To clean or not to clean?

declan1980

I've discovered that my hmr shoots best with a dirty barrel. I have been cleaning it after every box of ammo ie every 50 rounds. Since it takes about 5 or six rounds to get it back to the sweet spot, do ye think it would be ok for me to stretch the cleaning out to every 100 or 150 rounds so as not to lose this accuracy and waste bullets fouling the barrel.

rabbit assassin

I keep 1 mop dirty and just push it down the barrel after every box, passing 1 patch down would do the same. It doesnt affect accuracy at all that way and it just takes out most of the gunk. After every 150 rounds I give it a full clean with solvent and patches. after the proper solvent clean I usually have to run maybe 3 rounds max through to get it back dead on.

tommyboy26

I use the just run a bore snake through mine once after every 250-300 rounds

johnfaul

I just ran the boresnake every 200 rounds down a few times with wd40 never used solvent

Longranger

I used to have trouble with my hmr(455) and I thought for ages that it was the dirty ammo as the barrel was MANKY after just a few rounds. The accuracy was all over the shop. I discovered that my scope was faulty(cheap and nasty old one) so I stuck a hawke endurance 30 on it and now she's driving tacks to beat the band:D All I do now is run the snake through once after every box and give it a proper clean every 200-250 depending on the brand of ammo and it works perfectlysince.

Robotack

johnfaul wrote: »

I just ran the boresnake every 200 rounds down a few times with wd40 never used solvent

Not quite sure about this but a gun smith once told me that wd40 does not mix with guns due to some mineral in it.

I use brunox gun oil. Great stuff.

garv123

I give mine a run of a bore snake every 100 or so rounds. so thats 3 runs so far :pac: not getting the use out of it i was hoping with college work

Alan 1990

ive a .22 cz452 and have never cleaned out the barrel. i was told its best not to, that it keeps its accuracy better with a dirty barrel. i must have ran around 1000 rounds through it from new.

WD-40 :eek: you'll destroy your gun.

johnfaul

Alan 1990 wrote: »

WD-40 :eek: you'll destroy your gun.

Enlighten me as to the dangers please i use it for cleaning not preventing rust or lubricating the gun.
A squirt down the barrel helps the boresnake through

Alan 1990

johnfaul wrote: »

Enlighten me as to the dangers please i use it for cleaning not preventing rust or lubricating the gun.
A squirt down the barrel helps the boresnake through

it was drilled into me that wd-40 is a big no no because it attracts moisture hence rust. dont know about you but id hate to think the inside of my barrel is corroding.
better of spending the extra cash and get brunox, designed for firearms wont cause rust.

Mr.Flibble

Alan 1990 wrote: »

wd-40 is a big no no because it attracts moisture

Do you know what the "D" in WD-40 stands for?

Sparks

Alan 1990 wrote: »

i was told its best not to, that it keeps its accuracy better with a dirty barrel.

That's not quite true.
Actually, I'd say it was a pile of poop, but there's a grain of truth in it, in that you will have more consistency if you don't clean the barrel with smallbore. That doesn't mean you're getting the best your barrel can do out of the bargain though. You might be loosing a few mm of groupsize at 50m if you never clean. However, the first few shots back will not be as consistent, so you need to fire a few fouling rounds.

That being said, discussions of cleaning routines for smallbore rifles seem to have an air of religion about them Try a few, see what works for you, then stick to it and forget about it, would be my advice.

Alan 1990

Mr.Flibble wrote: »

Do you know what the "D" in WD-40 stands for?

i do now thanks to google:D if thats the case why do so many people say that it is not suitable for firearms?

Sparks

Alan 1990 wrote: »

i do now thanks to google:D if thats the case why do so many people say that it is not suitable for firearms?

Because a lot of people will accept what they're told by people who have been shooting longer if those people seem confident. Not many people will ever actually test those things, and fewer know how to test them properly (experimental design and evaluation is an entire course in college science degree courses, trivial it ain't). So at some point someone made a mistake identifying the cause of a problem and passed on faulty info and it's been going round since.

Or, you know, someone bull****ted someone and nobody copped.

Witcher

I don't use WD40 on all parts of the gun but I use it to clean choke tubes and the threads inside the gun and it does the job.

Alan 1990

Sparks wrote: »

Because a lot of people will accept what they're told by people who have been shooting longer if those people seem confident. Not many people will ever actually test those things, and fewer know how to test them properly (experimental design and evaluation is an entire course in college science degree courses, trivial it ain't). So at some point someone made a mistake identifying the cause of a problem and passed on faulty info and it's been going round since.

Or, you know, someone bull****ted someone and nobody copped.

Thanks for that sparks, I was told my a few people, guess as a novice you tend to listen to what more experienced people say so apologies if I am wrong about the wd40. Don't get me wrong Its great stuff use it for lots of things just never put it near a gun that's all.

Sparks

Alan 1990 wrote: »

as a novice you tend to listen to what more experienced people say

And that's the right thing to do; just don't listen blindly. Try it, see if it works, and if it does, keep doing it. If not, figure out why!

Cass

Considering WD-40 is the same price as most every gun oil, why would you use WD-40 over an oil specifically designed for guns?

