Cleaning Rifle Question

[I luv herfrds]

We gave my son his grandfathers .22 rifle. It is a Remington Score Master model 511.
We went out shooting gophers and were having alot of trouble with it. He told me the bullets were duds. No they weren't because I got them to go off in my .22.
Got home and I pulled the bolt and ran a bore brisel through it and a heap of patches. Took a tooth brush and scrubbed the bolt.
Now I noticed that the firing pin is in the center of this bolt and I believe that it is full of gunk because it cocks when you pull the bolt up to load a round. May be why the rounds were not going off because it was not getting hit with enough force.
My husband wants to soak the bolt in some solvent. I don't know if that will help or not.
The firing pin is spring loaded.

Now should we soak it in solvent or take it to a gun smith to take the bolt apart and clean it?

 

[dun]

If you soak it ina a good gun solvent for a day or 2 and then blow it out with one of the aerosol gun cleaner, i.e. guns scrubber, etc. that should clean it just fine. 22s are the most neglected of any firearms and alwasy have the most problems with dirt/grime/firing residue. Use a good bronze bore brush on the barrel and insure the chamber is completely crud free also

 

[grannysoo]

Dun is right on track. Just make sure that you are using a solvent and not WD-40.

 

[I luv herfrds]

Thanks Dun and granny.
I don't think this gun was ever cleaned the entire time my FIL owned it.
I will pick up some more gun solvent today and the aerosol gun cleaner.

 

[ALX.]

Where did I hear you may do more damage cleaning a .22 than by leaving it dirty.

Sounds weird I know. Anyone else heard that.

And that is my excuse for not cleaning my .22's.

 

[gerardplauche]

I agree with dun. Soaking in solvent will probably take care of it. Keep us informed.

 

[dun]

Where did I hear you may do more damage cleaning a .22 than by leaving it dirty.

Sounds weird I know. Anyone else heard that.

And that is my excuse for not cleaning my .22's.

Careless cleaning will cause more problems. But a 22 is just like any other firearm, proper cleaning and maintenance will prolong it's working life. Rimfire cleaning is in some ways even more important then centerfires. The powder used and the burn isn;t very complete and leaves a lot of junk behind. I can;t count the number of 22s I got into the shop that people sold because they wer worn out. All they needed was a good cleaning and lubrication and they weren;t worn out anymore.

 

[spoon]

I agree with Dun as well but if after a good soaking and cleaning you still have problems it may be a wornout firing pin. Doesn't happen often but they do wear out with enough shooting so I've been told.

 

[3waycross]

Dun is right about the cleaning , but one word of caution. If it stilll doesn't work after you soak it, don't try to take the bolt apart yourself. Take it to a gunsmith and save yourself some grief and maybe some money.

 

[ALX.]

But a 22 is just like any other firearm, proper cleaning and maintenance will prolong it's working life. Rimfire cleaning is in some ways even more important then centerfires.

Just when I thought I'd take an afternoon off and relax with a bubbly or 2 !

Thx dun. I think.

:lol:

How many of you folks use a pull through? The thought of shoving that silly .22 rod/brush/patches down 3 barrells repeatedly is, well , discouraging.

I'll let you all know what 40 years of neglect has done to my .22's :lol:

 

[I luv herfrds]

Got the solvent yesterday. Soaked the bolt overnight. There was alot of black residue at the bottom of the pan this morning. Took it out of the solvent and started spraying the little nooks and such with the aerasol Gun Scrubber. Patted it dry and put a drop of oil on the bolt and spread it around with a dry patch.
Put it back in and took it outside to do a dry fire.
The bolt pulls back like a dream now and when you pull it back to load a round it is spitting out more residue where the firing pin comes out. Found that out when I looked at my shirt. :lol:
I did around 10 dry fires and each time it got easier and I had a dry cloth to wipe the end of the pin each time it came out.

 

[3waycross]

Forgot to tell you the WORST thing you can do to a rimfire is to dry fire it. the firing pin hits the edge of the chamber and wrecks it.

DO NOT DRY FIRE YOUR .22 ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If it's full of liquid blow some compressed air thru it.

 

[dun]

Forgot to tell you the WORST thing you can do to a rimfire is to dry fire it. the firing pin hits the edge of the chamber and wrecks it.

DO NOT DRY FIRE YOUR .22 ANYMORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent point. If you must dryfire it, put a fired case in the chamber to cushion the firing pin. Don;t alwasy strike the same place on the rim , turn the case every few times.

 

[I luv herfrds]

I normally do not dry fire ANY of my guns.
I just did it with this one to get more of the gunk out from around the firing pin.


Reason why I do not dry fire, is I was hunting with some friends and they had brought along another person I did not know. He went to dry fire his rifle, but didn't realize he had a round in the chamber. Luckily he had the gun pointed away from us. He's never been invited back to hunt with us.

 

[3waycross]

I normally do not dry fire ANY of my guns.
I just did it with this one to get more of the gunk out from around the firing pin.


Reason why I do not dry fire, is I was hunting with some friends and they had brought along another person I did not know. He went to dry fire his rifle, but didn't realize he had a round in the chamber. Luckily he had the gun pointed away from us. He's never been invited back to hunt with us.

It normally doesn't hurt a centerfire rifle to dry fire it. But with a shotgun or a revolver I would use a snap cap.