Lubing/Cleaning of a 10/22

[SVTNate]

Sorry, I did a search and couldn't find specific enough info.

My 10/22 is my first rifle, and to be honest I have no idea how to care for it. For my handguns, I have always used MPro7 to clean and CLP to lube. Can I use the same stuff on my rifle? What needs to be lubed, how do I clean the barrel? Can someone please give me a rundown on caring for the 10/22, or any rifle in general?

 

[Dave R]

Here's what I do. Others may have better ideas.

1. Take it down, including removing the bolt from the receiver.

2. I use a bore snake to clean the barrel from the chamber. I spray on some G-96 and pull it back & forth 5-10 times.

3. Clean the bolt. I use dental tools to get the stuff out of the extractors.

4. Clean the receiver. Dental tools as needed for the corners & crevices.

5. Reassemble.

 

[hksigwalther]

NOTE : Removing the bolt and bolt handle/recoil pring assembly can be very difficult for someone new to the 10/22. Taking them out is not to big of a chore but putting them back in is.

Then bore snakes are the easiest way to clean. I do it this way all the time now. If you want to stick with rigid cleaning rods, use a plastic coated one if you plan on cleaning from the muzzle end or disassemble the barrel from the receiver and clean from the chamber end or drill a hole in the back of the receiver so you can feed the rod straight through to the barrel without the need to disassemble them.

Once you've taken apart the 10/22 a couple, three times, its becomes old hat very fast. Very simple internals. When you pull out the pins, though, do it slowly and pay close attention to how everything fits/interacts with each other.

The only things I've lubed are the recoil spring/guide and the surfaces that rub between the bolt and receiver (these can be easily accessed through the mag well). Personally, I don't watch too carefully if I spill anything on the stock stock (unless it has a great tiger stripe grain pattern like one of my 10/22s). If you goof your's up let me know, I got 3 or 4 (never used) extra around here I replaced with aftermarket stocks.

 

[Ledbetter]

SVTNate

Go here

www.rimfirecentral.com

Your 10/22 barrel is more likely to be worn out by cleaning than by shooting. I wash the bore snake between each use and pass it through three time only, preceded and followed by three patches wet with CLP and a dry patch.

Ritualistic eh?

Bore snakes pick up grit. A .22 barrel is easily scratched.

Clean the inside of the receiver with CLP and wipe it dry. Use bamboo skewers instead of steel tools. The receiver is made of soft aluminum. Push a wet patch into the corners and crevices with the bamboo skewer. End with a dry patch and skewer it into the corners.

You only need to take the receiver apart every 1000 rounds or so. After a normal range session, I just pass CLP patches through the muzzle with a thin wooden dowel until they come out clean, then follow with a dry patch, a wet bore snake and more CLP patches til clean.

Good luck.

 

[Poodleshooter]

I run a brush, wet patch, 2 dry patches, then another wet, then another dry, then a lightly oiled patch. I remove the trigger group but leave the bolt in the receiver. I then scrub the receiver and bolt (paying close attention to the extractor and the matching groove in the barrel) with a toothbrush and hoppes, ending with a blast of brake cleaner/gunscrubber to wash grit away. I move the bolt back and forth as needed to reach the grit. I finish by using a lightly oiled patch to wipe oil on the exterior surfaces. I usually don't oil the trigger group,bolt or receiver. Only rarely will I remove the bolt to clean the firing pin and upper parts of the bolt assembly. Gunscrubber keeps it farely clean w/o necessitating removal.

 

[Kernel]

A .22 RF barrel doesn't need to be cleaned very often. I agree with Ledbetter, every 1,000rds is enough. This goes against the indoctrination many of us received in military training or from our father's knee - every time you shoot, if it's 10 rounds or 100, disassemble the firearm to it's component molecules and clean the hell out of every thing till it's spotless.

Some would argue that you never need to put a brush down a .22 barrel because velocities are to low to cause a significant plating of lead or jacket material. In fact, some of the worlds most accurate .22 RF target rifles have never had their barrels cleaned, even though they've fired tens of thousands of rounds.

As stated earlier, the real danger is from the damage that can be caused by over-zealous cleaning. Anyone who's looked at the rifling near the muzzle from a sample of old service grade M1 Garands can plainly see the damage ritualistic cleaning can cause.

The barrels on my .22s never see a brush. My practice is after shooting to use an old tooth brush to apply a little oil (I use CLP) to every thing and run a oiled patch down the barrel to prevent surface rust, as required use a brake cleaner type product to blast the gunk from the action to keep it functioning reliably (frequency is very dependent on the type of ammo you shoot but is typically every 500 to 1,000 rds), and occasionally (like every couple of bricks of ammo) use a little Hoppes on a patch - that's it. -- Kernel