Rifle Cleaning Advice

Blaser6.5x55

Active Member
As a novice I would like some advice on rifle cleaning.
I have on advice bought a bore snake for my 6.5x55 and my 17HMR
My question is should I apply some gun oil to the barrel before cleaning or some on the snake or not at all.
Also I would assume you pull the snake from the chamber to the muzzle i.e in the direction of the bullet is this correct or does it make little difference.
I have read on here some that don't ever clean their rifles and they hold zero fine and others that lose zero after cleaning.

All a bit confusing.

Advice appreciated.

Blaser 6.5x55
 
OOOhhhh are you going to get a lot of responses ... :D:eek:

All VERY confusing - but my opinion is that a snake is OK for the field if you have to. Other than that I use a rod and bush and wipeout - oh and a bore guide. Lots of stuff on here about cleaning but have a search for wipeout ... Some good video clips posted as well....

wipeout | Search Results | coriniumrange
 
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Would only use the boresnake in a rifle when there wasn't another option: I've one for my 10/22 and for a 357 Winchester 1873. The main issue is that they (a) are not that effective and (b) will wear the muzzle crown no matter how good you are.
Try a decent rod and get a bore guide. I use Tipton rods (carbon fibre) and have three: one for the 17, one for the 22-250 and one for the 30-06 and bigger. They're as stiff as a stiff thing and smooth. The bore guide is important as it helps reduce the wear on the throat.
I use a pretty simple routine: Ed's Red (just google it!) less the acetone for about 10 - 20 bronze brush runs, then KG12 to remove any copper and a final wipe out with Ed's Red and a then a dry patch or two. If you're shooting one or two rounds you'll not need the latter too much unless the bore's as rough as a badger's butt.
This works for me and has worked for years in my hunting and target guns...
Best of luck as there are thousands of techniques!
 
Don't use fluid on the boresnake as it will stay in the barrel after cleaning.

I only used the boresnake in the field as an emergency. The Hmr one will be a struggle when it's fouled.


I'm using patch out bore cleaner and accelerator, then methylated spirit on a pull through patch to remove residue, then dry patches until nothing comes out.


If this causes you accuracy issues then try not cleaning at all, or only every 50 shots.


There's no universal rule - just find what gives you the most predictable accuracy and stick with that!
 
IMHO the best thing to do with the bore snake is throw it as far as you can.

Get a good cleaning rod the correct fitting and size brushes and some good cleaning fluids.

Of course I am old fashioned in that i still use P-H 009 as general barrel cleaner. If there is copper fouling build up I then remove the powder fouling with 009 then wipe it out with flannel patches on a jag then apply Forest Bore Foam to remove the copper.

The only pull throughs I have are as collectables. Their being some original 303 Enfield ones. They are still wrapped as they came in drawer along with the oil bottles and that's where they will stay. I have several P-H cleaning rods that I use in cleaning I also use rods on the shot guns.
 
When I asked a similar question some years back the reply was;
"Why pull muck back through the bore time and time again once its clean" ?

Rod,patches and slovent for me when cleaning.


Brider.
 
I wasted £50 then !

Maybe not. You might find that the HMR takes along time to settle down again after a clean with sovlents. Mine does so I just give it a pull through with the snake if I've put more than a couple of shots through it in an outing and that seems to work. It does take a bit of patience to get it through a heavily fouled barrel though.
 
Both my Blaser barrels respond well to the wipe out treatment, as per the Corrinium range videos. Fortunately, they both retain zero after cleaning, certainly within the realms of my normal groups.

Regards

Alex
 
I use a boresnake when I absolutely must! i.e. if muck gets in the muzzle when in the field, the boresnake can be used to clear the barrel again. Doesn't happen often, but if you carry it with you...it's there when you need it. All usual cleaning with a rod & jag/brush as req'd. ATB
 
the issue with a bore snake damaging your crown is true, but if you use it with a mod on then the point of contact is removed from the crown of the rifle to the inner edge of the moderator, job done.

use it in the field at the end of the shoot etc.

then when home rods and nylon brush and patches etc.

no fancy stuff here,

bob.
 
Interesting replies.
Firstly I'm booking a cleaning clinic session with Corinthian next week for my 6.5, in the mean time I went to my local gun shop to buy cleaning stuff and he didn't want my money said he sold 10 times more snakes than rods and brushes so I was best sticking to the snake, I admire his honesty! Tried the snakes tonight In the 17 & the 6.5 and was gob smacked in how hard they were to pull through on both, thought they were going to break. Anyway I will see how I get on with the cleaning clinic and take advice there.
 
Interesting replies.
Firstly I'm booking a cleaning clinic session with Corinthian next week for my 6.5, in the mean time I went to my local gun shop to buy cleaning stuff and he didn't want my money said he sold 10 times more snakes than rods and brushes so I was best sticking to the snake, I admire his honesty! Tried the snakes tonight In the 17 & the 6.5 and was gob smacked in how hard they were to pull through on both, thought they were going to break. Anyway I will see how I get on with the cleaning clinic and take advice there.

Cleaning clinic ? I think I've heard it all now. It really isn't rocket science.

For a stalking rifle, maybe clean it twice a year, at the start of the seasons.

The boresnakes are deceptive. They can be hard to drag through the bore, but they aren't doing anything useful.

