Clearing a partially obstructed barrel

Lawdog905

Lawdog905

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My friend was having some trouble with his Sig Mosquito .22LR, so I brought it home to strip and clean for him. He started shooting the thing right out of the box and never cleaned or lubed it prior to first use. He's probably put almost 1000 rounds of varying types of ammo without ever cleaning it :runaway: He's been having trouble with the gun jamming on him - which I hear is common with the Mosquito's but nonetheless I tried to put a patch through it just to shine it up and prep it for some ammo testing. I lit up the barrel with the bore light and noticed that approxiomatly half way down the barel, there apears to be this ridge of something hanging from the side wall of the barrel - forgive the weak simile, but it looks as if someone built a tunnel inside the bore and now the bore diameter has shrunk. It has shrunk so much that I cannot for the life of me even get the .22cal cleaning rod through the barrel.

What the hell is blocking the barell, and how do I clear it? I've noticed that the muzzle has been eroding away and the lands and grooves are barely discernable. I'm afraid that my buddy is SOL and has caused irreprable damage to the barrel :slap:

Any suggestions??????
 
If he was doing a lot of rapid fire, he may have scabbed off a bunch of lead on the bore walls.

Elbow grease. Aka:work.

Wire bore brush, solvent, back and forth for a long time and the lead gets worn out. Then keep scrubbing.

The last gun I had that this happened to was an AR7 Explorer. I used a bronze rod, flattened on an anvil and filed into a drill bit, to cut away most of the lead (electric drill, black electrical tape wrapped around the rod at several places), then scrubbed and scrubbed.

Price a new barrel, and see if labor is a cheaper option or not. Otherwise, put him to work on it!

Got a scrap 22 cleaning rod?

Place the barrel, muzzle down , on something solid but soft, like a chunk of wood on a benchtop, and tap the squared off end of the cleaning rod against the blockage with light hammer blows. Should not take much effort, other than coordinating the three hands you will need to hold the gun and the tools. :)

My bet says that a scab of lead comes out.

Cheers
Trev
 
Thanks Trev. I've more or less tried everything you just mentioned, but still cant get a rod to go all the way through. I'll give it the old Gunnutz try one more time then tell him to start looking for a new barrel.
 
If you have gotten to the it has to be replaced stage, try a 50/50 mixture of 3%hydrogen peroxide and white vinegar. It disolves lead but is supposed to damage or remove bluing, although the time I used it , there was no damage, but I did not soak the barrel in it, I just used a wet patch. For more info on this and other possibilities goto www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm
 
sounds like this could have been a factory error maybe? like a burr in the barrel or something that takes a little lead off each bullet that passes through then builds up. maybe try a smaller cleaning rod like a .177 cal bb gun rod just a thought
 
"...Elbow grease..." Chemistry. Tap a rubber cork into the muzzle, just enough to kee pit there, and fill the barrel with solvent. Let it sit for a half hour or so. Try the cleaning rod and brush again. You need to give the solvent time to work.
 
You will need:
  • Pair of rubber gloves
  • Vial of mercury (Go see your dentist)
Plug end of barrel with gloved finger.
Pour in mercury. Be careful as mercury can be absorbed thru the skin, so wear gloves. Plug up the other end and shake gently. Pour out mercury and then scrub bore with a brush. Should be good as new.
 
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