17HMR Cleaning

[Dekers]

thanks for all the replies, my 17 has become inaccurate and is certainly not shot out so wondering if damage has been caused by cleaning with a steel rod.

 

Who knows, the crown is always worth a good check, and a pretty easy area to check visually, if you can find a bit of light you can usually check the barrel/rifling quite well to, a borescope will obviously be favourite if you can lay your hands on one..

 

Have you cleaned all the breach area thoroughly as well.

 

We are making a dangerous assumption here that mounts, scope, moderator, floating barrel, etc etc are all 100%, there are many reasons why guns can become inaccurate.

[spandit]

I couldn't get a boresnake down my barrel. Might make a pull through from strimmer line but haven't cleaned it very much

[shinybum]

 

Who knows, the crown is always worth a good check, and a pretty easy area to check visually, if you can find a bit of light you can usually check the barrel/rifling quite well to, a borescope will obviously be favourite if you can lay your hands on one..

 

Have you cleaned all the breach area thoroughly as well.

 

We are making a dangerous assumption here that mounts, scope, moderator, floating barrel, etc etc are all 100%, there are many reasons why guns can become inaccurate.

thanks dekers, maybe i am assuming the worst to soon, will check for other reasons for inaccuracy

[Savhmr]

When you say "inaccurate" can you be a little more specific? ie is it the grouping that is all over the place , what groups can you shoot at 100 yds compared with when you first had the rifle, or is it specific ranges, conditions or just the odd flier?

 

If grouping is off, it could be for a number of reasons as Dekers has already mentioned. I'd start by checking barrel/breach retaining screws to stock, then check scope and scope mounts, finally I'd check that chamber is clean as a whistle as if not (and many are not!) it can effect the centring of the bullet when seated which will affect accuracy; also the crown is a great place to start as any damage to the crown will likely cause inaccuracy. Some build up of carbon deposits is normal, especially where a moderator has been fitted but this shouldn't be a problem, just dont clean with a bronze brush (always use a nylon brush...even a cut down toothbrush! and some bore solvent).

[hyflier]

Now that you've heard from several members sharing their cleaning methods Shinybum, would you care to share your methods with us?................ I think you'd have to "give it some" to wear out a barrel by cleaning, just curious

Edited June 10, 2015 by hyflier

[Dougy]

It may not always get damaged by over cleaning, although over cleaning using sub standard equipment or incorrect process could damage the barrel. Steel rods with some damage could put a nice score the full length of the barrel, pulling back through the crown with a bronze brush or patch full of crud could damage it. Incorrect use of chemicals ie mixing could damage the barrel. Not cleaning could cause pitting or rusting along the barrel, specially leaving the moderator on for a while in the cabinet will cause rusting to the crown.

[RichardAllen]

I have used Hoppe's boresnake for years, with no problems. I spay in some gun cleaner and pull the boresnake through a few times after each outing. Every 100 rounds or so, the rifle clearly goes off, and a rabbit lives to see another day. Then I do a full rod and patch clean and it takes about 5 rounds or so to come back on nsong.

 

However, I have a real beef with Hoppe's. My old boresnake still works fine. Thinking it may be a bit worn, I bought a new genuine one recently. The brass weight on the new one is about half the length on the old one, so not enough to pull the cord through a dirty barrel.

 

No response from my email to Hoppe's website after two weeks . . .