How To Properly Clean A Hunting Rifle

All photo credits: Brady Miller

I'm a firm believer in cleaning your rifle throughout the season. Below are some steps that I've been using for a long time that my father taught me along with some modifications that I've learned from others. I've said it before, just everything I've learned in long-range shooting has been from my dad. He's a wealth of knowledge when information technology comes to rifles. Over the years, some of the cleaning solvents that I use have changed, but the general process is still the aforementioned for cleaning my hunting rifles. Now, before I get started, there are a plethora of ways to clean your hunting rifle barrel and lots of different brushes, mops, jags, etc that all piece of work nifty. This is a method that has worked very well for me.

A semi-deep clean is probably the best way to describe this process and it is my preferred manner to get a rifle shooting where information technology's supposed to later all the target do to dial in my loads and dope chart. The process below was done on a Browning X-Bolt Hell's Canyon Speed rifle in .300 Win Mag.

Tools needed:

• Cleaning bench
• Cleaning rod (carbon fiber or nylon)
  • I prefer one piece cleaning rods
• Nylon brush (correct size)
  • Nylon isn't as harsh as other materials
• Jag (correct size)
  • I really like stainless steel so yous don't go a simulated copper reading. For the commodity, I couldn't find my stainless jag in my cleaning kit for some reason, so I used a contumely version.
• Patches
  • Ensure they are the correct size for the rifle quotient.
• Bore guide

Cleaning solvents needed:

• Carbon remover
• Copper fouling remover
• Gun oil

Notes on cleaning solvents: There are enough of different options out there. My family unit and I have used Hoppes, Gunslick, KG, Montana Extreme, Wipe Out, Shooter'south Pick, and Sweets throughout the years.

Stride 1 - bore guide

Place your gun in a cleaning demote or extend your bipod if you don't take a bench tool. Annotation: Always make clean your gun with a cover over your scope. You don't want the solvents or castor to accidentally get on your lens.

Remove the bolt and identify the diameter guide into the rifle. I like to employ diameter guides that have an O-ring to forestall the cleaning material from entering back into the activeness.

Step 2 - Removing some carbon

Take a cleaning rod and attach the jag.

I adopt J Dewey nylon-coated and/or Tipton carbon fiber one piece cleaning rods.

Next, accept a cleaning patch, attach information technology to the jag and identify a few drops of carbon remover on the patch. Run the cleaning rod with the patch through the bore, discard the patch and repeat the process a few times until clean. This process also shows some of the carbon fouling.

This process is peachy for removing a large amount of gunk from the butt. You lot'll instantly find that the first few patches are pretty dirty.

Notation: When running the cleaning rod or castor downwardly the bore, just let the tip poke out from the end of the cage. This is but an extra precaution to protect the crown of the barrel (notwithstanding important if you have a muzzle restriction removed).

Stride three - Removing copper

This stride is where you'll piece of work on the carbon fouling. Attach the nylon brush to the rod and run information technology through the rifle bore (only don't pull it back through).

In one case through the bore, you will apply some drops of copper remover solvent to the brush. Y'all could add the drops of solvent in the pigsty in your bore guide if yous prefer. I definitely practise it both means depending on the atmospheric condition. Sometimes applying information technology to the bore cease prevents the solvent from leaking onto your rifle stock and possibly discoloring it or impacting the laminate.

Now is when yous will castor the bore similar y'all're giving your teeth a difficult brushing. And so, roughly you'll want to run the castor through the bore 25 to 50 plus times.

Side by side, attach your jag and run a dry patch through the diameter several times and check the end of the barrel to come across if yous've removed all of the copper fouling.

For demonstration purposes, I pushed the cleaning rod a little further through the barrel past the crown than I ordinarily would.

If y'all notwithstanding see copper fouling, then repeat the to a higher place steps a few times until it's all removed.

Normally the copper streaks volition look like brownish tinted streaks.

Footstep 4 - Removing carbon

This process is very similar to the previous step except, this time, you're going to be removing carbon in the butt.

Take the nylon castor and push information technology through the bore. Once the brush is exposed, apply a few drops of your carbon remover solvent of pick. And so it'southward time to brush your teeth (rifle bore) another 25 to 50 plus times.

Subsequently that, once more, run a few dry patches through the butt and cheque the barrel for a make clean look.

If you don't have a make clean finish, repeat the process a few more than times.

Pace v - Gun oil

Take your cleaning rod and attach the jag and so place a patch on information technology. Next, apply a few drops of gun oil and run information technology back and along through the bore a few times. Later this, take a dry patch and run it through the diameter to remove any excess gun oil.

End results later cleaning hunting rifle diameter.

Step half dozen - Foul shot in the field

I've had a few different rifles that seemed to reply differently after a cleaned barrel. Some rifles shoot smashing from a super cleaned bore, merely others may not—all rifles are different. To be prophylactic, I have a freshly cleaned gun back out in the field and have a foul shot to "settle a barrel down" and then to speak. There's definitely a lot of reading that can be done on foul shots and diameter mapping.

In conclusion

Later on you've completed all of these steps, your rifle is now ready for your next chase!

Ending idea: Keep in mind to always properly shop your rifle cleaning solvents. This is what happens when you forget to screw the cap all the way down after some range practise.

Source: https://www.gohunt.com/read/skills/how-to-clean-the-bore-of-your-hunting-rifle

Posted by: mcgeethiped.blogspot.com

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