Cleaning Question

3881 Views 32 Replies 23 Participants Last post by 10X1958, Dec 30, 2020

powwowell

Discussion Starter · Dec 21, 2020

I acquired a single shot Anschutz over the past weekend. Later I'll post pictures, asking for help identifying it. My cleaning question is: Is the patch Worm system adequate for cleaning the barrel?

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Cleaning a precision barrel

If you choose to use a brush (which is alright to do) be sure to only use a nylon brush. I also use a bore guide and patches with a mild solvent. Sinclair's J-B bore cleaning compound could be helpful also. Check out YouTube videos regarding the product.

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Hi-NV Shooter

· #22 · Dec 25, 2020

lakiraly said:
If you choose to use a brush (which is alright to do) be sure to only use a nylon brush. I also use a bore guide and patches with a mild solvent. Sinclair's J-B bore cleaning compound could be helpful also. Check out YouTube videos regarding the product.

nylon brush won't do the same job as a bronze brush will. this comes from Anschutz themselves.

Lee

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hickorynut

· #23 · Dec 25, 2020

Hi-NV Shooter said:
I use a bronze brush after every range session and a 50/50 mix of Hoppes 9 and Kroil oil. I use the brush maybe 5-6 cleanings then they get used for the leade. I never use a pull thru, and only use VFG felt pellets for patches.

After cleaning I can shine a mag light down the bore from the muzzle and even with a tuner on the barrel, I am able to see the bolt face the bores look like a mirror.
they all foul in with 5-7 shots.

Lee

I agree with your post, I do however use 50% Hoppes, 25% Kroil and 25% Marvel Mystery oil, I recently purchased 50 .22 caliber Bronze core copper brushes from Champions shooters supply that seem tighter than the ones I have used in the past, Tetra brand, they do a better job cleaning. My annies shoot better clean. Merry Christmas to all

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Phillip Smyth

· #24 · Dec 27, 2020

Cleaning

Correct Cleaning - Pull throughs are good for lever actions - I may possibly use one in the field hunting if I get debris in the barrel muzzle. bar that i would not have one in a quality barrel.
many say you do not need to clean Rimfires or centre fires until groups start to spread, Q- why do the best competition shooter and Benchrest shooters clean their expensive barrels often to correctly maintain them and their accuracy performance.

Many will say but we always use a bore snake or do it this way well they are always wrong or not so correct. Proper preparation and safety helps with proper performance in all things especially the shooting sports.

For all Bolt rifle - I remove the bolt use a action Specific Delrin Bore guide- Anschutz model 54 are available form many, I import mine from Sinclair's Int -
this was taught to me by a multi world champion Benchrest shooter:

a. remove bolt, insert quality specific bore guide,
b. using a good quality - ONE piece Calibre specific Cleaning rod,
c. put two wet patches of lead remover down the barrel to remove carbon and some lead or copper, then one dry,
d. change from jag to calibre specific Nylon Brush and soak and then scrub the bore back and forth making sure your brush is always parallel to the bore, patch out with one wet and then dry , checking if the lead has been removed in rimfires,
If rimfire check for carbon & lead ring at the throat of your breach of the barrel, if visible spend extra time just on that area I use a short rod, I cut down and have it in cordless hand drill and soak brass or nylon brush and spin at slow speed if bad and been there for a long time a whisker of bore past as slow as possible, then wet patch and dry.
e. If copper / coated centrefire projectiles then use a good quality calibre specific brass brush soaked in copper and lead remover, scrub the bore them patch with wet, then dry's- check for any signs of copper. if signs the repeat buy wetting the bore with soaked copper removal patch - leave for 15min if possible or more then scrub with brass brush - patch out scrub with Nylons then patch out - if still signs of copper fowling, cap the muzzle and use some sweets to soak the bore - then scrub and patch out and then the nylon and patch out of a clean barrel bore. if storing put a lightly oiled patch down to coat with film of preventive lubricant- DO'T FOEGET TO CLEAN THAT LUBE OUT BEFORE TAKING IT AWAY FROM HOME TO HUNT OR RANGE just a wet then a dry patch. Do it as if it is a winning barrel every time, and it will look after you.

