To clean or not to clean? Tales of woe with GMK

[TheTubster]

Please can I ask if anyone has had any issues with GMK recently? I returned my less-than-a-year old Beretta BRX1 with less than 60 rounds fired and was told the barrel is rusted and needs to be replaced. I also heard someone had the same thing with a new SAKO90. GMK are refusing to replace the barrels under warranty because they have not been meticulously cleaned after every use as per the manual. But in the real world, it's just not practical to clean the barrel after each use as then you'd have to go out and zero it before going stalking. Speaking to BASC and various other stalkers, they are baffled that the barrel should have deteriorated with such minimal use (and the rifle is wiped down after use and stored in a dehumidified cabinet). The norm seems to be clean the barrel:

1) after every @200 rounds
2) once a year
3) if accuracy drops off
4) if you knock the gun and need to check zero

So the Beretta doesn't seem to stack up to the adverts and I'm very hesitant to buy another barrel and have the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this issue or the lack of customer sympathy from GMK? As a relatively new stalker, all advice is welcome. I am starting to think that a different rifle that is more rugged with a "regular" bolt action might be the way forward.

 

[Overlay]

pull through after each outing whether shot or not, that’s all i do to all my rifles, never had a problem inside, if raining i break mine down dry and clean takes 5 minutes

 

[tim@tcs]

GMK, hmmmm, not had much love from them over the years, even with Beretta taking over the same people remain in the company it seems.

 

[wytonpjs]

Same lack of interest in a Cerakoting issue on my new Tikka T3X Wideland Veil. I too are far from impressed with them as a distributor but they do have good suppliers - issue is getting through GMK to them.

 

[Overlay]

few years back I had a ejectior fault on a brand new rifle after 3 attempts to correct they took it back, it wasn’t an easy route to be honest, not the best one out there for customer service

 

[Stevie/P]

Had similar with GMK on a new Sako 85 back in 2014 the stock started peeling common problem any way my gun shop sent it back under warranty they did replace the stock as a gesture of goodwill never admitted this was a warranty issue.

 

[plumber01]

I'm struggling to see why light rust would even make any difference to accuracy ( unless very deep)
Run a copper brush through it and a chemical cleaner, run a good few rounds through it and the copper should re-coat the barrel covering any imperfections from the rust. Have you tried the rifle since, or was it shooting poorly

 

[long_range_rob]

I run stainless Sako 75’s. They are zeroed on a clean dry barrel and I clean religiously after every use. The zero doesn’t shift and they don’t rust (Yes I know stainless can)

I have heard lots of problems with rust in the barrel on several manufacturers for quite some time so Beretta are not alone

 

[takbok]

@TheTubster cro moly steel barrels rust very easily in in our climate. You really do need to clean after every outing if you want to negate this. My Ruger and PacNor barrels both rust easily. My stainless tikka fares much better and doesn't rust noticeably so I clean it a lot less.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect GMK to fix this - put it down to experience. Clean your barrel better and carry on using the rifle.

You certainly shouldn't have to re zero your rifle every time you clean it.

 

[TheTubster]

pull through after each outing whether shot or not, that’s all i do to all my rifles, never had a problem inside, if raining i break mine down dry and clean takes 5 minutes

Hi, thank you for replying - did that affect the zero at all?

I'm struggling to see why light rust would even make any difference to accuracy ( unless very deep)
Run a copper brush through it and a chemical cleaner, run a good few rounds through it and the copper should re-coat the barrel covering any imperfections from the rust. Have you tried the rifle since, or was it shooting poorly

Hi, the head gunsmith at GMK UK stated that it was badly pitted and needed to be replaced - not just light rust! It was still laser accurate when I sent it in, it was just the bolt cycling that wasn't functioning correctly.

 

[terrier1]

I clean every time I shoot it. And it shoot perfectly accurate straight out of the cabinet. Why would it affect zero.

 

[TheTubster]

I clean every time I shoot it. And it shoot perfectly accurate straight out of the cabinet. Why would it affect zero.

Thank you for responding - when I was a target shooter, we were taught to thoroughly clean the rifle the same way after every session - but you always had to have a couple of "barrel-warmer" or sighter shots to check zero before shooting targets again as pretty much everything can affect zero including barrel cleaning. What rifle do you use as that sounds ideal if it holds zero well after cleaning?

