Cleaning a .17 hmr

[30-6]

Is a bore snake good( and recommended )for cleaning a rifled barrel, a .17hmr ? Or is there abetter option.

[Worstan]

Interested to hear what people say about this. I use a bore snake for my .243 and a cleaning rod with my .17 (only cause that's what came with the rifle!)

[malkiserow]

a couple of bore snake pull-throughs every 20 or so rounds

 

I've a rod ready for a major clean at some point but not got to that stage yet.... I check the zero and if the bore snake does it - I keep on with it.

 

There was a thread on this a few weeks back

[killer_pigeon]

i use a bore snake after 50 rounds when i am out and about, otherwise rod and patches after every outing as its a dirty round

[Dekers]

i use a bore snake after 50 rounds when i am out and about, otherwise rod and patches after every outing as its a dirty round

 

This goes round and round and everyone will have a view.

 

The bore snake will simply give the gun a quick once over until you can do the job properly, whether that be your HMR, .243 or shotgun!

Edited January 14, 2011 by Dekers

[kevinbird]

im with decker on this one . they are for a quick job . nothing beats the rod and brush

[yankeedoodlepigeon]

So is will just a brush do it or do you have to use something like tetra gun cleaner first?

[Dekers]

So is will just a brush do it or do you have to use something like tetra gun cleaner first?

 

 

I am not aware of any HMR rounds that do not have a copper coat (I guess there may be one somewhere in the world) so you need a cleaner to deal with powder and copper deposits!

[Dougy]

Just be aware, once you have given your HMR a good cleaning be prepared to put a fair few through to get it back onto the Zero.If thats not the case then your lucky.

[Dekers]

Just be aware, once you have given your HMR a good cleaning be prepared to put a fair few through to get it back onto the Zero.If thats not the case then your lucky.

 

 

Nothing lucky about it, IF you give it a good cleaning then it WILL shoot straight.

 

Many people do NOT give it a good cleaning and then complain as you mention above.

 

A quick clean raises fowling without totally removing it, leaving a barrel in a worse state than when you started, hence giving poor preliminary results.

 

People always say "I did give it a thorough clean"...wrong, if you had it would shoot well immediately (perhaps 1, 2 shots at the VERY most to clear any cleaning/oil residues from the barrel, not the 10-20-30-50 shot you hear banded about).

 

Doesn't it sound a bit more sensible to spend more time cleaning properly than to waste all that ammo and give poor shooting results!

 

We live in a consumer, must have, instant world, get used to the fact that whatever miracle cleaner you put down the barrel it will NOT clean the barrel instantly.

 

Rifle cleaning is a thorough process, do it well and your rifle will shoot, all mine do, always have and always will, because I was bought up as a target shooter and know how to clean a barrel!

 

ATB!

[JRDS]

Well I used to own a Annie 1717 and after a thorough clean with rods it would take a box of ammo to be back on song. Now have a Quad and just use a Boresnake occasionally and it shoots fine. Alot of HMR's need to be a little dirty to shoot well so use a Boresnake and forget about the rods.

[Redgum]

I have my own theory on the hmr cleaning regime, when I first got mine I had loads of trouble with eratic grouping. I blamed it on everything,even sent a new scope back,but unless the CZ has come through some sort of early age crisis and now settled down it was mostly down to me.

 

You take the gun home and give it a good clean, in your head you will be thinking that now it won't shoot well. You start zeroing,unconfident and cold the first few rounds shoot badly, you get cross cos you wish you never cleaned the bleeding thing and things go downhill until you settled down and start to shoot well,a box of ammo is gone. Well thats how I now explain my early problems with cleaning.

 

Now I clean it with brunox and patches everytime because I hate the thought of a dirty gun sat in the cabinet, I want it to last. Now I'm confident it shoots well clean it does just that.

Ask target shooters what they do, some say clean some say not but its what really works for you. But one things for sure a dirty gun left in the cabinet for lengthy periods will have a shorter life than a clean one.

Edited January 16, 2011 by Redgum

[rapid rich]

Nothing lucky about it, IF you give it a good cleaning then it WILL shoot straight.

 

Many people do NOT give it a good cleaning and then complain as you mention above.

 

A quick clean raises fowling without totally removing it, leaving a barrel in a worse state than when you started, hence giving poor preliminary results.

