Originally Posted by
TonyL
Thank you for starting this thread. After reading this excellent article, I was going to do just that, but related more to scrubbing the barrel. More later.......
As many of you will know, I'm a huge fan of Jim's. Correction.....I'm Jim's biggest fan and he has steered and influenced my enjoyment of our wonderful hobby for many, many years.
I can fully go with Jim's findings but I have a dilemma re switching pellets / cleaning the barrel. And I have what may be the perfect "example rifle" to tie in with Jim's theory in one of my 95s. It's a .177 and I bought it new when they first became available. I have never cleaned the bore. For many years I would only use RWS pellets, so it thrived very well indeed on Superdomes. Accurate and I was happy.
By 2013 I got access to a very good indoor range and 34 yards. In 2014, at nearing 20 years old (???), I fitted a V-Mach kit. Lovely. When I got to the range I tested with the 'Domes, as a "control". Good. I also tested JSB Exact 8.44 and 7.87 and also AAF. Good. But no better than the 'Domes, so that sort of made my mind up to stick with them. But I kept reading of how good the JSB derived pellets can be in terms of efficiency, firing cycle, ultimate accuracy if the correct batch was discovered etc......
Then I was given some boxed Crosman Premier 7.9s. The kind donor said that none of his rifles liked them. This 95 loved them. So they were the top pellet for accuracy for this rifle. Accuracy was good with the 'Domes and JSBs, but superb with the Crosmans.
Then I tried H&N FTT and they jumped to the top of the pile. Tiny, tiny one holers at 34 yards, rested.
A few months after that I tried some JSB Heavy outdoors at a blustery Quigley Hollow. Accurate and far less affected by the strong crosswind. I never got to try them at the indoor range, though.
And then, a couple of years or so ago, I tried the H&N Baracuda FT. Superb. As accurate as the FTTs on the indoor range and really good, like the JSB Heavy, in the wind.
So, this barrel has never been cleaned and it's had a variety of lead compositions down its barrel, including the harder Crosmans and H&N. Performance is good with just about every pellet and superb with the H&Ns.
So, as above, do I stick with them? Or am I missing out by not scrubbing the barrel and giving the JSBs a proper chance? With the lower start pressures, the promise of a sweeter firing cycle is tempting.
But......I have never, ever cleaned a barrel. Never felt the need. Mainly due to a fear of causing damage. I'd always thought that, if I were to be tempted, I'd use a cleaning felt that attaches to a rod. But, by the sounds of it, that wouldn't be enough to clear the harder lead deposits properly. A phosphor bronze brush is required. So, question to Jim......I'm guessing that one wouldn't just use the brush "dry". So would one use some sort of cleaning compound / oil? I still have some Young's 303 that I used to use to clean my shotgun barrels. Would that be any good? And then some light oil afterwards, followed by a drying patch / felts? Also, "scrubbing"?...I've always imagined that if I were to try to clean a barrel I'd make a pass (or multiple passes) from breech to muzzle. But the very word "scrubbing" would hint to me of multiple backwards and forwards movements to loosen the accumulated crud.
So, how to do it? What is the best practice? What would be the best products to use?
It would probably make a fantastic basis for a stand alone article of its own?
I'm still not saying that I'd definitely do it, but the reluctance is diminishing a little........