Really, really newbie question

[TowsonTiger22]

I feel really bad having to ask this, but I come from a family that mainly only owns shotguns (You can't rifle hunt in most of Maryland), and other than wiping down the outside of the few rifles I have, I've never really been taught how to go about cleaning the inner barrel and such. If someone wouldn't mind walking me through it, I'd appreciate it.

[Scorch]

You will find as many ways to clean a rifle as there are shooters. Here's my condensed lesson on how to clean a rifle:
* Open bolt, remove bolt (if bolt can be removed from the action).
* Insert bore guide (if bolt is out of the action). If lever action, pump, autoloader, use a centering guide to keep the rod from rubbing the bore during cleaning (a centering guide comes with many one-piece cleaning rods).
* Screw patch loop onto cleaning rod. Insert a patch. Apply a liberal amount of solvent to the patch, run it through the bore several times.
* Clean and scrub the bolt and outer surfaces of the rifle. This will allow time for the solvent to work in the bore.
* Insert a bore brush of the proper size on the cleaning rod. Apply solvent to the brush (dip in solvent or apply solvent to the brush, either way) and run the brush through the bore 2-3 times. Work on cleaning the bolt and exterior surfaces again for a few minutes to let the solvent work.
* Brush the bore again 1 time.
* Remove brush, insert a jag of the proper size onto the rod. A jag holds the patch tightly in the bore while cleaning.
* Wet a patch with solvent, run through the bore on the jag. Repeat with dry patches until the patches come out dry and relatively clean.
* Lightly oil a patch with gun oil and pass it through the bore.
* Remove bore guide, reinstall the bolt (if removed at the beginning).

Done!

Ideally, you should use a one-piece cleaning rod, but in many cases a jointed rod is all that is available. It will work OK, but if you intend to get serious about rifles I would recommend a one-piece rod. Use bronze brushes and bore jags, not plastic, stainless steel, or other materials.

[ronc0011]

One note about the solvent. A good solvent is designed to chemically react with the copper left behind by the bullet, So you really shouldn’t dip a dirty brush into the bottle because it will begin expending the solvent.

Yeah cleaning a rifle is pretty straight forward. I generally clean any firearm I get before I ever shoot it. One, because you never know what kind of condition it’s in and two, it gives me a chance to familiarize myself with the weapon. Depending on the rifle you want to at least clean the bore and the action around the bolt. This usually means removing the bolt from the gun so you can get to all the surfaces. I also like to try and maintain a good collection of brass brushes on hand. Because it is often difficult to find brushes in a convenient size for working on the areas around the bolt, I will often pick up a couple of extra bore brushes. I have also found that one of those little bitty screw drivers with a patch wrapped over the end is handy for getting into small or narrow spaces and grooves. I have an M1A (semi-auto) so the action is a bit more intricate also my shotgun is a semi-auto and again the action has a bunch of grooves and such. Another thin, depending on the rifle you might want to look into a chamber brush.

On a bolt gun this stuff around the action isn’t as critical because a bolt is pretty straight forward and you are always certain that it is locked into battery. A semi-auto on the other hand can fail to fully lock into battery creating the potential for an out of battery discharge. Usually bad for everyone involved.

Also you don’t want to get too free with the oil. Oil attracts and keeps dirt, burnt powder, unburnt powder and anything else that happens along. If you run an oiled patch through the barrel then you should follow it with a couple of dry patches.

Just remember, when that cartridge goes off there is a very sudden and powerful expansion of gasses and it pushes burnt powder in every direction. And it has enough force behind it to get into pretty much everything. Your rifle is made up of a number very close fitting parts and there isn’t really room for a bunch of extra debris. It will eventually start to effect the functioning of your rifle.