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How to clean bore on new 10/22 rifle?

16K views 30 replies 21 participants last post by  Reeferman 
#1 ·
From the Ruger site video, they use a cable but having trouble finding one.
Looks like 3 piece rod can't access from the breech?
Looks like Otis has a solution but I can't source it in Canada.
Any ideas?
 
#2 ·
Use a good quality cleaning rod, such as a Dewey, ProShot, or Tipton. I prefer the stainless steel rods, though I have a Tipton carbon fiber one for my M1 rifle. Wipe down the rod periodically while using it. Passing a cleaning rod straight through a rifle bore at 1 inch per second won't harm it. .22 LR bores normally need very little cleaning, unlike centerfire guns shooting jacketed and/or cast lead bullets. I clean the actions of my rimfires much more than the bores.

I have Boresnakes for most of my long guns, but only carry them in the field for emergency cleaning.
 
#5 ·
The Otis system is awesome. It works great on the 10/22. Just make sure you also buy the "Limited Breach" .22 caliber bore brush, as it is short enough to be pulled through the breach towards the muzzle end.

 
#4 · (Edited)
I have used several brands of bore snakes and a drop or two of Shooters Choice or Otis after a Range trip. Doing so has allowed more time between field strip or deep cleaning and I can drop the snake in the barrel at the breech rather than the muzzle.
 
#6 · (Edited)
I do not like bore snakes .... after their first use, it's like washing your hands in dirty water. You can actually put more damage causing residue in your bore than you remove.

Here's my suggestion .... buy a good one piece cleaning rod with a bore guide. The proper diameter rod will be 13/64" for a 22 cal bore and will be threaded for 8x32 accessories such as bore brushes, patch holders, mops, or jags. I like solid brass cleaning rods, in fact I make my own on a mini-lathe but most any metal or carbon fiber one piece rod will do just fine. I avoid 3-piece aluminum or steel cleaning rods because they can come unthreaded when used and the open joint can be damaging to the bore or crown. Bore guides look like a cone with a hole drilled in the center. The concept being .... you hold the bore guide tip in the bore and by keeping the cleaning rod centered, it will not touch the crown when used properly. So much for the cleaning rod.

I always start off with a liberal amount of powder solvent .... brand is not important but I use Hoppie's and have been for more than 50 years. Other brands should work equally well as long as it says "Powder Solvent" on the container. I actually pour some solvent in the bore then use a wet "bore mop" to distribute the solvent throughout the bore. This step is called "mopping" .... you can also use a clean cloth patch that fits loose in the bore to apply solvent. To work properly, the bore must be totally wet from end to end. After mopping, let the gun sit for 15 minutes. This will allow the sovent to dissolve powder residue and will help loosen lead fouling. Some people use CLP products (clean, lubricate, and prevent rust), however these products don't do the individual tasks near as well as powder solvent and gun oil.

The next step is to use a bronze bore brush, again wetted with powder solvent. Lock the bolt back so the bore brush can exit the chamber. Never try to reverse the direction of the bore brush while it is still in the bore. Take about 5 full length back and forth strokes from the muzzle and make sure you use the bore guide. This should loosen all powder residue and most lead fouling. All 22 LR ammo uses lead bullets .... some bullets are thinly plated with brass or copper making them more foul resistant, however even plated bullets can result in lead fouling. Lead fouling is almost impossible to see unless it is really built up. What happens is a bore brush makes lead fouling shiny and it blends in with the steel bore. It is a good idea to check a bore a few days after cleaning because lead will corrode quickly and turn a dull gray, making it much easier to see. If you do discover more lead fouling, repeat the above process. If there is still lead fouling, mop the bore with penetrating oil and let it sit over night. Penetrating oil will actually creep under lead fouling and make it very easy to remove. Kroil is an excellent product for removing lead fouling in this manner.

After brushing the bore, use a patch holder and a clean white cloth patch .... old "T" shirts (jersy material) works great. Push the patch all the way through the bore and back making sure it fits snug. Remove the dirty patch and use a fresh patch to get the rest of the fouling out with another full stroke. Last, apply a few drops of gun oil on another fresh cloth patch and do one more full stroke. This is excellent for rust prevention.

