Cleaning lever action Carbines.

[WrongHanded]

This is regarding my Henry H010 in .45-70 Gov't.

How much time and effort do you put into cleaning a lever action brush gun compared to a bolt action rifle, and also field revolver?

My thought is that if its intended range of use is 100 yards or less, and it's intended purpose is camp and backcountry defense, it shouldn't need the same detailed and meticulous attention as a precision bolt action rifle. I certainly don't intend on neglecting the firearm, but over cleaning doesn't seem like a great idea either.

Of course this isn't limited to lever carbines chambered in .45-70. .357 mag, .44 mag and .45lc chamber gun also seem to fill this niche and so I would happily here from anyone who owns any of those regarding your cleaning rountine.

 

[Varminterror]

I think you might be surprised to hear how little cleaning is done for precision bolt action rifles.

I clean my hunting leverguns WAY more diligently than my precision rifles - I shoot the bolt guns much more often and in higher volume, whereas the leverguns only spend a few trips each year out of the safe.

 

[WrongHanded]

I think you might be surprised to hear how little cleaning is done for precision bolt action rifles.

I clean my hunting leverguns WAY more diligently than my precision rifles - I shoot the bolt guns much more often and in higher volume, whereas the leverguns only spend a few trips each year out of the safe.

So the less frequently you shoot it, the more detailed the cleaning? That does make sense. I assume you still clean your precision bolt guns often, if not every time you shoot them?

 

[FL-NC]

I clean my Marlin 336 as follows:1- clean chamber with a 45 bore brush with solvent on a flexible t-handle rod, then mop it out with a dry patch 2- clean the bore from chamber to muzzle with a otis cable- solvent on a brush, followed by a couple wet patches, followed by a dry patch 3. Put some motor oil on a small paint brush, use it to oil up the exterior metal as a rust preventative. 4- place back in gun cabinet

 

[Varminterror]

I assume you still clean your precision bolt guns often, if not every time you shoot them?

Um... no...

“Often” is relative, since it implies time as the measurement metric, but if you’re talking round count, I don’t clean my precision rifles “often.” Compared to my hunting leverguns, I almost relatively NEVER clean my precision rifles - my hunting levers usually get cleaned every 20-50 rounds. That might only happen twice or three times per year, so not really “often.” My precision rifles might get cleaned every 300-400rounds. Sometimes less rounds, occasionally more. They might get cleaned every month, or every other, but there’s a lot more shots going through them between each. My NRL 22 Rifle has something like 800 rounds on it since it’s last cleaning...

Comparatively, I also sparsely cleaned my competition leverguns when I was shooting Cowboy Action. Like the precision rifles, it might actually be once every month or two (I wasn’t a blackpowder shooter), but there might have been 500-1000 rounds which went through them in that time. My Service Rifle competition rifle got cleaned about the same. Maybe 8-10 times in the life of each barrel, every 300 rounds or so.

For my hunting leverguns, almost all of which for me are Marlins, I pull the lever, pull the bolt, run a solvent patch and let it soak, blast out the action, scrub with a toothbrush, then clean the surface powder from the barrel, and follow with a copper or lead solvent - depending upon ammo used - then I clean the bolt while that is soaking, and finish up by patching out the barrel until clean. If I’m shooting it again soon, I don’t go any further, and I don’t worry about the patches coming out clean. If I’m putting it back in the safe for 6 months, I do more detail stripping and more diligent cleaning.

My Ruger Revolvers, I will admit, probably get cleaned more diligently than most other revolvers in the world. I typically tear them down to component parts any time I’m cleaning, and I try to clean pretty frequently. My AR’s and my S&W41 & SR1911 Bullseye pistols typically get cleaned after every outing, and are detail cleaned as well.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I have a .357 lever that I have put over 3k rounds though so far. I have not cleaned it yet.

 

[WrongHanded]

I have a .357 lever that I have put over 3k rounds though so far. I have not cleaned it yet.

I'm not sure I could do that. I have a hard time leaving any firearm dirty after a range session.

But your lever gun is still running okay?

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Running like a Swiss watch.

