Cleaning advice needed

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R

r6demon

Well-Known Member
Morning all,

I’m fairly new to all of this and I suddenly realised that I am spending more time cleaning than I am shooting, so I am guessing that I am doing something wrong!!

I have .308 and .17 tikkas

My regime:

Boretech soaked patch down the barrel (or I have been know to pour it straight down the barrel when I’m getting frustrated!)

Leave to soak for 10

Brass brush from the breech end down to the crown, remove brush and repeat 5-10 times (time consuming!!)

Leave for 5 mins and then start patching through!

I then almost always need to repeat this process 2-3 times to get the patches spotless (no black marks on patch)

I then remove the stock and clean everything with Napier gun gleaning spray including the magazine and breech.

A quick Wipe over with thin oil finishes off the process and back in the safe they go!

Am I being impatient, or should this process take a lot less time?
 
If its a bullet or two, I usually run the bore snake through once and leave it in the safe. If its a range day, a patch with the cleaner and a few afterwards until it runs clean. Then a drop of oil with the boresnake as a pull through. Again I use the rifles to shoot and believe in using it as a tool and then geting a new one when one breaks down.
 
first mistake .... Bronze contains copper , you will get faule indication of copper
second ..... Use Bore tec copper remover after first cleaning of the carbon , let it sit a while make a brew and drink it ! Then patch out , repeate till no blue shows on the patch .
third ..... bore guide ! they ensure alignment to the bore when cleaning and stop cleaning fluid soaking into your stock or bedding .
cleaning needs some sit n wait time , let the solvent do its work. spear tip jags and pre -cut "white " patches correct for your bore . Only brush i use is the plastic brissle type, the core is brass and again can give a false blue indication of copper . A jag doesn't matter as it is straight through one push covered by the patch on the outside .

ONLY CLEAN THE GUNS YOU WANT TO KEEP ! Many dont Clean and i have had it said " the next bullet down cleans them " Obviously not everyone can clean a rifle barrel , burnt powder attracts moisture and a coat of copper traps condensation under said copper to form pitting .

Sounds like the fastestest improvement would be
Couple of passes with carbon remover till the patch isnt black. Few well soaked patches of copper remover ( let it sit longer ) Patch out till they aint blue ( repeate if required ) . If the gun is going to be left a patch with a little oil on it can help with condensation issues in the safe . I normally dont because sods law i will need to grab a rifle to deal with something and forget the oil in the barrel needs to be removed ( use meths, then dry patches )
 
r6demon said:
I always try to ensure that the action is firmly sat in the stock, and then tighten down the two screws equally?
Click to expand...
Some are harder than others to get right , some dont even fit ! Guns that need running in or run out after x amount generally have pitted bores. You cant fix that once its happened cold outside to a warm house can fill a bore with condensation wait a bit before cleaning and the first patch through sorts it before the safe .
Another good point about bedding rifles is " the action actually fits correctly "
 
get rid of the brass brush use nylon/plastic brushes, get the correct stock torque setting for your stock ,its on line at tikka rifles. and only remove the stock if needed <it got a good soaking/covered in mud etc.>
 
r6demon said:
Morning all,

I’m fairly new to all of this and I suddenly realised that I am spending more time cleaning than I am shooting, so I am guessing that I am doing something wrong!!

I have .308 and .17 tikkas

My regime:

Boretech soaked patch down the barrel (or I have been know to pour it straight down the barrel when I’m getting frustrated!)

Leave to soak for 10

Brass brush from the breech end down to the crown, remove brush and repeat 5-10 times (time consuming!!)

Leave for 5 mins and then start patching through!

I then almost always need to repeat this process 2-3 times to get the patches spotless (no black marks on patch)

I then remove the stock and clean everything with Napier gun gleaning spray including the magazine and breech.

A quick Wipe over with thin oil finishes off the process and back in the safe they go!

Am I being impatient, or should this process take a lot less time?
Click to expand...
Yes, you are doing something wrong. In fact, two things:
1) you need to spend more time shooting.
2) you need to spend less time cleaning.

Get out, shoot plenty of deer, repeat as often as you can until the end of the season, and then give the rifle a good clean such as you describe above. In the meantime, an occasional pull-through and a wipe over with an oily rag will suffice.

(Hint: deer of one sort or another are in season all year round in the UK ;))
 
ashray said:
get rid of the brass brush use nylon/plastic brushes, get the correct stock torque setting for your stock ,its on line at tikka rifles. and only remove the stock if needed <it got a good soaking/covered in mud etc.>
Click to expand...
No bronze brush = no cleaning

This is not just an opinion or belief, like so many other things in barrel cleaning, but a fact.
 
