QUESTION REGARDING MAINTAINCE OF GUNS

[aadhaulya]

Hi all,

I have been trying to find some topic on maintenance of guns at home, I own a .22 IOF revolver, Second hand 12 Bore DBBL seems un used and a 30.06 rifle. But probably being a "Computer Challenged Person' could not find any thing. Please note my process.

Normally after each shooting round I clean our the barrel using a copper brush. then a run a flannel soaked in petrol using a 'pull through string'till all the carbon traces in the barrel are cleaned out. Finally I spray WD-40 (I have tried Ballistol but it seems similar to WD-40 and WD-40 is much cheaper)in the barrel. And once a month or so I remove the wooden parts that are easily removable and thoroughly clean out the whole gun by dipping it in petrol and cleaning it out using WD-40, on all the moving and other parts. Finally I use a little gun oil on the moving parts and a good quality wax polish on the outer parts.

Now my questions are as follows.
1. Is that is the material and chemicals that I am using are good enough to use?
2. What Indian product could be used on the wood work for cleaning and polishing it?
3. What is the frequency and process that is normally followed?

Would be very grateful if the gun gurus could help me in proper maintenance of my weapons.

Regards

[Mark]

It sounds like you are doing a fine job as-is. Any suggestions I might make would be to possibly see if you can find something less smelly than petrol. My favorite is probably "odorless mineral spirits", but any solvent such as kerosene or naptha works, as does petrol. A paste wax works well on both the metal and wood. In regards to how often, it just depends but once a month sound fine. If you have a rainy season where you are concerned then do it more, or if it is dry then maybe skip a month f you feel like doing so. I may go a long time between cleanings but I always clean a gun after it has been used even once.

[farook]

I am sure each one of us has their own way of doing this, here is how I go about it.

1. Is that is the material and chemicals that I am using are good enough to use?

2. What Indian product could be used on the wood work for cleaning and polishing it?

I use only ballistol which specifically mentions on the label good for wood and iron. In case the weapon has been used extensively and has a non chrome lined barrel try this.

http://ballistol.in/robla-solo-mil-100-ml-p-187.html There is separate discussion on this http://www.indiansforguns.com/viewtopic ... 22&t=21165

3. What is the frequency and process that is normally followed?

As soon I return from the range. There is something in the gun powder that is good enough even to corrode match grade barrels. At the range where I practice the range officers clean all gun as soon the range is closed for members.

[Vineet]

Now my questions are as follows.
1. Is that is the material and chemicals that I am using are good enough to use?
2. What Indian product could be used on the wood work for cleaning and polishing it?

Petrol is quite smelly and evaporates quickly. I would advise you to use 'Klin lub' by G. Smith & Co, Pune. Its a very good product and is much cheaper than ballistol. It can also be used to clean wood stock.

To polish the wood you can use Mansion wax polish. Again cheap and easily available.

[aadhaulya]

Thanks guys for the prompt response. Being a professional automobile person I love the smell of Petrol (would live to get a bottle of petrol instead of perfumes) as a gift on my Birthday. I would also try out 'Kin Lub' as suggested and I wonder how forgot 'Mansion wax polish'. Balistol seems good as I mentioned earlier, but it is too expensive for me, almost 5 times the cost of WD 40.

Thanks again

Regards

[timmy]

There is something in the gun powder that is good enough even to corrode match grade barrels.

To simplify the matter, single base powder is nitrocellulose and has this reaction:

2(C6 H7 N3 O11)+9/2O2 -> 2CO2+3N2+7H2O

Dual based powder adds nitroglycerin to nitrocellulose:

2(C3 H5 N3 O9) -> CO2+3N2+5H2O+1/2O2

In either case, the results of burning powder are carbon dioxide, water, and nitrogen, plus a tad of oxygen where nitroglycerin is involved.

I've been breathing all of this stuff for quite a few decades, so I'm not sure what you are finding so "good enough" (whatever that means) in these products of combustion.

Furthermore, what does a "match grade barrel" have to do with corrosion? Such a term has to do with the close tolerances to which the bore and rifling are held and the smoothness of the bore, not necessarily the composition of the steel of which it's made.

There's a few problems with this statement.

[timmy]

Here is a little article on gun cleaning with an emphasis on shooting corrosive primed ammo. http://www.shootingillustrated.com/inde ... sive-ammo/

A lot of my shooting over the last 10 years has been with military surplus corrosive primed ammo, and what I do for cleanup pretty much matches what this article outlines.

Windex is a window cleaner that has a mild amount of ammonia -- it can be smelled when it's used. I squirt some on a few patches and then clean guns as I normally would. I have never seen any difference by using this method and it only takes the time to run a few Windex patches through the bore before following my normal cleaning routine.

Be sure to clean through the breech, not the muzzle. I use empty cases with the primer bored out, using a drill larger than the bore. (I have one of these for each rifle caliber.) Running the cleaning rod through this, I hold the case in the chamber to protect the chamber edge.

[aadhaulya]

Thanks Tim for the interesting article.
I did not expect the bolt to be affected but thanks to the article I will have to clean the bolt as well. However, I tried but could not remove the bolt.
Kindly advise on how to remove and install the bolt of the IOF 30.06 rifle.

Regards