How Do You Apply Solvent To Your Bore?

[pomemax]

Someone has to say it Cleaning is over rated.
.A lot of people clean differently to you because your doing it wrong or they are doing it wrong they are going to damage the bore or you are .
Some do clean ever time they use the firearm be it pistol or rifle some have a count system get to a number and clean .some clean when they get a bad hit on beast or target .
I have watched a guy at a range Strip a pistol and clean in jars and tupperware container of solvent yer dipping it into it then WIRE BRUSH not bronze or nylon after every 10 shots then lube then fire 10 clean was really weird to watch was taking about 15 min to clean each time when i asked why ITS SHOOTS BETTER ( it was a .22 Browning FN Model:Challenger i think) he asked when do you clean you pistol,s I walk away saying do you have to clean them and shot another 200 rounds down range with him looking on.
Didn't have the hart to tell him i throw them in sonic cleaner at home wish i had a sonic cleaner for rifle barrels lol .

[Bourt]

I apply direct to the brush too.

Dip the nylon brush in the solvent and run it though. Always is enough I found, no problems holding enough liquid compared to a patch.

[Title_II]

*puts on best Clint Eastwood impression*

"There are two kinds of people in the world. Grown-ups with loaded guns, and kids who load mags and clean bores.

You load mags and clean bores."



And mow the damn lawn.

[sandgroperbill]

That's why you merikans can't shoot straight

On a serious note, though, the most important part of cleaning for me is the application of oil, but I'm not going to apply oil to a dirty barrel, so I clean it first.

[Title_II]

Nice mate!

Not sure if there was confusion, but just to be clear, I was not calling Aussies kids.

Kids need to see their moms and dads cleaning and inspecting their own guns. Leading by example. But when we set up a shoot similar in scale to the invasion of the Falkland Islands, kids keep the guns running. They load mags, they break down weapons, and they maintain them. Chores are the price of admission and fun. There are few greater examples of work = reward. And there is a lot of experience and training learned. Like The Karate Kid movie from the 80s - Wax On, Wacks Off

[sandgroperbill]

lol it's cool

Just poking a bit of harmless fun.

To be honest, I've been impressed with this thread. I've seen elsewhere on the internets big arguments break out over cleaning regime and break in regimes because everyone does it differently, and only their way is right. None of that here, it's been quite grown up and respectful.

For what it's worth, I don't like to over clean. As I said earlier, I can normally get the job done just using patches, and I try to avoid brushes, but that's just me and I totally understand and respect other people using other methods, including brushes (though that wire brush comment made me cringe).

I clean after every trip, but that's more because I need to oil them as they only get out every few weeks or so. Having said that, as they're hunting rifles and only get a few rounds put through them during any given outing, they're normally not too bad. Load development and testing was a different matter, but the patches and a mop worked fine for me.

Now, If I was target shooting and putting hundreds of rounds through at a time, that would be a little different.

[Shorti85]

Dip the brush in Hoppes, feed through and partially back, pour solvent down barrel and then brush 7-10 times, let it sit for a bit and patch it out. Repeat process with Sweets. Then at the end I spray Carby cleaner down the bore and action then patch that out

[Apollo]

Dip the brush in Hoppes, feed through and partially back, pour solvent down barrel and then brush 7-10 times, let it sit for a bit and patch it out. Repeat process with Sweets. Then at the end I spray Carby cleaner down the bore and action then patch that out

That sounds like a very messy process indeed. Glad it's not my firearm.

Gave up using Hoppes and Sweets a long time ago for both normal and target rifles.

Get some Bore Tech Eliminator, especially try some after using Sweets and you will see just how much Sweets doesn't clean in the way of copper.

Use a quality Bore Guide, like a Possum Hollow with a Solvent Port and keep all solvents away from your action internals. Cover the stock in case of drips.

Eliminator, a half dozen drops on a not so tight patch. Push through only, repeat a few times. Insert a Nylon Brush into the Bore Guide partly and apply a dozen or so drops of Eliminator and cycle through the bore 10-20 or so times, push all the way through and back out without changing direction mid stream. Push out and remove brush. Wash brush in warm soapy water and dry, or in Shellite.

Be careful with the Muzzle Crown, don't go agressive pulling back.