 

People always say "I did give it a thorough clean"...wrong, if you had it would shoot well immediately (perhaps 1, 2 shots at the VERY most to clear any cleaning/oil residues from the barrel, not the 10-20-30-50 shot you hear banded about).

 

Doesn't it sound a bit more sensible to spend more time cleaning properly than to waste all that ammo and give poor shooting results!

 

We live in a consumer, must have, instant world, get used to the fact that whatever miracle cleaner you put down the barrel it will NOT clean the barrel instantly.

 

Rifle cleaning is a thorough process, do it well and your rifle will shoot, all mine do, always have and always will, because I was bought up as a target shooter and know how to clean a barrel!

 

ATB!

Hi Dekers, could you give us a step by step cleaning guide? Products used? Rods, oils etc? How often ?etc etc

Have heard this talked about many times and would like it thrashed out once and for all.

Are rods ok? Isn't there a risk of crown damage?

Thanks in advance Rich

[Dekers]

Hi Dekers, could you give us a step by step cleaning guide? Products used? Rods, oils etc? How often ?etc etc

Have heard this talked about many times and would like it thrashed out once and for all.

Are rods ok? Isn't there a risk of crown damage?

Thanks in advance Rich

 

Are you sitting comfortably?

 

This will never get thrashed out once and for all, far to many views.

 

Bore guides are always useful, but when it comes to crown damage, you are far more likely to damage a crown on a HMR with a Bore Snake than a brush. Reason being, you will tend to hold the rifle in a similar way and pull the snake out in a similar way, if you do not pull the snake out 100% straight all the time you will constantly put uneven pressure/wear on the same part of the crown!

 

The bore guide will help with the throat/breach area, no particular effect at the crown!

 

I don't have, and never have had any bore guides, many swear by them and I'm not criticising.

 

Looking specifically at the HMR, this presents it's own problems, primarily in that it is a very small bore!

 

You need a top quality rod, mine is a Dewey, not cheap, brushes wear out quicker than most accept (on all calibres), patches are down to individuals, either pre cut or get a roll and cut yourself. I've never had any time for the mops, whether it be shotgun or rifle.

 

Chemical/cleaner wise there are loads to chose from, and everyone will have their preference, it matters not as long as they do the job, I have in the cupboard Hoppe's Benchrest 9 Copper Solvent, Forrest Bore Foam (not a big fan at all, but a bit more useful on bigger calibres) Youngs 303, Express Gun oil, Legia, etc.

 

Follow instructions, but I suggest when you have gone through the whole process and your brush/patches have gone from black to nearly clean, scrub it again, and see how black the patches come out again!

 

Go round again. The patches will never be 100% clean straight after a scrubbing as the brush also leaves residue, but you will know when you are getting there.

 

When you are satisfied, then either Legia or Gun Oil down the barrel and patch out again leaving only the merest trace!

 

Don't forget to clean the crown too, if you do it regularly you will find all the residues come off with a patch and cleaner, no need to scrub.

 

Breach and bolt will also require sympathetic cleaning and oil protection, but go easy on the oil.

 

If you have CLEANED the gun it will shoot, unless there is another inherent underlying problem!

 

If your groups are all over the place go back and clean it again, it isn't clean

 

Whichever way you look at it cleaning is not a 30 second pull through with a Bore Snake (how does that clean the crown, throat, breach, bolt, etc) it is time consuming and laborious, but it does work.

 

Many never clean guns and there are lots of tales of top level accuracy. I make no suggestion as to what anyone should do, I simply make the point that my rifles ALL shoot straight after a clean and DO NOT takes boxes of ammo to get them to group.

 

If people don't want to clean or only give them a once over then fine, but if you CLEAN them they will work, if you don't, then you take your chances as to where the bullet will end up!

 

ATB!

 

PS

I'll have 10p on it with you the first response is along the lines of........

 

I've put 10,000 rounds through my HMR, never cleaned it, and it shoots a 1p every time, yet my mate who always cleans his can't hit a £5 note!

 

 

PPS

I make no suggestion that this is the definitive guide, there will always be another way and there is always something new, if it works for you then it works!

Edited January 16, 2011 by Dekers

[apache]

Thanks for that Deckers, very useful!

