Gun Cleaning

[BrianP]

I've had new shells that wouldn't fire.

Lucky for me, they were Winchester shotshells, and this was at the Grand American trapshoot, so when I brought the misfire to the Winchester rep they gave me a whole new box of shells [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] and thanked me for bringing it to their attention.
Now, thats customer service.

I would bring the misfires back and raise stink.

I think I read somewhere that some Ruger 10/22s don't like some finds of ammo, but I don't remember the version of the 10/22 or the ammo. Its the ammo's fault, anyway.

Just in case, it is possible that the firing pin or the hole it fits into is plugged up a tad. If the pin has a 'shoulder' their could be crud or corrosion which prevents the pin from striking fully. Similarly, especially with a semiauto, the bolt may not be closing 100%.

I know you just had the gun cleaned, but mistakes happen.

[Ranchman]

<font color="blue"> I think I read somewhere that some Ruger 10/22s don't like some finds of ammo, but I don't remember the version of the 10/22 or the ammo. </font color>

This is correct. Conical ammo (like Remington’s Yellow Jacket or Viper) often gives a lot of problems (feeding), but misfires can occur with other brands as well. Also depends on the lot of the ammo, as I've seen the same brand ammo made a couple of years apart function flawlessly and terribly on the same gun under the same conditions. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]

[Argee]

<font color="blue"> I think I read somewhere that some Ruger 10/22s don't like some finds of ammo </font color>

I've owned a Ruger 10/22 for over 30 years and have never had a misfire. I have probably shot 10,000 rounds (from just about every manufacturer) through it. I've had ammo that was really old and could actually see the projectile but it never jammed. I have always been meticulous about keep it cleaned. Maybe that's the secret. She hasn't failed me yet.

[Ranchman]

You've had better luck than me - don't get me wrong, I haven't had bad luck with them as long as the ammo had a rounded tip. Probably the worst ammo I ever ran in to was Remington's Thunderbolt. Turned it from a semi-auto in to a single shot! [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img] Overall, I still think the 10/22 is one of the best semi 22's ever made.

[Argee]

<font color="blue"> Overall, I still think the 10/22 is one of the best semi 22's ever made. </font color>

That's a big 10-4. One of my good friends son just purchased a new 10/22. It has not changed at all whatsoever, with the exception they now offer it with a composite stock. That's a good thing! Still has the same action and sights. I mounted the scope off my .308 onto my 10/22. It's almost as big as the carbine [img]/forums/images/icons/laugh.gif[/img] but boy is it deadly on rabbits and squirrels.

[knucklehead]

Hi

Ditto on the 10/22 - we pay particular attention to the bolt/reciever contact areas, and also disasseble the magazines and clean them internally when they start to look nasty inside. We have a Savage/Stevens model 64F (I think) that apparently needs the same treatment - our son notices the bolt works harder and he is getting increasingly frequent stovepipes on spent shells, and feed jams. Don't know exactly how many rounds he's fed through it, but I have seen several empty 500-count boxes of Remington &amp; Federal 22's going into the trash.

An aside - has anyone had trouble mounting/sighting their scopes? We are using the Weaver rail (TO -xx can't remember the number), and found we had to shim (don't ask what we used [img]/forums/images/icons/blush.gif[/img] - it's "only a 22" isn't it [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]) the rear of the mount to get enough clicks to bring the pattern down.

[Ranchman]

Howdy Knucklehead -

<font color="blue">An aside - has anyone had trouble mounting/sighting their scopes? ...and found we had to shim... </font color>

I've done that before, but never on a 10/22. You can get "real" shims through Brownells, or if you need something really thin, you can use aluminum foil since it is thin and stable.

[knucklehead]

Rancho

Thanks - you are close on what we used. It was so far off that we used quite thick shims - I thought about whether the rings or any other piece was messed up, and we didn't have enough parts to swap around. As the kids get older and we aquire more equipment, there will be time for experiments. I think it was equipment related rather than the rifle, and since I think it's important for the kids to learn to rely on iron sights, we never really pursued it.

[Matt_K]

hi. i am new to rifles and recently bought a nagant 91/30. I need to know a few things...

1) What is the best method for getting the cosmolene off
2) where/when is it appropriate to use gun oil
3) Why is it that (I have heard this from many sources) solvent should not get in the action, and how would you clean in there?

I recieved a small booklet with the nagant which advises cleaning all parts with solvent, wiping down, then coating with an extremely thin layer of gun oil. I found that many sites with contradictory methods. I (will) use non-corrosive ammo.

Thanks,

-Matt

[Ranchman]

Welcome Matt_K -

A long reply, but hopefully you will find it helpful.

Q1: There are many ways to get cosmoline off - which one you use depends on how much time and effort you wish to expend.

The easiest method I've found if you aren't planning to disassemble your gun is to simply start wiping off all the excess you can with paper towels. That will leave a thin residue, but will remove all the globs. Next, I generally use a solvent like Hoppe's #9 and large cleaning patches - wet the patch down and rub the metal to remove the residual cosmoline. After this is done, you can use the paper towels again to remove the excess Hoppes (far fewer towels and time than removing the cosmoline). Finally, use a small cloth (say 6" square of old T-shirt folded over on itself a couple of times) and a thin oil (regular old 3-in-1 is fine) and wipe down all the metal surfaces. This will leave a thin protective coating on all the metal.

Now, if you are planning on completely taking it apart (not that big a deal on a 91/30), I generally use a little different method. The initial paper towel thing stays the same, but instead of using a powder solvent in step 2, I go to the sink and use dish washing soap, hot water, and my hands to wash off the cosmoline. Of course, once I'm finished, I wipe down everything quickly with paper towels and then finish up like the previous method with oil and a rag.

Q2: Any metal surface. Basically, wipe down your gun with the rag/oil when you put it up for the day. This will generally prevent any rust. You do this and your gun will look identical to how it looks today (not including bluing wear) 50 years from now. (I can cite specific examples, so this is not an exaggeration). Don't go overboard with the oil - you just want a very thin coat - just enough to protect.

Q3: Well, there is really more to this. If you are not taking your gun apart, allowing solvent to get in to the crevices of your action may carry dirt and other gunk into the gun instead of away from it. If you are taking your gun apart so you can get in to all the crevices, then you should use solvent to remove all the crud that gets in to it. You can still clean your action with solvent and without taking your gun apart, just use Q-tips and don't saturate them with solvent - use a wet one then a dry one. It works well.

A couple of other things:

THIS LINK will give you all sorts of information on your new gun, along with instructions on how to take it apart and put it back together. It's a great source of information.

Also, your barrel of your "new" 91/30 is most likely filthy (even if it "looks" shiny). There are multiple ways to clean your barrel, but they all take time and effort. Plan on using a bore brush and cleaning rod (and LOTS of patches) to get it where it needs to be.

Personally, on old guns like yours, I use a electro-chemical method very similar to Outer's Foul-Out - but a lot cheaper and more effective in my book. If you're interested, I can describe it further, but since this is already a long post, I'll hold off for now.

Here are a couple of other sites where you can learn a lot. Granted, they aren't specific to the 91/30, but the principles absolutely apply.

Mauser Central

Wagner's Home Page

Hope this helps!