I have a whole safe full of guns that have not been cleaned in several years.

 

[WrongHanded]

Running like a Swiss watch.

I have a whole safe full of guns that have not been cleaned in several years.

Between you and Varmiterror, I'm starting to think I should try worrying less about how well I clean the guns I shoot more than once a month.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I go to the range several times a week and sometimes take a variety of guns. I do not have time to have a cleaning session after every trip.

I have a Colt National Match that I bought new 3 or so years ago. I have shot a few thousand through it....Proudly, I have not even taken it apart yet, much less cleaned it.

 

[LoonWulf]

It also depends on your environment, usage, and storage. If your guns get wet or you live in a humid environment, youll want to clean them, or at least check them, more often.
I cant leave a gun dirty where i live or it will rust. I need to at least remove the powder fouling and get a coat of oil in the bore, and on the exposed/touched metal. Insides of the actions can be left dirty as they dont seem to hold moisture the way the bore does, but if i dont clean it out eventually it rusts also.

hell my new stainless american was rusting under the stock because i didnt oil it before putting it back in last time i had it apart.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I sometimes shoot in the rain. I sometimes shoot high humidity. I bring the guns in and let them dry in the open air, let them acclimate to room temp if it was cold, then wipe them down with my preferred oil and put them away....I have never had a speck of rust.

 

[CraigC]

I have 15 leverguns and can't remember the last time I cleaned one. No wait, I remember now, it was my 94/22 .22LR that received its first cleaning about 15yrs after I bought it. Which was three years ago.

 

[LoonWulf]

I sometimes shoot in the rain. I sometimes shoot high humidity. I bring the guns in and let them dry in the open air, let them acclimate to room temp if it was cold, then wipe them down with my preferred oil and put them away....I have never had a speck of rust.

Wish I could do that, for me it's not a question of if a gun will rust it's a question of how long will it take.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I wonder why your guns rust and mine do not?

I just took my blued carry gun off and put it in my top drawer still in it's leather holster. I wipe it with an oily sheepskin once or twice a week. Never had any rust. My house is climate controlled, but outside right now the humidity is 73%. I was outside wearing my gun 12+ hours.

 

[LoonWulf]

Hawaiian climate I guess. I'm slowly switching most of my primary rifles to stainless or coated.

 

[cdb1]

I clean my 336 every year or so.

 

[BSA1]

I clean my 336 every year or so.

Ditto.

I clean my guns once a year during the winter whether they need it or not. Along with reloading all of my brass for the next year it helps with beating cabin fever.

 

[Steve S.]

I clean my Winchester 1873 (.45 Colt) after every range session; I clean all of my firearms after every range session - I am anal and cannot tolerate a “dirty” firearm. However, I am sure that they don’t need it but I enjoy cleaning them - part of the hobby.

 

[jeepnik]

I suppose it comes down to two things. Training and motivation.

I was trained from a very early age that there was only one exception to cleaning a firearm after use. That was when a rifle was sighted in prior to the hunting season. The rifle was sighted in, cleaned and one "fouling" shot fired. It was then cleaned again at the end of the season.

I'm motivated from having seen firearms that were neglected turn into hunks of rust. I have several firearms that are on their fourth generation and will soon be on their fifth. None would have been worth a damned if they had been neglected by a single generation.

 

[P5 Guy]

Hawaiian climate I guess. I'm slowly switching most of my primary rifles to stainless or coated.

Proximity to salt water.
In the GunShine State and I've had very little problems with rusting. Even shooting old military surplus corrosive ammo.
While I have no lever guns all my rifles are semi autos and get a swab down the bore after a trip to the range. Rarely will I strip a rifle down to clean it.

 

[Picher]

I used to own a gun repair/smithing part-time business and also did work for a local sporting goods store in Central Maine. I often received bunches of rifles to clean and adjust, just before deer season. Most of the Win. 92's and 94's appeared to never had been cleaned in over 20 years of use! Bores were dark from lack of cleaning after shooting, actions had lots of tree spill fragments in them, and lots of dust/grit from being used hard and put away wet. Winchesters were the worst, because spills would drop on the bolt and some dropped in when the action was worked. Rust on the outside wasn't as big a problem, since most houses had wood stoves that would dry them off pretty well. It was evident that several parts of the internals were heavily worn from the dirt inside and that they were being worn out, just from loading/unloading them.

