from what I use for the rest of my gear....

Stickie for newbies to precision?

Thats what my goal is, is a step by step for those entering the precision world...
 
I use a dewey 1 piece rod and a nylon brush and patches and jag that are made for the caliber. My copper removing juice is CR-10 and the finishing clean up is G-96 gun treatment. I probably only clean it every 5-600 rounds or if it starts to throw flyers.
 
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