Cleaning Your Prone Rifle

Introduction

Ask “How often should I clean my rifle?” in our prone section and you’ll get as many different answers as there are people in the room. It’s not actually a useful question. A better one is:

Can a rifle ever be too clean?

When a cartridge fires, it leaves residues of unburned propellant, primer, and lead particles behind. Bullets are coated in wax, which also gets deposited in the barrel. Over time these residues accumulate around the rifling. Does that affect accuracy?

Why clean?

Eley have published limited data — based on an unidentified .22 ammunition and rifle — that suggests:

A 1 mm increase in group size may sound small. But at top-level competition, shooters are encouraged to clean the barrel after about 100 shots. There are several other good reasons for club shooters to clean regularly:

• It reduces airborne lead particulates on the range.
• It reduces lead from the breach contacting your skin.
• It can prevent misfires caused by a dirty firing pin.
• It helps prevent corrosion of the barrel.
• It reduces friction when cocking the bolt.
• It reduces wear on moving parts.

Equipment

Keep it simple. Generic cleaning kits are sold but you pay for components you may never use. A practical starter list:

• One-piece cleaning rod with a screw end to take a jag (.22 calibre).
• Jag with a female connection to fit the rod, knurled to take one or two felts.
• Bag of cleaning felts (.22 calibre).
• Bottle of barrel-cleaning solvent — not gun oil.
• Old toothbrush.
• Cotton buds — please use plastic-free.
• Cotton rags — an old bed sheet is ideal.
• Nitrile, solvent-proof, reusable gloves.

The 19-step process

1. Check the breach flag is in place and the rifle is unloaded.
2. Collect the equipment above and your rifle.
3. If you have rifle rests, use them — but they’re not essential. The rifle can lie on its side on a covered surface.
4. Confirm again that the rifle is unloaded, then remove the breach flag.
5. Remove the bolt. Locate the bolt-release catch on the opposite side of the stock from the bolt handle (for a right-handed rifle). Press the catch and pull the bolt clear of the rifle.
6. Hold the rifle to your eye, pointing toward a light source. Look down the bore — you’ll see the extent of fouling.
7. Screw the jag onto the cleaning rod and put on your gloves.
8. Open your solvent in a well-ventilated space and pour about 5 cm³ into a non-plastic container. Securely replace the cap.
9. Screw a felt onto the threaded portion of the jag. Place a second felt on the non-threaded portion.
10. Dip only the end felt into the solvent. Try not to wet both.
11. Insert the end felt into the breach through the bolt tunnel until it contacts the breach face.
12. Holding the rifle steady with one hand, push the felt firmly along the barrel. If the barrel is really dirty you may need to push hard. Keep going until the end felt protrudes from the muzzle.
13. Pull the rod backwards in one movement until it’s clear of the barrel. The end felt should fall off — collect it as evidence.
14. Don’t replace the back felt yet. Screw on a fresh end felt and repeat from step 11. Every other pass, replace both felts. The back felt’s job is to dry the barrel, not clean it.
15. Line up the used felts to track progress. Once a felt comes out as clean as it went in, the barrel is clean.
16. Dip a cotton bud in solvent and clean the muzzle end. Don’t push it into the bore. (If you have a sight extender on the muzzle, remove it first — see the sub-procedure below.)
17. Clean the bolt. Wipe it all over with a solvent-soaked rag. Use a cotton bud on the bolt face and the ejector clamps — dirt in the ejector causes ejection issues. Dry-wipe the bolt.
18. Clean the firing pin. Look for the small protruding piece behind the bolt handle (often distinctively coloured) — that’s the firing-pin extension. To expose it: firmly grip the bolt with your left hand, push the bolt handle firmly away from you. You’ll hear a click. The firing pin is now slightly exposed at the bolt face. Clean it with a solvent-dipped cotton bud, dry it, then reverse the twisting action to retract the firing pin. If you forget this last step you won’t be able to replace the bolt.
19. Clean the chamber. Dip the toothbrush in cleaning fluid, enter the chamber from the bolt tunnel, and scrub through 360°. Dry the tunnel with a cloth. Use cotton buds for the chamber and especially the breach face — these get very dirty. Dry, then replace the bolt.

Photograph: Bolt-release catch on the opposite side of the stock from the bolt handle

Photograph: Jag with one felt threaded and a second felt seated on the non-threaded portion

Photograph: Row of used felts showing progression from filthy to clean

Photograph: 3-step firing-pin extension — bolt grip, push handle away, exposed pin at bolt face

Cleaning a sight extender

Sight extenders become absolutely filthy unless cleaned regularly. The procedure needs extra care.

You’ll need a bottle bristle brush — not a brass one (too abrasive); the bristles should be firm enough to be a tight fit in your tube.

1. Carefully remove your front sight from the muzzle.
2. Put a few drops of detergent in warm water.
3. Immerse the sight tube in the water. Scrub the inside of the tube under water with the bottle brush. The water contains the lead dust that would otherwise be thrown into the air.
4. Dry the tube thoroughly with cloths.
5. Soak a cloth in solvent and wrap it around a clean bottle brush. Push it through the sight tube as many times as it takes to come out clean.
6. Dry the sight tube. Reassemble your sights and reattach the tube to the barrel.

Aftercare

A few last housekeeping items:

• Dispose of solvent-soaked equipment safely — they’re a fire hazard until fully dry.
• Wash your hands before eating or drinking. See Lead Safety for the wider context.
• Reassemble fully and run a function check before your next session.

Happy, safe, and clean shooting.