Why
Clean Your Barrel? 1.
Rust Prevention.The
combination of burnt powder, priming compound and metal fouling (especially
copper) are ideal ingredients for rust to take hold of in your barrel. And
just because you have a stainless steel barrel, don't assume it will not corrode.
You just won't see it happening.
2.
Accuracy.The
build up of copper fouling will decrease accuracy in a centrefire rifle. Excessive
leading in your pistol or rifle barrel will also badly affect accuracy, sometimes
to the point that bullets will tumble. 3.
Safety.Shooting
with a badly fouled or rusty barrel could result in excessive pressure in the
chamber or barrel, resulting in all sorts of nasties - bulged or split barrels,
action blowups, soiled underwear, etc. 4.
Recoil.Excessive
fouling build-up will increase pressure and therefore felt recoil. Plastic
fouling in a shotgun barrel could also conceivably alter the choke characteristics
and change your gun's shot pattern. 5.
Resale.Even
if a pitted bore has not badly affected accuracy (which is possible but not
probable), any prospective buyer will have to assume that your rifle is in
need of a new barrel. This makes selling it at full value difficult, unless
the buyer is optically challenged or downright dumb.  When
to Clean Your Barrel?
Airguns.
Seldom.
Fouling is minimal, but rust can still occur. Rimfires.
With
the exception of the 22 Magnum or any other rimfire cartridges using jacketed
projectiles, these barrels require little cleaning. Modern 22 ammunition uses
lead projectiles which leave traces of lube up the barrel that will not allow
the bore to rust. I clean my rimfires seldom, mainly when I know they will
be unused for some time. Centrefire
Rifles.
Every
time they are used, before they are put away. Religiously. Powder and copper
fouling must be removed, with an oil coating left inside the bore until it
is used again, not
forgetting to remove the oil before firing next time. Centrefire
Pistols.
Basically
the same as for centrefire rifles when using jacketed ammunition. If using
lead projectiles, the need to scrub the bore varies depending on the type of
projectile, lube and velocity. If leading occurs it should be removed either
with a strong bore brush and solvent or lead wipes. I've never been a fan of
the old favorite of putting through a few jacketed rounds to clear out the
lead. Corrosive
AmmunitionIt
never ceases to amaze me how people will make such an issue out of whether
ammunition is "corrosive" or not. Some military ammo will cause rust quicker
than sporting rounds. But only if you neglect to clean your firearm. Perhaps
a bigger issue is whether the projectiles are really copper jacketed, or copper
washed mild steel. How
to Clean Your BarrelEquipment
NeededCleaning
rod.Preferably
one piece, covered. Don't even think about using a pull through.
Bronze
brush and jag.I
prefer the barber pole style jag to a loop. Bore
solvent. For
copper fouled barrels I use two solvents, one mild to get rid of powder fouling,
one savage enough to rip the copper out. Flannelette
patches.Precut
are convenient, but I prefer to cut my own to get optimum fit in the bore. A
good gun oil,thick
enough not to stick on the sides of the bore. Optional
is a bore guide,to
center the rod in the barrel and do as little damage to either the crown or
the chamber. The
Dirty DeedWherever
possible push the rod through the barrel in the same direction as the bullet
travels. There are a million variations of how many passes with the brush,
how many with a patch, which solvent to use, when to mop them out, etc, etc,
etc. The following is just a good average. Pour
a little of the mild solvent over the bronze brush. Work up and down the barrel
several times. Leave for a couple of minutes. Mop out with a couple of clean
patches. This will remove powder fouling. Take
a tight clean patch and pour on some of the stronger solvent. Pass through
a couple of times to give a good coating. Leave for 10 minutes. Pass through
a couple of clean patches. Repeat until mop-out patches come out with no trace
of green/blue copper residue. Liberally
coat a clean patch with oil and pass through a couple of times to give a protective
coating to prevent rust. DO
NOT FORGET
to
remove this oil before you shoot the next time. Oil in a barrel constitutes
a blockage and will dramatically increase barrel and chamber pressure, possibly
resulting in a bulged barrel or worse. In
order to prolong the life of your bronze brush be sure to wash it out in mineral
turps or similar to get rid of the solvent. Resurrecting
a Rust BucketIf
your barrel has suffered from past neglect and resembles the Black Hole of
Calcutta, you can probably never expect to regain good performance. It is possible,
using desperate measures, to make it shootable. None of these methods should
be used on anything of any value, and even then should only be used as a last
resort. You
have followed the instructions above to clean your rifle. When passing a tight
patch through the barrel it feels like you are pushing it against sandpaper.
Looking through the barrel the lands and grooves have furry growths over the
entire length. Then, and only then, should you consider using these measures. Start
by wrapping fine steel wool around an old bronze brush, using it to scrub the
bore with solvent. Should this not have the desired effect, pour boiling water
through the bore, cut a tight fitting patch for your jag and apply a small
amount of toothpaste to the patch. This is a form of grinding paste and should
be used with caution.  All
traces should be carefully removed when finished. Repeat until satisfied that
bore has either improved or never will. | 
