Noob got his Savage 12 F/TR!!

[SteelerNation]

OK! I picked it up yesterday! Almost required a fork lift to put it in the car, thing was the heaviest rifle I've ever handled. Can't wait to put a scope and bipod on it so it will require 2 people to lift to the bench !

Question is now what? I feel like I should oil it and clean the rifle barrel....should I? I am used to cleaning every new firearm I own, especially the bore, but should I with this rifle too?

very excited to start playing with it. I'm not touching it until I have some advice from you guys here! I bought some Sweets bore solvent too. I'm not sure if that's a good call with the new bore or not? Anyway, I can tell it had a round or two put through it at the factory... Suggestions?

[cranebird]

Congratulations ! It is always a good idea to clean a new rifle before shooting it. I don't know how new you are so I will add this, forgive me if your not that new.Make sure you make complete passes through the barrel, stopping midway and changing directions could scratch the bore but maybe not. No need in taking the chance with this rifle. Source a nylon bore brush if you are going to use a bore brush, I use Kleenbore brand but there are others. I hope other people chime in soon, I am jealous, have been wanting a 12F....

[SteelerNation]

Congratulations ! It is always a good idea to clean a new rifle before shooting it. I don't know how new you are so I will add this, forgive me if your not that new.Make sure you make complete passes through the barrel, stopping midway and changing directions could scratch the bore but maybe not. No need in taking the chance with this rifle. Source a nylon bore brush if you are going to use a bore brush, I use Kleenbore brand but there are others. I hope other people chime in soon, I am jealous, have been wanting a 12F....

No, please. I take no offense. Let's say I am new to the process of PROPERLY cleaning a rifle so that it will not detrimentally effect accuracy. All comments and advice are appreciated!

[cranebird]

I am probably over reacting. They say you can't scratch the bore but I bought a used model 110 in .243 that was scratched up pretty badly. I wouldn't have bought it had I known.The only thing I can think of was they changed direction and the middle steel part came in contact with the bore instead of the bronze bristles.I just think it would be good to keep a complete pass through in the event my suspicion are correct. Like I said,I hope someone chimes in.I am looking forward to following your post.

Ivan

[DanSavage]

I agree with Cranebird, always make a full pass with a brass brush, it can and could damage a barrel. I'd use the Sweet's right off the bat on her to make sure there isn't any copper in there yet, follow instruction on the bottle, don't leave sweet's in the barrel too long. I use the Nylon brush's like Cranbird said.

Then just shoot for some groups once you get her sighted in. The rifle will let you know if it likes to be clean most of the time or if it likes to be shot fouled for many many rounds.

Try to get a bore guide and a coated one piece rod.

Congrats on a great rifle!

Dan

[big honkin jeep]

Always clean the barrel on a new rifle. Even though it has been fired to check function, there's no telling what may be in the bore. Anything from metal shavings to packing material to who knows what.
The topic of barrel break in is always hotly debated here and on other sites but I'm a firm believer in break in on a factory barrel. Besides you get one chance to break in a new barrel and It wont hurt.
This from the manufacturers site https://savagearms.zendesk.com/entri...in-procedure-/
I typically use Hoppes products cause I know they are compatible. Never used Sweets but I've heard it's some way strong stuff.

[243LPR]

I always completely tear down any new or new to me gun I pick up. Look everything over for any obvious problems and check the tightness of all fasteners. Give the bore a good scrubbing and break in if new. Good luck with the new rifle.

[SteelerNation]

Thanks guys.

one thing that concerns me is the whole "don't let the jag or bristles of a brass brush come into contact with the crown of the muzzle"

what are your thought on that? I can understand manhandling the jag and bouncing it on the crown or being careless, but is it really that sensitive? Meaning if I clean it from muzzle to bore instead of bore to muzzle? Here is where I'll be completely honest. In the past, I used to always clean from muzzle to bore; however I never scrubbed it back and forth or manhandles it. This concerns me, and that's why I want to do it right from now on!

Another thought was to run a patch on a jag, muzzle to bore, then affix another patch on the receiver end and bring it back through. This way, metal would never come into contact even while exiting the muzzle on the reverse side. Does this make sense?

Im not trying to complicate things. I just think this is the only safe way to make sure the jag doesn't contact ANY PART OF THE BORE, FRONT OR REAR. I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud....

[SteelerNation]

PS. I got this Sweets stuff based on everyone fawning all over it. I'm an organic chemist and deal with chemicals in a pharmaceutical company continuously and I can tell you this stuff smells like a solution of 10% ammonia. Seems like a rough chemical to be messing with on a precision rifle.....just makes me want to be sure this is the stuff all you guys use too!

[GaryBF]

IMO, Sweets is for serious copper fouling; not normal use. I find Hoppe's is usually good enough, but sometimes I use Butch's Bore Shine.

There is no need to baby your new rifle/barrel. Just treat it with care and respect.

