Ruger Forum

shootist · August 19th, 2012, 08:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlkHawk73

You have your method, the rest of us have ours. Not saying ours is the correct one and yours is incorrect. However, look around at the collective majority of the more serious/season target/match shooters and see their methods. Hundreds of rounds and as mentioned above, a simple dry patch is used.
If your's is that dirty after 50 rounds that it starts to affect performance that badly, I gotta wonder what ammo you're using. Bulk? Winchester or Remington bulk? Use GOOD ammo and it's a non-issue.
Curious...what dead president on the coin are you shooting out and at what range?

Dine sized red dot @ 100 yards

Stealth15 · August 19th, 2012, 11:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlh820

Don't waste your money on carbon fiber cleaning rods unless you're packing them around in the sandbox. There, every ounce counts.

They won't damage your barrel.

It sounds perfect. I use both something like that and boresnakes.

I wouldn't recommend using powder blast on anything but the inside of your barrel. If I have to use it, which is rarely, I plug up the muzzel with a soft cloth and tilt it slightly downwards while it's soaking. Powder blast is kind of a last resort type of cleaner, but it works when you need it. Hopefully, you'll never need it again, so just buy a small can.

Back in my old cop days, I knew guys that would get ammo cans, fill them with Hoppes and let their guns soak over night in it. We only used revolvers in those days and of course, the grips were removed. Hoppes isn't very strong, but it will work... eventually. But nowadays, there are much better products on the market. My main go-to cleaners are M-Pro 7 and Gun Blast if I need it extremely clean without any residue and then follow that up with a shot of compressed air and re-lubing it before any oxidation has a chance to start.

But, it's no joke. If you switch to FrogLube, you won't be needing all those other chemicals anymore. Any it's very reasonably priced. I recommend (at least at first) to start out with their kit, which includes a bottle of liquid, a tub of their paste, a microfiber cloth and a small brush to apply it.

Otis and Hoppes make some great gun cleaning brushes in nylon and brass and are availabale on Amazon.com. I rarely use the brass one, but I use the nylons all the time. And an old toothbrush works just as good.

Using FrogLube, a cheap rifle cleaning set, (optionally a boresnake, but they're handy) and some nylon brushes and you're pretty much set.

One reason FrogLube works so well, is that it actually bonds to the metal (or plastic or wood) and no longer allows dirt and crud to stick.

Here's a short video from their site created by Sootch00.

FrogLube ~ Product Info ~ It Just Works!

Thank you so much!

Quote:

Originally Posted by brimic

.22 barrels don't need to be cleaned, except for 3 exceptions:
1. the barrel is brand new.
2. You get the rifle wet or immersed in water.
3. Its accuracy drops off.
Excetion 2-3 rarely happen, so that leaves #1.

Did you clean the barrel thoroughly when it was new before shooting it?
Barrel bores often come from the factory coated in protective grease or oil. I its not cleaned before firing, the first shot down the pipe will push the grease/oil forward like a snowplow until it builds so much pressure that the bullet rides over the mess causing a barrel bulge. What is left behind is a spot in the barrel where the bore is slightly bigger and the rifing is distorted which can and will foul very badly. A barrel bulge will look like a darker or differently colored ring when viewed lookng inside the barrel.

I'm not entirely sure this is the problem, but I've seen it plenty of times with people over-oiling, not cleaning new, or especially not running a dry patch down a barrel before shooting centerfire rifles.

I did not clean it before I shot it.... I didn't know I was supposed to. I cleaned the bore after the first couple hundred rounds.

Is a brand new Ruger 10/22 ready to shoot right out of the box? - Yahoo! Answers

From what they are saying it sounds like it's okay not to clean it before you shoot it..

I'm thinking what happened was there was excess solvent left in the bore and it just gummed it up super quick.

I'll probably head to walmart today and try cleaning it. I'll let you know how it goes.

With a clean rod, really the only way to start from the chamber is to remove the barrel. Is that necessary or is it okay to start from the crown?

Thanks again for all the help guys. Sorry for all the questions

Bullseye · August 19th, 2012, 11:19 AM

It is OK to clean from the crown end of the barrel, as long as you're careful not to damage the crown. You can also get a Dewey brass cleaning rod guide, made especially for use on the crown end of a gun barrel. The end of the guide is tapered and fits into the barrel crown to protect it from accidental damage.

R,
Bullseye

shootist · August 19th, 2012, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth15

Thank you so much!

I did not clean it before I shot it.... I didn't know I was supposed to. I cleaned the bore after the first couple hundred rounds.

