Cleaning airgun barrels
So we're not talking about Hoppe's 9 "Solvent" after all ... so I guess I keep on using the nylon weedwacker pull-through and Fantastic, worked great the other evening. BTW I never use aluminium cleaning rods either, I have a couple of Dewey rods, they're plastic covered steel, they're only rods I use in my centerfire rifles. The other day I ordered a RWS kit from D&L and the rod is steel also
Hi Bob,
Yep, the Dewey rods are nice. I have one for .22 rimfire. Nylon coated steel. One piece with no problematic joints. Ball bearing swivel handle.
OTIS makes a braided steel line with nylon coating. I have one in .177 caliber but I still like my homemade weedwacker unit.
http://www.otisgun.com/
Todd
Yep, the Dewey rods are nice. I have one for .22 rimfire. Nylon coated steel. One piece with no problematic joints. Ball bearing swivel handle.
OTIS makes a braided steel line with nylon coating. I have one in .177 caliber but I still like my homemade weedwacker unit.
http://www.otisgun.com/
Todd
Hello from a new member from the UK.
I persoanlly would never use any rod on an air rifle. All you need is plastic coated conger trace or a heavy duty fishing line.
Loop the line and tie it to some round dowling rod to use as a handle.
Cleaning from the breech end or the muzzle depends on the rifle, breech and transfer port position (you dont want oils or fluids making a journey within via the transfer port). Given the choice, I pull from the breech end as this does not put any tension/friction contact with the cord against the crowning of the muzzle. You need to be careful as there maybe internal seals and you want to check this out before.
Sticking a rod up the barrel means you are taking a chance even if it is plastic coated, and you dont need metal brushes of any sort.
There are no copper or burnt acidic residues in an airgun so there is no need. Also, the metals used in airgun barrels may be softer than those used in barrels that require proofing for live ammo and the rifling will be less aggressive in terms of depth and possibly rate of twist too.
I only ever use a light gun oil of quality and pull through one patch a time then replace it with a fresh one till it comes out clean. Then pull a few dry ones or with a light coating of oil so the barrel doesnt rust if the weather is rainy, foggy etc.
The pulse of air following firing an air rifle can actually cause condensation in the barrel itself so if its coming out red or similar, its unlikely to be grease.
I also use a felt pellet to help clean the bore from time to time. Push one in the barrel followed by a pellet as this will help exand the felt into the rifling. I also stick a 2nd felt up this a drop of gun oil to coat the internals. You may need to work your bolt to do this.
You also need to know if your barrel likes to be clean or dirty. My steyr doesnt like to be clean and I need to put 40 plus shots thru after cleaning before it tightens up and single holes again. My Air Arms S400 GML on the other hand was partial to a clean to get the best grouping.
Airgun ammo can also have different ingredients in it such as lead and antimony and some pellets dirty up barrels and others leave it clean.
Do any of you use any pellet lubricants (mustnt be flammable if it is in a springer as it will cause deiseling). We even have some of the serious guys wash, dry and lube, not to mention weigh and size them for ulimate accuracy.
Different barrels from the same manufacturer (even if made consecutively) will actually react differently to the same pellet - My GML hated Air Arms and JSB Exacts to the point I thought I had a duff gun. In went some Webley Lazadomes and single hole groups !!! My Steyr is pretty unfussy so I am lucky on that front. I am afraid you have to experiment and even pellets with differing head sizes such a 4.51 to 4.52 or 4.53 can produce markedly differing results.
Why do you think you need to use solvents and rods ? Curious if there are reasons why that I havnt thought of.
Regards
Steyr (Simon)
I persoanlly would never use any rod on an air rifle. All you need is plastic coated conger trace or a heavy duty fishing line.
Loop the line and tie it to some round dowling rod to use as a handle.
Cleaning from the breech end or the muzzle depends on the rifle, breech and transfer port position (you dont want oils or fluids making a journey within via the transfer port). Given the choice, I pull from the breech end as this does not put any tension/friction contact with the cord against the crowning of the muzzle. You need to be careful as there maybe internal seals and you want to check this out before.
Sticking a rod up the barrel means you are taking a chance even if it is plastic coated, and you dont need metal brushes of any sort.
There are no copper or burnt acidic residues in an airgun so there is no need. Also, the metals used in airgun barrels may be softer than those used in barrels that require proofing for live ammo and the rifling will be less aggressive in terms of depth and possibly rate of twist too.
I only ever use a light gun oil of quality and pull through one patch a time then replace it with a fresh one till it comes out clean. Then pull a few dry ones or with a light coating of oil so the barrel doesnt rust if the weather is rainy, foggy etc.
The pulse of air following firing an air rifle can actually cause condensation in the barrel itself so if its coming out red or similar, its unlikely to be grease.
