Gun cleaning questions

L

Lance

New member
Hello, I have a couple questions.
First, how dry does the inside of a barrel have to be after cleaning, when it is shot?
I usually leave a light film of No. 9, or Gibbs, when I am done cleaning, as I use the last patch as a lube.
Should I dry the barrel before I shoot?
I have read that oil in barrel's can cause damage.
Second, how delicate is the end of the barrel, ie damage from cleaning rods?
All the stuff I see seems to be kinda fussy, for shotguns, .22's, and my Mini-14, so I kinda want a common sense perspective, as I don't have any sniper rifle's
Thanks for any advice, Lance
 
Lance
Use a one piece rod with the plactic crown guard. Should you scape, nick or gouge the crown you will hurt accuracy. Use brass brushes and never SS unless you have a VERY dirty or rusty barrel. SS goes all the way throught to the chamber and back out on the same pass. Should you stop and back out midway you are doing damage.
I preffer barrel mops to patched, cheap...get a couple and mark them as to what you used them for. Cleaning, Oil ect.
Your question about oil in the barrel and all I don't have any information. Honestly, I run a mop through all my rifle and pistol barrels once a month, fired or not. Just a light coat of BreakFree and forget them. Range time I just go shootem up.
I guess the big deal to me is cleaning them after the shoot.

Karsten
 
I have always left a very light coat of thin oil in the bore, and I've never had a problem. By "very light" I mean that I dry patch the bore, then pass a dampened (but not dripping wet) patch through the bore before storage. I prefer to keep the chamber dry.

As for the muzzle, you should protect the crown and leade rifling. Use a muzzle guard. I prefer a brass muzzle guard.
 
The humidity and salt in the air where you live has to be considered. Here in Colorado, rust does not happen overnight...however, when I lived in Biloxi, rust grew as you watched (almost). On the guns I shoot mroe than once a month, I don't worry about oiling (the bore, that is). If I know I won't shoot it for months, then yes, I'll give the bore a light coat of oil. In Biloxi, everything was oiled all the time.

P.S. If you have to ask where Biloxi is, you haven't lived. ;)
 
Biloxi, that'd be home to those huge palmetto bugs? :) I lived near by in Pascagula MS for a while.

Lance, I always leave a very light coat of gun oil in the barrel after cleaning. Dry patch and the put two or three drops of oil on a clean patch. Run through the barrel two or three times. You know you've got too much oil on your patch if it oozes out of the patch when you're first running it into the barrel and it leaves a bead of oil on the outside face of the barrel. If you over oil, run another clean dry patch through the barrel six or seven times to mop up any excess.

Excess oil in the barrel can be a safety hazzard!
 
Agree with above.

Protect your crown. Lightly oil your barrel with a moist patch and when you are ready to shoot just run a clean patch thru it and you are good to go.

Steve Smith reminded me of something. Here in South FL, my Mak-90 rusts so fast it is almost unbelievable. I can wipe that sucker down with a greasy rag and one day later I will find feathery rust over spots on the receiver. It shoots great, its just that I have to keep it pretty greasy.
 
My Solution

I used to read Gun Tests, until those yo-yos published an article placing the Browning A-Bolt above the Remington 700 because they liked the glossy stock finish (baaaaaarf!).

Anyway, they did publish useful info, and one article explored the efficacy of different rust preventatives. They talked about a lot of aerosol products, which are expensive (but I don't believe for a New York SECOND that they harm the earth appreciably). They also tested Hoppe's Gun Grease, and it scored rather well. Hoppe's Gun Grease is veery effective for controlling corrosion, and I have used it for years without complaint.

Get a small jar with a lid. Squeeze a good-sized "bird-turd" of Hoppe's into the jar, then fill it about halfway full of lacquer thinner or acetone. Shake it up until the grease is dissolved into the solvent you have chosen, then take a 12" x 12" rag of flannel and stuff it into the jar. Let the rag soak up the solution, then hang the rag up to dry. Wipe down your firearms regularly with this rag, and you'll find it to be extremely effective for prevention rust. Store it in the same little jar you used to make it.

I've been doing this for quite a few years, and it works great!
 
River,
Are you refering to the Black paste stuff in the silver tube? I haven't used it in years but your idea sounds great.
 
No Karsten...you must be thinking of "Gunslick" grease. Hoppe's comes in a larger orange and yellow tube. The grease is kind of yellow-brown in color.

I forgot to mention in my post that you can cut a small patch off the grease rag to run through the bore of guns to protect them too.
 
Just to clear somethig up here, your bore should be dry and clean when you shoot your firearm. Any liquids in the barrel can compress between bullet and barrel wall, leading to dangerous pressures and possible ruptures. For medium to long-term storage, my gunsmith agrees with most of the above recommendations of a light coat in the barrel. Extremely long-term storage may require significantly more and thicker lubrication (think of cosmoline in old surplus military guns). In either case, the barrel should be run through with a few dry patches before firing. Here in Florida, I keep the barrels with a thin coat of CLP in them and patch them dry before I shoot. The outside I oil heavily due to the rapid rate of rusting here in the humid climate.
 
I've taken to running a patch of Kroil Oil through the bore of my rifles before I put them away. I dry patch it out before firing when I get to the range.


To protect the finish, mostly to keep my fingerprints from causing rust, I use RIG universal, it's a grease like substance. It's served me well for several years now.

For my carry pistols, I keep them coated with Renaissance wax.
 
solution

lead buildup. corrosion. rust.

TW-25B lubricant protectant, after one treatment, can extend the life of your long gun significantly.

it treats the metal, and you only need a light wipe down after every shoot. i relube after 500 rounds or so.

I've heard US military gun systems that use it fire 30,000 rounds before relube, and thats under tremendous heat and pressure.

I found TW-25B at bestdefense.com. It's also sold there under the Kleen-Bore brand.
 
Lighter viscosity motor oil works great for the storage of guns. running a dry patch or two through the barrel and wiping out the chamber before firing is always good advice. If shooting in cold weather after oiling the barrel, some gasoline or other solvent before drying would be helpful.
 
I just use a little Mobile 1 15w50 on all of my guns and the stuff stays where you put it. It also is still on the barrel of my glock after shooting 500 rounds with very little break in between magazines. On my 10/22 the bolt slides like there is no friction at all and this has cured the jamming that used to occur after my old lube started to break down. Plus look at it this way. A quart of this stuff costs 5 bucks or less. The last can of "Gun" oil I bought was for 6oz and that cost me 6 bucks. Do that math and give it a try. If you don't like it you can always add it to your car when it needs a little oil.
If it will protect my 30,000 dollar truck engine then it will protect your most precious firearm.

And no I am not a Mobil sales man I just really like the stuff for my guns and my truck!
 
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