All 22 semi-autos get dirty inside the action. This is because 22 LRs are "blow back" operated, meaning the built up pressure in the barrel will push the spent case and the bolt back so the bolt can strip a fresh round from the magazine and chamber it. During bolt movement, a lot of powder residue crud is blown back into the bowels of the gun and spread to every nook and cranny. Eventually, this crud will build up to a point where the gun starts to malfunction. You don't have to clean the internal parts every time you clean the bore unless you want to but I recommend doing a full field strip every brick of ammo (500 rounds) and doing a thorough cleaning. For a 10/22. the best way I have found is to remove the two receiver pins, then remove the trigger group. Removing the recoil spring and bolt is a bit more difficult so if you aren't too mechanical, you can access most of the areas that need cleaned while the bolt is still in the receiver. Flood the bolt, receiver, and trigger group with powder solvent then let them sit for a few minutes. Scrub the breech face and any areas you can see with a tooth brush and more solvent. Use compressed air to blow out the dissolved powder residue and powder solvent. Every couple bricks of ammo, you need to remove the recoil spring and bolt so you can clean the powder residue from the firing pin channel and other areas that were not accessible.

Once the internal parts have been cleaned, place a small dot of oil on each accessible part and use a clean patch to spread the oil to form a very thin film that feels dry to the touch. Using too much oil is about the worst thing you can do with a 10/22 or any other gun because oil will actually draw powder residue and form a very abrasive sludge. Oil has the opposite effect of what you might think. It turns gummy with age and rather than reduce friction, it actually increases friction, much like molasses. Using a very minimal amount of oil will prevent rust but it will not draw powder residue nor will it turn gummy. Excess oil is your worst enemy .... especially if you shoot in cold climates.

Many people are conditioned to believe using large quantities of oil is a good thing. I can assure you this is just the opposite, in fact when I owned my gunsmith shop, about half the guns I got in for repairs were nothing more than a result of excess oil. In most cases, a good cleaning put them back in service but there were occasions where parts were actually worn out due to the abrasive sludge and had to be replaced. I can't stress using a minimal amount of gun oil enough!! Also, I never recommend using automotive or household products for guns. Many oils have added detergents that can eat bluing and leave small pits in the metal. Granted, ounce for ounce, gun oil is way more expensive than automotive oil but if you follow these guidelines, a 2 1/4 oz bottle is about 4 bucks and should last for a long time. I clean a lot of guns per year and a 4 buck bottle of Hoppie's gun oil will last me 2 or 3 years.

Here's a photo of some 1 piece brass cleaning rods with bore guides. These happen to be for handguns but a rifle rod is exactly the same only longer and don't photograph well. The top rod is for a 17 cal, the next is for 22 cal, and the 1/4" diameter rod is for centerfire guns. The short rods are for cylinders. The longer rods have "free spin" handles:

 
#12 ·
i'm glad someone finally said what I always do ... muzzle end down to breech ... pretty simple to me ... one piece rod, yes ...

I was starting to think I was doing something wrong ...
 
#13 ·
As AzShooter1 noted, you can drill a hole in the receiver that will allow you to clean from the breech end. This hole will also act as a bore guide. Of course you have to totally disassemble your 10/22 to include removing the recoil spring and bolt assembly. Your cleaning rod needs to be long enough to pass through the receiver and barrel. Seems like a lot of extra work for such a small reward. Here's a photo with the dimensions for the cleaning hole. BTW, the hole is covered by the stock so you can't see it when the gun is assembled. Another option that I do NOT recommend is removing the barrel from the receiver and cleaning from the breech.

 
#27 · (Edited)
As AzShooter1 noted, you can drill a hole in the receiver that will allow you to clean from the breech end. This hole will also act as a bore guide......Here's a photo with the dimensions for the cleaning hole.
This is what I did after getting tired of using bore snakes, Otis' pull-through cable, etc. Drilling that hole is very simple and makes cleaning from the breach as easy as any other action.

I laid out the center of the hole using a caliper and a center punch and drilled the hole with my cordless hand drill. I drilled starting with a 3/32" drill bit and going up in increments to 1/4". I packed a rag into the receiver to catch the chips and chamfered the edges of the hole with fine emery cloth. Clean up any residue and reassemble the rifle.

There are jigs available to do this job but they are worth it only if you are doing multiple guns. Mine took about 20 minutes including disassemble and final reassembly.