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Hi-NV Shooter

· #25 · Dec 28, 2020

Phillip Smyth said:
Correct Cleaning - Pull throughs are good for lever actions - I may possibly use one in the field hunting if I get debris in the barrel muzzle. bar that i would not have one in a quality barrel.
many say you do not need to clean Rimfires or centre fires until groups start to spread, Q- why do the best competition shooter and Benchrest shooters clean their expensive barrels often to correctly maintain them and their accuracy performance.

Many will say but we always use a bore snake or do it this way well they are always wrong or not so correct. Proper preparation and safety helps with proper performance in all things especially the shooting sports.

For all Bolt rifle - I remove the bolt use a action Specific Delrin Bore guide- Anschutz model 54 are available form many, I import mine from Sinclair's Int -
this was taught to me by a multi world champion Benchrest shooter:

a. remove bolt, insert quality specific bore guide,
b. using a good quality - ONE piece Calibre specific Cleaning rod,
c. put two wet patches of lead remover down the barrel to remove carbon and some lead or copper, then one dry,
d. change from jag to calibre specific Nylon Brush and soak and then scrub the bore back and forth making sure your brush is always parallel to the bore, patch out with one wet and then dry , checking if the lead has been removed in rimfires,
If rimfire check for carbon & lead ring at the throat of your breach of the barrel, if visible spend extra time just on that area I use a short rod, I cut down and have it in cordless hand drill and soak brass or nylon brush and spin at slow speed if bad and been there for a long time a whisker of bore past as slow as possible, then wet patch and dry.
e. If copper / coated centrefire projectiles then use a good quality calibre specific brass brush soaked in copper and lead remover, scrub the bore them patch with wet, then dry's- check for any signs of copper. if signs the repeat buy wetting the bore with soaked copper removal patch - leave for 15min if possible or more then scrub with brass brush - patch out scrub with Nylons then patch out - if still signs of copper fowling, cap the muzzle and use some sweets to soak the bore - then scrub and patch out and then the nylon and patch out of a clean barrel bore. if storing put a lightly oiled patch down to coat with film of preventive lubricant- DO'T FOEGET TO CLEAN THAT LUBE OUT BEFORE TAKING IT AWAY FROM HOME TO HUNT OR RANGE just a wet then a dry patch. Do it as if it is a winning barrel every time, and it will look after you.

Seriously you spin a brush with a drill!

and you do this to your Anschutz rifles

Lee

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ECC

· #26 · Dec 28, 2020

My battery drills can run as low as 2-3 rps.

I don’t think this is an issue with a nylon brush even at the crown?:bthumb:

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Asar

· #27 · Dec 28, 2020

I'm not going to give my opinion here, just throw in some of the actual barrel cleaning recommendations from three manufacturers - Anschutz, Bleiker and Vudoo, if anybody wants to read them. If you go through them you'll see even from the manufacturers themselves there are conflicting pieces of advice as well as similarities.

The commonalities are - all 3 recommend the use of a bore guide.

Boretech products and VFG felts get mentioned by 2 makers, Vudoo and Bleiker. (Draw your own conclusions as to the marketing aspect or not)

Anschutz recommend a nylon brush for light fouling and a bronze brush for heavier dirt. Bleiker jump straight into using a bronze brush. Vudoo say never use any form of metallic brush.

Vudoo say to stroke a nylon brush both directions in the barrel, the other two say to go only towards the muzzle for brush use.

Bleiker at one step state to use a moistened VFG felt and stroke in both directions.

This is from the Anschutz manual on the cleaning of a gun/barrel:

"If the barrel is only slightly dirty, use a plastic brush to clean it.

Oil the plastic brush lightly and push it through the barrel from the chamber end to the muzzle using a suitable cleaning rod and cleaning rod guide.

If the barrel is very dirty, use a bronze brush together with a suitable barrel cleaner and clean in the same way as with the plastic brush.

Push a cotton patch through the barrel several times to dry the barrel.

Maintenance Intervals - Before Shooting

Carefully remove excess oil from the barrel and chamber. The de-oiling of the rifle should be carried out at room temperature, as too many residues can be left in the barrel if it is very cold. Fire up to 10 rounds after barrel cleaning to restore accuracy.