Last edited:
Bowland blades said:
first mistake .... Bronze contains copper , you will get faule indication of copper
second ..... Use Bore tec copper remover after first cleaning of the carbon , let it sit a while make a brew and drink it ! Then patch out , repeate till no blue shows on the patch .
third ..... bore guide ! they ensure alignment to the bore when cleaning and stop cleaning fluid soaking into your stock or bedding .
cleaning needs some sit n wait time , let the solvent do its work. spear tip jags and pre -cut "white " patches correct for your bore . Only brush i use is the plastic brissle type, the core is brass and again can give a false blue indication of copper . A jag doesn't matter as it is straight through one push covered by the patch on the outside .

ONLY CLEAN THE GUNS YOU WANT TO KEEP ! Many dont Clean and i have had it said " the next bullet down cleans them " Obviously not everyone can clean a rifle barrel , burnt powder attracts moisture and a coat of copper traps condensation under said copper to form pitting .

Sounds like the fastestest improvement would be
Couple of passes with carbon remover till the patch isnt black. Few well soaked patches of copper remover ( let it sit longer ) Patch out till they aint blue ( repeate if required ) . If the gun is going to be left a patch with a little oil on it can help with condensation issues in the safe . I normally dont because sods law i will need to grab a rifle to deal with something and forget the oil in the barrel needs to be removed ( use meths, then dry patches )
Click to expand...
I’m using the copper remover and not seeing any blue, it all seems to be black marks on the patches which I assume is carbon? Should I be using a different cleaner first, if so what?

I will look for a bore guide because I’m having to take the stock off every time due to the residual fluids 🤦‍♂️

I assumed the brass brush would be better at getting the grime out of the rifling….? I have a plastic one, but I’ve never used it as I assumed it would add another delay to the process
 
r6demon said:
Morning all,

I’m fairly new to all of this and I suddenly realised that I am spending more time cleaning than I am shooting, so I am guessing that I am doing something wrong!!

I have .308 and .17 tikkas

My regime:

Boretech soaked patch down the barrel (or I have been know to pour it straight down the barrel when I’m getting frustrated!)

Leave to soak for 10

Brass brush from the breech end down to the crown, remove brush and repeat 5-10 times (time consuming!!)

Leave for 5 mins and then start patching through!

I then almost always need to repeat this process 2-3 times to get the patches spotless (no black marks on patch)

I then remove the stock and clean everything with Napier gun gleaning spray including the magazine and breech.

A quick Wipe over with thin oil finishes off the process and back in the safe they go!

Am I being impatient, or should this process take a lot less time?
Click to expand...
You're way over the top with your cleaning regime
Get a boresnake and run a single pass of the boresnake at the end of each session where the gun is fired.
That will be fine until there is a noticeable degradation in accuracy - at which point you can get all your fancy chemical out and remove the copper in the bore - after which you will have to fire several rounds to restore the accuracy back to what it was when you were using the boresnake

Chers

Bruce
 
mealiejimmy said:
You're way over the top with your cleaning regime
Get a boresnake and run a single pass of the boresnake at the end of each session where the gun is fired.
That will be fine until there is a noticeable degradation in accuracy - at which point you can get all your fancy chemical out and remove the copper in the bore - after which you will have to fire several rounds to restore the accuracy back to what it was when you were using the boresnake

Chers

Bruce
Click to expand...
^^^ Sounds about right! There is a world of difference between range shooting & the rifle that is used for the odd shot at vermin. I think it is more important that you store your rifle in an even temperature & low humidity environment. I'be come to accept that a few rounds put though it is better than a totally clean bore when I next go out. Grab & go. Geddonit.
 
Last edited:
r6demon said:
I’m using the copper remover and not seeing any blue, it all seems to be black marks on the patches which I assume is carbon? Should I be using a different cleaner first, if so what?

I will look for a bore guide because I’m having to take the stock off every time due to the residual fluids 🤦‍♂️

I assumed the brass brush would be better at getting the grime out of the rifling….? I have a plastic one, but I’ve never used it as I assumed it would add another delay to the process
Click to expand...
your best getting the carbon black out first , that should be simple though as in 3 or 4 wet patches ! Are you giving it any soak time ?
 
If you leave dirty , moisture from the air is attracted and held by the carbon deposit left the moisture can them be trapped by this, migrating under the copper leaving pitting behind etc . Your cleans will get harder and harder as the barrel wears and fire cracking makes a bore harder and harder to clean .
using a bore guide , good solvents and when in longer storage or under poor conditions add a light film of water dispensing oil in the bore with a wool mop - your gun will substantially improve its accuracy lifetime .
you totally cannot reduce the accuraccy and service life of a rifle by cleaning the bore between outings , you definitely can reduce it by not paying attention to cleaning etc though . From new it makes the gun faster to clean through the whole of its life as corrosion pitting is less
 
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