How do you clean your Rifles?

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Vair

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While this sounds like a total newbie question (and I am one), I think it is a good one!

What I want to know, is how do you guys clean your guns? Specifically the procedures?

I read in a sniping manual (MCWP 3-15.3) that they are required to run the wire brush a MINIMUM of 20 times.

I have never done this in the past (Normally I would do a couple runs, but that was it, then I would use patches), but it does seem to loosen up considerably more gunk.

I would like to see how you guys treat your precisions?

(Then I can develop my own procedures from what you all say.)

Cheers,

Vair
 
after the range i run clp patch down the pipe, and run clean patches through her. if i am going to store it for some time, i run clp, brushes, ect as many times as need to clean it. strip it apart and clean everything with a nylon brush and clp.
 
I rarely use a brush of any kind.I use one piece Dewey rod through a bore guide,and start with a cotton patch soaked with Sweets.I repeat this until I see no traces of fouling.I then use a patch coated with G-96 to prevent corrosion.Before I shoot the gun again,I run a dry patch through the barrel.
 
After a couple of initial cleanings, I don't clean the barrel until I see some fall off in accuracy, which hasn't happened yet. Cleaning barrels when shooting modern ammunition is way over rated.

Edit: Sorry I posted this on the "Precision" forum. I'm not a precision shooter. Ooops.
 
Lots of good info here. http://www.6mmbr.com/borebrushing.html
The Iosso paste looks like it could be useful.
Copper fouling is easy to get out, it seems carbon is the hard part.
Using carbon cleaner with a brush, I am getting tons of fouling after a rifle appears to be "clean".

Plenty of misinformation out there, plenty of theories as well. You have to find out what works best for you.

I have started shooting my rifles a lot more this year and am anal about cleanliness. I ordered a borescope today and am hoping to to use it to be sure I am cleaning what I need to without overcleaning.
 
I use Butche's Bore Shine

1) Couple wet patches to push out the gunk
2) 12 strokes with a bronze brush, wetting it every 3 strokes
3) Wait 5-10 min.
4) 12 strokes with a bronze brush, wetting it every 3 strokes
5) Wait 5-10 min.
6) Push through wet patches till they come out clean (3 or 4 usually)
7) Patch dry (and then some)
8) I never lube the bore

I find this works well and I don't get a first round flyer. I will still foul the bore with 5-10 shots the day before a match though.

Usually polish with KG-2 or Iosso every 500 rounds or so.

I run the brush both ways, it's never cause me any problems and I run my barrels to higher round counts than most. I only use quality stainless steel custom barrels... YMMV with a factory or non-SS tube.
 
I clean with moly coated bullets:) I keep shooting until the groups start to open up. If I do have to clean I use a foaming bore cleaner and rum and coke.
The foaming bore cleaner is for the rifle, the rum and coke keeps me busy while the foaming bore cleaner does it's job.

One piece Dewey rod and bore guide and snug fitting patches. If I ever need to use a brush it is a nylon brush only. After patching out the foaming bore cleaner I check it by running a patch of Sweet's 7.62 down the bore. If any blue comes out on the patch the bore gets another treatment of foaming bore cleaner and I have another rum and coke.

Cleaning is over rated. The only people that tell you that you must clean every so many shots (or you #### will fall off) are people that sell cleaning products.

Each rifle/barrel will let you know when you need to clean. You should try a see how many rounds you can go without cleaning, I am sure you will be shocked. I have gone over 800 rounds without cleaning and still won matches.
 
maynard said:
I clean with moly coated bullets:) I keep shooting until the groups start to open up. If I do have to clean I use a foaming bore cleaner and rum and coke.
The foaming bore cleaner is for the rifle, the rum and coke keeps me busy while the foaming bore cleaner does it's job.

One piece Dewey rod and bore guide and snug fitting patches. If I ever need to use a brush it is a nylon brush only. After patching out the foaming bore cleaner I check it by running a patch of Sweet's 7.62 down the bore. If any blue comes out on the patch the bore gets another treatment of foaming bore cleaner and I have another rum and coke.

Cleaning is over rated. The only people that tell you that you must clean every so many shots (or you #### will fall off) are people that sell cleaning products.

Each rifle/barrel will let you know when you need to clean. You should try a see how many rounds you can go without cleaning, I am sure you will be shocked. I have gone over 800 rounds without cleaning and still won matches.
Click to expand...

Bingo, but my bullets are naked, and Scotch. Prohibition is over. Man shouldn't have to mix his booze.

Do you run anything after the sweets but a clean dry patch BTW?
 