Is a brand new Ruger 10/22 ready to shoot right out of the box? - Yahoo! Answers

From what they are saying it sounds like it's okay not to clean it before you shoot it..

I'm thinking what happened was there was excess solvent left in the bore and it just gummed it up super quick.

I'll probably head to walmart today and try cleaning it. I'll let you know how it goes.

With a clean rod, really the only way to start from the chamber is to remove the barrel. Is that necessary or is it okay to start from the crown?

Thanks again for all the help guys. Sorry for all the questions

Clean it from the crown you'll be fine, with some good brushing that gunk will come out.

wkuban · August 24th, 2012, 10:28 AM

I have never had a 22 LR bbl that leaded. I have cleaned a certain K22 revolver and thought I ruined it. It took about a box of ammo before it started shooting groups instead of patterns. A lot of bbls need a certain amount of fouling before they are at their best. Some are sensitive to hard bullet lube vs soft bullet lube. My 10/22 rifles usually do well with any bullet but they do real well with certain ammo.
I would scrub the lead out of it and then inspect it for a rough spot. If it's rough send it back to Ruger for replacement. If no rough spot it was probably the ammo.
Again, I've never seen a leaded 22LR bbl. I will run a boresnake thru the bore if switching ammo but I'm not sure this does anything for accuracy. Some guns need a few fouling shots before you get the best accuracy. It don't matter on a tin can or clay bird chips but it could matter if shooting for groups.
I suspect that more 22LR bbls have been ruined by a cleaning rod than any other reason. The ammo is soft lead with a lube on it so it's not apt to damage a bbl.
Surely there is a bench rest guy that could come in on this, I have heard to clean it when accuracy suffers but I don't shoot much from the bench other than to check my zero.

krwada · August 24th, 2012, 02:43 PM

You have some serious leading problem here. You need to scrub your bore with a coated or graphite rod and a nylon or brass brush. You should use Shooter's choice lead remover. Your idea of using the Tipton graphite rod is good. Also, you need to purchase a muzzle bore guide before you use the rod, or you will ruin the crown!

Stealth15 · August 24th, 2012, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wkuban

I have never had a 22 LR bbl that leaded. I have cleaned a certain K22 revolver and thought I ruined it. It took about a box of ammo before it started shooting groups instead of patterns. A lot of bbls need a certain amount of fouling before they are at their best. Some are sensitive to hard bullet lube vs soft bullet lube. My 10/22 rifles usually do well with any bullet but they do real well with certain ammo.
I would scrub the lead out of it and then inspect it for a rough spot. If it's rough send it back to Ruger for replacement. If no rough spot it was probably the ammo.
Again, I've never seen a leaded 22LR bbl. I will run a boresnake thru the bore if switching ammo but I'm not sure this does anything for accuracy. Some guns need a few fouling shots before you get the best accuracy. It don't matter on a tin can or clay bird chips but it could matter if shooting for groups.
I suspect that more 22LR bbls have been ruined by a cleaning rod than any other reason. The ammo is soft lead with a lube on it so it's not apt to damage a bbl.
Surely there is a bench rest guy that could come in on this, I have heard to clean it when accuracy suffers but I don't shoot much from the bench other than to check my zero.

Quote:

Originally Posted by krwada

You have some serious leading problem here. You need to scrub your bore with a coated or graphite rod and a nylon or brass brush. You should use Shooter's choice lead remover. Your idea of using the Tipton graphite rod is good. Also, you need to purchase a muzzle bore guide before you use the rod, or you will ruin the crown!

So it turns out the barrel was basically leaded like crazy.. I'm guessing it was a combination of cheap Winchester Bulk (never using that again), excess solvent left in the barrel, and probably a barrel that wasn't very clean to begin with.

I bought a cheap Outers universal cleaning kit (like $7) and a can of CLP Powder Blast and went to town. The barrel was so leaded that the bore brush got stuck in the barrel.

I was pulling as hard as I can for a few minutes before it managed to come out.

Hosed down the barrel with the Blast and rotated between patches and bore brush until the brush could actually be pushed through the barrel. Kept using patches until they came out white.

Barrel is spotless. Crown looks fine. The cleaning rod is made of pretty cheap aluminum, I have no idea how you could damage the crown with it. I even tried rubbing the rod on the outside of the barrel to see if I could scratch it, the aluminum started turning into powder, SS is just much harder.

If you've ever taken a geology lab in college and have done a hardness test, you'll know that there is no possible way to scratch something (at least with human strength) with a material that is softer than the material you are trying to scratch. IE Aluminum on a SS barrel.

