Keep it clean

[Mousegun]

I was doing real fine with my RWS 48 at 35 yards shooting at circles I drew on index cards that were nickel sized and then in short order, all went bad.

I changed the grip force, adjusted the scope, changed the hold and ate up about 50 pellets in the process but nothing worked.

It hasn't been long since I ran patches through the barrel but now that all else failed, I pulled three patches soaked in a mild solvent through. The first one looked bad and was speckled with dots of lead. The next two were clean up patches that simply finished the job.

Instantly, the groups fell back to dime sized holes but not until I re-adjusted the scope back to where it started.

Lesson learned. Have faith in your ability, your gun, your pellets and if accuracy starts to falter, clean the barrel FIRST.

Some say clean every 500 - 1000 pellets or if accuracy falls off. I say let accuracy be your first guide and clean the barrel even before accuracy diminishes to stay ahead of the curve.

 

[PigButtons]

Couldn't agree more. I am surprised at how quickly they foul, and yes cleaning usually fixes the problem.

 

[mf-dif]

It's fun cleaning these. I just stick Hoppes soaked clipped q-tips in the breech then fire a few of them through.

 

[MedWheeler]

Awesome idea; thanks for sharing. I'm coming back to air guns, and was wondering about a good way without having to get some new gear for the tiny bores.

 

[Mousegun]

It's fun cleaning these. I just stick Hoppes soaked clipped q-tips in the breech then fire a few of them through.

Be careful with that method. A spring air gun needs back pressure to prevent the compression piston and the seal from slamming against the end of the compression tube that even a few q tips may not provide. Even cleaning pellets that are made for that process suggest putting 2 or 3 in the bore before firing the gun.

I have an RWS48 and loaded 4 cleaning pellets once and did not like the sound of the gun when they were shot. They didn't seem to provide enough back pressure to control the piston.

Repeated action like this could lead to broken springs or messed up seals.

 

[itsa pain]

Be careful with that method. A spring air gun needs back pressure to prevent the compression piston and the seal from slamming against the end of the compression tube that even a few q tips may not provide. Even cleaning pellets that are made for that process suggest putting 2 or 3 in the bore before firing the gun.

I have an RWS48 and loaded 4 cleaning pellets once and did not like the sound of the gun when they were shot. They didn't seem to provide enough back pressure to control the piston.

Repeated action like this could lead to broken springs or messed up seals.

Try putting a lead pellet in between the four cleaning pellets

 

[ChaoSS]

Floss or fishing line tied to a patch, pull it through the barrel.

 

[Mousegun]

Exactly

 

[Ben86]

I use a $10 pellet gun cleaning kit for mine. For patches I cut .22 patches in half (for .177). I clean it the same way I do a regular rifle bore, minus the petro based products. Apparently that is bad for the seals.