cleaning a very dirty barrel

[isobar]

i have an old bsa cadet and the rifling looks stuffed with crud,i have put no end of ciggy filters and cotton buds through but it's not getting into the deep rifling grooves, what sort of brush do i need to give it a darn good cleaning?reckon the old thing's been stood up somewhere dusty for 60 years or had something fired through it that shouldn't have been.i have never seen a barrel this bad,the rifles in good nick otherwise.

thanks for reading

[Peter Dunkley]

Ciggy filters are not I fear the answer Ciggy filters are designed to allow air to pass through them. The proper felt wads are not, they offer a resistance to the air and expand in the barrel getting into the rifling. Try them with some Napier on them and a pellet behind. Napier soaked felt followed by a dry one then a pellet. Watch where the barrel is pointing , they come out with a bang.

[isobar]

Ciggy filters are not I fear the answer Ciggy filters are designed to allow air to pass through them. The proper felt wads are not, they offer a resistance to the air and expand in the barrel getting into the rifling. Try them with some Napier on them and a pellet behind. Napier soaked felt followed by a dry one then a pellet. Watch where the barrel is pointing , they come out with a bang.

i hadn't thought of firing anything through it,i was just pushing them through with a length of fibreglass,not sure what napier is but will look that up.
thanks for the advice.

[Neil54]

You can get a brass brush.
You could try a sliver of pan scrubber tied to some string.

[WebleyWombler]

Sounds like it might be congealed grease from storage? Try blocking up one end and filling with a solvent ( Thinners, Nail Varnish remover, paraffin etc) overnight and see if that makes a difference.

[isobar]

Sounds like it might be congealed grease from storage? Try blocking up one end and filling with a solvent ( Thinners, Nail Varnish remover, paraffin etc) overnight and see if that makes a difference.

makes sense,it does look like black gunge looking through the barrel and grease would attract dirt,i haven't tried any solvent to shift it,cheers for that.

[LeeO]

A Cillet brush,
Bang and the dirt is gone,

sorry,

[leetrenchard]

I wouldn't use fibreglass, it's very abrasive at its ends, I use a brass brazing rod or those long wood kebab sticks.

I only use these as a last resort but you can get bronze brushes for barrels. Just had to use one to scrub out the crown end of a bsa barrel that had a rough rusty patch in it. This took the gun (Scorpion pistol) from very inaccurate to accurate.

[isobar]

You can get a brass brush.
You could try a sliver of pan scrubber tied to some string.

it looks quite stubborn,after my failed attempts to clean it a brass brush was my first thought. thanks

[harvey_s]

I think the decent brushes for rifling may be bronze rather than brass...

[FPoole]

A bronze brush and some JB Bore Paste followed by JB Bore Brite, if you can find them. A good scrub with a little solvent and the bronze brush followed with cotton patches would also do the job.

[Shed tuner]

A bronze brush and some JB Bore Paste followed by JB Bore Brite, if you can find them. A good scrub with a little solvent and the bronze brush followed with cotton patches would also do the job.

This

JB bore paste is also invaluable for resurecting corroded bores, or removing tight spots where they shouldn't be. I use it with a mop.

[isobar]

thanks for the suggestions,i'll start with the softest option and work my way up.

[ChrisC]

From the least invasive...

1. felts shot though the barrel, you can put a bit of pellet lube/oil on the felt and a pellet behind.

2. Barrel pull through such as Napier (they are poor quality though IMHO). I make my own and use ex military 4x2 cloth. Been using this on my Steyrs for 20 years.

3.carbon fibre cleaning rod.
https://www.sportsmanguncentre.co.uk...r-cleaning-rod
with this brush fitted and dipped in Autosol
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tipton-Bron.../dp/B00D1WVLW0
and then use approx 20 pull throughs until the barrel comes clean. I have used this method to recover poorly grouping target rifle barrels but you have to be careful and make sure the movement is flush to the bore or the crown can be damaged.

4.Hoppes bore fluid.

[steptoe1966]

Simple answer is plug one end fill the barrel with a barrel degreaser leave over night then pour out thne run a nylon brush the brass might damage the very old rifleing , then after 4 or 5 passesof the nylon brush letting it turn with the rifling put a few strips of cotton cloth through and repeat if no cleaner , plug and put in may be wd40 the next time try some different cleaners as some clean some stuff better than others , and then just keep at it , i would not use a wire type brush as these can scratch and damage fine rifiling , just use a nylon on and good quality cleaner .

good luck but remember go easy you can always redo it but if you damage it you can not repair it