I have some resizing dies for swageing down lead bullets to bore diameter. When I suspected one was getting dirty I tried pulling a boresnake through it. There was almost no resistance. The die was a couple of inches long. A traditional bronze brush sorted it out, and gave the same resistance as if used in a rifle barrel. The same snake pulled through a rifle barrel seemed very tight and hard to pull. QED the snake was doing very little, the only reason it needed a firm pull was because it was the full length of the barrel, but with the weakest pressure.

Fact is that you are simply dragging a long fat piece of fabric down your bore. It drags heavily because it is as long as the bore. But it does nothing useful because it isn't tight. The brush bit with the bristles looks plausible, but compare it with any decent bore brush and you will see how weak it really is.

If you are serious about cleaning your barrel, by all means go on your course. I expect they will tell you to get a decent rod (I recommend Tipton CF), decent jags and nylon brushes (Proshot spear point and patches), and whatever fluids they make most profit from. Don't forget a bore guide too.

They will all do a much better job than a snake.
 
Like just about everything on SD - calibre, blasers, sako's, howas, Sacs/Basc, day of the week (;)) cleaning raises lots of views and passions.

It remains that improper cleaning can cause more harm than good - hopefully some agreement on that bit!

Personally not a fan of bore snakes for the reasons variously stated above.

Your rifle is an expensive investment - as well as possibly a cherished 'friend'. Good care is a worthwhile investment. Again we sell cleaning stuff, so appreciate I would tend to say that. No links nor particular axe to grind with Corinium. If a session with them gives you personally peace of mind, then more power to you and them.

Whether suits you specifically or the cleaning issue generally, I tend to put most faith in someone who uses what they sell, will take time to justify/ explain their choice in terms of what particular thing it is you are trying to achieve. And justify in real terms - ' lots of other people do it' doesnt really cut it! :D And not least will stand by what they recommend so far as reasonably practical.

The final test is someone honest enough to say there is rarely one way to skin a cat and in many respects equipment at the top end of its field all tends to perform well. There are very few instances where XYZ is absolutely the only game in town.

I could hypothetically debate with Sharpie over Dewey v Tipton v A N Other. But either would be top end gear and realistically serve you far better than the bore snake type cleaner - for long term care.

Good luck:tiphat:
 
This is barely worth the effort but..

Sharpie, do you know what I offer under a "cleaning clinic"? Doubtful.

You are obviously an expert on gun cleaning and have your own methods which is fine just as others do. However there are plenty of shooters who don't and wish to know more, some ask a question on a forum such as this and get a myriad of largely innacurate suggestions.

For some time I have been using Wipeout products, I run a commercial range and need to keep several rifles properly clean every week and thus far have yet to find any other product that works as effectively and quickly as wipeout. One of the most common questions I get asked is how to clean a rifle which is the reason I offer the service I do which is an extension of a normal range session where a shooter can zero their rifle, clean it thoroughly and then re-check zero after cleaning to give them the confidence they need to keep a rifle clean, they also get a discount off some wipeout if they decide it is for them - how many shops offer this but still take your money - the difference is I can prove it works and stand by it.

I do not sell rods, jags, patches etc because there are plenty out there which fit the bill, but I do supply wipeout as do others because it works, I even produced some simple videos to show how to use it easily and prove it worked.

I have never commented on bore snakes but do use one to remove powder fouling from the bore if I've only fired a round or two.

Why people not clean rifles is beyond me, sadly the two most common reasons (and this will stir things up) is laziness and not knowing how to. To all those who never clean and can still head shoot a fox at 400 yards, do you put a shotgun away dirty?

The fact is, rifles can lose accuracy if a build up of carbon and copper is allowed, these two will not 'damage' a barrel but the powder fouling residue will - take a deep sniff in your moderator after a few rounds, ammonia, one of the products of combustion of a nitro based powder, combined with oxygen produces moisture and eventually you get Nitric acid, the stuff in your car battery - you want that **** near your barrel?

I don't give a fig what products people wish to use (mostly driven by what the local shop sells) but I do advocate using at least something, I use what I do and I stand by that product 100% as do many other people coincidentally. As for the 'profit' side of it, that's been done to death times many on this forum in various forms from the cost of stalking to cleaning fluids and quite frankly it's just boring now - sadly rifle shooters are some of the tightest around, everything should be free and the world owes them a favour - change the record.

Blaser 6.5 will have a session with me where he can zero his rifle, clean it properly and shoot it again to make sure it's point of impact hasn't changed - if he wants to buy a bottle of fluid afterwards that's up to him - at least he'll know how to clean the barrel of his expensive rifle properly.

But as they say YMMV!
 
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I can respect anyone who has the presence of mind to ask for advice, however simple the question may seem to others, that's where real intelligence begins, using the benefit of others who have gone before.
 
I use a boresnake with the brush removed to get any loose crap out of the barrell, and do proper clean occasionally. Dragging a bronze brush through a fouled barrel will do nothing for accuracy.
 
I use a boresnake with the brush removed to get any loose crap out of the barrell, and do proper clean occasionally. Dragging a bronze brush through a fouled barrel will do nothing for accuracy.

You of course know better than Norma the Ammunition manufacturer and their rifle service shop.
 
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