Cleaning Rifle

[talladega]

I've been shooting Eley Sport in my .22 and it's been working great and the other week I noticed it was extremely hard to open and close my bolt and that made my scores suffer from breaking my concentration. So then I went home and cleaned the barrel which was not very dirty and I also clean the breach and bolt and oiled it a little bit. The next day it was great. Working super smooth and no problems.

I shot about 120 - 150 shots with it last week. Now today I had a 140 shot match and about about 3/4 of the way through the bolt started getting very hard to open and close again. And by the last target it felt like the bolt was grinding in the action when closing.

When I clean the gun I wipe the bolt down with a oiled cloth, then wipe it off.
The past years ive only been cleaning the gun every 500 shots or so and it has never gotten this bad.

And last week when I cleaned it, it was very dirty at all. It seemed to just need to be lubricated.

I currently use VFG pellets to clean the barrel with some oil. What do you all recommend? How often should I be cleaning the gun and bolt? Any certain thing I can use to keep the bolt opening and closing smoothly? I saw online some VFG Lupus Grease. I'm willing to try just about anything. It gets really frustrating when you've got a good rhythm going and the bolt will hardly open and close.


thanks...

[RobStubbs]

Two thoughts - clean it after every session, perhaps a bigger clean every 500 - 1000 rounds. And / Or try another ammo. Could be the ammo is a bit dirtyer than some ?

Rob.

[Soupy44]

In my experience, Eley is the dirtiest ammo out there. I've put Lapua through my gun after Eley and I swear it cleaned it.

[Quest1]

The problem is that I have had with the Ely Sport and Aquila, which I think are made in the same factory, is when I used it in my SP20 Hammerli Pistol the lubrication from the bullet would build up to the point in the pistol chamber the shell wouldn't seat into the chamber without cleaning the chamber and barrel. The buildup would occur with less then 50 rounds.

[little_doodie]

Without a doubt the Eley sport sold in USA is dirty ammo to shoot.
If you are shooting the same ammo (purple box yellow star) it is made in Mexico by the aguilla factory. It shoots fine in some guns and some have trouble with it.
Make sure you clean the bolt face and chamber area often and do not lube the area. Oil will make the dirt into a pile of crud that builds up more.
I shoot the sport regularly with my high standard without fail but I do need to clean the faces about every 500 or so rnds.

[Anschutz]

In my experience, Eley is the dirtiest ammo out there. I've put Lapua through my gun after Eley and I swear it cleaned it.

I'll second that, change to Lapua,the muck that comes out of Eley is unreal.Colin

[jmkwyo]

Federal Gold Medal Works well too. SK and Wolf are comparable to Eley as well, but not nearly the crud and muck that ensues. Problem is finding a decent price on this stuff... that is why i suggested SK or Wolf, because Lapua is waaaay out of most people's price range. Federal gold shoots great at 50 ft, it all depends on what distance your shooting at.

[ZD]

I would agree that Eley is fairly dirty ammunition. For your bolt, I would try to put some grease in it. As for the ammo, I can tell you that Sk and wolf (the same ammo) are both very clean shooting. My brother has a short barrel on his Anschutz 1407 with a bloop tube, and the front of the barrel hardly gets dirty. Also, Eley Sport is Mexican ammo. Quite frankly, its crap. I would hope that you use somthing better than sport for matches. Something better might be Sk Target. Sk. Works great for both matches and practices. Federal Gold 711B is accurate, but hard to get. Regular federal gold was inconsistent in my Anshutz 1907, but if you can get federal gold is fairly good stuff. Do not even consider Lapua, it is abusurdly expensive.

[talladega]

I think you guys are mistaken on the Eley ammo I am using. I think in the US, Eley Sport than it is here in Canada.

This is what I'm using.




But instead of just using some oil on my bolt would this be better?
http://cgi.ebay.com/VFG-Lupus-Grease-wi ... 5633619c79

[Anschutz]

It's not rely about what you lube your bolt with, it's a combination of the lubrication Eley use on their bullet and the crap that comes out.I've been using Center X and it cost less than Eley match and out-shoots it.Colin

[talladega]

Changing ammunition is not really an option for me as I bought a case this Eley ammo a month ago. And I know it shoots very well as I just shot a 200 in standing yesterday with it. :)

If the only way to keep my action working smooth is to clean it before each match that is fine, but I thought maybe there was a certain type of oil/grease that would work better than others. Thats why I asked.

[gtrisdale]

Have you tried taking your bolt apart, cleaning it and lubricating? I have seen some Anschutz 19xx bolts that were so dirty that they would not open easily.

[talladega]

Make sure you clean the bolt face and chamber area often and do not lube the area. Oil will make the dirt into a pile of crud that builds up more.
I shoot the sport regularly with my high standard without fail but I do need to clean the faces about every 500 or so rnds.

I just noticed this now. So you're saying I shouldn't use oil in the action and on the bolt? Just in the barrel?

What do you recommend using on the bolt and chamber area to clean it?

[Pat McCoy]

You might t5ry Slip2000, or Tetra oil. Both are non-liquid lubes, which use the liquid only as a carrier. Once the liquid evaporates the lubricant is still there, and shouldn't mix with the crud from the ammo.

[Martin H]

Sounds like you have two issues here. Firstly you have dirt/crud around the bolt and action (not just in the chamber area). Use a solvent soaked rag and wipe clean the bolt lugs and bolt handle where it locks into the action. Then wipe clean inside the action where the bolt lugs lock into and where the bolt handle locks into the action. Pay close attention to the action as this where most of the dirt hides. Don't forget the bolt face as well.

Secondly you now need proper grease or lube on the bolt and action, not oil. There are specfic bolt greases for applying to the bolt, bolt lugs and the action where the bolt lugs and bolt handle lock. I use bolt grease from Sinclairs, any bolt grease should be OK. I apply a small amount on all the locking areas, wipe off the excess and you should right for another 300 rnds. This cleaning should be little and often.
Cheers
Martin

[little_doodie]

Make sure you clean the bolt face and chamber area often and do not lube the area. Oil will make the dirt into a pile of crud that builds up more.
I shoot the sport regularly with my high standard without fail but I do need to clean the faces about every 500 or so rnds.

I just noticed this now. So you're saying I shouldn't use oil in the action and on the bolt? Just in the barrel?

What do you recommend using on the bolt and chamber area to clean it?

light film of light oil close to the bolt handle area and where it slides and keep the bolt face is dry... no lube near bolt face or chamber.

[talladega]

so would something like this be good to use?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VFG-Lupus-Grease-wi ... 5633619c79

[topshot11]

In my experience all Eley is dirty stuff and personally I wouldn't let it anywhere my barrel. RWS make a better round for the same price as far as I'm aware, but I don't know how easily it can be got hold of in the US.

[Anschutz]

Had the same problem when I was using Eley.It's the lube they use,as you chamber a round some if it gets scraped off and builds up around the loading area/barrel.This can build up very quickly.Just make sure you clean the area and around the chamber and the bolt lugs after every shoot. Colin

[Rover]

I don't know if it's a local thing, but the guys here all have a .22 bronze bore brush bent into an "L" shape. They give the chamber a quick cleaning (no disassembly) every once in a while. This is not a substitute for regular cleaning, but it does seem to make things a little more reliable.