[Redgum]

Dekers,you give it the whole works everytime you use the gun, you should be able to have the chamber reamed out for 308 soon.

I found that after the first hundred rounds I never saw any copper fouling so have a simpler routine.

I run a patch well soaked in Brunox then run clean patches down till they come out clean, can be as many as 10 or more. If the gun is being stored for long periods of time run a patch soaked in gun oil followed by a few clean patchs. Oil in the barrel will make the gun inaccurate,even dangerous. Once a year I give all my guns a really good clean, to lift copper fouling you need a copper solvent and gun cleaner like Brunox. The process should be alternated with first the gun cleaning agent, patch until clean, then copper solvent patch until clean, apply both gun cleaning agent and copper solvent with a brush giving it a reasonable scrub.Keep doing this until the patches come out clean finishing with the Brunox. I'm a firm believer that if a barrel is well run in it won't tend to collect copper deposits, luckily I have never had a barrel that has a problem with this.

When I give my gun its yearly big clean I also drop the action and barrel out of the stock and give that a big clean too, the rifle will then need to be re zeroed of course. The bolt gets a strip n clean to.

This works for me but I have read articles on gun cleaning regimes that require scrubbing out copper deposits everytime the gun is used.

[Dekers]

Dekers,you give it the whole works everytime you use the gun, you should be able to have the chamber reamed out for 308 soon.

I found that after the first hundred rounds I never saw any copper fouling so have a simpler routine.

I run a patch well soaked in Brunox then run clean patches down till they come out clean, can be as many as 10 or more. If the gun is being stored for long periods of time run a patch soaked in gun oil followed by a few clean patchs. Oil in the barrel will make the gun inaccurate,even dangerous. Once a year I give all my guns a really good clean, to lift copper fouling you need a copper solvent and gun cleaner like Brunox. The process should be alternated with first the gun cleaning agent, patch until clean, then copper solvent patch until clean, apply both gun cleaning agent and copper solvent with a brush giving it a reasonable scrub.Keep doing this until the patches come out clean finishing with the Brunox. I'm a firm believer that if a barrel is well run in it won't tend to collect copper deposits, luckily I have never had a barrel that has a problem with this.

When I give my gun its yearly big clean I also drop the action and barrel out of the stock and give that a big clean too, the rifle will then need to be re zeroed of course. The bolt gets a strip n clean to.

This works for me but I have read articles on gun cleaning regimes that require scrubbing out copper deposits everytime the gun is used.

 

 

Like I said there are other ways, its simply a matter or getting or keeping the barrel/parts clean.

 

Simple fact is yep, I clean the HMR (and WMR and all my centrefires) pretty much every time I use it, doing it that way the effort is minimal, leave it for any time or lots of shots then there is a LOT of work to be done! My .22lr does not get that much attention as it is a sub sonic lead tool, very dirty propellant but only very soft and relatively slow lead along the barrel.

 

As I also said many suggest they never clean, personal choice, but it works for me!

 

[Redgum]

Like I said there are other ways, its simply a matter or getting or keeping the barrel/parts clean.

 

Simple fact is yep, I clean the HMR (and WMR and all my centrefires) pretty much every time I use it, doing it that way the effort is minimal, leave it for any time or lots of shots then there is a LOT of work to be done! My .22lr does not get that much attention as it is a sub sonic lead tool, very dirty propellant but only very soft and relatively slow lead along the barrel.

 

As I also said many suggest they never clean, personal choice, but it works for me!

 

 

 

Another dilema is how far to clean when the gun has been subject to a right royal soaking when out stalkin. My 243 sits in a hoque full alley bedded stock so obviously that can't rust but the metal work that you can't see can. I did drop the metal out of the stock a couple of times in the early days but its a hassle re zeroing each time.I went to the trouble of giving the whole gun the microlon treatment(gun juice) to protect the inner metal work and all the other added benefits the stuff is meant to do to your rifle. If the gun gets drenched I give it a few minutes on the wifes hair dryer and then leave it for a few hours before putting it back in the cabinet. I have never seen any rust on my guns when they get their annual scrub up so this method is working. The microlon treatment didnt seem to make the gun shoot any better ( its very accurate anyway ) or improve velocity as they claim but it really does aid cleaning the barrel, especially on the hmr.