Clean a gun too much?

[Fearthewolf]

Hey all, im still farely new to this whole shooting thing, and i've recently picked up a Savage 10 FP in .308. And I took it out shooting today and went a bought a cleaning kit right after, and I cleaned it for about 30 mins or so, is that too much? I made sure that when I ran a dry patch through that it didnt have a spec of black, is this okay and safe to do?? And I generally just enjoyed cleaning it haha, is that normal?

 

[iChokePeople]

Just to be clear, that whole paragraph is about your RIFLE... Right?

 

[SEIndSAM]

Hey all, im still farely new to this whole shooting thing, and i've recently picked up a Savage 10 FP in .308. And I took it out shooting today and went a bought a cleaning kit right after, and I cleaned it for about 30 mins or so, is that too much? I made sure that when I ran a dry patch through that it didnt have a spec of black, is this okay and safe to do?? And I generally just enjoyed cleaning it haha, is that normal?

Yes, you have probably ruined it. I'll give you $20 for it to take it off of your hands.

Seriously, it doesn't hurt it a bit. I clean my guns after every range session too.

 

[Fearthewolf]

Just to be clear, that whole paragraph is about your RIFLE... Right?

Haha, yeah.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

The threshold question is "how did you clean it"?

From the breech end? How many rounds did you shoot? What was your solvent? How long did you let it soak? How will you be storing it?

 

[Fearthewolf]

The threshold question is "how did you clean it"?

From the breech end? How many rounds did you shoot? What was your solvent? How long did you let it soak? How will you be storing it?

I put 5 rounds through it, storing it in a safe at my grandfathers house, I ran it through both ends (hope thats okay to do), and Im using Hoppe's 9 solvent.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

From the breech? Did you use a guide?

What kind of rod did you use?

 

[Fearthewolf]

From the breech? Did you use a guide?

What kind of rod did you use?

It was just the rod I got in a kit from Dunhams it was a kit with all the stuff in it, except the Hoppe's. And when you say breach are you talking aboit the action? I took the bolt out, bare with me here, im still trying to learn

 

[Kirk Freeman]

A kit? What kind of kit? Was the rod coated?

Run a search on gun cleaning on INGO and see what you find. Should help you out.

 

[iChokePeople]

From the breech? Did you use a guide?

What kind of rod did you use?

Man, those questions take me back to my younger days.

 

[rockhopper46038]

I think there IS such a thing as cleaning your firearm too often. If for no other reason than because the things that can damage your crown and rifling that you are about to be told about, are less likely to occur if you clean your weapons only when they need cleaning.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Man, those questions take me back to my younger days.

Crawl, walk, run.

 

[actaeon277]

Make sure to run a patch through with a little oil to prevent rust in the barrel.

 

[Fearthewolf]

Crawl, walk, run.

Im certainly crawling, but I just want to learn all I can and do it RIGHT, not a half @ss job, espically with something that could mean life or death. Thanks for the answers though!

 

[Valvestate]

Crawl, walk, run, walk, waddle.

FTFY

 

[Dave Doehrman]

Hey all, im still farely new to this whole shooting thing, and i've recently picked up a Savage 10 FP in .308. And I took it out shooting today and went a bought a cleaning kit right after, and I cleaned it for about 30 mins or so, is that too much? I made sure that when I ran a dry patch through that it didnt have a spec of black, is this okay and safe to do?? And I generally just enjoyed cleaning it haha, is that normal?

Getting the black out is just removing the carbon. On a .308, I let Hoppe's set in the bore for 45 minutes after removing all the carbon and then start pushing patches down the bore using a jag. If you see any blue or greenish stains on the patch, keep applying Hoppe's and pushing patches until they come out clean. Get a bore guide for your rifle and clean from the breech. Possum Hollow or Dewey's make great bore guides. Try to find a 1 piece coated rod. DO NOT use the 3 piece metal rods that come in most cleaning kits.

After I get the barrel clean I push a patch soaked with Kroil or Militec oil down the bore and then run a dry patch through to remove any excess.

I clean every range trip, even if I only fire 5-10 rounds. I'm afraid if I don't, my DI from boot camp will find me and I'll be doing push-ups for the next 10 years.

 

[AllenM]

Yes I believe you can clean to much. running patch after patch and wire brush repeatedly does not have a zero effect on your bore. and like others have mentioned the risk of damaging the crown and lands increases each time.
This is on my Savage 10 FCP 308.
I only clean after I notice a drop in accuracy due to fouling, which for me is about 60 to 75 rounds. I will clean it more if I am going to store it for a awhile though.
I also believe in a proper break in reduces fouling and I have ran David Tubb's final finish down the bore and that helped accuracy and reduced fouling even more.

I would be careful cleaning to much and a a bore does not have to be spotless to shoot great either. as a matter of fact a little fouling in in the bore can help.

 

[GaDawg]

Man y'all r hard on a new guy lol but just to be clear I am glad he was talking about his rifle or someone would had to move this post to a difference site all together

 

[repeter1977]

Hey all, im still farely new to this whole shooting thing, and i've recently picked up a Savage 10 FP in .308. And I took it out shooting today and went a bought a cleaning kit right after, and I cleaned it for about 30 mins or so, is that too much? I made sure that when I ran a dry patch through that it didnt have a spec of black, is this okay and safe to do?? And I generally just enjoyed cleaning it haha, is that normal?

It is possible to clean it too much, but not very likely. You can clean it everyday as long as you don't use strong chemicals on it, or metal brushes (strong ones) that scrape away the metal. Dental picks fall in that category too. You can use all of them, just have to be very careful when you are doing it. However, if you are using most of the commercial gun cleaning kits, you will be just fine. I know weapon maintaince is a big thing in the Army (and most the military), so while we do not clean them everyday per say, I do know that I have cleaned them for weeks on end, and they still were gauged as being within tolerance. There are some things that you can do to make cleaning easier, or to make it more effective. If you would like to, send me a private message and I will try to help out.

As for the breech and all that, usually you try to move the cleaning cloth through the barrel the same way that the bullet flies. There are a newer item out now called bore snakes, come in several calibers and will save you a lot of time and effort on cleaning the firearm.

Its a good thing to make sure you conduct proper maintenance on your firearm and +1 to you for asking. If you are around the area, I would be glad to give you a hand if needed.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

Some of the questions that Kirk was getting at:

The cleaning rod: For a rifle shooter, a good rubber/polymer coated 1-piece cleaning rod is good equipment to have. Other rods - brass & aluminum construction - CAN cause damage.

Even though brass & aluminum are both considerably softer than the steel the gun's made out of, they (the rods) can still oxidize a bit. This is more an issue with aluminum, as aluminum oxide is VERY hard. It CAN abrade steel.

Also, the metal-on-metal contact can cause issues, too, especially if wrong technique is used. (IE bare metal rod going in through the muzzle end without a guide.

More damage can be done via overzealous cleaning than via regular shooting.

OP: Look into an Otis kit...or at least an Otis rod.

-J-