Materials Required

There are many different types of cleaning materials on the market all of which have their supporters. However, the tools required are almost the same in all cases. The list below is typical and has been found to produce excellent results.

1) Cleaning rod long enough to pass right out of the barrel. It should be plastic coated not bare steel (the steel used in cleaning rods is much harder than that used in the barrel and so will damage the rifling).

2) Jag for carrying the type of patch to be used.

3) Phosphor bronze bristle brush or nylon for those who are under the misapprehension that phosphor bronze will have any wearing effect on barrel steel. It should be noted that nylon will not provide as good a scoring effect as phosphor bronze; the nylon bristles wear quickly as does an ordinary toothbrush.

4) Wool mop.

5) Suitable roll of flannelette or flannelette patches.

6) Chamber rod guide designed to fit the rifle action.

7) Breech cleaning stick and locking lug cleaning tool. (See the HPS Breech Cleaning Kit.)

8) Cotton cloth/duster for general use.

9) Small bottle of gun oil.

10) Powder/copper solvent/lubricant such as “Hoppes No 9”, or equivalent.

11) Water based powder/fouling solvent such as “Youngs .303” (dilute 50% with water for use) or equivalent.

12) Polishing abrasive paste such as “Gold Medallion” or equivalent.

13) Ammonia based copper solvent such as “Sweets” or equivalent.

14) Small tube of Molybdenum Disulphide paste (“Moly” grease or paste).

Cleaning Method

There are many different variations used for cleaning. The following method has been used by HPS for many years with excellent results:

1) Slide the rod guide onto the cleaning rod.

2) Screw on the bronze bristle brush onto the cleaning rod.

3) Dip the brush into the Youngs .303 and insert it into the chamber ensuring the rod guide is properly in place.

4) Push the bronze brush right through the barrel and right out of the muzzle. This enables the bristles of the brush to return to their normal state. If the brush is not allowed to exit the front of the barrel and an attempt is made to pull the rod with the brush back, the brush will jam in the barrel and the brush itself will be damaged. Pull the brush right back through to the chamber. Repeat about 5 times.

5) Pull out the rod with the brush and wipe the shaft clean with the cotton cloth. Repeat steps 3) and 4) again.

6) Change the bristle brush for the jag with a clean patch (4” x 2”) of flannelette.

7) Push the cleaning rod with the patch through and out of the muzzle. Remove the patch and pull the cleaning rod out. Turn the patch over to a clean side, attach to the jag and repeat this step.

8) Repeat step 7) until the patch comes out clean. If a clean patch is not achieved repeat steps 2) to 7) until the patch does come out clean.

9) Use the breech stick with jag and a clean flannelette patch to dry the chamber. Remember also to clean around the locking lugs in the action and the inside of the action body.

10) Wipe any drips of the Youngs .303 oil off the muzzle end with the cotton cloth.

11) If running in a new barrel, fire the next few shots and repeat steps 1) through 10) until running in is complete.

12) If not running in a new barrel and are cleaning after normal shooting then with the wool mop, lightly lubricate the inside of the chamber and bore with Hoppes No 9 and stand the rifle on its muzzle on a piece of flannelette to allow any excess to drain out. (If stood on the butt end, the Hoppes will run into the woodwork, bedding, trigger and cheekpiece and will cause staining and damage.) The rifle can then be left on its muzzle in a gun cabinet (stand on a piece of wood to prevent muzzle crown damage) until the next shoot. If transporting after lubricating with Hoppes, simply place a patch of flannelette in both the muzzle and chamber to catch any residual. Note: emphasis here is on “light” lubricating. Only use enough Hoppes to provide a thin coating.

13) Before the next shoot, clean out the bore using the rod guide, cleaning rod with jag and clean flannelette patches as in step 7). Some green colouration may appear on the first patch. This is a small amount of copper and powder fouling not removed by the cleaning. If this continues to appear on the second or subsequent patches then the original cleaning was not thorough enough. Go to step 15). If no green colouration appears at all then congratulation – the cleaning job was well done!

14) Use the breech stick with jag and a clean flannelette patch to wipe the chamber clean (remember the locking lugs!) and the cotton cloth to wipe around the muzzle for any remaining Hoppes and wipe the inside of the action body. (Go to step 24).

