FX smooth twist barrel fouling quickly?

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I bought a used wildcat that the previous owner said was barely used and it seems I got one of the barrels from late 2015 (My action is dated 12/2015) that fouled quite quickly. I'm not sure yet how often it needs cleaning because I just cleaned it with a couple ballistol patches and followed up with dry patches though it didn't remove all the lead. This barrel def. has potential, I stacked 3 pellets at 75 yards and 2 more were just 1/2" out and it will shoot 1/2" at 50 yards regularly.

My question is for those that had these same barrels with the fouling problems previously. Did AOA/FX replace your barrel or did you just polish it and keep shooting? I'm not saying I got a bad barrel it just bothers me to look down the muzzle and see lead build up. Never experienced that with any of my other guns, ever.

Also will AOA sell spare parts for the wildcat? I'd like to get the updated trigger linkages and a new endcap for my shroud if they do (maybe even a replacement barrel if I can't get this one sorted). I have emailed them and called numerous times but never get an answer. Just wondering if it's even worth it to keep trying.
 
why do you think it was fouled? lead is natural lubricant.
​on the other hand, you can wash and dry your pellets. I have started doing that.
​I have a wildcat and an impact. I have cleaned both barrels but I don't think it made a difference. I just wanted to see the results.
​If you're shooting well. there is no reason to clean the barrel.

​okay everybody tell me I'm wrong.
 
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tweeter i just bought a wildcat through UTAH AIR ,,, well we all no AOA does all the supplying to all U S stores that want FX ...KEVIN AT AOA just called me on friday i reguested a left hand cheek piece for the Wildcat so call himm or UTAH AIR they are wicked easy to talk to and can get what u need ,,ask for JUSTIN hes the owner he can get it for u good luck pat
 
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I own three different FX rifles, all with Smooth Twist barrels and in total I have shot close to 100,000 pellets through these 3 rifles. All are similar in that they require very little barrel cleaning. I clean them only when I notice accuracy going away, which is typically several thousands of rounds. 
 
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I cleaned my wildcat for the 1st time after apps 300 rounds, used the Napier pull thru with balistol, not cause it was shooting bad but I had not cleaned it since I got it. I surprised by the amount of lead debris/micro powder in the end cap, I looked down the business end of the barrel and noticed buildup around the rifleings, after cleaning it all the yuck was gone and still shot the same before cleaning. Also I notice the same debris in the end cap showing up around the action end of the barrel shroud, anybody else see this?
 
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Just took mine out to see if the cleaning helped accuracy and indeed it did. I'm not a crack-shot by no means but I think it's a darned good shooter. There was no wind to speak of which I'm sure helped cut down on fliers as well. I shot my best group ever at 50 yards .30"! This was done on a bench with the rear of the gun supported just to check accuracy. Normally I like to just shoot with the bi pod without resting the butt. It will be interesting to see how many shots it takes before it needs another cleaning.

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Rick, When I took my shroud end cap off for the first time I had quite a bit of dust in there and buildup around the rifling. It doesn't seem to bother mine I guess as long as I clean it when it needs. I will learn more about the gun as I get more time to shoot it though. I am wondering if this is common with all FX/ ST guns or just a few? I'm guessing yours was manufactured more recent?
 
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My ST barrels get cleaned when there is an increase in flyers. Different barrels at different intervals, but around 3-5K rounds. Cleaning the pellets increases the time between cleanings. I have also cleaned when the gun was shooting damned accurate and the patches came out filthy and showed some lead, but it didn't make any difference in accuracy. Sylvan
 
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I bought one the first shipment of .25 Wildcats. It was a shooter from the start. After about 1500 pellets I rather suddenly started having my usual .25" groups at 25 yards open up to .75" groups. I had never cleaned the barrel. I cleaned the barrel with Ballistol and got a lot of black out, but I could still see a black spot just before the twist part of the barrel. At first I thought there was a flaw in the barrel. I consulted with Jason at Utah Airguns. He cleaned the barrel with a bore brush and I think, some Hoppie's bore cleaner. The black "flaw" came clean, and the Wildcat returned to its former accurate shooting. I could see no flaw in the barrel. I think that was the first time that barrel was cleaned. Thanks to Jason for solving my problem (even though I did not buy the Wildcat from his shop).
 
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"Kitplanenut"My ST barrels get cleaned when there is an increase in flyers. Different barrels at different intervals, but around 3-5K rounds. Cleaning the pellets increases the time between cleanings. I have also cleaned when the gun was shooting damned accurate and the patches came out filthy and showed some lead, but it didn't make any difference in accuracy. Sylvan

And there we have it. Similar to what I have been saying about my FX rifles, but Kitplanenut added some more info.
Good post!
Click to expand...
 
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