How To Clean A Really Dirty Rifle Barrel

All photo credits: Brady Miller

I'm a firm laic in cleaning your rifle throughout the season. Below are some steps that I've been using for a long time that my father taught me along with some modifications that I've learned from others. I've said it before, but everything I've learned in long-range shooting has been from my dad. He's a wealth of knowledge when it comes to rifles. Over the years, some of the cleaning solvents that I utilise have changed, but the general process is still the same for cleaning my hunting rifles. Now, earlier I get started, there are a plethora of ways to clean your hunting rifle barrel and lots of unlike brushes, mops, jags, etc that all work nifty. This is a method that has worked very well for me.

A semi-deep make clean is probably the best way to describe this process and it is my preferred way to get a rifle shooting where information technology'due south supposed to after all the target practice to punch in my loads and dope chart. The procedure beneath was washed on a Browning 10-Commodities Hell'south Coulee Speed burglarize in .300 Win Magazine.

Tools needed:

• Cleaning bench
• Cleaning rod (carbon cobweb or nylon)
  • I prefer ane slice cleaning rods
• Nylon brush (right size)
  • Nylon isn't as harsh equally other materials
• Jag (right size)
  • I actually like stainless steel then you don't get a false copper reading. For the commodity, I couldn't detect my stainless jag in my cleaning kit for some reason, so I used a brass version.
• Patches
  • Ensure they are the right size for the rifle caliber.
• Diameter guide

Cleaning solvents needed:

• Carbon remover
• Copper fouling remover
• Gun oil

Notes on cleaning solvents: There are plenty of unlike options out there. My family unit and I have used Hoppes, Gunslick, KG, Montana Extreme, Wipe Out, Shooter'south Choice, and Sweets throughout the years.

Pace i - bore guide

Place your gun in a cleaning demote or extend your bipod if you don't take a bench tool. Note: Always clean your gun with a encompass over your scope. You don't desire the solvents or brush to accidentally get on your lens.

Remove the bolt and identify the bore guide into the burglarize. I like to apply bore guides that have an O-ring to prevent the cleaning textile from inbound back into the action.

Pace 2 - Removing some carbon

Take a cleaning rod and attach the jag.

I prefer J Dewey nylon-coated and/or Tipton carbon cobweb one piece cleaning rods.

Next, take a cleaning patch, attach it to the jag and place a few drops of carbon remover on the patch. Run the cleaning rod with the patch through the bore, discard the patch and repeat the process a few times until clean. This process besides shows some of the carbon fouling.

This process is cracking for removing a large corporeality of gunk from the butt. Y'all'll instantly notice that the showtime few patches are pretty dirty.

Note: When running the cleaning rod or brush downward the bore, just let the tip poke out from the end of the muzzle. This is merely an extra precaution to protect the crown of the barrel (all the same of import if you have a muzzle brake removed).

Stride 3 - Removing copper

This step is where you'll work on the carbon fouling. Adhere the nylon brush to the rod and run it through the rifle bore (but don't pull it back through).

Once through the bore, you will employ some drops of copper remover solvent to the brush. You could add together the drops of solvent in the hole in your diameter guide if y'all adopt. I definitely practice it both ways depending on the conditions. Sometimes applying it to the bore stop prevents the solvent from leaking onto your rifle stock and peradventure discoloring it or impacting the laminate.

Now is when yous volition brush the bore like y'all're giving your teeth a difficult brushing. So, roughly you lot'll want to run the brush through the bore 25 to 50 plus times.

Side by side, attach your jag and run a dry patch through the diameter several times and bank check the stop of the barrel to see if you've removed all of the copper fouling.

For demonstration purposes, I pushed the cleaning rod a little further through the butt past the crown than I ordinarily would.

If you still see copper fouling, then repeat the above steps a few times until it's all removed.

Normally the copper streaks volition wait like brownish tinted streaks.

Pace 4 - Removing carbon

This procedure is very similar to the previous step except, this time, you're going to exist removing carbon in the barrel.

Take the nylon brush and push it through the diameter. In one case the castor is exposed, apply a few drops of your carbon remover solvent of option. Then information technology's fourth dimension to brush your teeth (burglarize bore) another 25 to fifty plus times.

After that, once again, run a few dry patches through the barrel and check the barrel for a clean look.

If y'all don't have a clean stop, repeat the process a few more than times.

Step v - Gun oil

Take your cleaning rod and attach the jag and so place a patch on it. Side by side, apply a few drops of gun oil and run it back and forth through the bore a few times. After this, take a dry patch and run it through the bore to remove any backlog gun oil.

End results after cleaning hunting rifle bore.

Pace 6 - Foul shot in the field

I've had a few different rifles that seemed to answer differently subsequently a cleaned barrel. Some rifles shoot cracking from a super cleaned diameter, simply others may non—all rifles are different. To be safe, I have a freshly cleaned gun back out in the field and take a foul shot to "settle a barrel down" so to speak. There's definitely a lot of reading that can exist done on foul shots and bore mapping.

In conclusion

Later you've completed all of these steps, your burglarize is now ready for your adjacent hunt!

Catastrophe thought: Keep in mind to always properly store your rifle cleaning solvents. This is what happens when y'all forget to screw the cap all the style down later some range practice.

Source: https://www.gohunt.com/content/skills/rifles/how-to-clean-the-bore-of-your-hunting-rifle

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