The 22 RF benchrest guys say not to clean your rifle till the accuracy goes south, and then it will take several hundred rounds to bring it back. Same for the PCP rifles?
Bill
Bill
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Barrel Cleaning
- Thread starter WNYBill
- Start date
there is no powder residue to deal with,no need to clean as much,but when you do it does seem to take a "few" shots to get the gun to group good again.
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ThomasT
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- Apr 25, 2021
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Hello boscoebrea,
You are correct about no burned powder, but every time I pull a clean swab it will have some discoloration. I just have assumed it to be factory oil off the pellets and bits of lead. I am most likely doing an overkill on the cleaning
Be safe and have a great day,
ThomasT
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Do an experiment ,forget about what you see on your swab,do not clean your barrel ,get a baseline on how many shots you can go before you notice a falling off of accuracy,might surprise you.,might not.Thank you ThomasT,and the same to you.
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I think it has to do with which pcp rifle you have. I rarely clean my Avenger, but my RAW HM1000x gets barrel thoroughly cleaned every 100 shots or so, or every outing. Has to do with speed of pellets and type of barrel.
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I clean my guns every tin or so never had had a issue where you gotta shoot it in to get accuracy back.
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If it's a new rifle I clean the barrel about every tin of pellets for a couple of tins. After that it seems all the oils and grease is blown out of the valve and what not.. then I only clean the barrel when accuracy seems to fall off... when its hunting season I'll clean it before I go for the season to make sure it's good to go.
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I'll share my experience with FX STX Superior and STX Superior Heavy liners in 22 cal. I've learned that these barrels perform better after being polished. If there's any interest in the polishing process I can share that in a separate post. As for cleaning intervals needed it seems to correlate with the twist rate of the barrel and velocity being pushed. I've been shooting Patriot Javelin 34gr slugs out of a 700mm STX Superior Heavy (1:16 twist) since January at speeds of 1,000-1,030fps. With that barrel and velocity precision drops off quickly at around 200 shots. A couple of weeks ago I got the new 800mm STX Superior Heavy Tensioned barrel (1:14 twist). Shooting the same slugs I found again that precision dropped off sharply at around 200 shots.
Now on my dad's MkII with an STX Superior liner (1:24 twist) shooting 23 to 25gr slugs at about 980, he can get about 400 shots before we see a problem.
Once I see an issue I clean the barrel using Tipton felt cleaning pellets on a ball bearing handled cleaning rod. I soak the pellets in Ballistol and push them through until I stop seeing black pellets and lead flakes come through. Once the Ballistol soaked pellets are coming through nearly clean I push dry pellets through until they're coming out dry. At that point the cleaning is done.
Now on my dad's MkII with an STX Superior liner (1:24 twist) shooting 23 to 25gr slugs at about 980, he can get about 400 shots before we see a problem.
Once I see an issue I clean the barrel using Tipton felt cleaning pellets on a ball bearing handled cleaning rod. I soak the pellets in Ballistol and push them through until I stop seeing black pellets and lead flakes come through. Once the Ballistol soaked pellets are coming through nearly clean I push dry pellets through until they're coming out dry. At that point the cleaning is done.
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I just got my first pcp rifle and did not clean it before shooting out of the box because I had Pyramid Air do the 10 shots for $10 before shipping it. I think they clean it first? Maybe not... Anyhow, I only shot a couple cleaning pellets down the barrel here and ther during the first 150 rounds or so.
I finally noticed accuracy started faltering a little bit and i witnessed one pellet kick sideways pretty hard in mid flight. Definitely was not stable. So I decided to a full cleaning for the first time.
Initial patches came out black and cleared up, but kept getting a full brown. Then I started scrubbing with a brush and patches were coming out a really dark brown. Tons of grit and grime. Looks like rust residue. Although I live in a dry climate, I know air still has moisture in it so figure that may be what I’m seeing.
Is this normal when cleaning a brand new pcp for the first time?
I do have a borescope and might check it out tomorrow but just wanted to know if this brown residue is normal. Thanks for any input.
I finally noticed accuracy started faltering a little bit and i witnessed one pellet kick sideways pretty hard in mid flight. Definitely was not stable. So I decided to a full cleaning for the first time.
Initial patches came out black and cleared up, but kept getting a full brown. Then I started scrubbing with a brush and patches were coming out a really dark brown. Tons of grit and grime. Looks like rust residue. Although I live in a dry climate, I know air still has moisture in it so figure that may be what I’m seeing.
Is this normal when cleaning a brand new pcp for the first time?
I do have a borescope and might check it out tomorrow but just wanted to know if this brown residue is normal. Thanks for any input.
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Pyramid did not clean your gun. That’s cosmoline. A rust preventative for shipping from far away places. I always clean a gun the day it arrives. Can’t establish baselines with a tainted gun. How often to clean? That depends on the barrel and projectile. Cleaning intervals when you have a ton of guns is a curse unless you’re a record keeping fanatic. I have a TJ slug barrel that’s been polished and it’s still essentially no better than a muzzleloader. That thing gets filthy and accuracy goes south faster than my other TJ that only shoots pellets by a large margin. FX liners are another confusing bunch. Some say 2-300 shots and the very next guy will say he never cleaned his in 5,000 shots. So in the end, just like most everything PCP, your gun is your gun. Learn it.
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Thank you. That cosmoline is pretty nasty stuff to get out of a barrel. Did some digging for info on it and seems that the best cleaner for the job might be “Goo Gone” adhesive removal spray. I’ll keep at it til I get it all out. At least its not rust like I initially thought!!! Lol
I’ve only built custom centerfire rifles for the last 18 years so it’s been a long time since I’ve used a factory barrel. The brown patches kinda threw me for a loop. Thanks again.
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that cosmoline is very hard to get out takes few wet patches pulled slow then dry then few more wetties again, just depends hw much they coat it. once its gone pretty easy to keep clean
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way i look at it at this point is dont clean a pellet barrel unless its polished and you better know what your doing before you get the abrasive 'toothpaste' out lol ... theres a difference between a quality lapped barrel and a rough mass produced lower range one, on those lead is actually a lubricant and filler .. scrub it out and youll have no end of frustration and inconsistency, really the best strategy is 'buff' the well shot and leaded barrel with a tight dry patch, removing it down to the pitted bare bullcrp is a mistake imo ....
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I cleaned the barrel on my Prophet yesterday.
I ran some patches through it when I first got it and have since shot close to 3000 pellets through it.
I removed the barrel this time so that I could use some good solvent without worrying about damaging any O rings.
I shot it this morning and saw an immediate improvement in shot consistency.
I ran some patches through it when I first got it and have since shot close to 3000 pellets through it.
I removed the barrel this time so that I could use some good solvent without worrying about damaging any O rings.
I shot it this morning and saw an immediate improvement in shot consistency.
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Some time ago I started lapping my barrel's and noticed they don't foul nearly as easily and clean more quickly. JB Bore Paste.
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do you use something like Balistol on the "barrel Cleaners "? i have heard some people say that .
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ThomasT
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- Apr 25, 2021
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Hello beerthief,
Yes I do use Balistol on the swabs and patches, but I will run at least one clean patch for a final clean. I have actually changed my cleaning schedule since I polished the barrel. Now after every time I shoot, I will first run a swab with Balistol down the barrel and then follow that with at least two clean patches.
ThomasT
Yes I do use Balistol on the swabs and patches, but I will run at least one clean patch for a final clean. I have actually changed my cleaning schedule since I polished the barrel. Now after every time I shoot, I will first run a swab with Balistol down the barrel and then follow that with at least two clean patches.
ThomasT
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