cleaning an air rifle

richrd · Post by **richrd** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 7:55 am

I'm new to ar but not the shooting sports. I have an FWB603, the question is, how often does it need to cleaned and how?

thanks

bpscCheney · Post by **bpscCheney** » Tue Mar 11, 2014 9:13 am

I've had a FWB 700 for three years now and have never cleaned it, it's never really needed it. The 603 being a SSP really wouldn't need cleaning unless the velocity started to drop which if i remember right indicates either worn seals or dry seals due to lack of lube. The barrel never needs to be cleaned, but if you choose to you can, I've heard of shooters who do both. The only real time I've seen people clean their AR is in preparation for long term storage when they shot a lightly lubed felt pellet to oil the barrel to prevent rust. YMMV

TerryKuz · Post by **TerryKuz** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:48 am

I run a bore snake through mine every tin.

DLS · Post by **DLS** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:50 pm

This is a particular pet peeve I have with the European manufactures. By that I mean the total lack of meaningful maintenance instructions or customer service in this regard.

For example, I have a Walther LG210 (last of their SSP air rifles). With the rifle came a cleaning kit (consisting of a monofilament pull through and several cotton wicks) and a small tube of "special grease". There is nothing in the documentation regarding the use of these items.

So I e-mail Walther several times. No response. So then I write several physical letters, again with no response. A number of years later I called Daisy on a Red Ryder BB gun. I reached a live person and replacement parts mailed for free. Recalling the lack of response I received from Walther I decide to test the waters again. I send perhaps ten e-mails to their customer service over the period of a few years asking for specific recommendations.

The only thing I ever received in return was not even a complete sentence. A response to one e-mail was simply "lubricate when necessary".

Okay, when is it necessary? Where should this lube be applied? Do I need to lube the seals, the pivot points on the pump lever ... perhaps both? How much lube? Okay you all get what I'm driving at.

I'm not singling out Walther either. I've know several people who have tried to get the same out of Anschutz and FWB and the results are the same. Why can I get better customer service from Daisy on a $15 BB gun than I can get from the European elites whose equipment costs thousands?

So rant off.

To answer your question I'll just shrug my shoulders. You will get as many answers on the Internet as you have people who provide answers.

One thing going for you is that air platforms don't have the contamination of powder burners, and the leading issues are pretty much non-existent due to the low velocities of the projectile. It’s obvious that the moving pivot parts should be kept clean and have some type of lubrication. It’s also common knowledge not to use petroleum based lubes on gaskets and seals because some are made from materials that will break down with such lubes. For the same reason firearm bore cleaning solvents should be avoided (and are not even necessary).

So with my LG210, I periodically lube the pivot points on the pump assembly. Every few years I’ve flushed the trigger grouping with lighter fluid and pull a cotton wick or patch through the bore every tin or so. After every use I always wipe down the exterior with a cloth wetted with a trace amount of oil (like you would a firearm) to protect the exterior bluing / finishes. That’s what I do. I hope the seals don’t need anything because they don’t get it with my rifle.

I hope this helps.

ZD · Post by ZD » Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:16 pm

I can't comment on how often you need to clean an air rifle, I have heard various explanations. Personally, I clean mine about three times a year; I shoot my air rifle 3-4 times a week. Bear in mind with an air rifle, the only residue left behind in your air rifle will be lead, and at that minimal, unlike a rifle which will lead behind all sorts of residue. As far as cleaning goes I use a pull through system which is just a thick piece of fishing string. Just create a loop at one end, attach a patch and pull through. For cleaner I use TSI 301; I have sat through a class on cleaning air rifles from our moderator, Scott Pilkington and he exclusively recommended using TSI 301, as it is non-flammable (contains no petroleum distillates). I do not use hoppes or any oil on my air rifle. In addition, I put a hair amount of grease on the action on my Anschutz 2002 on either side; this just makes it easier to open and close. As far as the cleaning pellets, I haven't used them myself. I can't imagine them doing as good as a job as a patch, they seem gimmicky to me. However, someone with experience with them may disagree. As far as anything else, I have put a small bead of grease on the threads of my cylinder once before. Any other comments are appreciated.

rmarsh · Post by **rmarsh** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:59 pm

In January my daughter shot in the Bavarian Airgun match in Munich. The Walther factory was just a couple hours away so the national team coach took those who were shooting Walther air rifles to the factory. We were met by Sven Martini, who is in charge of service for competition air guns. He serviced and tested our guns while we were given a tour of the factory.

