BARREL CLEANING

You should use a good quality cleaning rod with a freely rotating handle and a bore guide that fits both
your receiver raceway and the rod comfortably. The object is to make sure the rod cannot touch the bore.
Set-up is especially important as all the cleaning must be done from the muzzle. Even slight damage to
the barrel crown is extremely detrimental to accuracy.
A good solvent that can be used is Robla Sola. No abrasive cleaners, and no hard brushes should be
used. White round material should be used. This can be bought at most retailers.


Always clean from the breach if possible. Often damage is done by improper cleaning, more than
shooting the rifle. It is vital to prevent damage to the crown, as this will compromise accuracy. A barrel
with a worn or damaged crown can be re-crowned and accuracy will usually return. Abrasive Cleaners
work well. They do not damage the bore, they clean all types of fouling (copper powder, lead, plastic),
and they have the added advantage of polishing the throat both in “break-in” and later when the throat
begins to roughen from the rounds fired.


There are two basic types of bore cleaners – chemical and abrasive. Chemical cleaners are usually a
blend of various ingredients including oils and ammonia that attack the copper. Abrasive cleaners
generally contain no chemicals and are oil, wax, or grease based with an extremely fine abrasive such as
chalk, clay, or gypsum. They clean by chemically removing the fouling. Both are good, and we feel that
neither will damage the bore when used properly.


A jag with a patch wrapped around it also works well. Apply the cleaner and begin scrubbing in short, fast
strokes of about two to four inches in length. Concentrate most of the strokes in the throat area,
decreasing the number as you go towards the muzzle. Make a few full length passes while avoiding
exiting the muzzle completely but do partially exit for about six strokes. You can avoid accidently exiting
by mounting the rifle in a vice or holder of sorts and blocking the rod at the muzzle with the wall, or
something to keep it from completely exiting.


A recommended starting point would be 3×1 shot cycles, followed by 3×3 shot cycles and 3×5 shot
cycles. Observe when the fouling reduces and shoot as normal. We have found 25 to 30 shots before
accuracy will start to suffer; however, it is best to keep the barrel clean.