Coming from firearms, I always clean it with CLP, running patches and brushes, jags etc...
What about a PCP, can I do the same or is it different? I have a Leshiy 2.
What about a PCP, can I do the same or is it different? I have a Leshiy 2.
How often do you clean the barrel?
- Thread starter armored007
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At most, you're cleaning only lead fouling, so you're cleaning agent can be mild, lots of folks use Ballistol, but CLP would be fine. Usually, a pull-through, like Patch Worm works fine, pulled from breech to muzzle. If you have substantial fouling, most barrels are easily removed, and can then be cleaned as your firearm barrel, pushing a brush or patch with rod from the breech.
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Do NOT use a wire brush on a PCP if it has a internal O-ring gland at in-lead. It will get messed up and you'll be wondering what's wrong.
Many PCP's have O-rings in the barrel. Some like FX liners do not. You just must be aware of the design in use.
You can use a brush on the rest of the barrel but you run into problems of pulling it back without a full pass & of course we should always be cleaning from breach to muzzle. Can't do that on all PCP's so the patchworm or other type of pull through is used. Straw in the baffles helps guide.
Many PCP's have O-rings in the barrel. Some like FX liners do not. You just must be aware of the design in use.
You can use a brush on the rest of the barrel but you run into problems of pulling it back without a full pass & of course we should always be cleaning from breach to muzzle. Can't do that on all PCP's so the patchworm or other type of pull through is used. Straw in the baffles helps guide.
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It varies from gun to gun. I use an Impact and have a couple thousand rounds since last cleaning. It really doesn't need it often as there's no powder build up.
On the other hand, one of Ted Holdover or Ted Vlog videos, he mentioned his gun prior to using FX guns needed cleaning every 200 rounds.
I use a Patch Worm which is just a pull through device. I avoid brass brushes, or even nylon (that's your choice on the nylon) as there is an o-ring in the breach end of the barrel. Don't want to damage the o-ring. As for chemicals, o-rings are resistant to almost every solvent we use, so whatever works. I use Ballistol.
Also, it's important to ensure the gun is dry before firing again. High pressure can cause some solvents to ignite which is bad for the gun. Barrels are much thinner than firearms, and mechanisms much more delicate.
The mantra seems to be, clean a new barrel. Put 50 rounds through it to hit equilibrium, shoot it till accuracy falls off. I know that probably isn't much help, but each gun is a big different and since we don't get powder fouling, just the way it is.
I must admit, I enjoy shooting and not cleaning. . . drove me nuts with my PB's keeping them clean.
On the other hand, one of Ted Holdover or Ted Vlog videos, he mentioned his gun prior to using FX guns needed cleaning every 200 rounds.
I use a Patch Worm which is just a pull through device. I avoid brass brushes, or even nylon (that's your choice on the nylon) as there is an o-ring in the breach end of the barrel. Don't want to damage the o-ring. As for chemicals, o-rings are resistant to almost every solvent we use, so whatever works. I use Ballistol.
Also, it's important to ensure the gun is dry before firing again. High pressure can cause some solvents to ignite which is bad for the gun. Barrels are much thinner than firearms, and mechanisms much more delicate.
The mantra seems to be, clean a new barrel. Put 50 rounds through it to hit equilibrium, shoot it till accuracy falls off. I know that probably isn't much help, but each gun is a big different and since we don't get powder fouling, just the way it is.
I must admit, I enjoy shooting and not cleaning. . . drove me nuts with my PB's keeping them clean.
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I personally have only needed & used a tiny bit of GooGone on a patch & no brush unless bad leading from slugs.
A borescope will tell us everything we need to know. Get a cheap one if you don't have any.
.177 is not easy to find but .22 on up are cheap & readily available borescopes on Amazon. Plug into PC & have a big screen. Surprisingly good image. Not a Fox but okay.
A borescope will tell us everything we need to know. Get a cheap one if you don't have any.
.177 is not easy to find but .22 on up are cheap & readily available borescopes on Amazon. Plug into PC & have a big screen. Surprisingly good image. Not a Fox but okay.