 

[Island]

Please can I ask if anyone has had any issues with GMK recently? I returned my less-than-a-year old Beretta BRX1 with less than 60 rounds fired and was told the barrel is rusted and needs to be replaced. I also heard someone had the same thing with a new SAKO90. GMK are refusing to replace the barrels under warranty because they have not been meticulously cleaned after every use as per the manual. But in the real world, it's just not practical to clean the barrel after each use as then you'd have to go out and zero it before going stalking. Speaking to BASC and various other stalkers, they are baffled that the barrel should have deteriorated with such minimal use (and the rifle is wiped down after use and stored in a dehumidified cabinet). The norm seems to be clean the barrel:

1) after every @200 rounds
2) once a year
3) if accuracy drops off
4) if you knock the gun and need to check zero

So the Beretta doesn't seem to stack up to the adverts and I'm very hesitant to buy another barrel and have the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this issue or the lack of customer sympathy from GMK? As a relatively new stalker, all advice is welcome. I am starting to think that a different rifle that is more rugged with a "regular" bolt action might be the way forward.

I have no direct experience with GMK but the stories of their lack of helpfulness are legendary.

On a side note, and with regards to the text I have highlighted, is that seriously what is considered a "normal" cleaning regime? That made my teeth itch just reading it.

All of mine are cleaned every time they have been out of the cabinet, whether one shot or fifty. Or even without firing if it has been a typical Scottish day...

 

[terrier1]

I know a few target shooters and they are anal about everything. I shoot a Tikka T3 308.

 

[TheTubster]

I know a few target shooters and they are anal about everything. I shoot a Tikka T3 308.

Lol! That they/we are! Thanks - A few people I know are very pleased with their T3s and seem to be excellent value for money - might be the route I go down as I can't wait 4 months for a new barrel.

 

[kenbro]

If you haven’t got the rifle back do so and then a already suggested, give it a good deep clean (Barrel and action) then try shooting it.
If not happy take it to a gunsmith that’s closest to you and get it bore scoped and go from there.
If it is deeply (as suggested) pitted it sound like it’s been put away wet.
Cheers, Ken.

 

[terrier1]

It sounds to me that your rifle is not fit for purpose you need to take it up with the gun shop you bought it from and let them deal with GMK.
Beretta has a very good reputation for shotguns but not had any experience with their rifles. I have had their shotguns for over 45 years.

 

[Sinistral]

Please can I ask if anyone has had any issues with GMK recently? I returned my less-than-a-year old Beretta BRX1 with less than 60 rounds fired and was told the barrel is rusted and needs to be replaced. I also heard someone had the same thing with a new SAKO90. GMK are refusing to replace the barrels under warranty because they have not been meticulously cleaned after every use as per the manual. But in the real world, it's just not practical to clean the barrel after each use as then you'd have to go out and zero it before going stalking. Speaking to BASC and various other stalkers, they are baffled that the barrel should have deteriorated with such minimal use (and the rifle is wiped down after use and stored in a dehumidified cabinet). The norm seems to be clean the barrel:

1) after every @200 rounds
2) once a year
3) if accuracy drops off
4) if you knock the gun and need to check zero

So the Beretta doesn't seem to stack up to the adverts and I'm very hesitant to buy another barrel and have the same problem. Has anyone else experienced this issue or the lack of customer sympathy from GMK? As a relatively new stalker, all advice is welcome. I am starting to think that a different rifle that is more rugged with a "regular" bolt action might be the way forward.

This is an article from the NRA of the USA, furtively photocopied while at work years ago.
It wasn't in the Internet Archive or Wayback.Org, but I've finally found it in an old ring binder of tech stuff and scanned it.
Apologies for the scribblings. To get it up on the site against the 1MB limit it's been split into two parts.
It explains why cleaning a rifle every time is essential, and what happens if people don't bother.

 

[bluesako]

I clean every time I shoot it. And it shoot perfectly accurate straight out of the cabinet. Why would it affect zero.

what terrier said

 

[Overlay]

Hi, thank you for replying - did that affect the zero at all?

Hi, the head gunsmith at GMK UK stated that it was badly pitted and needed to be replaced - not just light rust! It was still laser accurate when I sent it in, it was just the bolt cycling that wasn't functioning correctly.

Hi Tubster
never ever had a zero problem after cleaning whether it’s pull through or full clean
i always check zero constantly on all my gear only problem I had with losing zero was with a night vision scope not the rifle that scope had a chat with a hammer instantly sorted