Given the usual 16" to 20" barrels on most 10/22s, a standard length cleaning rod suitable for most bolt action rifles is plenty long enough. Actually the receiver of a 10/22 is shorter then the receivers on many bolt action 22 and centerfire rifles.
 
#15 ·
Maybe I keep it too clean but on my Ruger Mark IV I clean every use and I have in my head to clean only breach to muzzle. I even remove the brass brush each time after passing thru rather than pulling back out again. Great idea about drilling the hole and BTW Iowegan, Hoppes #9 holds a sentimental smell for me so I am partial to it as well 😀
 
#18 ·
All my rimfires get a good initial scrubbing using a rod and MPro7. After that I use a Patchworm with MPro7 unless accuracy starts to drop off, then I give them a good scrubbing using a rod again with brushes and a patch jag.

I don't think drilling an access hole in the back of the receiver is too much work for little gain as posted by another forum member. I've seen too many Garands on the rack with great throats and clear bores but worn out muzzles from cleaning with a rod from the front.
 
#19 ·
Sportsmans Whse has bore guides of brass with different size holes.
I'm still using old aluminum Otters cleaning rods from the sixties.
The bore guide on the rod and against the muzzle and keep it there whil swabbing brushign etc.
When I was young didn't know where to find such things as cleaning rods. Used heavy needle or hair pin and heavy thread, cut piece of cloth judged to be tight enough and tied the thread around the middle, Soaked with 3in1 oil the only cleaner and lube and protectant we had,in the hills. Tied on fresh dry piece to wipe it out of the bore.
Only fouling we fond wa burned and unburned powder bits and a bit of waxy bullet lube sometimes. Gun didn't have a chance to rust. It was cleaned and erled on every surface seemingly every few days. Someof my Cousins still have that old 28 inch Springfield single shot 22 with the finest feeling linseed oil rubbed stock.
 
#20 ·
Not trying to start an argument here ...

I used Hoppes for a long time. Tried a few others also, always went back to Hoppes. Then I tried Deep Creep. I found that even after a through cleaning with Hoppes that Deep Creep removed even more crud that I didn't know was in there. My borescope shows a really clean bore.

I believe that the techs at Tactical Solutions use Deep Creep exclusively, and only on patches, not even brushes.
 
#21 ·
DesertRatAZ, The concept for cleaning a bore is twofold. First, you need to remove powder residue. This is very important, especially with 22 LRs because finely ground glass is used in the priming compound. Further, when any powder burns, it leaves carbon particles that are very sharp and hard. This is what wears a bore out. Hoppe's or most any other powder solvent does a good job on powder/primer residue.

Next is to remove most bullet residue. For 22s and some handguns, the bullet residue is lead. For guns shooting jacketed bullets, that residue is called "gilding metal" which is an alloy of copper and zinc. Powder solvents will remove some bullet residue but better products such as lead removers or Sweet's 7.62 for jacketed bullets is the best.

Notice I said "most bullet residue" in the previous paragraph. Leaving a little bullet residue helps keep the bore seasoned. Believe it or not …. leaving some bullet fouling is a good thing because it fills in striation marks (machine marks from cutting rifling) and makes the bore smoother so it doesn't file down the first few bullets you fire. If you remove virtually all bullet residue, you will have to fire a few "fouling shots" to re-season the barrel and fill in striation marks, otherwise accuracy won't be at its best. If guns are going in long term storage, try to clean out the bullet fouling as much as possible but if you plan to shoot the gun in the next few months, removing all bullet fouling is counterproductive.

Deep Creep has chemical agents that dissolve powder and bullet residue. The good news is … it does a better job than normal solvents. The bad news is …. it also eats the steel in your bore. I would limit the use of Deep Creep to maybe once a year and use normal gun cleaning products the rest of the time.
 
#28 ·
Deep Creep has chemical agents that dissolve powder and bullet residue. The good news is … it does a better job than normal solvents. The bad news is …. it also eats the steel in your bore. I would limit the use of Deep Creep to maybe once a year and use normal gun cleaning products the rest of the time.
I'm going to disagree with you on this statement. Looking at the components listed for Deep Creep (since they include the CAS numbers for the ingredients), there is nothing in the formulation that will attack steel. The isopropyl alcohol is hygroscopic, but it will evaporate long before that causes a problem. :confused:
 
#22 ·
Just for my two cents, and not to dispute what any individual has said, I have switched to carbon-fiber rods for both my rifles and handguns. They don't permanently bend, ever. They don't break. They have no abrasive components (like the inevitable aluminum oxide forming on the surface of an aluminum rod), they are not coated because they don't need to be, they don't absorb or collect any material. They cost a little more but are worth it.
 
