Cleaning out the barrel of a C&R

[trfcrugby]

What is the best way to clean out the barrel on one of these rifles? My Mosin and Garand both crap in the barrels, and running the bore brush just seems to make more if it. I assume its cosmo?

[chiefcrash]

What is the best way to clean out the barrel on one of these rifles? My Mosin and Garand both crap in the barrels, and running the bore brush just seems to make more if it. I assume its cosmo?

you could try one of those foaming bore cleaner. I usually fill the bore, let it soak for 2 days, push some patches through, repeat a few times...

[Nefarious]

i would dunk that bad boy in HOT water and swish it around.
Break down the rifle.. dunk the metal parts in hot soapy water... the Cosmo will come right out. Give it a nice lube aftwards and your set

There are lots of methods used to clean out cosmo ... just do a quick forum search

[hybridatsun350]

Yea, the melting point of cosmo is only about 120*F or so. Near boiling water will melt it right out of the gun.

[Mike 56]

This will work on the Mosin but i don't think you can get a cleaning rod in from the breach on the M1. Put about three inches of gasoline or paint thinner in a coffee can put the muzzle in the can then alternate with a bore brush and mop it will only take a few minutes to clean the barrel.

Mike

[trfcrugby]

Before I try these methods, let me make sure that cosmo is what I am looking at.

When the rifles arrived, the bores looked really clean and shiney, but after running a brush down them, more and more crap shows up on the patches and when looking down the barrel. Loose cosmo being broken free?

[ocabj]

It's most likely just fouling.

If the bore is unobstructed by caked fouling (after running patches and brushes through it), I'd take it to the range and fire 10 rounds through it or so within a fairly quick amount of time (inside 1-2 minutes) to get the barrel hot.

Then clean the barrel immediately at the range. This should help the cleaning process a little.

After using your basic solvent like Hoppes, Shooters Choice, Butch's, etc., I would try using a penetrating oil like Marvell's Mystery Oil (available at Kragens) or Kroil. Just use a loose fitting patch or a bore mop soaked in the penetrating oil and swab the bore. This will help loosen all the fouling. Then continue to swab the bore after letting it soak for awhile.

[Morales]

Here is my method: Start with charcoal lighter fluid on all metal parts and down the barrel to remove cosmoline. Scrub the parts with a rag. Use patches down the bore. Once you've used the lighter fluid down the bore a few times, start scrubbing with brushes. Dry the inside of the bore, then create a slightly pasty mixture of carborator or fuel injector cleaner and some kind of kitched steel cleaning powder. Something like Comet, but better. Like Klean King. Something that is meant for stainless steel pots and pans. If its good for copper bottoms, even better. Once you've mixted the two, put it on a patch and run it down your bore. Scrub it a few times, and run dry patches. Any residue will dry and flake off so if you get it in your action it wont do any harm. Keep doing this, repeating, and you will see patches so black that you would think you were a chimeny sweep. It works well enough that even after other cleaning products no longer yield grime, and I think I've cleaned something up perfectly, I find a pound of fouling. Its a good method.

[jthai]

I was told to use paint thinner or mineral spirits to remove cosmoline from metal components as well as the stock although I've never tried it. Will this in any way harm/remove the finish of the steel or the wood stock?