Gun Cleaning

[herb]

Do you guys clean and oil your guns after every range/hunting session or only every 5-6 months. I have found that accuracy of the rifle varies from clean barrel and a fouled barrel. I always shoot the rifle at the range a few times at the range and then take it for hunting with out cleaning the bore. I only clean the bore (with solvent) after the hunt trip. I may run the bore snake during the hunt or after range trip if it rains. Shotguns I clean after every outing.

Any experience regarding accuracy from a clean and fouled barrel? I know it differs from rifle to rifle.


Some of my guns were due for a cleaning for a very long time. Here they are the ones I cleaned and oiled recently.






Herb

[nagarifle]

hi herb

my practice is after every shooting session, pull through and lightly oiled for storage.

if in storage for long time then well oiled.

dry clean before firing, lightly oil the moving parts, before use, unless one is moving from range to hunting within hours then no need to clean.

[nm]

With Indian ammo... ...cleaning is one of the most important steps.....

Nishant

[nagarifle]

Any experience regarding accuracy from a clean and fouled barrel? I know it differs from rifle to rifle.
Herb

Hi herb

it would be most common for the accuracy to decline with fouled barrel, depending on the amount of copper etc, as a mirror polished barrel would give a good accuracy.

then again most factory mass produced rifle barrels tend to have some imperfections inside of the barrel.

but on the other hand i have not experienced good accuracy from fouled barrel.

[herb]

My experience is after a good cleaning with solvent and brushing the point of impact of the first 1 or 2 shots is slightly different (about half inch) at hundred yards from my subsequent shots. I was not talking about a badly fouled barrel.

Here are six shots from my 30-06 at 100 yards. I was using Federal factory ammo, 180 grains. After a good cleaning the first 2 shots went in to one hole at 10 o'clock outside the small circle. The next 4 shots were with in an inch. Counting the the first 2 shots the 6 shot group was one and half inch. This is not a target rifle but a standard hunting rifle in a so-so caliber (accuracy wise, its no .223 or .22-250), so no reason to complain but this is the pattern I have been observing. There is the possiblity of some human error as I was not using a proper stand but just bag to rest.

[Sakobav]

herb

I dont have a rifle but an o/u Shotgun and I clean it after two outings say every three months. Another factor for me is time and space.

Great collection can you list the names.

Best

[shahid]

As a general rule a gun / rifle must be cleaned after every shooting session.

After a hunting session where only one or two shots have ben fired with a rifleit may not be essential always to clean it, but a gun must be cleaned always will a pull through, and if deposits remain in the barrel then with a brush or further with a brass bristle brush.

Same goes with rifles.

If the gun is not to be used for some time, say a week or ten days then the bore should be lightly oiled, remember to wipe out the oil before you go out to shoot again.

For a rifle clean it and very slightly oil it before putting it away for a longer period of no use. If you do not intend to shoot your rifle for a good two / three weeks, lightly oi; it.

During the indian monsoons if the gun is put away in Indian conditions, lightly oil the bore and action and inspect every month.

[nagarifle]

hi herb

it could be the user who is causing the first 2 shots, i am not telling u to suck eggs, as ur are aware of the basic shooting principles etc,

just keep in mind that sometime the first shoots may go off a bit. ur pics shows that ur are not a bed shot, but a good one.

there are only three possibility , human, rifle, or ammo.

check the rifle barrel is not loose, check scope mounting, etc,

as for human error, just check ur self in case ur are flinching in anticipation of the recoil etc,

if the ammo is of the same batch then may not be the ammo.

hope this helps

[herb]

Thanks every one for your valuable inputs. My only other suspicion is the point of impact from a cold barrel is slightly different from a hot barrel in this rifle. After the barrel is hot it is contacting the stock differently, maybe a good bedding or free floating job will solve this.

ngrewal - The guns in the photo from right

Browning a-bolt micro medallion - .22-250
Oberndorf Sporter Type B - 9x57
Custom commercial mauser by Defourny - 8x60S
Brno - .22LR
Brno - .375 H&H
Beretta - 687 Silver Pigeon 12 gauge O/U
Brno - 12 gauge SxS
Remington XCR - .375 H&H
Win Model 70 pre-64 - 30-06

[nagarifle]

try putting a doller bill between the for end and the barrel if its gets stuck then u need to sand the for end down slightly. that should take care of it.

u got a nice selection mate, take care of them or else we in the forum will have a thing to say about it.

[Mack The Knife]

Herb,

You could free float the barrel to see if it resolves the problem. However, it is quite likely that it wont as I face a similar problem with my rifle whose barrel has been free floated. Have you tried point bedding on the rifle that shot the group above?

As far as gun care is concerned, I do not clean airgun and rimfire bores unless the groups begin to open. Centrefire bores are cleaned as soon as practically possible and all guns, irrespective of whether they have been shot or not have their metal parts wiped down with an oily rag atleast once a month. It goes without saying that the oily rag is employed everytime a gun goes back into the cabinet.

A complete strip, clean and lube job is a once a year activity or if the guns have gotten wet. Thankfully, the latter has only happened once.

[shahid]

Shoot more groups to be sure that the rifle is shooting a bit to the left.

If it is a hunting rifle, scope needs to be st for cold barrel point of impact.

Yes a warm barrel can shoot a bit differently, this is the reason why target rifles and Varmit rifles have a heavier barrel.

A good gunsmith in your area might attent to it by glass bedding it or rebedding it.

If the wood stock touches a barrel after it is hot on firing there are remedies to readjust the fore end of the stock to increase the gap slightly.

But fire more groups at least five groups of 3 shots each to determine how its going.

[TwoRivers]

In general, I'd expect the first shot from a clean bore to be a bit off, especially if the bore is a bit oily. You should run a dry patch through the bore before starting to shoot, and fire a "fouling" shot before shooting for accuracy testing. As to cleaning, depends very much on climate; and the ammo you are shooting. In a dry climate, you need not nearly be as concerned with the bore rusting as quickly as it would in a hot and humid one. If primed with corrosive primers, clean as soon as you can with a bore cleaner made for corrosive primers (hard to find these days), or with hot soapy water, followed by oil. Powder fouling usually does not affect accuracy that soon, but if your barrel is prone to copper fouling you'll have to clean more often with a solvent made to dissolve copper. Also, some smokeless powders leave more fouling in the barrel than do others. Air rifles need very little cleaning, as mentioned by other members; as do .22 rim fires, as long as the ammo is not corrosive. Don't know wheter your Indian .22 ammo is corrosive or not. Most light-barrelled sporters will open their groups as the barrel gets hot, which sometimes doesn't take many shots. Cheers.