Gun care

[Safarigent]

Hi all ,
I am about to take delivery of my iof .30-06 rifle shortly and am now looking to acquire the requisite tools to maintain it properly.
I am looking for the following:
1. A hard rifle case.
2. Cleaning kit.
3. Bore guides.
4. Solvents for lead,copper, powder etc.
5. Lubricants
6. A bore light.
7. A bore sight.
8. Anything else i might have missed out on.
Could anyone suggest appropriate brands that they use.
I have j dewey in mind for the rods, but dont know whether to get a rod only or a set or what.
No idea about the others. Read a lot and everybody has their own likes and dislikes.


Also,
I found lots of conflicting information about whether you need to break in barrels or not.
Any tips on that would be helpful as well
Regards
A

[xl_target]

For rifle cleaning:
Cleaning Rods: a carbon fiber rod(best) or a coated steel rod (better), multi-piece brass rod (not the best).
Brushes: Bronze bore brush and a nylon bore brush
Jag: brass jag in the caliber of your choice

Many people are going to the OTIS cleaning kits. While this works great for the semi's out there, it does also work for bolt action rifles. For quick field cleaning, the Hoppe's Bore Snakes are gaining popularity (especially for .22LR)

Solvents: Hoppe's #9 powder solvent remains a favorite and Ballistol products have earned a good following. BreakFree CLP is also a great cleaner/protectant. I have used BreakFree and Hoppes #9 with no issues for over 30 years.

Patches: old T-shirts are a good resource as they are relatively lint free.
A note of caution: do not use Ammonia based copper solvents with chrome lined bores.

Links:
OTIS Cleaning System
Hoppe's Boresnake
Break-Free CLP
Pro Shot coated Rods
Tipton Carbon Fiber Rods
Dewey Brass Jags

Generally the barrel makers advice is followed. Some claim you don't need to and some outline a procedure for break-in. For a hunting rifle, there usually is little or no break-in. Shoot it, bring it home and clean it then shoot it some more.

[Mark]

You ask a good question. here are some of my answers-

First, in regards to oil I have maybe 6 or so different bottles of oil. For general lubrication I prefer automotive "Automatic Transmission Fluid", there are several different type but that does not seem to matter, just go into an auto parts store and get the cheapest "ATF" they have. That way you can be generous with oil and it will still last you almost forever.

In regards to cleaning rods, try to find a one piece rod if possible. I have tended towards Dewey one piece rods in steel, but also I have managed to bend then over the course of time. So the next purchase will be a graphite rod and I will see how it works.

Multiple piece rods work fine, but if you clean more than once a week you can also glue the sections together to get a strong one piece rod too.

Hard cases are very nice, but not a necessity but if you can afford it might as well.

For bore guides, take a fired cartridge case and cut the base off, then epoxy a copper or aluminum tube into it that lets your cleaning rod and patch clear easily. I use broken aluminum arrow shafts, but you may have trouble finding those so any thin wall pipe will work fine as long as the rod and patch clear.

[Safarigent]

Mark and xl, thank you for your replies.
A few questions more:
1. I am scared of harming the rifling by any clumsy first few attempts to clean the rifle. So, i thought i should also pick up the tipton bore guide kit:
http://www.battenfeldtechnologies.com/t ... -guide-kit
Does that make sense? Only problem, i they didnt mention what bore it is meant for, i need one for the .22lr and the .30-06.
2. There will be three rifles under my care and i need to use stuff which most importantly works and secondly, doesnt burn too big a hole in my pockets. Is ballistol okay to remove powder fouling? Thats what i have been using for my shotgun, hope its effective for rifles too?
3. Ballistol robla solo is an ammonia based fluid, so that cant be used oviously. What could i use in its place? Hoppes or break free?
3. Regarding atf, in a bolt action rifle, i am guessing the only place to apply it would be the bolt, right?
4. Also, is a gun vise advisable?
5. What about cleaning the chamber of the rifle? Do i need any specific tools for that?
6. Still waiting word for the hard case, as i am chary of carrying the rifle only in a soft case to and from the range.

The iof doesnt come with any instruction manual, it comes in a cheap cardboard box, wrapped in some plastic. Thats all. In the absence of an instruction manual and after reading the heated breaking in vs not breaking in debates, i have formed an opinion that there is no proof that breaking in helps.
What i plan on doing is to open her up completely, degrease all parts, remove all the muck that i can and then clean, grease and put her back together again.

And a round of applause for you kind gents, for sharing your thoughts and helping a newbie find his feet.


Regards
A

[Safarigent]

further to my efforts, i have purchased/arranged the following:
a complete j. dewey nylon coated rod plus bore guide plus muzzle guide plus nylon and bronze brushes and jas.
extra ballistol.
boretech eliminator.
a hard case from gunsmith armoury.
i already have a vise in which to clean the rifle.

what i am thinking about are the following:
chamber cleaning stuff.
atf or plain ol' ballistol grease for the lubrication of the bolt?
also, how important is it to make sure the throat of the rifle is smooth and to conform it to the bullets one will be using?
does anyone in india do this?
i probably wont be doing this myself, even if there was a problem. just want to increase my knowledge.
are go and no go gauges required?
what about a borescope?
i was reading about lapping compounds which you can coat your bullets with and use them if you have machine marks etc left in your rifle. again, any one from india done that?
what kind of rust protectant/lube do i use on the magazine spring and the trigger group? what about the bolt assembly? both inside and out?

