Anyone in my area who could help?

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Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by jennageit » 26 Oct 2014, 7:01 pm

Hi guys,

I live just out of Leongatha, in South Gippsland, Victoria.

Currently I'm a member of a rifle club, and as yet to purchase my first rifle.

Although I love it at the club, and the guys are happy to answer my questions, none seem interested in showing me how to properly take care of a rifle. I haven't got the faintest idea how to strip one down to clean it, or even if it's necessary to do a complete strip of the rifle before cleaning.
(On a side note, one member mentioned that he hasn't cleaned his rifle in about twelve months, and he shoots with it at least twice a week, using whatever ammunition is on hand). He's always having to stop shooting because a casing is stuck, or it's misfiring etc. Not someone I want to ask about rifle maintenance.

Is there someone in this area that would be willing to spend some time with me to teach me these things? I'm happy to pay for their time. By the way, I'm not sure how different maintenance would be between a rifle and a shotgun, but I'm only into rifles at the moment, if that helps.

I want to know more than just how to shoot and hit the target. My first rifle is most likely going to have to last me for a very long time, and I don't want my inexperience to a) shorten it's lifespan, or b) cause me to do something that could end up being dangerous (just being general here guys).

Also, is there any truth behind the say that 'some rifles having a preferred brand of ammunition'?

Anyway, if anyone can help, please let me know, either by PM or posting. I'm happy to travel, anywhere up to about 45 minutes from home is all I can manage in the car at the moment, but I'll try.

Thanks in advance, and stay safe.

Jenna
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by North East » 26 Oct 2014, 7:08 pm

Youtube…what caliber are getting?
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Bennybigbores » 26 Oct 2014, 7:17 pm

I'm a way off in nsw, but I'm sure you'll get plenty of tips off this forum and many varied ones, following your posts you'll be getting a .22lr? Generally pretty low maintenance, if you buy a new rifle it will come with care instructions, I generally lift mine out of stock up to 3-4 times a year depending on usage, just for a general clean, lube and inspection especially if hunting in the wet, other than that a quick pull through with the bore snake after each use and a if its lucky a once a year copper solvent scrub, when you move into centre fire cleaning because a lot more critical to performance and safety but like I said new rifles come with care instructions and if in doubt do as you doing you get heaps of good free advice here ;)
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Oldbloke » 26 Oct 2014, 10:44 pm

Each rifle will be a little different the disasemble, but cleaning is much the same for all. Although center fires are treated differantly to 22rf.

Here is a link ti a good artical on cleaning.

https://www.ssaa.org.au/stories/hints-t ... EzsCmbZXMI
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Oldbloke » 26 Oct 2014, 10:44 pm

Each rifle will be a little different the disasemble, but cleaning is much the same for all. Although center fires are treated differantly to 22rf.

Here is a link ti a good artical on cleaning.

https://www.ssaa.org.au/stories/hints-t ... EzsCmbZXMI
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by T_M » 26 Oct 2014, 11:46 pm

I use a .20 Dewey stainless steel rod with a .22 jag (pointy tip) to clean the barrel of my 22. I tried some other 22 rod but it was too tight for my liking.

Barrel:
remove the magazine and bolt;
insert a bore guide (cut to fit my rifle... cost about $20 online from the US... local shop tried to sell me an $80 adjustable one);
wipe down the rod with some cloth;
runs some dry patches down it: pierce a small square patch with the jag; run the patch through from the bore guide and out the end; remove the patch from the jag; pull the rod straight back out carefully; (repeat until the patches no longer have much on them);
run some wet patches down it: pierce a small square patch with the jag; put a few drops of Hoppes oil on it; run the patch through from the bore guide and out the end; (repeat a few times) (i run few if I plan on leaving it in the safe for a month or two);
Wipe the gun down with a clean cloth/rag;
Apply some Hoppes oil to shine the outside of the barrel;

I don't put too much oil on the rifle. If I did, I'd probably want to store it upside down...

A nylon brush extension for the rod might be handy to run through before the patches (but is this a bit of overkill for a 22 rimfire?).

For the scope:
carefully wipe with some Hoya microfibre cloth.
Lenspen and/or other alcohol wipes might rub some protective coating off.


When I go out shooting I usually run some dry patches through to remove the oil.


I'm a newbie to shooting. You'll probably get better advice from other members or elsewhere. Better than sales clerks being wankers in general. E.g. While looking for a decent cleaning rod and bore guide - "Hey Steve! This guy wants to clean his 22. Do you know anything about it" "Nah mate. Can't say I've ever cleaned a 22. Haha" "Yeah, nah. Why would you want to clean a 22?". It was cheaper and less hassle to buy online from the US.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Warrigul » 27 Oct 2014, 8:24 am

To be honest the thing I love about my .22's is I never seem to have to do more than wipe the outside down with an oily rag. If it really worries you then buy a stainless model.

There are pros and cons to cleaning .22's especially when it comes to target rifles, for a hunting .22 being used regularly I definately wouldn't bother cleaning the bore just wipe the outside down after use.

Just my humble opinions.

I got caught in the rain about 11.00 last night(it went windy and cloudy- perfect poss weather- so I did the right thing and had a go) so I dropped the savage out of its stock this morning ( I use my savage constantly so I use grease on the hidden bits under the stock but oil is adequete for most people) just to be safe. Blood is just about the most corrosive thing you will ever get on a barrel and needs to be wiped asap.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by bigfellascott » 27 Oct 2014, 8:56 am

You don't need to strip down a 22 to clean it, just give it a wipe over after use to prevent rust, don't clean the bore, they shoot better with a dirty bore generally, wipe the bolt and chamber area over with an oily rag too and you done. You will probably have to clean the chamber every now and again to remove the build-up of wax/oil that is prevalent on 22 ammo (you work it out when cases have issues extracting etc) that's a good indicator that the chamber may have a build-up of wax etc on it, just use a cleaning rod and jag with a patch on it to give it a bit of a clean (twist around in a circular motion) to help remove the wax etc.