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I carry a can of Wipe-out and some tape, when done shooting at the range I close the bolt shoot .5 seconds of wipe-out down the bore, tape the end , and then clean it when I can get to it. Usually one or two swipes with a patch around a brass brush, then some clp, two dry passes and done. Wipeout works great for carbon and copper. Not the black powder wipe-out the other stuff.
 
Wipeout, a one piece rod and a bore guide with cotton patches for the bore and a chamber cleaning kit with solvent for the action. You can easily do more damage by over cleaning and/or not cleaning correctly than you will ever do by not cleaning at all. No wire brushes or brass jags in my rifles!
 
zimbu said:
Wipeout, a one piece rod and a bore guide with cotton patches for the bore
Same. I buy flannel from the fabric store and use it for patches so that I can tailor the size to different bore sizes. I prefer Dewey rods as you can get extra-long versions which are nice when you're cleaning a 29" or 30" barrel or if you happen to have a BPCR like me, a 36" barrel.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Wow... the cleaning rituals are far reaching... If one chooses to travel that road.

I can go along with a little bit of copper remover on a newe barrel for up to, maybe, 10 shots. My thoughts are not to be too abrasive with any rifle bore, so I rarely use a wire brush. Or as mentioned wrap a cleaning patch around it so it's snug as it travels down the bore. I do this from the receiver to the crown, or what is considered to be down the same direction as the path of the bullet.

The most agressive thing I use on the bore is a bore snake, and spray some G 96 Gun treatment and let it soak in for a few minutes, then use a clean patch or two. I look down the barrel and make sure there is no signs of visible debris of any sort. On other gun parts I use Outers Gunslick Gun oil which I apply liberally and wipe off the excess, and put it away. In that way the rifle is ready for it's next outing.
 
I run a lightly oiled patch from the chamber end to the muzzle( if possible) and followed by a dry patch.
After the barrel cools more carbon will bleed out. So I'll do it again till the barrel is clean.
While shooting I'll run a pull through at first but not again after the barrel heats up.
I normally shoot and zero on a hot barrel on an auto loader and keep a bolt gun's barrel cool.
 
Cleaning rituals vary depending on the barrel. Process is the same, repetitions depend on the quality of the cut of the rifling.

Always use a rubber or plastic coated rod.
Bore guides are a good idea but not a necessity if your very careful.
Always run from breech to muzzle when able to.

1. Run a dry patch to push out any loose debris.
2. Run patches soaked with Barnes CR-10, once about every few minutes, until patches come out looking clean.
3. Run bore brush a few times.
4. Repeat steps 2 & 3 until patches run immediately after the bore brushing remain clean.
5. Run an oil soaked patch immediately after. DO NOT allow Barnes CR-10 to dry in the barrel.

The number of times you need to repeat steps 2 & 3 are determined by how close you are to getting a proper burn from your loads and by how smooth the rifling is in your barrel. Overall cleaning times can vary from 20 minutes to over an hour.
 
Definately cleaned all the time and WITHOUT a BORE SNAKE. They are a bigger contributor of ruining a good barrel over using proper cleaning techniques.

AGAIN BAN ALL GUN CLEANING THREADS.

Post a sticky on it and leave it at that or FIX THE SEARCH FUNCTION.

Yes I am PI++Y today....................

CBY
 
With regard to PPC cartridges; during a match, Hoppe’s #9 cut with Kroil and a bronze brush does a good job of removing the majority of the bore fouling. I don’t attempt to remove all bore fouling between match relays because I prefer to leave some fouling in the bore during the match.

The following only applies to custom hand-lapped stainless steel barrels when I have the time to clean the bore to bare metal. To get my bore clean “spotless” (As far as I know, I don’t own a borescope) I have found that Bore Tech Eliminator is a good solvent for both carbon and copper fouling. I use this solvent during each cleaning event. It works fast but must be used with non-brass jags and a rod that does not have a brass ferrule. If a conventional brass jag or brass ferrule rod is used you will experience false positive results on your patches. After several patches of Eliminator (a dozen or more), I will scrub the bore with JB compound using a nylon bore brush to rough out the fouling loosened up by Eliminator. At this point the bore is feeling smooth and consistent when pushing a tight patch though the bore. I then finish with Hoppes #9 cut with Kroil on a bronze brush to clean out all the JB and to scrub out the nooks and crannies. A tight fitting bore brush works well when the bore has a lubricating solvent in it like Hoppes #9. It is more difficult to push a bore brush down a bore saturated with Eliminator. The bore brushes clean up easily using Dawn dish soap and hot water.

There have been many bore cleaners that I have tried. Most of them have worked too slow or made too much mess for me to put up with. The products I use now work fairly fast, don’t stink too bad, and don’t make the skin on my fingers peal off.

LE Hanson
 
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