Zappa wrote:Im reading here, most ppl have a dislike for sweets 7.62 due to its harshness and odor .
What are the absolute minimum products i need for cleaning a .22LR and a .223 ?
Im thinking
1) a can of G96 gun treatment
2) One piece rod. Swivel optional?
3) Brass brush head
4) Nylon brush head
5) Jags to suit
6) Pack of wads.
7) White spirits or Shellite.
8) Cotton Flannelette rags.
With respect to solvents, whats a good all round solvent not as potent as Sweets, used for mild lead and copper fouling ???
I also watched a few youtubes about cleaning. Particularly around copper and lead removal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYINxnvaxucThis gentleman comes across as highly knowledgeable and frankly knows his stuff. Provides a balanced argument wrt to solvents and leaving the copper plating ( caused by the projectiles) in the barrel . Akin to 'conditioning or seasoning' it makes sense to me.
The only challenge i can foresee is how clean is clean. And how much copper "fouling" should I be removing. ?
I remember my grand-pops would swear about seasoning his cast iron pans, and his favorite smoke pipe. I attempted to clean it for him once and he cut loose on me. " other than a quick pipe chute clean, i never touch the pipe pod, cause it'll take me ages to season it. "
A one-piece rod, preferably coated or carbon fibre.
I've been using Outers Nitro Solvent Gun Cleaner. for cleaning (any solvent designed to break down combustion residue, copper and lead would be fine). Gun Grease for waterproofing, and some bulk gun oil I bought online for lubricant.
Jags and patching material.
What do you mean by a "pack of wads"?
I use old cotton T-shirt for wiping.
I clean all my bores only when they start showing reduced accuracy.
I rarely use brushes, but if I do need to do some scrubbing I use nylon brushes - particularly for cleaning the chamber.
I prefer to let the solvent do the scrubbing and just patch out the residue.
I thoroughly soak the bore with solvent, then patch it out until the patches come out clean.
Between bore cleans I clean the rest of the rifle. Spray with solvent to break down the crud then wipe it out (a set of dental picks are mint for getting into tight places), then oil my hand or finger and wipe the metal surfaces. I strip the bolt to get all the crud out of the firing pin and extractor. Oil it, and grease the bolt and cam lugs (and the sear surface in the receiver). Then I oil my hand and wipe oil over the entire rifle - metal, wood and plastic. I generally don't disassemble the trigger group unless it's filthy. I just wipe any crud away then a light coat of oil. The steel that's hidden under the wood I like to wipe with grease for waterproofing.
Although I do own two different bore guides, I have a varied collection of rifles, most of which won't allow a bore guide so I don't bother with them at all now. If you're going to clean the bore all the time though I would recommend using a bore guide. I do have a muzzle guide for the muzzle loader though.