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I learned I never really knew how to clean a rifle and over the years let a carbon ring build up pretty bad along with the bore, Im waiting on a new barrel and want to know how to clean the chamber along with the bore. Does anyone know if they make chamber brushes that are shaped to your caliber like they do with AR15 chamber brushes? Whats the best way to keep the chamber and bore in the new condition? How do you prevent the carbon ring from building up?

 
Regular cleaning/wiping each time you use/clean the rest of the gun. Build up over time is far harder to remove.
 
Unless your ammo is doing some funky stuff the chamber shouldn't get all that dirty. Exceptions being fluted chambers. Otherwise most brass ammo expands into the chamber and quasi-seals the crud out.

As for bolt actions or precision stuff, I rarely clean those other than a run of a snake through it after shooting. Only if they start showing signs of opening up do I do a thorough bore cleaning. Then I usually have poor results until a good amount of fouling settles back in. I've ALWAYS had better results with a dirty bore than a pristinely clean one.
 
it'll clean off the light coating it'll get after a ranger session, yes. Just like the rest of the gun really.
so simple then.
It must be when you leave it that it bakes on harder each range session, adding more as you go. I was wondering if I needed some special carbon solvent or something like an abrasive to clean. Glad its just standard solvent.
I picked up a chamber mop, Ive read of some using an oversized nylon brush wrapped in a cleaning patch.
 
Unless your ammo is doing some funky stuff the chamber shouldn't get all that dirty. Exceptions being fluted chambers. Otherwise most brass ammo expands into the chamber and quasi-seals the crud out.
On my old barrel I never knew to clean the chamber, over the years the carbon ring built up so bad some of it started to flow into the neck area. Bolt action hunting rifle only say quality factory ammo, I just want to make certain I keep the new barrel clean.
 
I clean the chamber on all my guns. The appropriate nylon, or on occasion brass brush screwed to an aluminum or coated cleaning rod, then chuck it into a drill. Cleans well super fast. Don't get carried away.
 
Cleaning the chamber is part of cleaning the bore. I do it after every shooting session. These days, my battery of rifles is restricted to service cartridges. 5.56mm, 7.62 NATO / .308 Win, and .30-06. All of which you can get dedicated chamber brushes for. My .30's come in two lengths, one for .308, and a longer one for .30-06. Both have a ratchet on the back so you can turn them in the chamber of an M1 Rifle or M1A. When I had an Armalite AR10, I had the big version of the 5.56mm brush for it.

If you have chambers other than service cartridges, all you need is a brush slightly larger than the bulb end of the chamber. If you really want to scrub out the neck area, just get a bore brush that fits tight.

One time I was issued an M60 machine gun that I later discovered came with a very rust-coated chamber. Jammed up on the first shot. Since then, I've been pretty aware of chamber cleanliness.
 
On my old barrel I never knew to clean the chamber, over the years the carbon ring built up so bad some of it started to flow into the neck area. Bolt action hunting rifle only say quality factory ammo, I just want to make certain I keep the new barrel clean.
How long would you go without cleaning? I usually go 100-200 rounds fired or less depending on how much it opens up on paper. Mostly hitting steel and or paper punching. Nonetheless, I usually still run a snake a couple of times through after each range or comp to clean the bore and some of the crud. Deep cleaning done at 100-200 to get back to metal. IE no carbon and or copper.
 
How long would you go without cleaning? I usually go 100-200 rounds fired or less depending on how much it opens up on paper. Mostly hitting steel and or paper punching. Nonetheless, I usually still run a snake a couple of times through after each range or comp to clean the bore and some of the crud. Deep cleaning done at 100-200 to get back to metal. IE no carbon and or copper.
I would clean the bore after every range session, but just with hopps 9 and a handful of patches down the barrel. I never knew to wipe or mop out the chamber. Back then I was just a hunter than a shooter, I would take it to the range, clean the bore, wipe it down and call it good... and thought that was all it takes to care for a gun. This is a good quality hunting rifle but an old rifle (about 30 years old) so its seen that old barrel neglect like that for years and it wasnt until the last few years Ive really started to learn about guns (mostly from being on this forum) and now... maintaining the bore/chamber. The bore was in just as bad shape as the chamber area... so now, Im going to learn to properly care/clean the bore and chamber.
 
I never knew to wipe or mop out the chamber.
It's good to clean the chamber out, even lightly oil it. But there is a school of thought that prior to shooting it again, you should dry patch it to make sure it is dry before firing the first shot. The idea is, if the chamber is "wet," the case walls of the first shot(s) fired won't grip the chamber walls properly. Which in turn will result in excessive bolt face thrust. As you probably shouldn't shoot through an oiled barrel until you've dry patched it. Many will disagree with this; others will claim they leave the bores fouled permanently. I've seen fouled bores cause pitting while stored, so I always store mine clean.
 
It's good to clean the chamber out, even lightly oil it. But there is a school of thought that prior to shooting it again, you should dry patch it to make sure it is dry before firing the first shot. The idea is, if the chamber is "wet," the case walls of the first shot(s) fired won't grip the chamber walls properly. Which in turn will result in excessive bolt face thrust. As you probably shouldn't shoot through an oiled barrel until you've dry patched it. Many will disagree with this; others will claim they leave the bores fouled permanently. I've seen fouled bores cause pitting while stored, so I always store mine clean.
This is what I need to learn. From what Ive read so far this agrees. Ive read to dry the chamber but Im not certain if its good to store the rifle with the barrel oiled or dry though? Do oils and solvents cause pitting long term?
Ive read some people leave their barrels fouled and they shoot better, ive read some shoot better clean.
 
Im not certain if its good to store the rifle with the barrel oiled or dry though? Do oils and solvents cause pitting long term?
I store mine clean and oiled. Opinions differ on whether to leave solvent in a bore for long periods. I don't by choice. The solvent is for cleaning, oil is for storage.
 
Im all ears. Ive read different methods to break in the bore but not the chamber.
There is no such thing as a chamber break in. Bore break in is also highly debatable. If it's a well made barrel, there should not be any sort of break in needed. With todays machining, most need no such thing.
 
I would clean the bore after every range session, but just with hopps 9 and a handful of patches down the barrel. I never knew to wipe or mop out the chamber. Back then I was just a hunter than a shooter, I would take it to the range, clean the bore, wipe it down and call it good... and thought that was all it takes to care for a gun. This is a good quality hunting rifle but an old rifle (about 30 years old) so its seen that old barrel neglect like that for years and it wasnt until the last few years Ive really started to learn about guns (mostly from being on this forum) and now... maintaining the bore/chamber. The bore was in just as bad shape as the chamber area... so now, Im going to learn to properly care/clean the bore and chamber.
If you were cleaning the bore through the chamber not the muzzle, you were cleaning the chamber. Really isn't much you need to do honestly unless the cartridge/chamber is vastly larger than the bore diameter. Then a chamber brush wouldn't hurt. If you could reach the entirety of the chamber with a solvent soaked q tip, that works too. The chamber shouldn't be getting all that dirty.

The ring you speak of, I'm still not quite sure what you are referring to? A ring within the chamber? Or at the throat? If it's at the throat, well, I consider that the bore and it should be getting cleaned and removed when you are cleaning the bore.

Im also hoping by seeing a ring, you aren't referring to a barrel bulge, which is a completely separate thing, and not a very good one!
 

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