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I have a Prod that likes polymags. I have never cleaned that barrel. And it is shooting them as well after 4000+ pellets as it ever has.
I have a Brocock that needs cleaning after 300 or so pellets.
I have a Brocock that needs cleaning after 300 or so pellets.
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Yes, if the breech seal O ring is in the barrel, it's a good idea to pop it out before cleaning with a brush. But I'll add, I've scrubbed a good many barrels with the O ring in place, partly as an experiment, and they are usually very resistant to damage from the brush. And in most cases, a nylon brush cleans about as well and is less abrasive. You should also buy a few breech O rings with the rifle. They will eventually blow out, and if you remove it for cleaning, you might as well replace it.
Another small potential complication is the moderator, if so equipped. The straw technique works fine with a pull-through, but not very well with a rod and brush. Most are screwed on, and most that are sold in the US are also glued. The bonding agent is easily melted with heat, but it takes significant heat.
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It depends on what I'm doing with that particular rifle.
For my competition rig (Extreme Benchrest, RMAC), an Air Arms S510 in .25 that I tuned to shoot at 52 FPE, I clean it every 400-500 rounds because that keeps it shooting its best. Any less frequent cleaning than that and accuracy drops off VERY noticeably past 75 yards. Before I polished that rifle's barrel, I was cleaning roughly every 200-250 pellets for the same result.
In my field target, speed silo, or other guns (anything that's generally shot within 60 yards), I clean whenever I notice accuracy has decreased or I suspect I'm close to arriving at that point. No set interval. Just a feel thing.
I use a pull-thru with folded patches and Liberty Lubricant HLP oil or FP-10. Works great. I would strongly advise against (bronze) brushes and ESPECIALLY solvents in airgun barrels. It's unnecessary and you run the risk of doing damage (to an o-ring, etc.) if you're not careful.
Rods in general are iffy for airguns since you need to clean virtually all of them from the muzzle end unless you remove the barrel. I'll only use a rod w/ nylon brush and a bore mop if something really needs to be scrubbed and only after I've removed the barrel from the action.
Don't overthink it! It's way too easy to get pulled into a gear rabbit hole and lose practice because of it.
Happy shooting,
Nico
For my competition rig (Extreme Benchrest, RMAC), an Air Arms S510 in .25 that I tuned to shoot at 52 FPE, I clean it every 400-500 rounds because that keeps it shooting its best. Any less frequent cleaning than that and accuracy drops off VERY noticeably past 75 yards. Before I polished that rifle's barrel, I was cleaning roughly every 200-250 pellets for the same result.
In my field target, speed silo, or other guns (anything that's generally shot within 60 yards), I clean whenever I notice accuracy has decreased or I suspect I'm close to arriving at that point. No set interval. Just a feel thing.
I use a pull-thru with folded patches and Liberty Lubricant HLP oil or FP-10. Works great. I would strongly advise against (bronze) brushes and ESPECIALLY solvents in airgun barrels. It's unnecessary and you run the risk of doing damage (to an o-ring, etc.) if you're not careful.
Rods in general are iffy for airguns since you need to clean virtually all of them from the muzzle end unless you remove the barrel. I'll only use a rod w/ nylon brush and a bore mop if something really needs to be scrubbed and only after I've removed the barrel from the action.
Don't overthink it! It's way too easy to get pulled into a gear rabbit hole and lose practice because of it.
Happy shooting,
Nico
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At least clean it when it's new. Here's the first patch I pulled through my Dreamline .177 Tact Compact. After that, you can relax a bit.
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All super advice!
Most important…Like Paul stated and showed above, clean a new barrel, they’re often(usually) very filthy from the manufacturing process. Not a bad idea to polish & wax the barrel too, if you’re into it. The process is easy, it certainly helps a barrel from fouling & can increase accuracy & consistency. Lubing your projectiles can also help with accuracy & the time between cleanings. I’ve tested about every lube out there, I use the WD-40 Silicone formula in a silver/blue/yellow bottle. Everybody likes something different though, lots to choose from!