After Shooting

Allow rifle to warm to room temperature with opened bolt (and opened snow cap - if available especially on biathlon rifl es). Carefully remove condensation water on the exterior parts. Dismantle rifle and likewise free individual parts of condensation water if water is present.

Clean barrel with plastic brush and cleaning solvent then dry with cotton patch.
Oil rifle with a suitable firearm oil, oil barrel with special barrel care products.

With new Rifle (up to 1,000 shots) on 100-shot intervals, then in at least 500-shot intervals

Clean the barrel with a suitable barrel cleaner using a plastic brush or bronze brush from the chamber to the muzzle. Do not pull the brush back and forth in the
barrel. Unscrew the brass brush outside the mouth and carefully pull the cleaning rod back through the barrel.

Push a few cotton patches with solvent through the barrel. Then follow with dry patches until clean.

Wipe steel parts with oiled cloth and stock with dry cloth."

Here's a link to what Bleiker recommend for cleaning: https://www.bleiker.ch/files/documents/Flyer_Reinigung_KK_E_2016.pdf

Here's the video on cleaning from Vudoo:

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Rick H.

· #28 · Dec 29, 2020

ECC said:
My battery drills can run as low as 2-3 rps.

I don't think this is an issue with a nylon brush even at the crown?:bthumb:

There should be no real problem doing this with a GOOD brush that has a soft, not steel, wire core. I have done something similar to this with shotgun barrels for decades with no harm done. The problems come in when people want to overdo this process and crank the drill speed up to mega fast. When you do that you lose all sense of feeling for what you are doing. Personally I wouldn't use a drill on a rifled barrel or even the chamber unless it was a last resort.

After 50 plus years of cleaning firearms I have come to the conclusion a bore scope really is one of the best things you can buy contrary to what some may say or think. I had a Model 52 S&W once that had an irregularity right where the rifling started out of the chamber. It looked clean and I couldn't get anything out of the barrel thru normal methods. I borrowed a Hawkeye borescope because I didn't own one and listened to the experts that said you didn't need one and discovered the irregularity was actually lead from the wadcutter bullets that had to be used in that pistol. Okay problem found and I worked my tail off getting the lead out of that spot only to discover the barrel was pitted in a circle all around the end of the chamber. Best guess was the lead was left in the barrel for so long it covered the end of the chamber and allowed erosion to take place underneath the lead residue similar to a shotgun barrel that has plastic residue left in it. Eventually I had the barrel replaced by Clark Custom Guns and they were surprised to see the pitting as much as I was.

The point of the above story is that I would have NEVER discovered this problem thru normal means. For all intents and purposes the barrel looked clean save for a slight ring around the end of the chamber that was next to impossible to see clearly with the naked eye. The bore scope showed the problem quite easily. Not long after this incident I purchased my own Hawkeye and went thru a learning process with it, where I noticed all sorts of things that I initially thought were problems inside barrels. It was explained to me that as good as a bore scope is it can be a Pandora's Box if you aren't careful. I can say this much after looking at the insides of a bunch of barrels, they all have irregularities and none are perfect. I keep perspective on what I am looking at and looking for. If you can afford a bore scope it is an invaluable tool to have and well worth the price of admission.

Rick H.

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Hi-NV Shooter

· #29 · Dec 29, 2020

Rick H. said:
There should be no real problem doing this with a GOOD brush that has a soft, not steel, wire core. I have done something similar to this with shotgun barrels for decades with no harm done. The problems come in when people want to overdo this process and crank the drill speed up to mega fast. When you do that you lose all sense of feeling for what you are doing. Personally I wouldn't use a drill on a rifled barrel or even the chamber unless it was a last resort.