It's kinda like trying to cut a diamond with a piece of glass.

I'm not very experienced with firearms, but I don't see how you could damage the crown. The aluminum turns into powder when you rub it on the steel. But again...I could be way off.

However, I'm now pretty much convinced a bore snake is almost pointless. It will clean a little, but doesn't seem to do a whole lot...

One problem I did notice.. when reinstalling the barrel, I noticed that it seems to cant to the left a little once it's inside the receiver. It almost looks as if the "receiver barrel hole" isn't perfectly rounded and it's causing the barrel to sit at an angle.

The stock also has a lot of space around the receiver. It isn't a snug fit at all...

I think I'm going to call Ruger and see what they say about that. If it is indeed canted, installing a scope will be a nightmare as it won't ever line up the barrel. I don't really want to send it back, but now that my college classes have started up, I won't be using the gun a whole lot. Weekends at best.

I did actually try to use a scope I have one time, but the gun was shooting like 8 inches to the left no matter how the scope was adjusted. I figured the scope is broken (friend gave it to me). Employee at shooters world thought the same thing.

Gun operates fine, rarely jams and accuracy seems pretty good. The stock being that roomy does bother me though..

Thanks for all the help! I got the lead out.

303lithgow · August 24th, 2012, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth15

So it turns out the barrel was basically leaded like crazy.. I'm guessing it was a combination of cheap Winchester Bulk (never using that again), excess solvent left in the barrel, and probably a barrel that wasn't very clean to begin with.

I bought a cheap Outers universal cleaning kit (like $7) and a can of CLP Powder Blast and went to town. The barrel was so leaded that the bore brush got stuck in the barrel.

I was pulling as hard as I can for a few minutes before it managed to come out.

Hosed down the barrel with the Blast and rotated between patches and bore brush until the brush could actually be pushed through the barrel. Kept using patches until they came out white.

Barrel is spotless. Crown looks fine. The cleaning rod is made of pretty cheap aluminum, I have no idea how you could damage the crown with it. I even tried rubbing the rod on the outside of the barrel to see if I could scratch it, the aluminum started turning into powder, SS is just much harder.

If you've ever taken a geology lab in college and have done a hardness test, you'll know that there is no possible way to scratch something (at least with human strength) with a material that is softer than the material you are trying to scratch. IE Aluminum on a SS barrel.

It's kinda like trying to cut a diamond with a piece of glass.

I'm not very experienced with firearms, but I don't see how you could damage the crown. The aluminum turns into powder when you rub it on the steel.

However, I'm now pretty much convinced a bore snake is almost pointless. It will clean a little, but doesn't seem to do a whole lot...

One problem I did notice.. when reinstalling the barrel, I noticed that it seems to cant to the left a little once it's inside the receiver. It almost looks as if the "receiver barrel hole" isn't perfectly rounded and it's causing the barrel to sit at an angle.

The stock also has a lot of space around the receiver. It isn't a snug fit at all...

I think I'm going to call Ruger and see what they say about that. If it is indeed canted, installing a scope will be a nightmare as it won't ever line up the barrel. I don't really want to send it back, but now that my college classes have started up, I won't be using the gun a whole lot. Weekends at best.

I did actually try to use a scope I have one time, but the gun was shooting like 8 inches to the left no matter how the scope was adjusted. I figured the scope is broken (friend gave it to me). Employee at shooters world thought the same thing.

Gun operates fine, rarely jams and accuracy seems pretty good. The stock being that roomy does bother me though..

Thanks for all the help! I got the lead out.

If you rub two flat surfaces together the harder surface will always cut the softer first. But the cleaning rod is cutting against an edge and thats where the problem lies. A soft flat surface can damage a harder edged surface.

Stealth15 · August 24th, 2012, 04:16 PM

Probably so, but whatever, it's a .22 and I'm not trying to shoot 500 yards. Replacement barrels are pretty cheap anyway. I'll just try to be careful.

Better using an AL rod than shooting the gun with a leaded barrel.

jlh820 · August 24th, 2012, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth15

So it turns out the barrel was basically leaded like crazy.. I'm guessing it was a combination of cheap Winchester Bulk (never using that again), excess solvent left in the barrel, and probably a barrel that wasn't very clean to begin with.

I bought a cheap Outers universal cleaning kit (like $7) and a can of CLP Powder Blast and went to town. The barrel was so leaded that the bore brush got stuck in the barrel.

I was pulling as hard as I can for a few minutes before it managed to come out.

