How to clean your rifle, the ELEY way

 

This entry was posted on 24th October 2014 by ELEY Ammunition.

Over the last four weeks we have been posting how some of our sponsored shooters maintain their firearms.

In today’s post Martyn Buttery, ELEY’s UK Customer Range Officer, demonstrates how we recommend you clean your rifle to keep it in tip-top condition.

Preparation

1. Put rifle into a cleaning vice to ensure that it doesn’t move around during the cleaning process.
3. 
4. Take the front and back sights off so you don’t get them dirty during cleaning.
5. Take the butt plate off so you can clean the rifle.
6. 
7. Remove the bolt.
8. Remove the sight extension tube and clean the muzzle.

 

 

Cleaning

1. Clean the extension tube with a 12 gauge brush and felt or tissue moistened with solvent.
3. 
5. Smoothly insert a cleaning rod guide into the receiver.
6. 
8. Apply a dry felt to the cleaning rod adapter and push it through the barrel to the muzzle in one slow steady movement. As the felt is dry it may feel stiff.

4. Remove the soiled felt and pull back the cleaning rod.
5. 
7. Apply a new felt to the cleaning rod adapter and moisten it with Rimfire Blend / cleaning oil.
9. 
11. Insert the moistened felt into the barrel and push it to the muzzle with short forward movements.
13. 
15. Remove the soiled felt and pull back the cleaning rod through the barrel.
17. 
19. Clean the rod with tissue to avoid getting solvent on your hands.
21. 
23. Repeat steps 6, 7 and 8, until the felts are no longer dirty or soiled.
24. Apply a new felt to the cleaning rod and moisten it with gun oil.
26. 
28. Insert the oil-moistened felt into the barrel and push it to the muzzle with short forward movements.
30. 
32. Remove the felt and pull back the cleaning rod through the barrel.
34. 
36. Remove the cleaning rod guide and clean the action of the receiver with a dry cotton bud or tissue.
38. 
40. Clean the bolt with a cloth and some gun oil. Apply a light film of gun oil to the bolt, the lock nuts and to the cam – do not apply too much.
42. 
44. Insert the bolt into the receiver and close it. It is important to be able to close the bolt without feeling any resistance. If you do feel resistance, remove the bolt from the receiver and check whether the action contains any impurities, debris or foreign particles and clean as necessary.

 

After cleaning care

1. Before the next use of your rifle use a cleaning rod to push a clean dry felt through the barrel to the muzzle in one steady movement.
2. Remove the soiled felt and pull back the cleaning rod through the barrel.
3. Repeat this until there are no signs of oil on the felt.

 

Your rifle should now be clean and ready to use again.

We recommend that your rifle is cleaned after every time you use it.

Please note: Intensive cleaning of your rifle will be needed after every 200–300 rounds.  The barrel should be cleaned with a bronze brush. In order to do this you will need to push the brush in the direction of the muzzle and repeat three times.  A bronze brush is used as it is the only tool that can be used to completely remove lead remnants.