As Nico pointed out, Air Arms rifles & many others with more traditional lands & grooves do need to be cleaned more often. Our S510 is the only gun we clean very often at all. It’s a tack driver but we can definitely tell when it needs to be cleaned. Five minutes later, back in business!
Lothar Walther Polygonal barrels & FX barrels don’t have the sharp lands and grooves, so they don’t generally need to be cleaned as often. Let the gun tell you when it needs to be cleaned…Obviously, when accuracy diminishes.
Shooting slugs out of an air gun usually reduces the time between cleanings substantially because there is so much more bearing surface making contact with the barrel. Even FX and Poly barrels foul when using slugs. Still not often though.
Have a good one.
Stoti
Standard rifling vs Lothar Walther Polygonal barrel. FX liners look more like a LW Poly barrel than a traditional barrel.
Most important…Like Paul stated and showed above, clean a new barrel, they’re often(usually) very filthy from the manufacturing process. Not a bad idea to polish & wax the barrel too, if you’re into it. The process is easy, it certainly helps a barrel from fouling & can increase accuracy & consistency. Lubing your projectiles can also help with accuracy & the time between cleanings. I’ve tested about every lube out there, I use the WD-40 Silicone formula in a silver/blue/yellow bottle. Everybody likes something different though, lots to choose from!
As Nico pointed out, Air Arms rifles & many others with more traditional lands & grooves do need to be cleaned more often. Our S510 is the only gun we clean very often at all. It’s a tack driver but we can definitely tell when it needs to be cleaned. Five minutes later, back in business!
Lothar Walther Polygonal barrels & FX barrels don’t have the sharp lands and grooves, so they don’t generally need to be cleaned as often. Let the gun tell you when it needs to be cleaned…Obviously, when accuracy diminishes.
Shooting slugs out of an air gun usually reduces the time between cleanings substantially because there is so much more bearing surface making contact with the barrel. Even FX and Poly barrels foul when using slugs. Still not often though.
Have a good one.
Stoti
Standard rifling vs Lothar Walther Polygonal barrel. FX liners look more like a LW Poly barrel than a traditional barrel.
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put it this way .. my first pcp mrod 25 i may have cleaned once in 12 years .. then i rebuilt it soley for a power upgrade a few weeks back, and swabbed it out with silicone oil and dry patched it/ checked the crown for any lead fouling it was fine .. that was the second time i cleaned it lol ... shoots 'quarters' to 80 no problem, always has .. thats shooting pellets though .. im sure shooting slugs is a whole other story, i know what lead bullets do to a barrel pretty quick .. i dont got time for that crap lol .. for what .. to shoot squirrels lol ...
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I really like these little cleaning pellets they have that are made from flannel. I got some from a European company but I don't remember the name but I pick them up from Krale when I bought an Artemis. I got some Tipton ones that come with nice brass Jag is a little screw that goes in the middle of them but basically I just throw three or four in a magazine and put a drop of whatever I want on the first one and then push all in at the same time. I shoot in to the rag bag and take a look. Sometimes I have my power level turn down low and use some hollow points for ratting, then switch over to some heavy round nose with high power. I find if I run a couple of cleaning pellets the accuracy is better without having to "season" the barrel with 20 or 30 shots when I had change ammo configurations.
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I own some FX guns, with smoothtwist barrels, a taipan veteran, and a AGT vulcan 2. All in .177. My czech guns, does not need more cleaning than the FX barrels, when shooting pellets. The only time the accuracy went away on my taipan, was when I tried some slugs. After that I needed to use bronse brush, before using patches, before the gun was back to normal, with pellets. In that case I actually removed the barrel, to avoid ruin the breach 0-ring. Normally I clean with only patchworm, and ballistol, which does not damage the breach O-ring. When my guns are new, I clean them regulary, maybe after 500 shots, "just in case". If I notice no differnce in accuracy after the 50 shots after cleaning, I shoot them longer, then clean them after maybe 1000-2000 shots, and then "indefinetily", if I notice no differnce.
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On my Benjamin Bulldog .357 I lube each bullet with Ballistol and that keeps they barrel pretty clean. then once in awhile I run a patchworm saturated with ballistol to check fouling and clean as needed.
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