Lever action cleaning

[moooose102]

how do you clean the "action" (where the bolt and other items work) part of your lever gun? do you tear it down occasionally? or just run a few cotton balls soaked in solvent through it to get the worst of it? or, just hose it down with gunscrubber?

 

[Gunfighter123]

What kind of levergun ?? Marlins are easy !!!

 

[Slamfire]

how do you clean the "action" (where the bolt and other items work) part of your lever gun? do you tear it down occasionally? or just run a few cotton balls soaked in solvent through it to get the worst of it? or, just hose it down with gunscrubber?

I will bet you have a Winchester M1894.

The book "Gun Digest Sporting Rifle Take Down and Reassembly Guide" has instructions on how to disassemble a M1894.

After buying the book, after reviewing the instructions you will do one of these three things.

1. Spend all day tearing the action down.

Or

2. Spray everything all over with gun cleaner, and shake off the excess.

Or

3. Trade the Winchester M1894 for a Marlin M336.

 

[dat2]

I clean my marlin all the way, if I shot a winchester I wouldn't clean it much

 

[moooose102]

actually, i own 2 marlins, and a henry. i have just been cleaning them with q tips, and cotton balls w/ hoppes on them. i am not so certain about tearing them all the way down. although, i know that is the best way to clean them. i dont want a table full of parts and not be able to put them together again.

 

[Gunfighter123]

To "field strip" a Marlin , First take out the one screw that holds the lever to the frame , open lever about 2 or 3 inches and pull down on lever --- lever then comes out , pull bolt out thru back of rifle , then inside on left side of frame is your extractor.

THATS ALL THERE IS TO IT !!!!


EDIT --- link -- http://marauder.homestead.com/files/Marlin94.html

 

[jordan1948]

Wait why are you cleaning a bush gun?? Joking I just use a toothbrushwith remoil on it(not the one I use for my teeth mind you) and scrub everything as best as I can. I have a modle 94 btw

 

[Hanzerik]

Hehe, I just tore down my Puma 44Mag 1892 yesterday, what a pain in the butt. Getting it apart is no problem, putting it back together is the challenge. I will probably only tear it down again every 6 months or so, or when it starts to feel like it is getting too dirty. I use a boresnake on the barrel, so I don't have to pull the bolt out.

 

[lipadj46]

Wait why are you cleaning a bush gun?? Joking I just use a toothbrushwith remoil on it(not the one I use for my teeth mind you) and scrub everything as best as I can. I have a modle 94 btw

My father lost 2 deer this season because his 336 firing pin was all gunked up. I had to strip the bolt and clean it real good.

 

[rcmodel]

Unless you are a gunsmith:
Winchesters are best cleaned by taking off the stock, hosing them out with Gun Scrubber, re-oiling, and left to drip dry before putting the stock back on.

More old Winchesters were buggered or broke by taking them apart, then by not taking them apart...

The best ones in my collection never had the screws turned in 100+ years!

Marlins?
One lever screw & shake them and all the parts fall out on the bench!

Even a Cave Man could do it!

rc

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Unless you are a gunsmith:
Winchesters are best cleaned by taking off the stock, hosing them out with Gun Scrubber, re-oiling, and left to drip dry before putting the stock back on.

More old Winchesters were buggered or broke by taking them apart, then by not taking them apart...

Excellent advice! It should be carved in stone!

 

[salvo]

I'll break them down when I get a new or used one, just so I know it is clean and free of debris and any rough spots. The Winchester 94 is pretty easy once you have done a few.
Hanzerik is correct, the Model 92 is a pain to get back together, but it's big brother the Model 1886 takes the cake as for as difficulty goes!

 

[Joe Demko]

Unless you are a gunsmith:
Winchesters are best cleaned by taking off the stock, hosing them out with Gun Scrubber, re-oiling, and left to drip dry before putting the stock back on.

More old Winchesters were buggered or broke by taking them apart, then by not taking them apart...

The best ones in my collection never had the screws turned in 100+ years!

Marlins?
One lever screw & shake them and all the parts fall out on the bench!

Even a Cave Man could do it!

rc

This does bear repeating and it goes double for Savage Model 99's.

 

[Tripacer]

I have a Winchester Model 71 .348 which I bought in 1957. I still shoot it and it will group 1 inch at 50 yards with either handloads or factory silvertips (Lyman peep and my 71 year old eyes). I clean the bore very carefully from the muzzle using my thumb and forefinger to feed the cleaning rod into the muzzle so the metal tips don't touch the muzzle. I never have taken the gun apart. I just spray all the crevices with solvent and then lightly oil the gun and wipe off any place where my hands have touched metal. It still functions as it did when it was new! There is no rust and no pits but the stock has darkened over the years and there are a few scratches here and there resulting from many hunting trips. My philosophy is don't ever use a screw driver on a gun unless it is broken any you are a gunsmith with properly sized screwdrivers.

 

[MAX100]

You don't need to take a lever rifle apart to clean it. Just take the butt stock off and spry Gunscrubber, then reapply the oil.

I find the Rossi 92 rifles very easy to to take apart and put back together. I can put one back together in about 5 mins. I have do ita few hundred times though. There are a few tricks to make things go smoother.


GC