I'm not being facetious, but personally WD-40 would not be in the same room as my gun let alone used on it. I think Sparks hit the nail on the head with new shooters being told by older (apparently more experienced shooters) what they used for years. Thing is we have so much more available to us now, and we, as shooters, know a lot more than the older generation in terms of guns, care, ballistics, etc. I mean an item/process is the greatest since sliced bread until something new comes along.

For me smallbore BR rifle i would clean approx. every 500 rounds. If i noticed a loss in accuracy inbetween that period i would clean it then. As i rise in calibre i tend to clean more often. For the .223 i used to clean about every 100 - 140 rounds or if being left in the safe for any prolonged period, and with the .308 i would clean after every days shooting (50 or so rounds) or again if left for long period of time without use.

The gun will "tell you" when it needs cleaning. It will also let you know whether it prefers a dirty barrel, really dirty barrel, or clean barrel by group size/consistency of accuracy.

johnfaul

I think I will look for another oil I use young's 303 or something for the outside and gun grease for the hinges on the shotgun.
And yes I was told by olders shooters its fine
I also heard with rifles some people only remove the carbon from the barrel?

Ezridax wrote: »

Considering WD-40 is the same price as most every gun oil, why would you use WD-40 over an oil specifically designed for guns?
I also heard with rifles some people only remove the carbon from the barrel?
I'm not being facetious, but personally WD-40 would not be in the same room as my gun let alone used on it. I think Sparks hit the nail on the head with new shooters being told by older (apparently more experienced shooters) what they used for years. Thing is we have so much more available to us now, and we, as shooters, know a lot more than the older generation in terms of guns, care, ballistics, etc. I mean an item/process is the greatest since sliced bread until something new comes along.

For me smallbore BR rifle i would clean approx. every 500 rounds. If i noticed a loss in accuracy inbetween that period i would clean it then. As i rise in calibre i tend to clean more often. For the .223 i used to clean about every 100 - 140 rounds or if being left in the safe for any prolonged period, and with the .308 i would clean after every days shooting (50 or so rounds) or again if left for long period of time without use.

The gun will "tell you" when it needs cleaning. It will also let you know whether it prefers a dirty barrel, really dirty barrel, or clean barrel by group size/consistency of accuracy.

zeissman

I have been using wd40 for years without any problems
I use it for removing powder and carbon fouling but I always finish with a patch of gun oil to protect the metal.

Longranger

I was always warned never to use it and I won't take the chance now or ever. As Ez pointed out,There's not to much difference in price between a can of gun oil and a can of WD so if you want something to clean and care for your firearm just buy a can of gun oil:cool:. I had a chat with a lad about this very same subject recently and he said he just uses the WD-40 to save money and why sould he bother buying gun oil? My answer was simple:if you can afford a gun,you can afford a can of gun oil. He replied:what if I run out?,to which I replied:simple,just make sure you have a spare can:rolleyes:. Sorry to go on about it but the price of a couple of cans of Rem-oil(7-8 euro each,and they last for ages),is not much to pay to know that you're using a properly maintained firearm.:D
Just my 2c
LR

johnfaul

also does anyone use a dehumidifier in the gun cabinet?
i was thinking of getting one to keep the moisture in the air low in the safe should help keep rust at bay.

IRLConor

From the manual for my rifle:

Only cleaning agents, which have been tested by the rifle
manufacturer, are to be used. These are the following
products:

Ballistol-Klever/Bore-Tech/Breakfree/Brunox/
Motorex/WD 40.

I only use WD40 for cleaning the extension tube, but I wouldn't be worried about putting it down the barrel.

Robotack

Ezridax wrote: »

Considering WD-40 is the same price as most every gun oil, why would you use WD-40 over an oil specifically designed for guns?

I'm not being facetious, but personally WD-40 would not be in the same room as my gun let alone used on it. I think Sparks hit the nail on the head with new shooters being told by older (apparently more experienced shooters) what they used for years. Thing is we have so much more available to us now, and we, as shooters, know a lot more than the older generation in terms of guns, care, ballistics, etc. I mean an item/process is the greatest since sliced bread until something new comes along.

For me smallbore BR rifle i would clean approx. every 500 rounds. If i noticed a loss in accuracy inbetween that period i would clean it then. As i rise in calibre i tend to clean more often. For the .223 i used to clean about every 100 - 140 rounds or if being left in the safe for any prolonged period, and with the .308 i would clean after every days shooting (50 or so rounds) or again if left for long period of time without use.

The gun will "tell you" when it needs cleaning. It will also let you know whether it prefers a dirty barrel, really dirty barrel, or clean barrel by group size/consistency of accuracy.

I agree. I too would not have it near my gun. It's fine for a squeaky door hinge but that's it IMHO... Now perhaps it's fine, but when there's actual gun specific products available for similar price that last ages even if used generously, I simply cannot see why you'd want to use WD40.

Lubricant developement is actually a quite interesting subject. (to me)... They all have very different properties / viscosities and ingredients. I have a friend who's an aircraft technician and is really up to date on all this stuff and has explained to me about how you use oil A on part B because that oil has silicons that react differently to the rubbers in some particular O-ring and could cause another O-ring to rot & fail etc etc etc.

Bottom line, oil is not just oil and there's lads on 6 figure salaries designing it to be purpose specific.

My opinion... Gun oil is for guns... WD40 is for odd jobs in the yard.