Rifle cleaning advice sought after

[snowcat308]

G'day from Australia,

I am new to long range rifle target shooting, coming from a background of skeet shooting and short range 22 cal target shooting. I have decided to try the long range dicipline out so I have purchased and registered a CZ 750 S1 M1 Sniper in 308 cal to myself. I have attached a cheaper scope to it for now, to be replaced with a more expensive one later.

Firstly on the subject of breaking in, aparently with a new centrefire it is beneficial to fire a shot then clean the barrel and repeat the whole thing ten times for break in. The CZ factory however states that the CZ 750 S1 M1 barrel is hammer forged and lapped for an ultra smooth finish so break in is not advised. The firearm store I go to here still recommends break in in contradiction to the factory??

Secondly I was after advice on minimilist cleaning without using harsh compounds. Is there a product that cleans the barrel without using harsh copper disovants? I don't like the idea of using a chemical that needs removal after or it will eat the barrel etc. How many rounds fired per clean is recommended by you guys? And any products that aren't as harsh that fit the bill?

The firearm stores around the city where I live stock only the best products ie American made products (with some australian products that are aparently pretty good) so I can buy alot of what is in the states. Please advise

 

[TN-MadDog]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

This has been beat to death around here so you will not get many constructive responses. If you do a search you will find hours of reading. Here are a few links to get you started.

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[BasraBoy]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

Snowcat308 - G'day and welcome!

As TN-MadDog says.....a well worked topic with hours of reading available.

Don't be surprised if you get a bit of a flaming for the post...it is normal for newbies if there is a suspicion that you didn't search before posting!

Here's something you should add to your favourites list:

http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=010955838166721108978:qcbx5qqy10o&hl=en

It's the enhanced search engine and will get you a lot better results than the standard function.

FWIW - On cleaning check out something like WipeOut/PatchOut, if you're going to use brushes go with nylon ones (Sinclairs have them) and get a decent coated rod and a Mike Lucas Bore Guide.

I know this is a topic that divides into two opposng camps. I am a "reformed scrubber" but I still prefer to clean than not (a legacy from being taught to shoot by a guy who had been in WW1!!)
- I just modified my materials to be as unabrasive as possible.

I know a lot of people say cleaning damages more barrels than anything else - my take on that is not that the cleaning damages anything, just poor technique, inappropriate use of materials and the guy doing the cleaning.

As for break in - I always follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Like cleaning however, you will get a LOT of different opinions. Just do what feels right to you - it is your gun and your money that bought it!

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

Manufacturers recommendation for a factory rifle with a production barrel. Essentially, most anything a break-in will do will happen anyway without it, just not so soon. Precision aftermarket barrels really don't need break-in, and some will specifically forbid it as part of their warranties.

I clean if a fouled bore might be expected to be laid up unused for more'n a week or two. I don't want atmospheric oxygen and moisture to combine with fouling compounds and give galvanic corrosion (pitting) a foothold inside my bore. If nothing else, I put in a coat of preservative oil to cut the fouling off from surrounding air.

Accuracy can definitely be affected by fouling. A clean bore will become more consistent once it's been gotten to a steady state of fouling. At the other end, fouling can accumulate and drag accuracy down, but there's some heated discussion about how many shots are needed for this to happen.

Cleaning products which reduce the amount of poking and scrubbing inside the bore will reduce wear caused by cleaning (that's probably the leading cause of bore wear) and are the best, IMHO. I think bore foams are best aligned with this philosophy, and I use Outer's Gunslick Foaming Bore Cleaner. The borescope tells me it works very well, and it's the simplest, easiest to use product I've found so far.

Greg

 

[GorbashUK]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

Not even gonna go to the break in point as everybody has their own ideas about it but I have some opinions on cleaning.
I used to clean after I fired the gun now I clean my .308's every 150 to 200 rds. Accuracy does not suffer and it saves a bit of time. As for solvents the 2 best I have found are wipeout/ patchout and butches bore shine, both of which are very fast and wont burn a hole in your hands.
Its trail and error Im afraid, find a cleaning regime that works for you with minimal effort.

 

[oneshot onekill]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

I'm so happy to hear at least one manufacturer recommends against wasting time and money on break-in! A good barrel shouldn't need it.

As far as cleaning, I personally haven't put any chemicals down my bolt-gun barrels in at least 500 rounds and don't plan to until I start to lose accuracy. I do, however run a bore-snake thru it once before leaving the range. Many here don't like bore-snakes either so take that for what it's worth.

 

[sniperaviator]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

So long as you use rifle cleaning products to clean your rifle you will be ok. A copper or plastic bristle brush up and down the bore will also do no harm. Barrels don't really need any "break in". Just shoot and don't let them overheat.

 

[head2h2o]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

I have tried breaking in barrels and just shooting them with both factory and custom barrels. I wanted to see for myself if it made any difference. My conclusion, breaking in is a waste of time. And right along with that, cleaning the bore is overrated. Just shoot it.

On the occasions that I do clean the bore, I use Shooter's Choice to remove powder and KG12 to remove copper.

 

[Jig Stick]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

+1 on butches bore shine. My bench rest buddies strongly believe in cleaning. When they shoot matches they clean their bores between each shooting set. And when they are done for the day the clean again. They are firm believers in Dewey cleaning rods and brushes, butches bore shine, and FP10. They all use bore guides. They have so many because they have so many different caliber bench rest guns. I know they use Lucas and like them alot. I think they would probably vomit if I told them I dont clean my gun except after 500+ shots. They told me that cleaning doesnt accelerate wear of the barrel as long as you run dry patches through it when done using the solvent. And Butches is very nonabrasive as well. They use nylon brushes in their 6PPC, 6.5 284's, and 22-243 AI's...all their competition guns. They use regular brushes on their hunting rifles.

 

[AUJohn]

Re: Rifle cleaning advice sought after

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Greg Langelius *</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Greg </div></div>


<span style="color: #FF0000">^^^ THAT post was spot on, accurate and factual.</span>
Since you have a "smooth" barrel it's not likely that you gain anything. At most you get the feel of it.
I would likely do 1 and clean for 5 shots so *I* know how the barrel is, if it's rough.

If you had a normal factory barrel then it's often worth "running in".
The constand rubbish about EVERY gun not needing it is moronic based on limited knowledge and understanding, most often using quality barrel makers input on what the quality barrels they make need.
Clearly not the same as a $25 Factory barrel.
Even then, the benchrest guys, those that are only about accuracy do "run in" but a lot of that is just getting to know the barrel they are using.

You want a Carbon, Copper and possibly powder solvent.
Butches BB is mild and in my experience not a replacment for the other products.
Sweets works really well on copper when used as directed.