Cleaning a smooth twist barrel

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M

Michigander

Member
Aug 13, 2017
627
316
Michigan, United States
Hi all. When I first got my .22 Streamline, accuracy was not great. Of course I tried to fix this by cleaning the barrel after every fill, and was somewhat shocked to find that it took around a dozen patches to remove all the lead from the barrel, even after putting only 50 rounds of JSBs through the barrel. Since cleaning the barrel didn't seem to help accuracy, I decided to not clean it at all, but use lightly lubed pellets to try to minimize any lead buildup. Sure enough, accuracy gradually improved to the point that 50 yard groups would consistently run between 0.4 and 0.6 inches.

After putting a couple more tins of lubed JSBs through the barrel, I noticed that accuracy was beginning to fall off, with groups now running about 0.75 inches. I decided to try cleaning the barrel again. This time it took only 3 patches to remove any lead accumulation, and accuracy was right back around 0.5 inches. I don't know whether it was the barrel being shot in or my use of lubed pellets that seemed to reduce lead buildup, but it was much less than when the gun was new. Going forward, I plan to clean the barrel after every couple tins of pellets, or after accuracy starts to fall off.

For those who are interested, I clean from the muzzle using a .177 cleaning rod with bore guide. I run oiled patches through until they come out clean, then follow with a dry patch. Works for me.

Chuck
 
Two .177 smooth twists, 1 .25 smooth twist X. Same cleaning rod and tip for all.

I have a cleaning rod and 'wool mops' for the tip. The first one gets spayed with rem oil and pushed in/pulled out from the barrel a couple times. Change mopes to a clean wool and run it in and out a couple times. Still an experiment. But one that has been working very well for a couple months. I just wash the wool mops in the laundry tray every 4-5 cleanings.

I got tired of the patches, Especially when I can't pull them clear through from the breach to the barrel. A small part of the price I've paid for having guns that have smaller loading ports for the use of mags....

I still pull patches through the rifles I can access more easily. I should get a pic.
 
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I'll clean before taking the rifles out to the field. A rod or a pull through kit or even the thought of cleaning, is not something I want to pack or take to the field with me. Especially not a few hours at a time. If I were traveling out of town for FT or Extreme Benchrest or other, I would def take something other than my rod based system. But seriously, 2 min would be a long time to swipe 2-3x with a little oil on one mop, swap to the clean mop and swab 3-4 more times. Simple as is gets. Been wonderful with the smooth twist barrels. 

Not trying to sell anyone, we all develop preferences over time.
 
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When I go for a day of pesting, it's two hours from my house, 6 farms, and I spend the entire night and whole next day normally.

Unless I want to waste gas money and time, I feel it necessary to bring two air rifles, in case one goes down, and I have a small kit with Allen wrenches and torx bits, etc...in case I need to fix or adjust something.

No different than going to the range with the air rifle or powder burners. I can't tell you how many times I've helped people with a tool, solvent or even lube.

Not trying to tell people what to bring with them, just telling you what I bring with me and why.
 
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