I recently got my PAL and have ordered 3 guns from Tradex. A Lakelander 30-06, Husqvarna 22, and a Beretta Single Shot 12GA. I don't really know how to properly clean a firearm. Years ago my uncle showed my how to clean a Cooey 75 with a piece of rag on a string with a nail. Then he said wipe it with a bit of oil, done. There are hundreds of cleaning liquids, bore brushes, bore snakes.... I don't know where to start. I couldn't seem to find a good cleaning tutorial in a search so if you can help out I'd appreciate it.
cleaning new-to-me old guns?
- Thread starter 6011
- Start date
I am not sure of online ones although I am sure there are some. But I just went to my local store told them I was new and I needed equiptment to clean. They suggested some stuff to me and gave me a quick run through on how to use it. Plus you will probably need to buy a couple things so that might be a good start.
I also just personaly rather have someone show me than watch it in a video or read about it. Atleast I can ask any questions I might have then.
I also just personaly rather have someone show me than watch it in a video or read about it. Atleast I can ask any questions I might have then.
- Location
- Stony Plain, Alberta
Buy one piece coated cleaning rods, I use deweys, get the proper rod for each caliber. I use my .458 rod for shotgun, use tampons for shotgun or buy flannel by the yard, you'll need flannel anyway. Buy suitable solvents, the best I've seen in a while is the foaming gunslck stuff, comes in a blue spray type can. You will always need something like Hoppes #9. You will need the proper jags and bronze brushes for each rod. Get the proper bore guides for your action, this is important. Read the instructions on the solvent cans, you will eventually come up with a cleaning regiment of your own, as I dought we all do it the same. Have fun.
here is what I do, no warranties, results may vary.
I learned how to clean a gun in the army and modified the procedure to fit my needs.
What you need:
- one-piece cleaning rod
- adapter for above to run patches (at least two sizes for 30 cal and 22)
- bronze brushes for each calibre and possibly nylon brushes
- lots of patches, 22 and 30 cal are different
- gun oil
- nitro bore cleaner
- "Wipe Out" for tough cases
- bore snake for each calibre
procedure depends on gun and state of gun; just went through a 100 year-old milsurp.
Here is the procedure for such an old girl:
- unload and PROVE etc
- bolt out
- check the bore (some times you can actually see stuff)
- disassemble gun
- run a dry patch through to check for rust or deposits
- if it's bad soak a patch in nitro bore cleaner
- let sit with the solvent for ten minutes
- run the bronze brush through a few times
- switch to dry patches and run them through once until they come out clean (this can take 10, 20, 30 ... depending on the state of the gun).
- when you are satisfied it's clean, soak a patch in oil and run it through to coat the barrel for storage. Before shooting run a dry patch or a bore snake through to get the oil and any dust out.
For the gun I just did I had to do this three times, nitro solvent, bronze brush and patches until clean. Don't get the nitro solvent on the stock if it's a nice stock.
If it's a new gun, well treated and fairly clean:
dry patch, oily patch, then dry patches until they come out clean again.
Would use nitro solvent and bronze brushes only occasionally as needed but not after every shoot. You shouldn't have to. Some guys will not use a bronze brush on expensive barrels.
If there is a lot of deposit in an old or mistreated gun "Wipe Out" is your friend. Follow instructions on bottle, needs to sit for a bit with muzzle down so it doesn't flow into the action or stock. Wipe Out is especially good for Cu deposits.
While out shooting or hunting I have a bore snake in my pocket. Get's out deposit, dust and moisture before and after shooting quickly. Doesn't really replace cleaning but makes it a bit easier, if you get stuff out right after shooting and before you transport the gun home. Bore snakes need to be washed occasionally as they accumulate dirt from the guns.
For the rest of the gun, disassemble, wipe off any dirt with patches or a dry cloth, apply light coating of oil and reassemble for storage.
As I said that's what I do, depending on the gun. There are different opinions out there on what's best but this seems to work for me. Today's quality rifles, stainless barrels and modern ammo it doesn't require all that much. Old milsurps are a bit a different story.
Good luck, don't go overboard, spend your time shooting not cleaning.
I learned how to clean a gun in the army and modified the procedure to fit my needs.