#24 ·
Iowegan:

I didn't describe my entire cleaning process. After cleaning the bore (whether with Hoppes or Deep Creep. I use brushes and patches, alternating until the patch is clean.) I always run 2 or 3 dry patches thru, making sure the patches come out dry and clean. Then I oil up a patch or two and run thru the bore. While I try to not over lube the wear points, I see no problem if the bore is oily. It protects the steel. I've tried a variety of lubes, including Mobil-1, and always came back to BreakFree CLP. My experience with Mobil-1 is it doesn't seem to stick around. I don't know what the chemistry is, but the vapor pressure must be high, since it seems to disappear off the metal just sitting in my safe.

BTW, I don't shoot a lot of jacketed ammo, but I do use Sweets occasionally. And after discovering your article on hardness I did change bullets. My leading has diminished markedly.
 
#26 · (Edited)
blackvoid, What is important is to keep the rod clean so it doesn't add contamination to a bore. Carbon fiber rods have the best overall attributes with solid brass rods being a close second. IMO, 3-piece aluminum rods are the worst

Reeferman, Nothing like an overkill. No doubt the "Cleaning Rod Hole Drill" works well but a 69 cent 1/4" drill bit, a caliper, a center punch, and an electric drill works just as well and saves you $32.26 ….. plus you don't have to remove the barrel to drill the hole.

DesertRatAZ, There's nothing wrong with your deep cleaning procedure but I don't get too excited about cleaning ALL of the bullet residue out. If you shoot a rifle pretty often, a deep cleaning procedure like yours is advised about once a year. Cleaning after each shooting session is also advised, but primarily to remove abrasive powder residue. In other words, there is such a thing as damaging the bore from over cleaning with chemical agents such as Deep Creep.

Gun storage conditions dictate what method to use. If your guns are stored in high humidity conditions, then it's best to remove as much bullet and powder residue as possible. If your guns are stored in dry climate or an air conditioned environment, then it's best to leave a little bullet fouling in the bore. Why? There's a condition called "galvanic action" (Google it) which involves two dissimilar metals where pitting will take place in the bore when an electrolyte is present. Humidity and powder residue can form an electrolyte. In dry climate storage, there's no electrolyte because humidity is too low for it to form. Keeping most of the striation marks in a bore filled with bullet jacket material improves accuracy because a pristine clean bore will actually file off a little bullet material until the marks get filled again. Meantime, your first several shots have less than optimum accuracy until the bore is seasoned again. Long range shooters will notice a difference in accuracy but plinkers or hunters probably won't see a difference when just shooting at 100 yards.

When I lived in Arizona (Phoenix area), humidity was very low except during the monsoon season. My house had an evaporative cooler (swamp cooler) that was used in the spring and fall, and a normal refrigerated air conditioner that was used in the summer. This was a true test of how well your gun products worked. If my guns weren't kept well oiled on the surface, it was common to see rust starting to form when the swamp cooler was in use. Now I live in Iowa where high humidity is common in the summer. My guns are stored in a very dry air conditioned area so I never see any signs of rust year around …. even if I forget to oil the surfaces.

For handguns shooting jacketed bullets, you will never see an accuracy difference between a seasoned bore and a pristine clean bore so it really doesn't matter if you use a bullet solvent (like Sweet's 7.62) or not …. as long as you use a good powder solvent and finish up with a oil mop. If you shoot lead bullets, it's always advisable to remove all lead fouling every time you finish a shooting session.
 
#30 ·
I picked up an Otis cable cleaning kit at a Wally Mart , neat little system big improvement over the bore snake . Some place in Canada must sell stuff like this .
Another option is clean from the muzzle and just be careful , I did it like that for 20 years then found out about a little plastic muzzle protector ...used it another 15 years before the snakes and cables came out...
Cleaning from the muzzle with an aluminum rod wont destroy your 10/22 , just be careful .
Gary
 
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