I also use a felt pellet to help clean the bore from time to time. Push one in the barrel followed by a pellet as this will help exand the felt into the rifling. I also stick a 2nd felt up this a drop of gun oil to coat the internals. You may need to work your bolt to do this.
You also need to know if your barrel likes to be clean or dirty. My steyr doesnt like to be clean and I need to put 40 plus shots thru after cleaning before it tightens up and single holes again. My Air Arms S400 GML on the other hand was partial to a clean to get the best grouping.
Airgun ammo can also have different ingredients in it such as lead and antimony and some pellets dirty up barrels and others leave it clean.
Do any of you use any pellet lubricants (mustnt be flammable if it is in a springer as it will cause deiseling). We even have some of the serious guys wash, dry and lube, not to mention weigh and size them for ulimate accuracy.
Different barrels from the same manufacturer (even if made consecutively) will actually react differently to the same pellet - My GML hated Air Arms and JSB Exacts to the point I thought I had a duff gun. In went some Webley Lazadomes and single hole groups !!! My Steyr is pretty unfussy so I am lucky on that front. I am afraid you have to experiment and even pellets with differing head sizes such a 4.51 to 4.52 or 4.53 can produce markedly differing results.
Why do you think you need to use solvents and rods ? Curious if there are reasons why that I havnt thought of.
Regards
Steyr (Simon)
You will only ever shoot one shot in your life - and thats the one up the barrel now....All that have gone before you can do nothing about. It's a here and now deal
Hi Steyr,
If you read through my above postings you will notice that I fully agree with your advice. I do not promote using harsh solvents or brushes on airguns, as I previously stated. Above, I also mention that I use a Dewey rod for rimfire rifles and a nylon pull-through for airgun barrels. I also mentioned about the shallow rifling and lack of power/primer combustion in airguns. My web link illustrates the weedwacker pull-through and the oil that I use for my cleaning needs.
http://my.tbaytel.net/~coopers@tbaytel. ... ng%20Tips/
Thanks for the informative posting. We are on the same page.
I use wax based lubes for springers and oil based for pneumatics/CO2. Slick 50 Lube-1 is a friendly lube that does not harm rubber or plastic. If pellets are from a dirty lot then I will clean them with dish soap, hot water, and a strainer. A hair dryer is used after patting dry with a towel.
Yep, your right on board with your comments on pellet selection. A person should try whatever pellets they can get their hands on to find what shoots the most accurately from their airgun. I think it was Townsend Whalen who said "Only accurate rifles are interesting".
Todd
If you read through my above postings you will notice that I fully agree with your advice. I do not promote using harsh solvents or brushes on airguns, as I previously stated. Above, I also mention that I use a Dewey rod for rimfire rifles and a nylon pull-through for airgun barrels. I also mentioned about the shallow rifling and lack of power/primer combustion in airguns. My web link illustrates the weedwacker pull-through and the oil that I use for my cleaning needs.
http://my.tbaytel.net/~coopers@tbaytel. ... ng%20Tips/
Thanks for the informative posting. We are on the same page.

I use wax based lubes for springers and oil based for pneumatics/CO2. Slick 50 Lube-1 is a friendly lube that does not harm rubber or plastic. If pellets are from a dirty lot then I will clean them with dish soap, hot water, and a strainer. A hair dryer is used after patting dry with a towel.
Yep, your right on board with your comments on pellet selection. A person should try whatever pellets they can get their hands on to find what shoots the most accurately from their airgun. I think it was Townsend Whalen who said "Only accurate rifles are interesting".

Todd
And I believe it was Buffalo Bill who said " It's Brown - It's Down"TCooper wrote:Hi Steyr,
If you read through my above postings you will notice that I fully agree with your advice. I do not promote using harsh solvents or brushes on airguns, as I previously stated. Above, I also mention that I use a Dewey rod for rimfire rifles and a nylon pull-through for airgun barrels. I also mentioned about the shallow rifling and lack of power/primer combustion in airguns. My web link illustrates the weedwacker pull-through and the oil that I use for my cleaning needs.
http://my.tbaytel.net/~coopers@tbaytel. ... ng%20Tips/
Thanks for the informative posting. We are on the same page.![]()
I use wax based lubes for springers and oil based for pneumatics/CO2. Slick 50 Lube-1 is a friendly lube that does not harm rubber or plastic. If pellets are from a dirty lot then I will clean them with dish soap, hot water, and a strainer. A hair dryer is used after patting dry with a towel.
Yep, your right on board with your comments on pellet selection. A person should try whatever pellets they can get their hands on to find what shoots the most accurately from their airgun. I think it was Townsend Whalen who said "Only accurate rifles are interesting".![]()
Todd
Nice to meet you Mr Todd Cooper Sir.
You will only ever shoot one shot in your life - and thats the one up the barrel now....All that have gone before you can do nothing about. It's a here and now deal