Whenever I clean my 10/22...

[ditto1958]

Whenever I clean my 10/22 I want to put it away, and not shoot it again. Why? Well, despite its famous modularity, it's still kind of a pain to put one back together again.

Usually after I'm finished shooting, I run a snake down the bore once or twice, and wipe out as much as I can reach with a rag. Eventually, though, the crud builds up enough that I can't avoid a good cleaning.

This afternoon's session was actually rather satisfying, as my 10/22 was particularly dirty, and I was happy to get it all clean and shiny again. Putting the bolt back in required a screwdriver, some choice "golfing words," and folding my mouth just right. It snapped back in and I was happy.

Still, I think my Henry .22 lever gun needs to be shot for awhile.

 

[Mobuck]

I have no idea when I last thoroughly cleaned any of my 10/22's although I suspect the suppressor rifle is getting fairly gunky--it skips a beat now and then when fed the subsonic ammo. The wood stocked rifle I carry in the pickup is full of dust and crud but still functions so--good to go a while longer(it has been boresnaked a couple of times over the last year).
I'm just not a big fan of cleaning rimfires.

 

[Precision32]

I was cleaning one of my M1 Garands while my grandson was visiting. "You like doing that don't you?" "When you know your rifle you should be able to take your rifle apart blind folded" was my come back. Bottom line, he blind folded me and I proceeded to tear the rifle down and reassembled it. Blew his mind.

The 10-22 is a simple design. Just keep taking it apart and putting it back together until it becomes second nature to you.

 

[m657]

". Just keep taking it apart and putting it back together until it becomes second nature to you."

Have to admit this seems to be true even with my own assortment of 10 left thumbs.....

 

[Granpooba]

You clean it :?: :roll:

 

[rattlegun]

Taking it apart and back together in the correct order is what leads to no struggling. Some repetitions will ingrain and further smooth it out.

Repeatedly struggling doing it wrong will go no where.

 

[Mobuck]

"I was cleaning one of my M1 Garands while my grandson was visiting. "You like doing that don't you?" "When you know your rifle you should be able to take your rifle apart blind folded" was my come back. Bottom line, he blind folded me and I proceeded to tear the rifle down and reassembled it. Blew his mind."

This is only of real value on the battlefield, in the dark, after you've managed to inundate your weapon in mud,water, other substance which makes it unusable. It also requires that you have a semi-clean spot to lay out parts hoping to end up with them cleaner than present condition. I've handled quite a few weapons that had been exposed to the "blind re-assembly" procedure frequently and it didn't make them "better" in any way. Dings, burrs, and kinks soon show up on parts that weren't meant to be dinged, burred, or kinked. My opinion is that firearms are not designed or meant to be dis-assembled except as needed for periodic cleaning.

 

[Precision32]

Dings, burrs, and kinks soon show up on parts that weren't meant to be dinged, burred, or kinked. My opinion is that firearms are not designed or meant to be dis-assembled except as needed for periodic cleaning.

Then you are definitely doing something really wrong if you are damaging parts taking your guns apart. :mrgreen:

 

[ditto1958]

You clean it :?: :roll:

:shock:

Yup. Surprisingly you are s'posed to clean 'em every now and then.

 

[Rick Courtright]

This is only of real value on the battlefield, in the dark, after you've managed to inundate your weapon in mud,water, other substance which makes it unusable.

Hi,

I dunno... it's a skill that's won me a couple of beers years ago at the trap & skeet range I ran. The Remington 1100 shotgun was quite popular on the target fields at the time, and shooters who were less than concerned with keeping them clean soon learned why Remington made them easy to strip and put back together. Into the clubhouse they'd come... "I've got a problem!"

I'd stripped who knows how many of 'em, given 'em "a lick and a promise" cleanings and sent 'em back out, when one night one of our shooters was talking about how much of a pain stripping his 1100 was. Someone else at the table told him, "Go over and ask Rick to show you how. He can do it blindfolded." Well, I'd actually never tried it blindfolded, but soon there was a bet going on whether I could.

Turns out I could! So the word got out... and another night a guy bet I couldn't. Someone put the blindfold on me again, then the fellow handed me his 1100. Something didn't feel right: it was a left-handed model! Ok, I might have to take an extra moment to let my left-handed and dyslexic brain figure it out. That only took a few seconds, and in a couple of minutes, I'd stripped and reassembled it just like a right handed one. I think I got an extra beer that time, to make up for the attempted subterfuge...

Rick C

 

[mohavesam]

I cannot think of a mud puddle deep enough to drop a 10/22 into, that'd require dis-assembly to clean.
One word: Aerosols.

Crud cutter or G96 sprayed into the trigger group (is that dis-assembly?) and above the bolt/down the firing pin channel, and you've got a clean-as-new gun.

Man, I clean my toaster 10x as often as my 10/22 guns!

 

[Fackler Rebel]

I'm 66 years old and have owned a ton of 10/22's down thru time. Never had a problem tearing one down or putting it back together, ditto with my Mark II Target Model, circa 1988. My Dad always taught me to clean guns after use, and my time in the Army reinforced that. Just MHO.

 

[Ol'Freak]

What about the disassembly/reassembly presents a problem(s)?

 

[daveg.inkc]

getting the bolt and spring back in. I saw a flat tool that made quick work of it.

 

[Jeepnik]

Okay, I don't get it. First folks complaining the can't reassemble the .22 autos. Now someone complaining it hard to put a 10/22 back together after cleaning.

I know that in most locals shop classes are just about gone in school. And, the vast majority of high school graduates can't change a flat. But have folks lost all mechanical ability? What would happen if you gave these folks a block and a box of parts then walked away? Would it ever get reassembled?

 

[ranger1]

getting the bolt and spring back in. I saw a flat tool that made quick work of it.

This Gunsmither tool?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvmWmsaRUQI

 

[daveg.inkc]

getting the bolt and spring back in. I saw a flat tool that made quick work of it.

This Gunsmither tool?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvmWmsaRUQI

Yes, that's it. I forgot where I saw it. It's like everything else, after a few times it gets easier. I've never needed this tool. Takes a few seconds to get recoil spring compressed and bolt dropped down.

 

[daveg.inkc]

Okay, I don't get it. First folks complaining the can't reassemble the .22 autos. Now someone complaining it hard to put a 10/22 back together after cleaning.

I know that in most locals shop classes are just about gone in school. And, the vast majority of high school graduates can't change a flat. But have folks lost all mechanical ability? What would happen if you gave these folks a block and a box of parts then walked away? Would it ever get reassembled?

Maybe, but after youtube was typed in search bar!

 

[CraigC]

My high mileage 10/22 hasn't been cleaned since I rebuilt it, about 8yrs ago.

 

[Ol'Freak]

Pull back on the external portion of the charging handle only far enough to get a couple finger tips on its front face. Now using those finger tips the mess can be shoved straight back keeping the handle square within the receiver 'til fully to the rear, and then kept there by hanging onto the external handle. When folk get the charging handle all cockeyed within the receiver it'll be difficult to yank the thang fully to the rear and even more difficult to get the cockeyed mess seated within its slot across the top of the bolt.