Yes you will have to experiment with diff brands of ammo to find what your particular rifle likes and shoots best.

Hope that helps.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by jennageit » 27 Oct 2014, 10:30 am

Thank you to everyone who responded, you've been a fantastic help.
I'm going to go through youtube to see what I can find as well, as suggested, but Bigfellascott, you've managed to put it all in a way that I can understand, even about the casings not ejecting.

Thanks again guys, stay safe and have fun!

Jenna
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by bigfellascott » 27 Oct 2014, 11:08 am

jennageit wrote:Thank you to everyone who responded, you've been a fantastic help.
I'm going to go through youtube to see what I can find as well, as suggested, but Bigfellascott, you've managed to put it all in a way that I can understand, even about the casings not ejecting.

Thanks again guys, stay safe and have fun!

Jenna


Your welcome Jenna, the good thing about the 22 is that it really doesn't need a lot doing to it to maintain it. I might pull mine out of the stock every couple of years and give it a full wipe over, I don't hunt in bad weather so there's not much chance of rust issues etc with mine. Keeping that chamber area is probably the one you'll do most and as I said you'll soon realise when it needs doing as the cases will want to get stuck on extraction - at first when it started happening to mine I thought the extractors needed changing but soon realised it was just the wax etc building up so gave it a bit of a clean with a bronze brush dipped in solvent and some dry patches to mop up and its been fine since.

And as you will no doubt no the longer you do things the better you understand what's required to make em better, just keep it simple and have fun and don't get all caught up to much in the competitive nature that can be target shooting it can get bloody expensive if you're not careful.

Anyway happy shooting and tight groups! ;)
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by bigfellascott » 27 Oct 2014, 11:27 am

Oh by the way Jenna just use Lanox or Inox or something similar to wipe the metal over with, you really don't need that overpriced stuff that has "Firearms or Gun" on it, that's just a crock of crap that someones come up with to rip people off with. I used Singer Sewing Machine Oil for years and never had a problem with it either, still use it in fact, never any rust issues.

Another one that's good for wiping down the exterior surfaces is bees/canubra wax. (Gillie Stevensons make one) but no doubt there are other brands that will do the job too.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Lorgar » 28 Oct 2014, 5:58 pm

Do I remember you saying you frequent the Clayton area Jenna?
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Bennybigbores » 28 Oct 2014, 6:31 pm

Lanox, top stuff my guns swim in it, never had any corrosion probs etc which I got using more expensive oils like browning etc
And the other one which I've only just used more so by accident is silicon wipes on the stocks and barrels, not to slippery, puts a nice shine on everything and assists weather proofing
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Oldbloke » 28 Oct 2014, 6:54 pm

Lanolin, sewing machine oil, Auto transmission fluid, 30/40 motor oil all good . Just a few other areas such as the cocking cam & the rear of the lugs may prefer a dob of grease
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by FuzzyM » 28 Oct 2014, 7:15 pm

It has taken some effort but I now resist the urge to clean my .22LR barrel every time I use it :lol:
I now just give the metal and bolt a wipe down with some spray oil.

I also have a bore snake, awesome bit of kit!
My plan is to use some spray and the snake on the .223 bore, followed by an oiled patch for storage, that is if I only put a round or two through it.
Then periodically give it the full treatment with solvent, wire brush, patches etc, at which point I will snake the .22 as well.

So many conflicting opinions on the web when you search for firearm cleaning! :o
Last edited by FuzzyM on 28 Oct 2014, 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by headspace » 28 Oct 2014, 8:28 pm

Bore snakes, didn't they used to be called pull through's?
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by Gregg » 29 Oct 2014, 2:50 pm

Probably not marketable enough.

Wedge snake in to the name, much more cool factor.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by bigfellascott » 29 Oct 2014, 3:40 pm

headspace wrote:Bore snakes, didn't they used to be called pull through's?


Yep - very similar/same as far as I can tell. Never used one myself other than in the Army.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by North East » 29 Oct 2014, 3:52 pm

As far as I can recall the L1A1 SLR which I used in the late 70's in the ADF had a field cleaning kit stored in the stock accessed through the brass, or whatever it was made of, butt plate. It was a pull through or now called a bore snake.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by North East » 29 Oct 2014, 3:54 pm

But we had to put a patch of cleaning material on it torn off a roll.
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by bigfellascott » 29 Oct 2014, 4:04 pm

North East wrote:As far as I can recall the L1A1 SLR which I used in the late 70's in the ADF had a field cleaning kit stored in the stock accessed through the brass, or whatever it was made of, butt plate. It was a pull through or now called a bore snake.


I vaguely remember it being a roll up kit, can't remember if it was stored in the butt or separate (I think it was separate) but just can't bloody well rememeber now :shock: farking oldtimers! :(
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Re: Anyone in my area who could help?

Post by North East » 29 Oct 2014, 4:16 pm

I was sure it was stored there in the SLR, maybe it was some other military firearm I used, or a different variant ….or the hippy drugs prevalent at the time.

The good old days…still like to own an SLR…but not carry it around the bush. I had issues with the gas regulator on it sometimes trying to get the semi auto action to cycle properly, maybe I hadn't stripped and cleaned it properly. :oops:
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