[xl_target]

chamber cleaning stuff.
atf or plain ol' ballistol grease for the lubrication of the bolt?
also, how important is it to make sure the throat of the rifle is smooth and to conform it to the bullets one will be using?
does anyone in india do this?

Shoot the rifle first. Don't worry about the chamber, apart from making sure that the bore and chamber are clean and free of grease/preservative from the factory. With most hunting rifles you probably will never have to worry about the chamber, at least not the ammo quota limits in India.

also, how important is it to make sure the throat of the rifle is smooth and to conform it to the bullets one will be using? does anyone in india do this?

Don't bother.

i probably wont be doing this myself, even if there was a problem. just want to increase my knowledge.
are go and no go gauges required?

No, not for the average shooter/hunter.

i was reading about lapping compounds which you can coat your bullets with and use them if you have machine marks etc left in your rifle. again, any one from india done that?

No, don't worry about it. Not till you start benchrest competition, in which case you will not be using a hunting rifle.

what kind of rust protectant/lube do i use on the magazine spring and the trigger group? what about the bolt assembly? both inside and out?

Wipe it with an oil soaked rag and then wipe it dry. If you have oil everywhere, it will attract powder and carbon deposits. Usually grease on sliding parts and oil on rotating parts. Don't overdo it. Keep oil, cleaners, etc. off you stock finish.

I assume you are talking about the IOF 30-06. This is a hunting rifle. With your standard off the shelf ammo (including US made ammo), you will get about 1 MOA if it is a really decent rifle. If you can shoot 1 MOA to 300 yards, you and your gun are doing better than 80-90 percent of the shooters out there. What you saw Baljit do at 300 yards with his Savage; that won't happen with a hunting rifle or the average shooter.

Clean it after you are done shooting and leave the inside of the bore coated with preservative. Run a dry patch before shooting and repeat.

[Safarigent]

Hi Xl,
i will be shooting this rifle in the mavalankars at least to see how it performs!
so this will be my competition rifle.
as far as my ammo limit is concerned, i shall be using my dads ammo. he has a decent enough limit on his license.
i know it is a hunting rifle, but i cant spend the lakhs of rupees rich indians spend buying second hand rifles.
i would rather spend money on this rifle and work it up.

[xl_target]

From what we have seen, the IOF 30-06 seems reasonably accurate.
I am just trying to have you keep in mind that the rifle is what it is. While it can be tweaked to better its accuracy, there are some built in limitations.

Remember Carlos Hathcock, won the Wimbledon cup (1965) with what was basically an accurized hunting rifle. Of course, it had been worked on and he used match ammo but not everyone is a Carlos Hathcock. While the rifle is important, the shooter does make a big difference. You should also realize realize that these competitive shooters shoot tens of thousands of rounds while training.

That was time before there were many specialized Sniper rifles. In Vietnam, his rifle was a Winchester Model 70 in 30-06. According to Capt Land who recruited him in Vietnam to be a sniper, Hathcock's rifle was, nothing special. It was a 2 MOA (but never shifted zero) rifle. Still Carlos consistently made hits out to 800 yards with it. Definitely a case of it being the shooter and not the rifle.

All the best of luck in the Mavlankar's.

[Safarigent]

Well, the way i look at it, if it can consistently shoot in a diameter of 12 inches at 300 metres, i am more than happy.
so, if it shoots 3 MoA, i shall be pretty happy.
although i have a sneaking feeling, it will do better than that.
And you are correct, a rifle will shoot as well as the shooter!
I just want to make sure that there is nothing lacking within normal limits of reason with the rifle.
Thanks for the wishes, shall be needing them!!
Regards

[StampMaster]

I recently brought a remington all gun cleaning kit (handgun, rifle and shotty). It has wire and attachments for different calibres. I have cleaned my rifle just once in last 5 months, but I am worried about the use of hard metals in the barrel as it may deteriorate rifling.

I had the idea of buying of bore snake (come in different sizes, mine is .22) but could not as it was not available in stock.

I request the gun gurus about cleaning the rifle techniques, experiences.

[Vineet]

A rifle barrel is made of very hard steel and the chances of a bronze brush harming the rifling is very little yet one should keep few things in mind...

>>Never clean the rifle from muzzle end. Cleaning rod may rub with the muzzle and damage it. Always clean from breech to muzzle.
>>Be careful not to rub the cleaning rod with the bore. Use bore guide if available.
>> Always use a clean patch every time you go down the barrel.
>> Very little oil is required to lubricate the firearm. Excess oil collects dust and dirt.
>> Clean and lubricate your firearm once in every 2-3 months even if you do not use it.