Let the Eliminator sit in the bore from a few minutes to a half hour or more, your call. It's not dangerous like Sweets.

Push through a couple of fairly tight dry patches until they look clean, if not repeat the process and let sit longer.

After a final dry patch push through a patch damp with Shellite, let dry or another dry patch. This will neutralise the Eliminator if any is left. Run a patch with a few drops of quality gun oil through and you are ready for next session of shooting.

No solvent or fluid should be seen around the action, at worst a few drops might be around the muzzle end. Better to keep the muzzle end pointed slightly downhill. When finished wipe everything over with a clean slightly oily soft rag. I use Inox and/or Ballistol.

BTW...Ballistol is great on a Chamber Mop for cleaning out the fresh carbon from the neck area of the chamber. Also a small amount on a soft rag for wiping the soot / carbon off your case necks. If used as soon as possible after firing it will just about clean every trace off the case neck and keeps the crud out of reloading dies.

[headspace]

I never pull a bronze brush back through the muzzle. It's always a one way thing for me. I do it sometimes with a Nylon brush but never on the first run through. The first one is to get rid of the surplus crud and I don't like the idea of pulling that back through the bore. Second pass is either with a patch or a brush then let the solvent do it's work. I use Butch's Bore Shine and stay away from Sweets, it's too easy to leave it too long and the stuff is corrosive. I've tried patches, mops and brushes but if the solvent is doing its job you shouldn't need a bronze brush. Having said that I can't see it doing any damage. The muzzle crown is the vulnerable bit, and going one way only should be sufficient.
JD

[Shorti85]

Dip the brush in Hoppes, feed through and partially back, pour solvent down barrel and then brush 7-10 times, let it sit for a bit and patch it out. Repeat process with Sweets. Then at the end I spray Carby cleaner down the bore and action then patch that out

That sounds like a very messy process indeed. Glad it's not my firearm.

Gave up using Hoppes and Sweets a long time ago for both normal and target rifles

I'm new to owning firearms and cleaning my guns as per instructions from my LGS. Hope I'm not doing anything wrong or doing something to cause damage to my firearms

[sandgroperbill]

There are so many opinions on cleaning that no matter what you do someone will think its wrong.

My advice is don't be too rough. The barrel is tough, but the vulnerable part is the rifling, especially at the crown. You want the rifling to stay defined, and not interrupt it at the crown, as this will have an impact on your accuracy (damage the rifling where the bullet exits and you can destabilise the bullets on exit).

Whatever your cleaning regime, make sure all solvent is gone afterwards and the surfaces have a light coat of oil. Other than this, how best to clean is a matter of opinion, there is no clear and definite right way.

[Shorti85]

I was told when using the wire brush to make sure it is pushed all the way through before pulling it back through

[<<Genesis93>>]

There are so many opinions on cleaning that no matter what you do someone will think its wrong.

My advice is don't be too rough. The barrel is tough, but the vulnerable part is the rifling, especially at the crown. You want the rifling to stay defined, and not interrupt it at the crown, as this will have an impact on your accuracy (damage the rifling where the bullet exits and you can destabilise the bullets on exit).

Whatever your cleaning regime, make sure all solvent is gone afterwards and the surfaces have a light coat of oil. Other than this, how best to clean is a matter of opinion, there is no clear and definite right way.

and patch out the barrel before shooting.... remove all oil residue as far as possible. Particularly the chamber which must be oil free.

[Oldbloke]

How can we talk so much about such a basic thing?

[Title_II]

How can we talk so much about such a basic thing?

It beats doing the dishes

[Oldbloke]

How can we talk so much about such a basic thing?

It beats doing the dishes

I just did them too.

[Apollo]

How can we talk so much about such a basic thing?

Because so many people have so many different ideas and some of them are just down right destructive to your pride n joy.

The worst I have seen was a friend using a cleaning rod like he was trying to match the velocity of his bullets back n forth and beat some sprint record of how many cycles in a second. Should have heard the noise as he hit the crown hard on the way back into the bore. Thank heaven he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

I just stay away from ammonia based cleaning products and bronze brushes. Lots of chemicals around, some work better than others.

Some barrels don't like to be spotless clean to shoot the best accuracy in my experience.

[Lyam]

I use The Force to levitate the solvent in.

Easier on the bore than a brush