Cleaning rifles the "Swiss" way?

[collector67]

Hi all,
I have heard that the Swiss cleaned their rifles after shooting by brushing grease down the warm barrels. The grease would remove most of the powder grime, and apart from cleaning copper fouling from the bore once a year, the "grease treatment" was the only thing done to it. This supposedly accounts for the spotless condition of the bores on Swiss rifles. I was wondering, could the same treatment apply to all rifles, as opposed to the usual "brush and patch" with CLP or other cleaners?

 

[plinker 777]

Yep, it's called bore butter. smells good too.

 

[Skaal-tel]

Well I did some google searching..

"The reason the K31 bores are mint is due to never being used in wartime. Combat settings do not often allow one to break down the rifle for a cleaning each day and the corrosive primers did a job on the bores. Our present issue rifle has caused the American shooter to have a freakish concern for cleaning, even in combat settings.

The K31 were fired only on a range and were probably cleaned before leaving the range.

Each Swiss citizen was required to certify once a year so the equipment was always well maintained and had to be cleaned after the once a year qualification.

Each Swiss town/region was required to maintain a shooting range for each 30,000 people."

That said, I'm sure you could do it to all rifles. I don't see the benefit. I believe the best way to keep your barrel intact is to clean and oil. The precise way you do it is not the point.. it's that you do it at all.

Put it this way -- if you see a rusted up rifle, it's not because somebody religiously cleaned it with the wrong product. It's because it hasn't been cleaned at all in 30 years or more.

my 2 cents

 

[green]

Swiss started useing a non corossive primer in service ammo c1911 whichwould have helped. "Hatcher's Notebook".

 

[diopter]

A couple points.
a) Grease prevents oxidation and tarnish. Does not evaporate as quickly as oil

b) GP11, the only ammo they(Swiss) were allowed to use in the Service rifles Match is Cupro-Nickel over Steel jackets.
See: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/146752/cupronickel
, especially "Additions of from 2 percent to 45 percent of nickel to copper provide a series of alloys that are stronger and more resistant to oxidation at high temperatures than is pure copper. An alloy containing 30 percent nickel, the most important, is widely used for condenser tubes in steam-power plants."

c) GP11 always used non-corrosive primers.

It was at higher velocities that cupro-nickel became a problem as in the 5.56mm GP90 (1990)for the Stgw90.

The bench rest crowd have, IMHO made the companies that make bore cleaning products and barrel makers very happy indeed. Somewhat like what "repeat" did for Shampoo makers.
Hmm "Sham" & "Poo" , Interesting eh?

 

[mikerock]

At my club there is a rest for the rifles, a rod with a jag, a bundle of patches and a pot of grease.

 

[diopter]

Like so:

 

[mkrnel]

Swiss military also on a regular basis had a armourer inspect the rile and barrel and would charge the cost of replacing the barrel or damaged parts to the soldier if it was not looked after or found to not caused by normal use.