How do you detail clean your bolt action?

Just like the subject saids. How do you do it?

Thanks

Hmmm........ if it is a milsurp I completely disassemble the rifle and clean it with mineral spirits. Then put it back together using Kroil or WD40 and grease. If it is a modern rifle I wipe it down with WD40 or Kroil and then grease it. I have used all of the fancy stuff like Sweet's and Breakfree but I always end up going back to the simple stuff. WD40 is one of the best things out there for cleaning and preservation of firearms. Yes, I can prove it to. Just challenge me and I will! I like Kroil because it flows where WD40 cannot. If I have been shooting a lot I will hit the barrel with Hoppe's #9 and then follow the above procedures. Hoppe's with a good scrubbing will clean good enough to suit me on a modern, cared for, weapon. I still have the first rifle and shotgun I ever owned. Both are about 40 years old and have never seen anything more exotic then WD40, Hoppe's and 3-1 oil. Both are in great condition.

Guess your the only one ufcfan.

I have a Pre War M70 Winchester and a Mauser 98 in .243 Win. I field strip the bolt, lube with Powdered Graphite. Clean the bore with Hoppe's #9 on a bronze brush. When I lube the outside of the bolt, I use Tri-Flow spray oil. Slicker than snot. The use of WD40 to clean a bore, does not remove copper or lead deposits. They will build up to the point, the bore will become inaccurate.

When using Hoppe's #9 and the bronze brush, cycle the cleaning rod 12 times. Then run dry patches through the bore until the patches come out clean. Do not be disturbed if the patches come out green. The bronze brush and Hoppe3s make Copper Sulfate and that is green.

My method of cleaning a High power Rifle is taught by the US Army Marksmanship Unit at Camp Perry.

Doug

Doug Bowser wrote: The use of WD40 to clean a bore, does not remove copper or lead deposits.

Doug

I knew someone would say that. The barrel will probably wear out before that becomes problem. If you are shooting in competition okay I can see the concern. But the effect is almost unmeasurable to anyone else.

I knew someone would say that. The barrel will probably wear out before that becomes problem. If you are shooting in competition okay I can see the concern. But the effect is almost unmeasurable to anyone else.[/quote]

We will have to agree to disagree. The buildup of copper deposits is a continuing thing. Also, WD40 will not remove graphite deposits from the bore either. The buildup of graphite in the bore will cause the breech of the barrel to be smaller than the muzzle. Accuracy suffers. I have used the techniques described to clean my M1 barrels during competition in the 80's. My average life of the M1 Garand barrel was 9500 rounds until 600 yard accuracy suffered.

Doug

What do you use on corrosive ammo? I've heard ammonia and hot water. I also go from the breach to the muzzle but what do you use for for the chamber in a nonstandard caliber using corrosive ammo.

I know you are correct. I just don't think it would matter much to the Mississippi deer hunter or self defense shooter. Most shooters, myself included, have other things to worry about like breath control, sight alignment, proper load etc. I suspect you are probably a high level shooter and do everything you can to make each shot like the last. I wish my eyes would allow that for me. So I do not disagree with you at all. I am just reminded of Bubba who spends a thousand dollars on a deer rifle setup and has never really learned the correct way to fire a rifle. He reads about copper build up on a web site and then buys some Blue Wonder or whatever and obsesses over the purity of his bore when he hasn't even got the basics down. He worries about tightening that group a 16th of an inch when he is shooting 4 inch groups.

One question about graphite. Wouldn't the act of brushing the bore remove it? I assume not since you didn't state so. That question just came to mind.

Doug Bowser wrote:I knew someone would say that. The barrel will probably wear out before that becomes problem. If you are shooting in competition okay I can see the concern. But the effect is almost unmeasurable to anyone else.

We will have to agree to disagree. The buildup of copper deposits is a continuing thing. Also, WD40 will not remove graphite deposits from the bore either. The buildup of graphite in the bore will cause the breech of the barrel to be smaller than the muzzle. Accuracy suffers. I have used the techniques described to clean my M1 barrels during competition in the 80's. My average life of the M1 Garand barrel was 9500 rounds until 600 yard accuracy suffered.

Doug[/quote]

[quote="ufcfan"Tne question about graphite. Wouldn't the act of brushing the bore remove it? I assume not since you didn't state so. That question just came to mind.

The graphite goes inside the bolt. When I used to live in New York, it was necessary to use a non-petroleum lube on the firing pin assembly because cold weather can freeze the oil and cause a malfunction by not letting the firing pin fall. I guess it is a habit I got into while hunting in cold weather. A lot of people in the South hunt in Colorado and Wyoming and oil on a firing mechanism of a bolt rifle is a bad choice.

Doug

sidroski wrote: ammonia and hot water

Oh boy. I ain't touching this with a ten foot pole.

sidroski wrote:What do you use on corrosive ammo? I've heard ammonia and hot water. I also go from the breach to the muzzle but what do you use for for the chamber in a nonstandard caliber using corrosive ammo.

Mix 1/4 cup of Murphy's Oil Soap concentrate with one gallon of water. Swab the bore and let it set 1/2 hour. Dry the bore and clean with Hoppe's #9.

This formula also works the best with Black Powder

Doug

Thanks. Hope to get out and shoot and will give it a try. Got my neice's birthday Saturday. I'd skip but her dad died this last spring.

Some people would cry if they saw my .22-250.
last friday when it snowed really big, me and my buddy went riding 4wheelers on his farm. I had my .22-250 on my shoulder and after 5 minutes of riding i took it off to try to shoot a crow.. It was covered in a fine spray of mud. The big sun shade on the scope kept the lense from getting dirty.
I still havent cleaned it

Its a home made camo

I hadn't heard about Murphys Oil soap before. I had always used hot soapy water down the bore, and on the bolt, and other areas which would have come in contact with hot gases. Then normal cleaning and oil everything.