[cranebird]

I use the Hoppes Elite or M-pro 7 cleaner.They are a non ammonia type bore cleaner.They both smell like the same stuff, like a strong cleaning detergent but it seems to work well.

[SteelerNation]

IMO, Sweets is for serious copper fouling; not normal use. I find Hoppe's is usually good enough, but sometimes I use Butch's Bore Shine.

There is no need to baby your new rifle/barrel. Just treat it with care and respect.

OK. See, that's what I thought. I just can't see the purpose to spending more money on bore guiders, special carbon fiber cleaning rods, etc. when just care is all that's necessary. I tend to think if a small amount of metal to metal contact will ruin your bore then there is something seriously flawed with the way we make rifle barrels. Don't yell at me for saying so! LOL! I just tend to think that the actual process of a metal bullet exiting the muzzle at ever extremely high velocity and force will do more damage to the crown than a small amount of careful contact with a jag when cleaning. I'm ready to be yelled at for saying so now...

[GaryBF]

I don't think a brass jag is going to damage your stainless steel muzzle crown. I do think a bore guide is a wise purchase because it also keeps solvents from leaking into the action. I use a coated Dewey's rod and I do wipe off the rod after each pass so it doesn't turn into a file.

[DanSavage]

I think all the hype about the crown being damaged can be avoided if you just take the care when you bring the jag back to the crown guide it with your other hand to make sure it doesn't snag the sharp edge of the crown. Most guys are using a brass type jags that could hurt the crown if it was pulled in quick and it catched the same spot on the crown over and over. I use plastic jags and only push them out enough for the patch to come out then guide the jag back in by hand.

If a guy has good common sense, he will not damage a barrel with the a regular cleaning kit and no bore guide.

I'd use the Sweets just to see if there is any copper,, if not switch to something more mild like good old nitro solvent.

Dan

[SteelerNation]

I don't think a brass jag is going to damage your stainless steel muzzle crown. I do think a bore guide is a wise purchase because it also keeps solvents from leaking into the action. I use a coated Dewey's rod and I do wipe off the rod after each pass so it doesn't turn into a file.

Cool. I'll add that to the shopping list then. If it's worth it, I'll buy it. I just ain't a fan of buying things for the sake of buying it. I was thinking of using Teflon tape to cover my steel Hoppes rod until I can get a. Tipton carbon fiber one (4th of July weekend=no gun stores open) I don't think the solvents will deposit any Teflon in the bore. Teflon is highly chemical resistant.

[SteelerNation]

I think all the hype about the crown being damaged can be avoided if you just take the care when you bring the jag back to the crown guide it with your other hand to make sure it doesn't snag the sharp edge of the crown. Most guys are using a brass type jags that could hurt the crown if it was pulled in quick and it catched the same spot on the crown over and over. I use plastic jags and only push them out enough for the patch to come out then guide the jag back in by hand.

If a guy has good common sense, he will not damage a barrel with the a regular cleaning kit and no bore guide.

I'd use the Sweets just to see if there is any copper,, if not switch to something more mild like good old nitro solvent.

Dan

Thanks Dan. That's a great idea about the plastic jag! I hadn't even thought of that, but I'll look into picking a couple up!

[SteelerNation]

Cleaner her up with some Hoppes. I found guiding the rod by hand was easy. No metal ever contacted the barrel using my hands as a guide. Well, per my newer post, as long as it's new and nothing wrong with it, it's time to mount up a scope.

[Ol' BW]

The only thing I can say is if you are cleaning from the muzzle end is make sure your rod is not rubbing the edge of the muzzle when you are pushing in or withdrawing the rod by pulling or pushing off center of the barrel.

Another thing to watch is cleaning with a cheap "one size fits all" cleaning rod that is small enough to clean a 22 barrel. It can flex and bow in the barrel and create wear marks. Another thing to watch for with cheap rods is they are not smooth where they screw together creating an edge to rub the sides as it flexes down the bore.

I don't think you would have to worry so much about a rod made of a softer material like brass or aluminum.

I also like the Hoppes Bench rest No. 9 for copper fouling and regular No. 9 for everyday cleaning.

BW

[Rosco]

If the purpose if the initial cleaning is simply to ensure their is nothing lodged/floating around in the bore why not just use a Bore Snake?

[big honkin jeep]

Pushing from the muzzle end pushes crap into the chamber where a bore sized brush wont reach. Also pushes crud, solvent, etc into the action, magazine etc. Usually clean mine from the chamber end with the muzzle tilted down.

[Ol' BW]

I normally clean from the breech end for those reasons Big. If you clean from the breech end the dirty patch and solvent gets pushed out of the muzzle end of the barrel. You may get a little solvent in the action but it is clean solvent, and if you're careful you can prevent that too.

BW

[SteelerNation]

Yep. I took the bolt out yesterday and cleaned from the breech end. Taking the bolt out was the easiest disassembly of any firearm component on any gun I've ever done. Savage has it set up quite nicely. Thanks for all the input fellas. Helped me a lot!