Cleaning Basics for the 303

[dman69]

Hi Folks,

I'm hoping you can assist and advise me. I'm currently taking care of two Enfields - a Lithgow No 1 Mkiii* (Beauty), and a Maltby No 4 Mk1 (Beast) with a "newish" 2 groove barrel - both are 1943 models. Both shoot quite well, the Malty particularly so ! (I have to admit I am a bit biased though).

Thing is, I want to ensure that I take care of both Beauty and the Beast so they can continue to be used on a regular basis for a long time to come. I reload my own ammo (all non-corrosive); my main concern is ensuring they're cleaned properly between use. Usual routine is as follows -
*Dry patches to clean crud out,
*Followed by hoppes no9, dry patches again til clear
*Brass brush (5-6 passes back and forth) then dry patches til clear
*Final lube with Inox

Am I underdoing it or overdoing it here? Particularly with the Lithgow this is pretty time consuming - I keep getting dark patches coming through.....

I have tried the old boil out the barrel routine here, but it is a bit of a pain in the butt, and I'm not sure this is such a big thing with non-corrosive ammo; trust me, I'm not interesting in using the old gauze patch!

Could I get your advice on cleaning routines that work for you ?

Information

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[Thunderbox]

Don't forget that most barrels suffer more wear from cleaning than they do from the rounds being fired! Repeated use of tight patches and bronze brushes will quickly wear the bore.

I try to use methods that minimise wear. Consequently, I :

- use Hoppes or other solvent on soft nylon brush or cotton mop to remove firing residue;
- dry off with a soft loose patch or kitchen roll paper;
- fill bore with a foam cleaning product (usually Forrest bore foam, which also de-coppers), allow to stand for an hour or so;
- dry off with a soft loose patch or absorbent kitchen roll paper;
- repeat foam/ patch until no blue copper residue is shown;
- oil bore using a cotton mop.

If the rifle is new to me, or needs TLC, then I boil the bore out before all of the above. Although boiling out is no longer needed to remove primer residues, the heat offers the useful functions of both causing dirt to leach out of the microscopic cavities in the bore, and also makes the solvent effects of cleaning agents more effective.

[gunner]

The smoothest way to remove dirt and copper out of the LE barrel, and others, is to run a Ballistol through the bore( really wet) and let it stay in it for 2 days. After that you will see a lot of greenish stuff at the next dry patch that you will running through the bore. It is easy to do and much cheaper as the Hoppes No.9.

[enfield303t]

The smoothest way to remove dirt and copper out of the LE barrel, and others, is to run a Ballistol through the bore( really wet) and let it stay in it for 2 days. After that you will see a lot of greenish stuff at the next dry patch that you will running through the bore. It is easy to do and much cheaper as the Hoppes No.9.

Gunner, great advice and I just looked up Ballistol and here in Canada it has been recalled by Health Canada for not having proper chemical symbols and warnings and lacking French labelling.... only in Canada...pity. There are days where the nanny state of Canada proves beyond any doubt we are nuts.

The warning advises a person to stop using it immediately and return it to the importer as apparently this product was made in the USA.

PS. Reminds me of the time when Redfield (marketed at the time in Canada by Winchester) was told they had to produce all their product for Canada with bilingual instructions and packaging....their reply.."we sell more product in California then all of Canada". And that was the end of Redfield scopes in Canada for many many years.

[Peter Laidler]

Best bit of advice I ever heard, from an old long in the tooth Armourer who was servicing Lee Enfields from the back of a Bedford 15cwt lorry on the road to Rome in 1944 was this. Treat ALL ammunition as both errosive AND corrosive. He also told me that hot water, clean 4x2 (flannelette) and OX52 (oil used by Armourers until the early 70's) never damaged any rifle he ever saw. Wise words Wilf Attrill!

[gunner]

Gunner, great advice and I just looked up Ballistol and here in Canada it has been recalled by Health Canada for not having proper chemical symbols and warnings and lacking French labelling.... only in Canada...pity. There are days where the nanny state of Canada proves beyond any doubt we are nuts.

The warning advises a person to stop using it immediately and return it to the importer as apparently this product was made in the USA.

PS. Reminds me of the time when Redfield (marketed at the time in Canada by Winchester) was told they had to produce all their product for Canada with bilingual instructions and packaging....their reply.."we sell more product in California then all of Canada". And that was the end of Redfield scopes in Canada for many many years.

Funny to hear! Over here you can use it not only for your guns. They say that it is good for some wounds and health problems of pets. And the only thing that can happen to you if you will drink it, is that you will need a ...a... ooohhh... very quickly! Otherwise you will need new trousers

[bouletbill]

Best bit of advice I ever heard, from an old long in the tooth Armourer who was servicing Lee Enfields from the back of a Bedford 15cwt lorry on the road to Rome in 1944 was this. Treat ALL ammunition as both errosive AND corrosive. He also told me that hot water, clean 4x2 (flannelette) and OX52 (oil used by Armourers until the early 70's) never damaged any rifle he ever saw. Wise words Wilf Attrill!

Thanks Peter, for keeping it simple. But have you any idea what would be an available equivalent of your OX52 ? Can it be used as an emulsion like Youngs 303 oil ? I usually use 3 in 1, because of availability and long standing. But down south here it seems to evaporate to yellow and sticky, probably due to hotter weather. I try to avoid designer label products on price and availability.

[dman69]

Thank you to everyone for your advice - seems to me a theme of "less is more" is running through everyone' comments ! Ballistol is somewhat rare on the ground here (Brisbane) - I have seen it around though and was actually using it until fairly recently as my oil of choice.... I'll track some down, plus a nylon brush instead of the brass one, and try a variation on an old theme maybe - "Nil Bastardardum Carborundum Enfield"? (Be gentle with your Enfield ?)

[Peter Laidler]

That's a gpood question Boulet and I have to answer that No, I don't know what OX52's commercial equivalent is! The oil now is OX24. But it does seem strange that we still have original Enfields from pre 1914, that have been through the wars, with pristine bores that have never had anything else down the bore but a 4x2 on a pullthrough, maybe some hot water later on in barracks and oil. No modern chemicals of any sort..... The harshest thing we ever used as Armourers was KNS tablets to get rid of copper/nickel fouling and wire gauze on machine gun barrels. Oh yes, we did have a what we called a 'christmas tree brush' that was pretty severe.

[Rumpelhardt]

There are some who advocate not cleaning at all until accuracy starts to fall off. A lot of these are in the long range precision shooting or "sniper" field. These people put a lot of rounds down range and seem to know their rifles inside and out so they notice even small changes in accuracy.
For my part I have a Winchester Model 70 that has been my hunting rifle for 26 years. After I check the zero with five rounds I don't clean it until the end of the deer season unless it gets wet in which case I clean it then fire five more rounds before I go out again.
My other rifles get cleaned after I'm done shooting unless I know for sure I will be going again within a few days again unless they get wet in which case I clean then as soon as possible.
I use Shooters Choice bore cleaner then Break Free for protection and lubrication. No brush just a few wet patches letting it set a few minutes between each. Then dry patches until they come out clean. then the Break Free. I put a couple dry patches down the bore just before I go shooting. Once a year I use Shooters Choice Copper remover and a bronze brush on my rifles. This routine seems to have worked fairly well for me over the last 35 years.