A step-by-step guide to properly clean your Rimfire rifle

As NIOA’s armoury manager, Keith Grundy has remedied hundreds of firearms with accuracy issues. Here he explains how to take care of a Ruger RPR .22 to ensure you get a clean, consistent, and accurate shot every time.

The Ruger RPR .22 is a little ripper of a rimfire rifle… but there’s a difference in the cleaning process. That’s because the .22 projectiles are lubricated with a wax – and the degree of waxing can depend on the brand of ammo you use. I recommend giving the rifle a good clean whenever you change ammunition. In saying that, the first five shots or so will still need to bed in as it coats the bore with lubricating wax. Here’s the process I recommend you follow to clean a Ruger RPR .22.

Setting up your work bench – what you will need

The Tipton Gun Vise is an ideal “third hand” for cleaning and gunsmithing. It features a rubberised cradle and jaws to protect and grip your rifle, a quick release cam action for easy access, moulded-in compartments for solvents and small parts, and is made of tough, solvent-resistant polymers.

I use a variety of bore brushes – stainless steel brushes, copper and nylon bristles as well as a brass patch pusher which I’d recommend, plus some wool mops – all stashed neatly in a tackle box-style container. Although this cleaning method has very little to no bristle brush or wool mop use they do come in handy to agitate stubborn fouling and a wool mop can be useful for solvent or oil application.

You will need some lubricating oil. With this, it really comes down to personal preference. Uniglide is a good product and adheres to the firearm well, perfect for wet conditions, though my personal preference is the G96 Gun Treatment which lubricates and protects your rifle in one operation like most other quality gun oils but G96 smells amazing unlike others.

Cotton patches – get plenty of them – because you are going to burn through a heap, especially on centrefire rifles, and make sure you have the correct size for the calibre.

Lastly, you will need cleaning rods. I like the one-piece Hoppe’s carbon fibre rod with the ball bearing handle that allows the brush or patch to follow the rifling.

You’re now set to clean your rifle.

Step 1

Grab a .22 calibre rod and place a nylon scrubber on the end. NB. There won’t be copper fouling on the bore, so there is no need for hard solvents! The nylon bristle will break up any gunk which we can then push out with a patch.

Step 2

Hold the cleaning rod by the handle which allows it to rotate with the rifling of the barrel. Run it back and forth a few times.

Step 3

Apply a clean patch which will take away any of the wax and lead deposits in the bore.

Step 4

Repeat the process until the patches come out clean. Remember: It may take a few shots for the lubricant to develop in the bore again. As for storage of your .22lr rifle, the wax deposited in the barrel will offer protection, so I recommend not to clean the barrel before storage.

There are numerous ways you can clean a rifle. I hope my tips work as well for you as they have for me over a lifetime of gunsmithing. Happy straight shooting.

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