Rifle Cleaning

[Payton Lee]

Just looking for some different opinions on the certain steps you'll take when cleaning your rifle, after a day at the range, after a hunting season when you're putting the rifle away for a while that sort of thing, any info helps! Thanks

[Dick284]

First off get the right equipment.

A one pice coated rod.
A bore guide.(assuming a bolt action)
A proper push jag, of the correct size.
Pre cut patches for your caliber.

There's some wonderful potions on the market. One such wonder is called Wipeout. This is a foaming aresol cleaner that works best when left in the bore overnight.
After letting Wipeout sit in the bore overnight, just run a couple clean patches through the bore, you will be amazed what comes out of your rifle.

After the couple patches use a product such as G96 complete gun care, which is another aresol. It is a great rust preventer, and protector. Dowse a patch with G96 and push it through your bore, and leave it be. You can use G96 for wiping down the metal surfaces as well. Don't forget to take the action out of the stock, especially if the rifle has gotten wet, and wipe the metal below the stock as well. Make sure your parts of the action that mate with your bedding are dried off well before re assembly.

It's good practice to push a dry clean patch through your bore before going shooting. I avoid cleaning my rifle unless totally necessary while on a hunt.

[oldgutpile]

Dick covered it pretty much bang-on! I am a big fan of G96 products (available pretty much any sporting goods store or Crappy tire foundation) and would put lots of emphasis on the right cleaning rod. Those "all-in-one" cleaning kits are OK for throwing behind the seat of the the truck for the occasional field use, but I would highly recommend getting a good one-piece quality rod.
Also a big fan of rem-oil.

[DiabeticKripple]

i use a one piece rod, push jags with pre cut patches.

start out with hoppes 9, usually do a couple wet patches then a dry and keep repeating until clean.

then i use kg12 to get the copper out, same technique as before, but waiting 15 mins between stages.

after running some dry patches down, i soak a few patches in G96 and leave the barrel wet like Dick said.

[JTRED]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

i use a one piece rod, push jags with pre cut patches.

start out with hoppes 9, usually do a couple wet patches then a dry and keep repeating until clean.

then i use kg12 to get the copper out, same technique as before, but waiting 15 mins between stages.

after running some dry patches down, i soak a few patches in G96 and leave the barrel wet like Dick said.

Do you try to remove the copper every time? I've always been told to not bother with copper removal unless accuracy starts to be affected. I run patches with cleaner through after every range visit until clean but I don't scrub out the copper. I cut my own patches out of old cotton t-shirts, seems to work as well.

[Savagelh]

If you want better patches than a cotton one, go to dollarama and get their knock off swiffer sheets. Cut to appropriate size and they work amazing.

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by JTRED

Do you try to remove the copper every time? I've always been told to not bother with copper removal unless accuracy starts to be affected. I run patches with cleaner through after every range visit until clean but I don't scrub out the copper. I cut my own patches out of old cotton t-shirts, seems to work as well.

Not every time

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by JTRED

Do you try to remove the copper every time? I've always been told to not bother with copper removal unless accuracy starts to be affected. I run patches with cleaner through after every range visit until clean but I don't scrub out the copper. I cut my own patches out of old cotton t-shirts, seems to work as well.

Some barrels shoot very well clean , while other barrels shooter better fouled. If your barrel shoots better fouled, then don't clean it until the accuracy falls off, unless it is exposed to moisture. I find that higher quality barrels that are lapped or finished better usually shoot quite well clean, while rougher barrels often shoot better with some fouling present. Test your barrels both clean and fouled, and you will see what your barrel prefers .

[260 Rem]

Regardless of whether you clean copper after every session, it is a good idea to push at least one oil patch through the bore.

[Kevin242]

In addition to the above barrel cleaning processes, I give my firearms a partial disassembly at least once a year. Things like the inside of shotgun magazine tubes and the inside of detachable magazines, hard to get at areas under sight hoods and scopes and even the sling swivels get a cleaning. Even clean looking areas leave an industrial Q-tip looking rust coloured sometimes!

I also take the stock off once in a while to ensure those areas not reachable otherwise get cleaned and treated. Using a torque screwdriver, I have not had stock removal and reassembly change my bullet point of impact, but I do range-check it anyway.