Patching out cleaning oil before shooting

[brouta]

Hi,

I do the normal cleaning routine finishing with a lightly oiled patch run through the barrel to protect it.

Do you guys bother patching this out before shooting it for the first time after cleaning?

I don't have it dripping with oil, just a seriously thin coat.

Should I bother?

[MeccaOz]

I dont usually , but it probably a good idea too, as it doesnt help that first cold bore shot. Ya could always just fire a fouling shot first though.

[on_one_wheel]

Always, I have even removed a shoelace and cut a patch from my shirt to make a pull through because I have forgotten to run a dry patch through before I left home.

I now keep a boresnake in my gun bag so I never get caught short.... with a hole in my shirt and a oily shoe lace.

I've been told that the extra pressure caused by firing through a "wet" barrel can be very dangerous, I don't want to test the theory.

[Hardcast]

Yes I do, every time. I use Inox oil very sparingly in my rifles, and a couple of patches with metho to remove it.

Not sure if it's a wives tail or not, but was told once that oil in the bore can cause a bulge. Probably more likely if the oil has run down the barrel and become a little thicker at one end.

[Die Judicii]

Most definitely clean it out with a dry patch before firing.
Its a minor inconvenience compared to a possible bulged or split barrel.

I even go to the trouble of visually checking to see that there are no threads left behind from the patch.
Quite regularly a small piece of thread will dislodge from the edge of a patch when using it.

Better to be sure than sorry.

[Baldrick314]

I always run a dry patch through before my first shot, never shoot with oil in the barrel

[on_one_wheel]

I even go to the trouble of visually checking to see that there are no threads left behind from the patch.
Quite regularly a small piece of thread will dislodge from the edge of a patch when using it.

Agreed, equally as important ... visual check

[Seconds]

Its a minor inconvenience compared to a possible bulged or split barrel.

Yep, this is what you want to avoid.

I know heaps of guys don't do it and it seems to be ok, after all if it's only a micron thin layer problems aren't going to be immediately visible.

Even without something as dramatic as a split barrel, I can't help but think the extra resistance of oil in their for the first shot puts more stress on your barrel, causing it to wear quicker. Over time I suspect it cleaning it out gives you a bit more accurate barrel life.

[brouta]

Message received.

Thanks everyone.

I've been slack doing it so far but I will do better.

[Oldbloke]

mmm metho is not a bad idea. Makes me thing perhaps a little white spirits or turps would be a good idea to remove the oils more effectively.

[Kater]

I've never gone to the lengths of patching turps through to clean the oil, but always a dry patch.

I don't drown mine in oil for storing them though, just a light coat.

A single large patches takes out all the oil I can see.

[V22C]

i always service before firing including removing oil from the barrel ( not that it happens much on my .22) but definitely when firing a centre fire.

[beerhog]

im wondering if the need to clean all the oil out of the bore has been overstated. i always do it but now that i am starting to shoot cast bullets something has made me wonder. a lot of poeple on different forums recomend shooting jacketed projectiles to clean out a leaded barrel. if lead isnt enough to bulge or blow up a barrel then why would a smear of oil which is much more viscous cause a problem? just thinking out loud really and i do have a basic understanding of hydraulics but something just doesnt seem to mesh.maybe lead can compress more than oil?

[penthus]

Hey guys a bit off topic sorry but I have just received my first rifle (.243W) and was wondering if you guys would also run a copper remover through it as well as a clean?

I know that nearly everyone agrees it should get a clean before shooting a factory gun but am unsure on if there is any need to use a copper remover or is that only after a few shots?

Hoping to run my rifle in soon and just want to get all my information correct.

Cheers for any help and I have already learnt a lot from what is on the forums.

[Die Judicii]

Hi Penthus,

I am not an expert, but I'm willing to wager that you shouldn't need any copper remover.

Even if there were 2 or 3 rounds fired at the factory (do they still do this ?), a copper remover shouldn't be necessary straight away unless being a NEW bore it "may" be a little rough and thus pick up some copper.

Cheers

[Gregg]

Hey guys a bit off topic sorry but I have just received my first rifle (.243W) and was wondering if you guys would also run a copper remover through it as well as a clean?

I know that nearly everyone agrees it should get a clean before shooting a factory gun but am unsure on if there is any need to use a copper remover or is that only after a few shots?

There is no need to run a copper solvent through it the first time mate.

The reason you need to clean it the first time is the barrel will be full of oil or grease or whatever the maker has used to protect the rifle while being stored for sale. This can so be thick that if fired you could bulge your barrel, so needs to be removed.

No copper so far, so no need for copper solvent.

[Hilux2003]

Rule two - shoot from a clean & dry barrel, if at all possible. [rule one = identify your target].

Anything in the barrel will affect the movement of the projectile down the tube, think gasses or liquid & a plunger in a pipe.

The faster the projectile, the less time for the "obstruction" to be pushed to the side (as the oil is a fluid) or down the tube and at the motions & pressures involved it, the oil, could well act as a solid, having a viscosity & little time to deform = split or bulged barrel.............

For a new (to you) gun, be it pistol or long arm - clean the barrel.

Unless you have personally followed the manufacture & testing of the gun, you do not know what it has done and what has been done to it.
There could be anything in the action, barrel & or other areas and should be (at a minimum) looked at to see if you can "see" anything obviously not right.

The barrel especially needs to be cleaned & kept clean during 'break in' (some will dispute this) but it won't take much & some barrel makers insist to get the best life & accuracy.

Clean for general fouling cleaner (Ed's Red is very good, just google & mix your own, better than a lot of the commercial stuff), then for copper (I use TetraGun copper stuff & Sweets), then your choise of 'fouling cleaner' again - until there is no sign of either copper or other fouling.

Fire a shot.

Clean as per above............ do this three to five shots, cleaning between each shot .............. if you notice the patchs moving smoother, move on to three shots & clean, then five & clean.
By now the barrel will either be stuffed from cleaning ( ) or be smooth to patch out.

I use this on both stainless & mollysteel NEW barrels - all shoot within the expected limits of calibre/barrel size/design of the guns, over the last 20 years.

Second hand guns, well you just have to hope they were shot in properly & do some testing. JB Bore Bright & other paste can help with a barrel that has been abused, depends on how 'stuffed' the tube is when you get it.

[brouta]

Second hand guns, well you just have to hope they were shot in properly & do some testing. JB Bore Bright & other paste can help with a barrel that has been abused, depends on how 'stuffed' the tube is when you get it.

This was new from factory so no worry about past abuse.

Just taking care of it in future