Barrel cleaning?

[Smithfire]

Hi guys

Is it really necessary to clean the barrel on a target pistol, and if so, whats the best method?

Cheers

Clive

[RobinC]

No, just shoot a couple of felts through it every tin at most, or leave it entirely!

[AC99]

I have owned and shot a number of air pistols competitively over the last thirty years or so and have never cleaned the barrels on any of them with no apparent effect on accuracy/scores.

[PhatMan]

Smithfire,

As the other posters have said, with high-quality pellets, and a well finished bore, cleaning for most is not needed.

(If you are of Olympic standard, then cleaning is more important)

Make a pull trough from some nylon line, or as I do, use a VFG Pocket set + VFG felts.

I run the barrel through with the VFG felts after every session, with the felts lightly coated with Lupus grease.

This is not to clean the barrel, but to leave a thin coating of preservative in the bore - I live in an old, cold, leaky Victorian house (no central heating) a couple of hundred yards from the Channel, and steel rusts while you look at it

When I get a new rifle or pistol, I clean the bore thoroughly, then give it a coat of Sentry Solutions TufGlide to act as the primary preservative.

For those that say that air pistol & rifle bores don't rust in ordinary use, feel free to leave your treasures in my house for a few months

Have fun & a good weekend

Best regards

Russ

[nige346]

I bench tested an LP2 some time back both before and after cleaning, the pistol was purchased used. After cleaning the group did tighten up so cleaning did make a difference, however the biggest change in grouping was made when adjusting the velocity to match the pellet to which it then shot a single very neat hole with 5 pellets,

So in my experience I would say yes it did improve accuracy, I doubt however that I shoot a group of the same size free hand but at least I know any errors are mine. Pelets will also make a difference, R10s, H&N match etc are clean pellets that leave little residue, having cleaned a tin and checked the remnants there was very little to worry about with the the R10's, after cleaning a tin of cheap pellets I was left with black sludge and bits of lead swarf (and quite a lot of it)

My advise would be that if the pistol was purchased used, clean it with felt pull throughs as you won't know what pellets were previously used, set the pistols velocity to the pellet you are using (with A Chrono so you can record the optimum setting) and use the same (preferably good quality) pellet. You will then have the assurance that your pistol is shooting at its best taking any doubt out of your bad shots of "was it the gun or me" I use a pull through after a few comps just to ensure it remains as such but also fire about 20 shots to re-lead the barrel before a match, does it make my gun more accurate? Possibly not but but it assures me that I'm using it it tip top condition which inspires confidence and that in itself will help improve your shooting.

As for living near the coast, I couldn't agree more, my parents live on the seafront and you can almost hear their car rusting away, metal and damp salt air don't mix well at all.

[RobinC]

Russ's problem aside, the key point here is drifting onto another regular debate, cheap or top line pellets? With good quality pellets your barrel should under normal circumstances not need cleaning, we do the rare shoot through of a felt every tin or more, but really only as a check to see what state the felt is in, and also for a bit of confidence, but realistically its not neccessary.

Its one of my points against saving the cost of a cup of coffee to use cheap pellets, use good pellets, and you will do much more to protect your barrel than any cleaning.

Testing groups before and after cleaning is almost irrelavent, unless you have a serious issue with accuracy that is clearly apparant, and even then it is a waste of time unless you have the most sophisticated test gear, with machine clamps, and electronic measuring, most normal shooters bench tests are less accurate than a good level shooter shooting free hand. I have seen bench testing at manufaturers, and specialist companies, and they have some very serious kit! With this kit even known dirty barrels will shoot near enough one hole groups.

I look after and coach some top class shooters, and cleaning on air guns is way down on my priorities.

Two years ago, at MEC in Dortmund during training, during a break my wife was asked when did you last clean your rifle? Come on, this is a womans rifle! Clean it? Ever?

Amid much hilarity it was set up on the very sopisticated test rig to demonstrate to her how much more accurate it would be when cleaned, first it was tested as was.
Ten shots, all perfect 10.9's, no discernable difference on full zoom on the screen, it had shot a perfect 4.50 mm hole, not a group! It was one of the tightest "non" groups they had ever seen! It never was cleaned and has not been since, and still shoots perfect 10,9's.

Perfect group shooting air guns are built accurate.

There are so many other factors in a rifle or a pistols accuracy than barrel cleanliness, the pellet quality, the air charge consistency (i.e. regulator accuracy), the barrel quality, (I've just returned from a manufacturer where we had a new barrel fitted on a match air rifle for one of our protege's, and they tried ten barrels, and we had the one that produced the best group), with a spring gun it has mechanical inefficiencies, and a PCP has the valve operated by a spring and hammer, so its still in part a spring gun, and all thats before we even look at the shooter!

Other than not taking up Russ's invitation, just buy top quality pellets, and shoot through the odd felt if you feel inclined, or if you are any of my protege's don't, yet still shoot 100's!

Have Fun and Good shooting
Robin

[Mark D]

Robin

Your post on barrel cleaning is probably the most detailed explanation,using your knowledge obtained from real world experiences,that I have read.

Thank you

[vbull]

When using the felts do you put a pellet behind it or just shoot the felt ?

[Mark D]

When using the felts do you put a pellet behind it or just shoot the felt ?

On spring powered models I would put a pellet behind the felt. On gas powered,I just use a felt.

[RobinC]

Just the felt.

[nige346]

It's all in the mind ��

I do it occasionally cos it makes me feel better and reassures me, my bench testing is done with a jig machined to fit the pistol so no movement but as I mentioned the difference was negligible and probably because it had been used with cheap pellets, the felts came out black,, most of mine now just have a trace on the leading edge of the felt (I use R10's)

I certainly wouldn't argue with Robin on the subject however as based on previous info from him I've read he does indead know what he's talking about