Hosed down the barrel with the Blast and rotated between patches and bore brush until the brush could actually be pushed through the barrel. Kept using patches until they came out white.

Great! Now get yourself some FrogLube and you won't have the problem of dirt, gunk and carbon sticking to your gun. The more often you use FrogLube, the better it gets. Cleaning a gun that's been treated with FrogLube is just a matter of wiping off the gunk and then reapplying. After shooting your gun you'll see a black semi liquid where the dirt used to be. It stays in that form until you wipe it off, even several days later. When you use FrogLube, don't mix it with petroleum or silicon based chemicals. It won't hurt anything but it's a waste since the FrogLube will displace them. Keep this up and you should never need the Powder Blast again!

And keep your bore snake. Now that you've got it clean, the snake is a quick and easy way to keep it clean.

Stealth15 · August 24th, 2012, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jlh820

Great! Now get yourself some FrogLube and you won't have the problem of dirt, gunk and carbon sticking to your gun. The more often you use FrogLube, the better it gets. Cleaning a gun that's been treated with FrogLube is just a matter of wiping off the gunk and then reapplying. After shooting your gun you'll see a black semi liquid where the dirt used to be. It stays in that form until you wipe it off, even several days later. When you use FrogLube, don't mix it with petroleum or silicon based chemicals. It won't hurt anything but it's a waste since the FrogLube will displace them. Keep this up and you should never need the Powder Blast again!

And keep your bore snake. Now that you've got it clean, the snake is a quick and easy way to keep it clean.

Froglube sounds awesome, but it's pretty pricey. Would the 4oz combo last a long time? How often do you need to reapply it?

From what I saw on Ruger's cleaning instructional video, the 10/22s are supposed to be very lightly oiled. In the video, they oiled a rag and then wiped everything with it and then reassembled the gun.

303lithgow · August 24th, 2012, 04:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth15

Probably so, but whatever, it's a .22 and I'm not trying to shoot 500 yards. Replacement barrels are pretty cheap anyway. I'll just try to be careful.Better using an AL rod than shooting the gun with a leaded barrel.

Thats the best idea.

Stealth15 · August 24th, 2012, 04:40 PM

I'll admit I was a little aggressive cleaning it today, but that lead was not wanting to come out lol. Not to mention I was cleaning it outside and was like 100 degrees and fairly humid. I was just trying to not sweat on the barrel. >.> ha ha

Worst comes to worst, I get something nicer. For what I needed it for, it did it's job and it was only like $8.

While cleaning it today, I realized how nice it would be to have the takedown version... I didn't get one because I never hike and shoot or anything like that..thought it would be a waste of money.

Now I know..:P

At the end of the day, it's a .22 and it's my first gun. Stuff is probably going to happen to it. I try to take care of it as best as I can and that's about all I can say. I think if I stay away from Winchester bulk, run a patch or 2 down it and then boresnake it should be fine.

How exactly do you clean lead pieces from a boresnakes bristles? O.o

jlh820 · August 24th, 2012, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stealth15

Froglube sounds awesome, but it's pretty pricey. Would the 4oz combo last a long time? How often do you need to reapply it?

From what I saw on Ruger's cleaning instructional video, the 10/22s are supposed to be very lightly oiled. In the video, they oiled a rag and then wiped everything with it and then reassembled the gun.

A little FrogLube goes a looonnnggg way. I've got an 8oz liquid and an 8oz tub of the paste. And I've lost count of how many cleanings I've done with it - at least 10 and I'd estimate I've still got 90% left. The initial treatment uses the most. Subsequent cleanings require much less.

Watch the videos on their site. There's also one on YouTube where this guy does his own controlled study. He used about 9 of the leading cleaner lubricants and FrogLube. The results surprised him since he was sure his high end petroleum based products would win. But FrogLube came out on top. Because it penetrates the surfaces, wood, metal, poly, whatever, it lubricates much better than any oil based product. And it doesn't migrate. It stays where you put it.

If funds are an issue, I would recommend a small tub of the paste. It's the same stuff and if you want to use it in liquid form, just warm it up in the microwave. It's nonflammable, so don't worry about that.

I think they give out free samples at gunshows, but every time I've seen it there the samples were all gone.

I'm not connected with the company in any way, shape or form. As I've said before, IMO it's the best thing to come along for guns since smokeless powder. Plus it's American made and part of the profits go to our vets and troops.

BTW - I got mine on Amazon.com. I don't know if it was cheaper, but they usually have the best prices and it's easier to find! When I look at all my arsenal of chemicals, lubes and cleaners, I figure I'll be spending about 25% of what I was before.