15) In the case where repeated patches do not seem to come out clean, there may be some metallic fouling or heavy powder fouling. In this case, insert the cleaning rod guide and using the jag and a clean patch with Gold Medallion paste, polish the barrel over its whole length from chamber to muzzle, avoiding pushing the patch fully out of the muzzle. Use about 5-10 strokes.

16) Change the jag for the bronze bristle brush.

17) Dip the brush into the Youngs .303 and insert it into the chamber ensuring the rod guide is properly in place.

18) Push the bronze brush right through the barrel and right out of the muzzle. Pull the brush right back through to the chamber. Repeat about 5 times. This loosens the residue of the Gold Medallion paste which helps it to be removed by Step 21) below.

19) Pull out the rod with the brush and wipe the shaft clean with the cotton cloth.

20) Change the bristle brush for the jag with a clean patch (4” x 2”) of flannelette.

21) Push the cleaning rod with the patch through and out of the muzzle. Remove the patch and pull the cleaning rod out. Turn the patch over to a clean side, attach to the jag and repeat this step.

22) Repeat step 21) until the patch comes out clean. If a clean patch is not achieved repeat steps 16) to 22) until the patch does come out clean.

23) Use the breech stick with jag and a clean flannelette patch to dry the chamber.

24) Wipe any drips of the Youngs .303 oil off the muzzle end with the cotton cloth.

25) Use a clean flannelette patch, torn into about half width size, dipped in Sweets and run down the barrel 2-3 times, ensuring the patch does not come too far out the end of the muzzle. This will leave a coating of Sweets on the barrel.

26) Leave the rifle to stand for a couple of minutes and then dry out the barrel with the jag and clean patches. If there had been only powder fouling the patch should be clean. If there was copper fouling, there will be bright blue marks on the patch. Repeat steps 25 and 26 until no more blue marks are seen. Keeping drying out the barrel with clean patches until the patches come out clean. Ensure the barrel is fully dry.

27) The rifle is ready to shoot.

Cleaning the Locking Lugs, Bolt, Firing Pin, Extractor, Action, Trigger & Sights

Every time a cartridge is fired and the bolt opened, minute slivers of brass from the cartridge are shaved off and can accumulate around the firing pin, bolt face, extractor and in the area of the locking lugs. Fluids and residue from the cleaning process can also collect around the locking lugs in the action and get down into the trigger mechanism. These areas need to be cleaned off before they cause abrasion, wear and possible malfunction.
A very useful tool to have is the locking lug cleaning tool. This looks like a breech stick but with lugs on the end. A piece of flannelette is wrapped around the tool, which when inserted into the breech area can be pushed forward and rotated in the locking lug recesses to wipe out any cleaning residue and grit. Remember to very lightly grease the bolt locking lugs after cleaning.

The head of the bolt, firing pin hole and extractor claw should be wiped with the wool mop dipped in Hoppes and a small amount of this lubricant allowed to run into the crevices. This will dissolve any brass slivers that have accumulated here and clean these areas out.

The action should be removed from the bedding every few months, the bedding cleaned and dried with a dry cotton cloth. (Oil or water in the bedding area can be disastrous to accuracy! If the rifle has been subjected to rainy weather this step must be done as soon as shooting is finished!)

The trigger is often the most neglected and yet one of the most important parts. Cleaning residue plus dust and debris from the range, cleaning bench or gun bag seems to have a knack of finding its way into the trigger mechanism. Inspect the trigger in situ and remove any visible debris or pieces of grass. If the trigger gets too dirty to the extent that its correct operation is affected, then it may be necessary to strip and clean the trigger. Unless familiar with this operation, it is recommended to have an experienced person carry out this task.

Another area of neglect is the cocking pin/cam area of the bolt. This should be kept clean and dry being lubricated only with a small amount of Molybdenum Disulphide grease/paste.

Last, the sights should be kept clean and dry, lightly oiling the scale plates, slideways, screws and around the dedent area of the knobs as necessary for smooth functioning. If they are allowed to run dry they will wear and be damaged. If too much oil is used then they will collect dust and dirt that will also lead to wear.