RIFLE CLEANING

[mike243]

Tonight my rifle barrel thinks that all it's birthdays have come at once, it is getting cleaned for the first time in somewht more than 15 years, I bought a bottle of copper solvent and borrowed a cleaning rod, god only knows how much copper and carbon has built up down the bore in all those years, tonight we shall find out

 

[Len the dog]

Tonight my rifle barrel thinks that all it's birthdays have come at once, it is getting cleaned for the first time in somewht more than 15 years, I bought a bottle of copper solvent and borrowed a cleaning rod, god only knows how much copper and carbon has built up down the bore in all those years, tonight we shall find out

Then back out tomorrow to put a load of rounds through it to make it shoot straight again.

 

[mike243]

Then back out tomorrow to put a load of rounds through it to make it shoot straight again.

that is the plan, I loaded 50 fire forming rounds this afternoon, I thought that they would be ideal for fouling the bore at the same time

 

[Jimbob39]

Was it starting to lose accuracy? I don’t touch my .22-250 and haven’t for the 8 years I’ve owned it. scared if I do it will play up!

 

[mike243]

Was it starting to lose accuracy? I don’t touch my .22-250 and haven’t for the 8 years I’ve owned it. scared if I do it will play up!

not noticeably so, I have bought a batch of new brass and different bullets so I thought that before I start load development I would give it a good clean and use the fire forming rounds to foul the barrel again, fresh start with a clean gun, but I'm with you normally, if it is still shooting leave it well alone

 

[MAH]

is getting cleaned for the first time in somewht more than 15 years

Hi. Have you heard of Galvanic Corrosion? It's worth a Google..

I think it might be a bit to late to clean that barrel.

Removing the copper now, after 15 years, is sure to exposed pitting caused by GC.. Exposed pitting will result in bullet deformation.

This is a classic situation that supports the old wife's tail. You'll need a few rounds down to cover the exposed pitting.

Whereas, regularl cleaning, to remove copper, would have prevented Galvanic Corrosion (pitting) in the 1st place.


M

 

[mike243]

Hi. Have you heard of Galvanic Corrosion? It's worth a Google..

I think it might be a bit to late to clean that barrel.

Removing the copper now, after 15 years, is sure to exposed pitting caused by GC.. Exposed pitting will result in bullet deformation.

This is a classic situation that supports the old wife's tail. You'll need a few rounds down to cover the exposed pitting.

Whereas, regularl cleaning, to remove copper, would have prevented Galvanic Corrosion (pitting) in the 1st place.


M

I think I might have gotten away with it, I cleaned the bore yesterday with copper remover and carbon remover and have just got back from a trip to a pals place who has a camera bore scope attached to a laptop, no pitting whatsoever, and the rifling is still in tip top nick, I think I had better adopt a better cleaning regime for the future rather than tempt fate, how often should I be cleaning it

 

[VSS]

I think I might have gotten away with it, I cleaned the bore yesterday with copper remover and carbon remover and have just got back from a trip to a pals place who has a camera bore scope attached to a laptop, no pitting whatsoever, and the rifling is still in tip top nick, I think I had better adopt a better cleaning regime for the future rather than tempt fate, how often should I be cleaning it

Regular 15 yr intervals.

 

[20-250]

The fact that you've borrowed a cleaning rod tells me how often it's going to be cleaned in future, regardless of any advice given!
Personally, I'd clean it after each use...

 

[Bowland blades]

All this " no clean " theory is shot down by the fact that the only repeatable state we can produce ( accuracy itself is something we can repeat or its useless) You cant repeate exact state of dirty. Having to shoot a few rounds to get the zero back means pitting, cracking and erosion has taken its toll . In a good bore you might well get the first shot shifting but its predictable in where it places ( often its a tad high ) should be over at the 2nd shot and neither should be relevant to killing a deer or fox .

 

[MAH]

no pitting whatsoever,

That really interesting
You must have done a good job at keeping it dry over the years.

Galvanic Corrosion needs two different metal (copper and steel) and moisture to act as an electrolyte.

M

 

[mike243]

That really interesting
You must have done a good job at keeping it dry over the years.

Galvanic Corrosion needs two different metal (copper and steel) and moisture to act as an electrolyte.

M

perhaps being a fair weather stalker has helped me out and the safe being under the stairs near the heating pipes

 

[mike243]

The fact that you've borrowed a cleaning rod tells me how often it's going to be cleaned in future, regardless of any advice given!
Personally, I'd clean it after each use...