After 50 plus years of cleaning firearms I have come to the conclusion a bore scope really is one of the best things you can buy contrary to what some may say or think. I had a Model 52 S&W once that had an irregularity right where the rifling started out of the chamber. It looked clean and I couldn't get anything out of the barrel thru normal methods. I borrowed a Hawkeye borescope because I didn't own one and listened to the experts that said you didn't need one and discovered the irregularity was actually lead from the wadcutter bullets that had to be used in that pistol. Okay problem found and I worked my tail off getting the lead out of that spot only to discover the barrel was pitted in a circle all around the end of the chamber. Best guess was the lead was left in the barrel for so long it covered the end of the chamber and allowed erosion to take place underneath the lead residue similar to a shotgun barrel that has plastic residue left in it. Eventually I had the barrel replaced by Clark Custom Guns and they were surprised to see the pitting as much as I was.

The point of the above story is that I would have NEVER discovered this problem thru normal means. For all intents and purposes the barrel looked clean save for a slight ring around the end of the chamber that was next to impossible to see clearly with the naked eye. The bore scope showed the problem quite easily. Not long after this incident I purchased my own Hawkeye and went thru a learning process with it, where I noticed all sorts of things that I initially thought were problems inside barrels. It was explained to me that as good as a bore scope is it can be a Pandora's Box if you aren't careful. I can say this much after looking at the insides of a bunch of barrels, they all have irregularities and none are perfect. I keep perspective on what I am looking at and looking for. If you can afford a bore scope it is an invaluable tool to have and well worth the price of admission.

Rick H.

I am not familiar with shotgun barrels, but I don't believe they have an angled leade such as a rim fire barrel. meaning the there is a straight chamber to bore transition?
so spinning a brush would not cause any damage I would think, but with an angled leade?

Lee

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Penage Guy

· #30 · Dec 29, 2020

The cleaning recommendations of rifle manufacturers, referred to above by Asar, are designed to minimize the risk of damaging the bore. Over-zealousness, improper methods, and a failure to use a bore guide can contribute to accuracy diminishing bore damage. As a result, rifle makers' cleaning advice has one thing in common and that is that they are designed to be safe and still reasonably effective.

While different bores may require different care and cleaning, different shooters may have different cleaning needs to match their shooting expectations.

While everyone should always do what they feel is safest, it's quite possible to safely use bronze brushes regularly for cleaning rifles. Many serious shooters looking to maximize accuracy potential often use methods a little more thorough or vigorous than those advocated by rifle makers looking to promote safe yet effective cleaning methods.

Former Olympian and World Champion Eric Uptagrafft, for example, says he uses a bronze brush after every shooting session, with as many as ten passes through his barrel. http://www.uptagrafftllc.com/tech-blog-1.html

The point is there are safe cleaning procedures other than those risk-minimizing methods recommended by rifle makers. But it is important to know how to clean safely and effectively.

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elohssa63

· #31 · Dec 29, 2020

Hi-NV Shooter said:
I am not familiar with shotgun barrels, but I don't believe they have an angled leade such as a rim fire barrel. meaning the there is a straight chamber to bore transition?
so spinning a brush would not cause any damage I would think, but with an angled leade?

Lee

Lee, shotgun barrels do have the angled lead that forms the transition from the chamber to the barrel. It`s called the forcing cone. Competition shotguns have longer forcing cones than do the run of the mill hunting shotguns. The longer forcing cone deforms less shot and provides a tad less recoil. Les

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Hi-NV Shooter

· #32 · Dec 30, 2020

elohssa63 said:
Lee, shotgun barrels do have the angled lead that forms the transition from the chamber to the barrel. It`s called the forcing cone. Competition shotguns have longer forcing cones than do the run of the mill hunting shotguns. The longer forcing cone deforms less shot and provides a tad less recoil. Les

Thanks Les for the information on shotgun barrels. I wouldn't have guess about a forcing cone, sort like a revolver's barrel.

Lee

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10X1958

· #33 · Dec 30, 2020

Regardless of whatever method the rimfire rifleman uses to clean his or her barrel this one thing is certain.

Everyone thinks their barrel is clean and pristine until they look through it with a bore scope.

I highly recommend the one in the link below. Be forewarned, you may go through a short period of depression when you look at the bores of your rifles with this little marvel of technology. After a while, you will learn to live with the little imperfections that the bore scope reveals.

Here is another warning. A friend of mine looked at the inside of his ears with the bore scope and hasn't been the same since. Just like the rifle barrels, you may think your ears are really clean until...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07TTQF24F/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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