Basic newbie questions

[nobody_special]

Hi everyone,

I have some semi-random questions (mostly regarding cleaning) and I hope people here can help me out.

First... problems with jags.

I was cleaning my new 10/22 Saturday night, after it's first trip to the range. Unfortunately, my cheap cleaning kit has plastic jags, and every time I ran a patch through the barrel, it hit the bolt hard enough to bend the tip. Okay, no problem... I can get a brass jag.

So then I went to clean my 9mm pistol (Taurus 24/7 Pro - I love this gun). I get out the pistol cleaning kit and the bottle of copper cutter leaked... . OK, no big deal, I clean it up. But then I notice the brass jag is rather badly corroded.

Do brass jags often corrode when using copper solvents? Is this normal and no big deal, or is this just an extreme case because the jag was sitting in a small puddle of solvent? What do people normally use to run a copper solvent patch through the bore? The plastic jags don't seem durable enough, the brass ones seem prone to corrosion.

Ok, second question. I picked up a nifty camo sling last week (hoping the "mossy oak" on the sling will match the "mossy oak" on the fiberglass stock for the Springfield M1A that I should have sometime late this week). Problem: the sling comes with QD swivels, and they can't be removed without pulling stitches and re-sewing the sling. I'm pretty sure that M1As come complete with swivels (and, it seems, not with screw-in posts like my 10/22, though I'm not certain). Can someone who knows about the M1A swivels help me out here... I'd like to know if the M1A swivels could be easily exchanged with after-market screw-in studs, or if I should return the sling.

Edited to add a third qustion... I have trouble seeing the front sight of the 10/22, especially in the low light of the indoor range. The rear sight blocks visibility too much, and there isn't enough contrast on the tip of the front sight. Are the fiber optic sights a great improvement?

Thanks...

 

[db_tanker]

Best thing to do would be to get a Bore-Snake.

Cheap and easy to use. Also, you don't want to clean an auto-loading rifle from the muzzle. You want to go breach to muzzle. Lock the bolt back and have at it. Once you get used to disassembling it, you can even remove the barrel and clean it that way. But for now, the Bore Snake would be my suggestion.

Normally one would use, for lack of a better term, a "loop" for running a patch through a pistol barrel...at least I do. Wet patch, brush brush brush, wet patch, brush brush brush, wet patch, dry patch dry patch...this is my method and other people have their ways.

Don't know about the M1A sling issue. sorry bro

The brass corrosion you speak of...is the brass jag green? If so, then its just a tarnish and not to be worried about IMO. If not, then get thee some hoppes cleaning jags and brushes.

The 10/22 night sights...again, I profess no knowledge...I use a rimfire scope on my 10/22, but I am sure there are some fiberoptic replacments out there. The front and rear are dove-tailed in, IIRC (don't have the rifle in front of me right now)


No such thing as a stupid question, remember that.

D

 

[Eleven Mike]

Are the fiber optic sights a great improvement?

Yes. Oh yes. Actually, I've only used them outdoors, and they glow pretty decently around dusk. I'm not sure how they would perform indoors, but they would have to be better than an iron sight.

 

[Sheldon]

Copper is a major component of brass and the copper solvents will corrode it. As far as the cleaning of a 10-22. I have some of these kits I bought direct from Otis when they were blowing them out. Cheaper than Dirt has them for the same price I paid Otis, $0.99.
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CLN019-2641-857.html Not a bad deal if you get a bunch like did.

I believe the M1A's sling swivel is rivited to the stock.

 

[funfaler]

Check out TechSight for peep sights and better posts for the 10/22, it will give you the same sight picture that you will have with your M1a.

You may be able to drill and set a post through the sling support for the M1a. You could drill out one of the rivits (there are two, I would pick the rear one, saving the front) and replace it with a QD sling adapter to fit your sling. There are also Picatinny rails available to replace the original sling setup on the M1a. It has an original style sling loop, then the base is a Picatinny rail that is @ 3" long. You would drill out the rivits, replace with this, using screws, and you could mount your sling using that.

Good luck and happy shooting.

Been to an Appleseed, you will gain some knowledge on how to put your 308 lead on target out to 500 yards, good time http://www.rwva.org/yabbse/index.php

 

[nobody_special]

I have a bore snake for the pistol, but I don't like it. There's no way to run separate chemicals (solvent, then oil) and you can't easily tell when the bore is clean - from experience, I know a single pass isn't nearly enough. With patches, you can see if the patch is dirty.

My usual procedure is to run solvent-soaked patches through until they come out clean; then a dry patch, a patch or two soaked in CLP, then another dry patch.

db_tanker, the jag had green oxidized copper all over it, as well as white residue (probably zinc). After cleaning it up a bit, it still appears usable, but I'll pick up a spare set anyway (cheaperthandirt has sets for $7.97, or single jags for $2.44... might as well get a set, since I need one for .22 and 308 anyway).

It looks like I'll have to clean the M1A from the bore, but I wouldn't expect a relatively soft brass cleaning rod really to cause any damage to hardened steel. Am I wrong?

Sheldon, thanks I'll pick one of those Otis kits up.

Funfaler... thanks. I've seen the fore-end rails from Fulton. I can probably drill out a pair of rivets without much trouble and insert studs such as these... not sure if I want to do that though. Maybe I can devise a simple loop adapter (a key ring would work!) to go between the rifle swivel and the sling QD swivel.

 

[g5reality]

M1A

I clean my M1A with a bore snake at the range after shooting. I've also dipped it in Hopps #9 and pulled it through a couple of times. It works just fine. I use a bore light to check and it's always been cleaned to my satisfaction both visually and performance wise.

It's also a good Idea to run a lightly oiled patch through all barrels after cleaning, then run a dry patch to soak up any extra oil. This should help with rust.

Come over to the M1A club, post a pic and ask your specific questions there. There are alot of knoweledgable owners who have their own routine that seems to work for them.

As far as the sling, I actually sent my M1A back to springfield and had a factory installed QD stud installed for a Harris Bipod. I would recommend NOT drilling yourself as it might void any warranty, espically if it's a Springfield, they will guarantee it for life and have great customer service.

Happy Shooting

 

[imprezagm4]

Can someone tell me the reason you are not supposed to clean a rifle from the muzzle? Because that is the way I have been doing it :banghead:

 

[nobody_special]

imprezagm4, I think people are afraid that you might damage the muzzle crown or the rifling, or cause premature wear. Any nicks to the inner edge of the end of the barrel will affect accuracy.

I'd be surprised if you could damage the barrel unless you use a steel cleaning rod. Brass is a lot softer than a steel barrel. But it would be nice to hear other opinions.