Am I the only one who does not enjoy cleaning firearms?

[JimP]

While I do use a bore snake occasionally I won't use them to really clean the bore. Think about it, you use the bore snake to get the crud out and then put the bore snake away until the next use. You then place some more solvent and oil onto it and pull it through the bore. But the question is did you clean the bore snake before you used it after the first time? Do you really want to pull all that crud back through your bore a second, third, and fourth time?

It doesn't take long to clean a rifle with a actual rod, brushes, and clean cloths. I'll leave the bore snake for by pack when if something happens and I need to clean the bore some when I am away from my vehicle I'll use it. But after using it I'll take it home and let it soak in some nice soapy water for a few hours and then work on it to get it clean.

 

[Mr Drysdale]

Deer season will close January 31st. I will pull stands the weekend that follows. I will then start cleaning rifles. Four for the grandchildren, one each for the son and son-in-law and four that I hunt with. They all get pulled from the stock and cleaned internally as well as bore. I finish my cleaning by removing the slings, cleaning the glass and running a lightl oiled patch down the bore. Then they all go into the safe until fouling and verifying zero next hunting season. We all shoot throughout the year with our 10-22’s, SKS’s and AR’s and they get cleaned as needed. It usually takes me a couple of weeks as I do it at night before the time changes. I actually enjoy it and it occupies my time after season and before the yard work begins. As you can see I am somewhat OCD about my rifles. BTW I let the grands help and they are learning. No bore snake in my bore!

 

[taskswap]

I only use the bore snake to break up the residue inside the bore. It's basically a replacement for brushing. My 12ga bore snake has two "brush sections" for example where my 12ga cleaning-rod brush only has one. It just makes the job go a little faster. You still need to run a few patches through at the end until they come out clean. Although even still, I've found it takes fewer patches to get to this point if I've used the bore snake. Usually 1-2 instead of 3-5 (but maybe I'm fussy?)

I guess I sort of see this the opposite way. I ONLY use the bore snake at home, as a first-step time saver. To be honest, they're clumsy and bulky for field use. For trips, my "portable kit" just has a break-down cleaning rod, set of three brushes (one each for my rifle, shotgun, and my wife's rifle calibers), two jags, a small bag of patches, a mini bottle of rem-oil with the needle tip, a travel toothbrush (I've found they clean actions better than the nylon brushes sold specifically for guns) and a small spray bottle of One Shot.

I carry this just as a precaution. I've never actually used it in the field. Peace of mind, knowing it's there.

 

[mallardsx2]

On another note about cleaning, I was shooting my Black Power Navy revolver yesterday. ( would you believe it wont shoot through both sides of a 55 gallon drum at 10 yards?)

What a pain in the a$$ those things are to clean. I couldn't imagine doing competition shooting with black powder. All you would be doing would be cleaning guns. lol

 

[kidoggy]

guns need to be cleaned?????????????????????????

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

On another note about cleaning, I was shooting my Black Power Navy revolver yesterday. ( would you believe it wont shoot through both sides of a 55 gallon drum at 10 yards?)

What a pain in the a$$ those things are to clean. I couldn't imagine doing competition shooting with black powder. All you would be doing would be cleaning guns. lol

All "black powder" is not created equal. I've been shooting BP class in Cowboy Action for 15 years. I have used real BP and lots of substitute BP and have found that the certain subs are much easier to clean. For the last 10 years or so, I have only used APP as it is really easy to deal with. The only solvent I use is Ballistol diluted 50% with water. Ballistol is a water soluble oil cleaning/lubrication product and really does a great job. It takes me about 45 minutes to totally cleanup the 4 guns I use. Takes longer to do the lever rifle than the other 3 as I have to partially disassemble the action. It is a Win 73 clone and not too bad once you get a routine going. What amazes me is in the real times when these guns were used (pre 1900), what they would have had to do to clean them. Imagine buffalo hunter sitting around the campfire at night disassembling a Sharps or Winchester lever and cleaning them for the next days hunting! They also reloaded their ammo and cast their bullets over the campfire. We have it pretty easy!

 

[mallardsx2]

No doubt we got it easy today. I can relate to casting my own bullets but it is under the lee production pot lol

I wonder if that APP would ignite in my flintlock....maybe I will get a can and try it. Worst case I will shoot it out of the revolver. I only shoot goex real black powder out of my flinter normally. It seems to be most consistent.

I am using 30 grains of this in my BP pistol. Its pretty dirty stuff. But it was all I could find at the time.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I also use APP in my ML. The powder charge for APP is the same as Goex.

When I go to a big 2 or 3 day match, the cleaning sessions after the match are usually used as a social gathering. We sit around some communal tables cleaning our guns, drinking a few brewskis and BSing with everybody. Makes the cleaning process much more pleasurable for sure LOL!

 

[mallardsx2]

Good to know. I will give it a whirl in my flinter. I will stick with BH209 for my inline rifle.

 

[Winchester]

depends on when it is cleaned. cleaned right before the season, foul it. cleaned after season, I don't foul it.

Yeah, I guess that's what I was saying.
Makes sense to me. Thx

 

[tim]

task
I tape around the muzzle break, it just blows right off,

bore snakes, I have ran my bore snakes thru the dishwasher when my wife is not home.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I clean my Remington 1100 semi-auto pretty regularly or I get cycling problems, mainly failure to fully eject a shell (stove-piping the spent shell). This is particularly bad with light target loads. With the #4 Winchester Super X I shoot for actual game I almost never have that problem. I also carry spare O-rings for it, since that's its weak link.

Funny who the same model guns can be so different.
My 1100 that I bought in 1981 still has the same O-ring it came with. I do clean the gun after every hunt and that may be why the o-ring still works.
Also the only shells I've ever had trouble with were Winchester dove/quail loads and that was after several boxes of shells while dove hunting.