How many cleaning patches should I go through each time?

ADHDCanuck

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Just trying to determine if i'm using the right products and getting the right results.

I put about 200 rounds through in a few hours at the range each time I go...

After I get it home (my Savage Mako 17HMR) I set it up level and fill the barrel with WIPE-OUT expanding foam cleaner (brushless).
She sits for an hour eating everything bad out of the barrel (no acids or ammonias, the guys at P&D ammo suggested it for the small calibres.. its all the desk guy uses now)

Then i start running patches thru til it comes out clean. I'm going thru about 15 or 20 patches using only one side. They start fairly dirty and end up almost totally clean.

The product says not to use any oil in the barrel as it leaves anti-corrosion stuff behind.

I have the right brushes (soft mop, and nylon bristle brush) and some good gun cleaner solvent and oil... Just want to get some idea of if everything seems normal doing it this way.

I wouldn't think I would need to do a full deep cleaning with brushes and solvents unless I've been out in the field and fired off rounds without being able to properly clean it in a while. But I'm still learning.

I have a bore snake, but haven't used it... figured it's just for quick cleanings at the range or in the field.

What do you think?
 
Sounds like you're doing everything right. The number of patches will vary, when they come out clean you're good to go .. if that takes 10 or 20.

I would agree that the boresnake is a quick "use at the range' or "in the field", not to be used as the only or the final cleaning for sure.
 
i used to use a patch with a "waffle weave" from kleenbore in combination with regular patches- it removed FAR more gunk than a regular patch- i wish they still made them
 
I'm folding over the patches to makem a little thicker and that helps, but using two patches doesnt fit.

I jsut didnt want to discover that it SHOULD be coming clean in 5 or 6 patches after a light afternoon at the range.... and here I am using 20 or more. That would indicate a poor product IMO.

I notice that they never come CLEAN clean... theres still residue on the patches even if I put through another 10.... its not gross.. more like light grey-blue shadow in a couple places... but at least its a simple process.

Once or twice a year I ought to do a big cleaning... otherwise this seems ok?

I dont go to the range all the time and rarely go out in the field to shoot yet. Gonna start this summer with camping.

I wipe the outside of teh barrel with a clean cloth and few drops of gun oil too... its carbon steel not stainless... was told to watch for oils and contamination from handling over time.
 
I wipe the outside of teh barrel with a clean cloth and few drops of gun oil too... its carbon steel not stainless... was told to watch for oils and contamination from handling over time.

Glad to hear you're taking such care cleaning your rifle....sounds like a labor of love! I'm wired the same way, maybe not quite so thorough... :) Anyhow, I've had 3 blued Savage rimfires (still have my .22mag) and the finishes they put on their blued rimfires is pretty lame. In other words, I keep a lightly oiled rag in my shooting bag, along with some dry paper towels. When get back to my truck (hunting gun) I dry the gun if there was any precipitation, then wipe it down with the oily rag before going into the soft case. It gets a closer inspection at home, and another wipe-down before going into the safe. I was once razzed about this routine after a wet hunt one day, so I threw it into the case wet...figuring it wouldn't matter for a few hours. When I got home, I wiped down the metal with a clean white cotton rag. Let's just say the rag wasn't white after that...a familiar, rusty-orange color in the moisture I cleaned off.

I love Savages, but it's the poorest bluing of any rimfire I own. Their centerfires are better.
 
Honestly, it is good practice to maintain your rifle, however, that is way to much work. Hopes 9 on a bore snake pulled three or four times followed by a clean patch and solvent on my Dewey rod. Produces excellent results, 17 HMR is a non corrosive round and for the most part burns very clean. I have shot about 1500 rounds through my Savage and it still groups like the day I bought it.
 
Honestly, it is good practice to maintain your rifle, however, that is way to much work. Hopes 9 on a bore snake pulled three or four times followed by a clean patch and solvent on my Dewey rod. Produces excellent results, 17 HMR is a non corrosive round and for the most part burns very clean. I have shot about 1500 rounds through my Savage and it still groups like the day I bought it.

so then it should be quite forgiving... and with this foaming product it should be fine.. maybe once its gone, i will just switch to the good bore solvent and mop then patches... and see how it compares.

I like to experiment, and this product really caught my interest.. easy.. insert nozzle thru breech, spray 4 seconds, foam expands and drips from muzzle a bit... let sit one hour, run patches thru til clean.. done and easy :)

this is the product
http://www.sharpshootr.com/wipeout.htm
 
The rifling on these small caliber rounds are a lot tuffer than people make them out to be. However 15-20 patches is just ridiculous, even just Hopes 9 on patches pulled through is enough.
 
well when i run out of this fancy foam stuff (which is kinda fun to experiment with) I'll use my other stuff...
Got a can of "Hunters extreme copper melt" bore cleaner.. says theres enough for like 500 cleanings of my rifle in one little can... just fire it through on nylon brush wrapped in patches, or a bore mop followed by a nylon brush 10 or 15 strokes... then dry patch til clean. it says 1 or 2 patches will do.

The experimenting is fun. Though the Hunters stuff has ammonia in it. I cant find ingredients on the hoppes 9 or hoppes elite line... it looks pretty legit in that "old school has worked since forever" kind of way.

Just love learning about all the different stuff...

Another miracle product, if you believe the writeup.
http://www.riflemagazine.com/magazine/article.cfm?tocid=1097&magid=78
 
The smaller the bore, the more it is affected by even a small amount of abnormal fouling.
Those 17's are in the "small" category.
Keeping them clean is a good idea, but of course, some will require more attention than will others.
I have a CZ 452 American in 17HMR, and it will take a lot of shooting before accuracy starts to degrade. [>200 rounds]
A friend has a Savage that starts to go downhill after about 60 rounds, and accuracy returns after a cleaning.
I had a wonderfully accurate Ruger 77/22WMR, but it demanded cleaning every 50 rounds or accuracy went out the window.
BTW, the patches do NOT have to come out absolutely white.
Regards, Eagleye.
 
The first few I toss, and then I fold them the other way, then finish up on the clean ones.
If you're frugal, the not so dirty ones you can use next time around as the first ones.
 
soaked it overnight in wipeout, then a fresh shot in the morning and a quick run with a nylon brush (2 strokes) and a dozen patches, they are damn near perfectly white, just some trace lines.
the first ones came out filthy.. even though i did a 4 hour soak, nylon brush, and patches yesterday afternoon!

Should be damn near perfect in there now... so i shouldnt have to do such a bigtime cleaning again for a long time...

next time at the range, when i come home i'll try the wipeout with a bore cleaning snake, and follow with a few patches and see if that gives me better results quicker...

those bore snakes arent damaging to the rifling or anything i shouldnt think?

anyways, i'm really glad now i have a solid baseline to work with.

This rifle is great, it must have been pretty dirty at the range after 250 rounds and it still put 5 inside a dime without a wanderer fairly consistently, and i wouldnt call myself an experienced shooter... just kinda nerdy about it.
 
A brush is going to get into the rifling better than a patch, pull the bolt and run a nylon brush through a few times from the breach. Then see how many patches it takes. I think you're just picking up residue from the rifling.
 
yeah ive always done it by removing the bolt and going thru the breech, my brother taught me to never go back and forth, always push thru, take the brush off, remove, and repeat... always pushing forward. usually about 5 strokes then patches.

clean as a whistle now :)

i usually let the rifle sit open for an hour or two after cleaning, to let any air circulate, moisture evaporate, chemicals breeze away...
plus its nice to look at.
 
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