Thorough Cleaning

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Engdahl

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Could someone create a step by step cleaning process for after a day at the range? It would be handy for this new guy so that i make sure i am not missing anything.
 
Since no one else has...I will tell you what I do with bolt guns...

I spit patch clean the barrel several times after my last shot at the range.
Take the bolt out of the gun (bolt gun) and take the breech plug out.
Put the breech plug into a container of a mixture of dish washing liquid and hot water and let it soak while you clean the rest of the gun.

Put a large cotton patch over the bristle end of a breech brush and clean the breech area by twisting the brush in and twist pulling it back out. Do this several times to get most of the old breech plug grease/fowling out of even the threaded part.

Clean the barrel with a cotton patch dampened with Birchwood Casey No 77 black powder solvent or something similar and run it back and forth several times. Repeat until the patch comes out clean. Run a bore brush through the barrel dampened with BC 77 several times. I try to protect the trigger sear area from dampness when I use the wet stuff. Use the bare breech brush and clean/twist several times with BC 77.

Dry the barrel and breech by pushing dry patches thru the barrel several times. Use the breech brush again with a dry patch over the bristles and twist in and out to get it completely dry.

Clean the breech plug after soaking with a brush and pay special attention to the threads to get them clean. The inside primer end can be cleaned with a wooden toothpick or skewer stick that will fit inside cleaning and twisting until it comes out clean. The flash hole area can be cleaned with a sharp toothpick and a piece of wire similar to that of a twist tie. Once clean I get the moisture out by blowing with compressed air or blowing with my mouth then hot dry with a hair dryer. Once thoroughly dry I spray inside and out with WD 40 or light lube and tamp the excess out. You don't want this dripping wet.

Clean the hammer/bolt mechanism by disassembling the bolt and wiping exterior with powder solvent. Clean with spray solvent, dry, re-oil and re-assemple. The hammer/firing pin area of a break-down gun will need to be cleaned more than just wiping down occasionally. Since the firing pin and hammer mechanism is right behing the primer it will get crudded up eventually. Follow mfg instructions on dis-assemble and cleaning care.

Clean the bolt/receiver inside and out with good powder solvent and re-oil.

Use oil or preservative to wipe down entire gun inside and out. Run an oily patch thru the barrel. I use a lens-pen to clean the scope glass.

Grease the breech plug threads with appropriate grease and re-assemble and wipe out excess.

I hope I didn't forget anything as I am very meticulous about cleaning my guns. By the way be careful with spray-degreasing products that are used on firing pin spring and trigger mechanisms. Some can do damage to your plastic stock as I found out the hard way.

Hope this helps.
 
HARRY1......GREAT REPLY..i found 1 thing that makes cleaning inside the flash hole alittle easier an that is those little cleaning brushes that you would use on cleaning the tips on a airbrush paint gun.the smallest 1 will fit snugly inside that flash hole.picked mine up several years ago at a local auto parts store for less than $5.00.they do a terrific job to.
 
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