TargetTalk

How do you clean your (bore) olympic pistol, and what cleaning stuff you use with it?

Every couple of tins (1000 shots) or so I pull an oiled felt patch through (same oil as general lubrication; Crosman Pellgun) then a couple of dry patches. Doesn't seem to change accuracy if I happen to forget for a few more tins though... lead is an excellent protective layer on the barrel and there is no gunpowder residue to worry about with airguns.

I shoot a couple of dry patches every tin. Clean the rest with a dry cloth and add a drop of vaseline (made by anshutz) to the o-rings.

rmca wrote:I shoot a couple of dry patches every tin. Clean the rest with a dry cloth and add a drop of vaseline (made by anshutz) to the o-rings.

this might not be a good idea in his Walther SSPe

Ah, he's asking about firearm cleaning. Ignore what I said above as I have no idea there, only air pistol experience. "Cleaning Olympic pistol" made me think air for some reason...

All of my .22's get a nylon brushing only.
No brass or bronze brushes, no solvents, no patches.
All I shoot is sub sonic ammo with good lube on them.
There is no accumlulation in the barrel except for some minor lead oxidation and powder.

I am in the camp of not ruining a good .22 barrel that will last 2 or more life times by over cleaning them.

Just my .02 cents worth.
Your mileage may vary.

Clarence

Your 2 cents worth, has at least a dollar of value in my opinion C.Perkins.

Cleaning? What's that? I ran a nilon brush through my toz once. Didn't do anything to accuracy. Don't think I'll worry about doing it again. Maybe in another 4 year's or so. I don't think my dad has ever cleaned his by the looks of them and he would have put maybe millions of rounds through. New rapid fire pistols do need a lot of cleaning tho

I have found that both Benelli MP90's and Pardini SP's will begin keyholing after about 20 thousand rounds if I only clean with solvent & patches. The shots will still be accurate, but the holes start looking funny. The small center hole will be offset from the lead mark. At that point, I run a clean .22 bronze brush through all the way once & then back, followed by a "Lead Away" patch or two. Then they are good for another 20K rounds.

I’m not surprised about ambiguity and confusion of the some advices. At this point I just surprise that simplicity of this topic make people think in the wrong direction.
Do you have to clean your Olympic pistol? (Free pistol, Standard pistol or rapid fire pistol) It is does not matter (Free pistol, Standard pistol or rapid fire pistol), you have to clean it each time after live practice and clean it properly, if you are expecting high performance from your tool.
I think I have to include this topic in discussion during my next Intermediate level class in December. ;)

Spencer wrote:

rmca wrote:I shoot a couple of dry patches every tin. Clean the rest with a dry cloth and add a drop of vaseline (made by anshutz) to the o-rings.

this might not be a good idea in his Walther SSPe

Air pistol is also an Olympic event last time I checked! :)

As for .22, I clean the barrel with a dry nylon brush and then some felt pellets to remove the loose dirt. As for the moving parts and exterior they get rubbed down with a paper towel and then lub slightly win gun oil (brunox).

The following answer was given to me by Mauro Badaracchi(air & free pistol competitor of the highest level) when I asked him how(often) to clean my free pistol : "In my opinion you don't need to clean your pistol each training, but of course you must clean it often.. We could say each 200/300 shoots.. You can first use a brush, than use felt with bit of oil, and then felts to clean your barrel.. The important is that you clean also the end of your barrel, and of course you need to remove your compensator and also clean it ;)

Mauro

On my FP, after each use with a nylon brush, then a few small patches and oil. Full cleaning about once a month or before a major shoot.

Greg Derr wrote:On my FP, after each use with a nylon brush, then a few small patches and oil. Full cleaning about once a month or before a major shoot.

I'm glad we are on the same page. ;)

"Hey it's an Olympic pistol, so once each Olympics."

Actually, cartridge- light brush or air-felt pellet, at the end of each session.
Patch, part strip and solvent clean about each brick (500rds).
Full strip, inspection, clean and bore scrub (seal kit if Airpistol/buffers for Auto's), lube, rebuild and reset - annually.
Blackpowder pistols full strip, solvent clean, lube and rebuild each shoot.

David M wrote:Blackpowder pistols full strip, solvent clean, lube and rebuild each shoot.

Which is why I no longer shoot black powder.

With all this talk of cleaning, I have a question I'd like to ask here. I have heard many .22 shooters talk about how they need to clean their barrels with extreme care, as if they are something delicate. One former college competitor told me that after he cleaned his bore, it took ~50-100 rounds before the rifle would "settle down" and he only cleaned the bore once a year. For shooters pumping lead bullets through a centerfire pistol, the idea of scrubbing a bore with a bronze brush wrapped with strands of copper from a Chore Boy or pulling a Lewis Lead Remover through it (http://tinyurl.com/d7qj8lv) is no big deal.

So, are .22 barrels really so delicate or are centerfire shooters setting themselves up for a barrel replacement?

Roger

BTW, I clean the extractor/breech face of my TOZ 35M when the fouling threatens to interfere with function and the bore, gently, once every 1000 rds or so. I've never found enough shmutz in the guts to warrant routine disassembly.

Pistol barrels seldom get shot out IMHO. I used to train with some of the best small bore shooters in the US and watched them painstakingly clean their barrels after each training session. I guess it all depends on how you feel about it but there targets and angle of error was much smaller than mine.

Greg Derr wrote:.... but there targets and angle of error was much smaller than mine.

Some of us experience great success, and some a bit less than great. <G>

I tidy up and re-lube my 50-meter pistol about every 2000 rounds just to keep up appearances in the neighborhood. Between cleanings only the chamber gets attention, when necessary. The pistol's angle of error is always my problem.