The worst of the lot was one 94 that probably had a rusty bore and, when fired, created excess pressure that caused severe headspace issues. After cleaning and at the range, I fired it and the lever kicked my grip hand terribly hard. I declared it an unsafe rifle, but the owner probably shot a few more deer with it...who knows?

A lot of hunters would drench 94s with oil after a hunt, then stand them in the corner or in a gun cabinet. Oil runs downhill, so if the rifle stood on it's butt, it would run down to the buttstock and rot the wood, in time.

I cleaned so many other peoples' 94s that I decided to never own one myself. In fact, I've never owned any lever-action deer rifle. There's not much point in having a rifle that can spit out a bunch of rounds if you only need one shot per critter...a rifle that easily handles a scope, extending the killing zone to well over 300 yards.

 

[CraigC]

I was trained from a very early age that there was only one exception to cleaning a firearm after use.

Most of us were, myself included.

I do not at all consider my cleaning them less often to be "neglect". Nor do I have any guns that have turned into a rusted mess due to my cleaning regimen. People just have to get past the idea that a firearm MUST be cleaned every time it is fired or it will turn into a "rusted hulk". Unless you're using blackpowder or corrosive primers, it is simply untrue.

There's not much point in having a rifle that can spit out a bunch of rounds if you only need one shot per critter...a rifle that easily handles a scope, extending the killing zone to well over 300 yards.

Then I suggest you never hunt anything large or tough enough to ever need more than one shot. Or attempt to take more than one critter in a sitting. Nor do I see a point in a rifle with a scope if you don't have to cover more than 100yds. Are there many places in Maine to shoot 300yds? Last year's road trip involved driving across Maine to Kennebunkport. Drove north to the big L.L. Bean headquarters where I bought a well-worn Big Bore 94 .375 that had obviously spent a lot of days in the field.

 

[Picher]

Most of us were, myself included.

I do not at all consider my cleaning them less often to be "neglect". Nor do I have any guns that have turned into a rusted mess due to my cleaning regimen. People just have to get past the idea that a firearm MUST be cleaned every time it is fired or it will turn into a "rusted hulk". Unless you're using blackpowder or corrosive primers, it is simply untrue.



Then I suggest you never hunt anything large or tough enough to ever need more than one shot. Or attempt to take more than one critter in a sitting. Nor do I see a point in a rifle with a scope if you don't have to cover more than 100yds. Are there many places in Maine to shoot 300yds? Last year's road trip involved driving across Maine to Kennebunkport. Drove north to the big L.L. Bean headquarters where I bought a well-worn Big Bore 94 .375 that had obviously spent a lot of days in the field.

When I was about 16, I bought a bolt-action 30-06 and put a 2.5X Weaver on it and used it to shoot many woodchucks, averaging over 200 yards and one at 450 yards. Shot a crow at 150 offhand and another flying over me that was 100 yards up.

I've killed about 40 deer, and lots of other critters, including coyotes, foxes, and last year, a huge 860 lb. bull moose. Rarely needed more than one shot. Most deer killed were between 200 and 400 yards and the moose was 270 yards.

From our permanent blind looking down an old overgrown county road, we've shot about 100 deer in the past 30 years, all with scoped rifles and rarely needed more than one shot each, and then only to finish them off in the road.

A couple of years ago, I was in my tree stand and shot a running deer LEFT HANDED, at about 40 yards, down a woods road. I've also killed several deer and a coyote that were running across fields, out to 200 yards. I'm not ashamed to use a handy rest when shots are long, or to pass up a shot when conditions aren't favorable for a quick kill, or at deer running through thick woods.

I won the "Best Damn Shot in Maine" competition and over 50 turkey shoots and a few running deer shoots...all with scoped rifles. I'm not as good as I used to be, but still can hold my own offhand on range gongs...out to 200 meters.