I asked Sven about cleaning. He said to use the "pull through" felt cleaners. One or two per every 500 shots. No solvents, no oil, just the plain felts. I'm sure some will have other ideas for cleaning. As for me, I'm going to assume Sven knows what he is doing.

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:31 pm

Felt Pellet, as usual. No oil.

RobStubbs · Post by **RobStubbs** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 3:12 am

I would ask the dealer from which you purchased the gun but I don't think cleaning as such is required. I'm sure it does no harm to clean the gun so as to remove the lead from the rifling every now and again (a bore snake won't do that). But I'd just be tempted to do that once a season unless something indicated the accuracy was dropping off. The only way to really tell though is to bench rest the rifle and work it out for yourself.

Rob.

redschietti · Post by **redschietti** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:37 am

Rob,

How would you go about that, Cleaning the lead out of an air rifle?
Our 700 isn't shooting near as well as it once did, and everything checks out fine.
james

joel · Post by **joel** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 8:40 am

What does the manual say?

redschietti · Post by **redschietti** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 4:37 pm

Joel I suppose you think your clever...

A) Felt pellets are not going to remove much lead if indeed it is affecting performance.

B) Im not using felt pellets. Having witnessed the head tech at FWB factory remove fluff from a regulator, and give a stern lecture about not using them.

conradin · Post by **conradin** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 5:58 pm

redschietti wrote:Joel I suppose you think your clever...

A) Felt pellets are not going to remove much lead if indeed it is affecting performance.

B) Im not using felt pellets. Having witnessed the head tech at FWB factory remove fluff from a regulator, and give a stern lecture about not using them.

Does that mean felt pellets are only good for AP, or AR?

rmarsh · Post by **rmarsh** » Thu Mar 13, 2014 9:57 pm

"redschietti"]

A) Felt pellets are not going to remove much lead if indand Is affecting performance.

B) Im not using felt pellets. Having witnessed the head tech at FWB factory remove fluff from a regulator, and give a stern lecture about not using them.[/quote]

Interesting.... One service guy says use felts another says don't. Sven at Walther doesn't like the shoot thru pellets. He specifically said use the pull thru felts.

As for having enough lead buildup to cause accuracy issues, that is why you should clean every 500 shots or so. Don't let the buildup get started.

Once you have a problem, a wire brush and some lead solvent is probably the best answer.

redschietti · Post by **redschietti** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 7:48 am

Sounds like neither Walter or FWB like felt pellets

FrankD · Post by **FrankD** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 10:29 am

Hi all,

felt pellets are easy to use and they do the cleaning job. The reason whey they are not general recommended is they do fuzz and this fuzz can go into the system or into the trigger. You won't believe it before you have seen with your own eyes how much fuzz can go in such an air rifle system.

For the cleaning question: Here in Germany we have over the last 15 years a real strong new air rifle competition. It is a tripod supported shooting in the standing position for older shooters. The results are so high that you have to shoot always near the maximum to win a match and they do often also decimal scoring. So you need the best barrel and ammo combination you can get and the best shooters do much testing. These shooters have so much experience and skills and many of them will tell you that regular cleaning the barrel will give you tighter groups on the long run.

Regards from Germany

Frank

WesternGrizzly · Post by **WesternGrizzly** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 11:45 am

I clean all my air rifles after ever tin.
Matt

TerryKuz · Post by **TerryKuz** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:13 pm

redschietti wrote:Sounds like neither Walter or FWB like felt pellets

The Anschutz manual also states that felt pellets are forbidden.

Rover · Post by **Rover** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:33 pm

If you're DEEPLY concerned with cleaning, just drag a bronze brush through the bore with some fishing line to remove any leading (if there is any, though unlikely.)

peashooter · Post by **peashooter** » Fri Mar 14, 2014 3:54 pm

The feinwerkbau 700 manual says to use felt pellets.