What you need:
- one-piece cleaning rod
- adapter for above to run patches (at least two sizes for 30 cal and 22)
- bronze brushes for each calibre and possibly nylon brushes
- lots of patches, 22 and 30 cal are different
- gun oil
- nitro bore cleaner
- "Wipe Out" for tough cases
- bore snake for each calibre
procedure depends on gun and state of gun; just went through a 100 year-old milsurp.
Here is the procedure for such an old girl:
- unload and PROVE etc
- bolt out
- check the bore (some times you can actually see stuff)
- disassemble gun
- run a dry patch through to check for rust or deposits
- if it's bad soak a patch in nitro bore cleaner
- let sit with the solvent for ten minutes
- run the bronze brush through a few times
- switch to dry patches and run them through once until they come out clean (this can take 10, 20, 30 ... depending on the state of the gun).
- when you are satisfied it's clean, soak a patch in oil and run it through to coat the barrel for storage. Before shooting run a dry patch or a bore snake through to get the oil and any dust out.
For the gun I just did I had to do this three times, nitro solvent, bronze brush and patches until clean. Don't get the nitro solvent on the stock if it's a nice stock.
If it's a new gun, well treated and fairly clean:
dry patch, oily patch, then dry patches until they come out clean again.
Would use nitro solvent and bronze brushes only occasionally as needed but not after every shoot. You shouldn't have to. Some guys will not use a bronze brush on expensive barrels.
If there is a lot of deposit in an old or mistreated gun "Wipe Out" is your friend. Follow instructions on bottle, needs to sit for a bit with muzzle down so it doesn't flow into the action or stock. Wipe Out is especially good for Cu deposits.
While out shooting or hunting I have a bore snake in my pocket. Get's out deposit, dust and moisture before and after shooting quickly. Doesn't really replace cleaning but makes it a bit easier, if you get stuff out right after shooting and before you transport the gun home. Bore snakes need to be washed occasionally as they accumulate dirt from the guns.
For the rest of the gun, disassemble, wipe off any dirt with patches or a dry cloth, apply light coating of oil and reassemble for storage.
As I said that's what I do, depending on the gun. There are different opinions out there on what's best but this seems to work for me. Today's quality rifles, stainless barrels and modern ammo it doesn't require all that much. Old milsurps are a bit a different story.
Good luck, don't go overboard, spend your time shooting not cleaning.
eaglesnester
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
There are thousands of posts on the internet about cleaning a rifle so I will not go into details here. One thing you should know is that most of the bore cleaning compounds sold are crap and snake oil and do nothing to clean your rifle except make you feel good about how you just cleaned your rifle. When you clean your bore you must remove powder residue, carbon fouling (can be very hard and builds up in layers), and copper fouling, which also builds up in layer upon layer. To properly clean a rifle and possibly years of crud build up you need a product like WipeOut, Barnes CR10, or KB12 Bore Cleaner. These products remove powder, carbon, and COPPER build up. Depending on how many layers of crud you are trying to remove it can take quite a few applications and time to remove the build up. Just keep at it untill your patches come out white, with no evidence of powder, carbon. or copper (blue staining on patch). Powder fouling is black, Carbon fouling is brown, copper is blue. Do not use Bronze Jags, or Bronze Bore brushes when using these products because number 1 they are not necessary to use and number 2 the products will eat them up and give you a false blue staining indicator. If you are using a brush to help loosen the fouling use a nylon brush. Mostly brushing is not necessary, just patch out. By being able to remove fouling by patching out only, you will be avoiding possible bore damage by inproper use of the cleaning rod. In any case be sure to use a bore guide and clean from chamber end only if bolt action.
Cheers & Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester
Cheers & Tighter Groups: Eaglesnester
- Location
- Winnipeg, now
Go to the store and buy a universal cleaning kit for now. All that other crap is great for a brand new gun you want to baby but who says these guns have been that well taken care of. One piece cleaning rods are great but expensive when starting out. Other than that, 1] bore brush down the barrel a few times. Hopefully from the breach end. 2] patches with solvent until they are coming out relatively clean. 3] a couple dry patches. 4] a patch with just a little gun oil if it is going to be stored for a while. As far as the detail stripping all the "experts" here talk about, there is no rush for that unless you walk through a sandstorm or drop it in a swamp. Once you are comfotable with your skills then you can sart to get a little more creative with how far You want to strip it down for cleaning.