My Mrs just found 2 rifle cleaning rods in the back of the cupboard of doom, a cheap ParkerHale and a not so cheap BoreTech, unfortunately the brass female ferrule on the BoreTech has snapped off, some engineering required, it looks too good to just throw away

 

[Ak51535]

My Mrs just found 2 rifle cleaning rods in the back of the cupboard of doom, a cheap ParkerHale and a not so cheap BoreTech, unfortunately the brass female ferrule on the BoreTech has snapped off, some engineering required, it looks too good to just throw away

Some of those cleaning rods use oddball threads, if you can get a die or it and salvage that way it would be well worth it

 

[VSS]

All this " no clean " theory is shot down by the fact that the only repeatable state we can produce ( accuracy itself is something we can repeat or its useless) You cant repeate exact state of dirty. Having to shoot a few rounds to get the zero back means pitting, cracking and erosion has taken its toll . In a good bore you might well get the first shot shifting but its predictable in where it places ( often its a tad high ) should be over at the 2nd shot and neither should be relevant to killing a deer or fox .

Can you zero a rifle with just one shot? As I understand it, in order to zero a rifle you need to fire a group. By your own admission, the first shot fired might be a bit out due to having a clean bore, so that can be discounted. Therefore the zero group is always obtained from a dirty barrel.
Although the clean bore shot may be repeatable, it's not going to correspond with your zero, so it's pretty worthless.
And besides, one would hope to have the opportunity of shooting more than one deer / fox / rabbit (delete as appropriate) per outing, without having to pause between shots to clean the rifle.

 

[Bowland blades]

Can you zero a rifle with just one shot? As I understand it, in order to zero a rifle you need to fire a group. By your own admission, the first shot fired might be a bit out due to having a clean bore, so that can be discounted. Therefore the zero group is always obtained from a dirty barrel.
Although the clean bore shot may be repeatable, it's not going to correspond with your zero, so it's pretty worthless.
And besides, one would hope to have the opportunity of shooting more than one deer / fox / rabbit (delete as appropriate) per outing, without having to pause between shots to clean the rifle.

Yes you can do a one shot zero. So long as your scope tracks 100%
If zero moves from the first shot its a rifle issue and the best thing you can do is fire off a shot or two in advance of use . Personally i feel most " wont shoot to zero" at first shot rifles have a poor bore or poor bedding ( as regards MOA )

 

[RCS Deer Management]

Can you zero a rifle with just one shot? As I understand it, in order to zero a rifle you need to fire a group. By your own admission, the first shot fired might be a bit out due to having a clean bore, so that can be discounted. Therefore the zero group is always obtained from a dirty barrel.
Although the clean bore shot may be repeatable, it's not going to correspond with your zero, so it's pretty worthless.
And besides, one would hope to have the opportunity of shooting more than one deer / fox / rabbit (delete as appropriate) per outing, without having to pause between shots to clean the rifle.

I think that it’s well proven in this day an age that it is optimal to clean your rifle after every use. Is it necessary to kill deer? No, plenty of people keep a dirty rifle, but you shouldn’t try to justify what is essentially laziness with far fetched excuses as to why it’s actually better. When was the last time you saw someone who truly cared about accuracy keep a dirty barrel (f class or benchrest shooters). The tests have been done and it is 100% better to clean regularly. Again, I’m not slating you for not cleaning yours, if you get away with it then good for you

 

[kenbro]

I’ve found with most rifles I’ve had that after cleaning I need to fire a few shots before they properly ( Better than minute of deer) settle down.
And then, they will only allow so many shots before accuracy starts to fall off, but not enough to not be minute of deer, but not target accuracy.
You can shoot the first shot from a clean barrel and then move the sights to the shot and each clean barrel shot will be Bob on.
Ken.

 

[Steff]

I’ve found with most rifles I’ve had that after cleaning I need to fire a few shots before they properly ( Better than minute of deer) settle down.
And then, they will only allow so many shots before accuracy starts to fall off, but not enough to not be minute of deer, but not target accuracy.
You can shoot the first shot from a clean barrel and then move the sights to the shot and each clean barrel shot will be Bob on.
Ken.

Have you ever had a brand new barrel that you have cleaned properly after every use?
What you describe is commonly seen on ‚pre-damaged‘ (already pitted) barrels.

 

[RCS Deer Management]

Have you ever had a brand new barrel that you have cleaned properly after every use?
What you describe is commonly seen on ‚pre-damaged‘ (already pitted) barrels.

Yes, if you’re barrel needs fouling shots after a clean then it has a damaged, corroded or imperfect bore