Rifle Cleaning "Routine"

[cornfedkiller]

Never been much of a rifle guy, but I'm a muzzleloader guy, and with the powder I shoot, most guys say "just clean it like you would a regular rifle".

Well, since I rarely shoot rifles, I cant say I have much knowledge of how to clean a rifle the "proper" way. Anyone care to share your "routine"

Hoppes No. 9?

Put a few wet patches down it, let it soak? How long?

Brass brush?

After you are all done, a patch with gun oil on it and run it though the barrel?

 

[tstowater]

I'm waiting for an answer on this one. I would suspect that you may get many opinions on this. I have been told to generally stay away from brushes, especially the metal ones of most types. Based on shooting many different rifles, different ones and different ammo may require different treatment and that isn't the answer you are looking for.

 

[Dos Perros]

I just follow Lilja's instructions: http://riflebarrels.com/support/centerfire-maintenance/

I have one carbon steel barrel that holds the powder fouling like crazy, so I do more soaking and brushing with a nylon brush on that one. In my experience the stainless barrels clean much faster.

 

[rayporter]

benchrest shooters almost always use a bronze brush after each relay. this amounts to brushing after every 10 to 12 shots. if there was truly any damage done the gun would quit shooting.

basically this follows the lilja procedure.

personally i brush twice after every 10 shots. i run a wet patch then i will brush and run a patch then brush again and let it set while i load the cases that were shot. then patch it dry.

sometimes it pays off, too.

 

[rileybassman]

Some guns in my experience require different amounts of cleaning. My savage, for example, on a clean bore shoots 1 1/2 groups... After 6-10 shots, it shoots under a half inch. When I clean I use hoppes no. 9 as well as their copper solvent. I let the solvent soak for about and hour and then run patches through till the blue stops coming out. Sometimes I repeat a couple times. I only clean like this when the hunting season is over or when accuracy starts to suffer.

 

[robtattoo]

May I ask, what muzzleloader do you shoot & what powder are you using?
If it's a Savage Smokeless it's a whole different ball game to other front-stuffers.

 

[cornfedkiller]

May I ask, what muzzleloader do you shoot & what powder are you using?
If it's a Savage Smokeless it's a whole different ball game to other front-stuffers.

Its a Thompson Center, and I burn Blackhorn 209 in it.

 

[robtattoo]

Ah.
In that case clean it like a muzzleloader, not a rifle.
Warm (not hot) water with a dash of Dawn or Simple Green (or Ballistol, if you're feeling saucy )
on lots of patches. Keep running them through until they come out clean (I prefer a jag, some wrap them around a bronze brush. Either/or works)
After your patches come out Oxyclean white, run dry patches through until they come out dry.
Check for plastic residue. If you have any a couple of swipes with a brush should shift it.
If there isn't; groovy.
Next run an oiled/greased patch (I use whatever I have on hand as patch lube. Usually a mixture of beeswax & mineral oil) & you're good to go.

 

[robtattoo]

Blackhorn, like Pyrodex/777 is pretty corrosive stuff once it's burnt. Clean it up as soon add you get home.

 

[Eagle]

All the gun nuts I know won't touch their barrel until accuracy starts to suffer. I run a boresnake through my barrel a couple times after every 5 shots, but aside from that, I won't clean until I've either been in wet conditions for awhile or my accuracy goes down hill.

 

[robtattoo]

That's great with a center fire smokeless rifle, I do the self same thing.
The thing with muzzleloaders is that the residue from the burnt powder contains acidic perchlorates that are also hygroscopic. If left untouched for more than a day or so they'll start to eat away at the bore.

 

[cornfedkiller]

Ah.
In that case clean it like a muzzleloader, not a rifle.
Warm (not hot) water with a dash of Dawn or Simple Green (or Ballistol, if you're feeling saucy )
on lots of patches. Keep running them through until they come out clean (I prefer a jag, some wrap them around a bronze brush. Either/or works)
After your patches come out Oxyclean white, run dry patches through until they come out dry.
Check for plastic residue. If you have any a couple of swipes with a brush should shift it.
If there isn't; groovy.
Next run an oiled/greased patch (I use whatever I have on hand as patch lube. Usually a mixture of beeswax & mineral oil) & you're good to go.

Blackhorn 209 powder is not to be cleaned with water or water-based solvents. It states on their website to use ONLY oil-based solvents.

Blackhorn, like Pyrodex/777 is pretty corrosive stuff once it's burnt. Clean it up as soon add you get home.

Blackhorn is said to be non-corrosive and non-hygroscopic.

 

[rayporter]

and for a little entertainment google 'stuck bore snake'

 

[Eagle]

and for a little entertainment google 'stuck bore snake'

I should add that I use a .270 boresnake to clean my 280AI (.284), so it's not a tight fit but gets the job done. A little common sense goes a long way with the use of a boresnake.

 

[justin davis]

The question is can you clean a barrel too much? Ha

 

[MULEPACKHUNTER]

My mom used to say you could clean your gun too much but I'm not blind yet and still shooting 1/2 in groups. Lol