How to clean a REALLY dirty gun that hasn't been cleaned in a LONG time.

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I inherited a rifle, a Springfield model 15. It's in good shape except it is really DIRTY! It looks like it was fired a bunch of times and then not cleaned for 30 years. There is a hard patch of gummed residue inside the chamber and the bolt is hard to pull back because of the gummed up dirt.

I've had firearms my entire life, but I've never had to deal with something as extreme as this. It is really, really gunked up and dirty.

Should I take the barrel/receiver off the stock and just soak it in Gun Scrubber for a long time and then try to clean this goop off?

Or is there something else I should try? This is extreme gunky build up like semi-hardened chewing gum.

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I would break it down as much as possible, and soak it in some Break Free CLP or hoppes #9 (stuff would take anything off an old M1 carbine I cleaned for a friend).

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Carb cleaner or brake cleaner work wonders. Keep them off the wood and finish if possible. Keep off wood for sure.:dude:

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If the above suggestions still leave you with a sticking bolt and a wad of gunk in the barrel/chamber, I recommend you go down to your local automotive (or old-fashioned hardware) store and become aquainted with penetrating oil. "KROIL" is the most famous brand, but there are others.

Stand the gun upright and pour a small amount - maybe 1 ounce - down the barrel. Let it sit for a day or so, but have something underneath to catch anything that might drain out. A towel your SO no longer cares about is good to use. After a good long soak, try the ation and see how much it has feed up. If it works enough to completely cycle, open up the action and try a patch soaked in penetrating oil down the barrel. See if that wad of gunk comes loose.

If everything is now functioning, you are ready to do the second soaking with penetrating oil. This time you are hoping that stuff stuck to the grooves of the barrel, and to the contact points of the action will loosen up and come free.

Now go ahead and use your regular cleaning products. Remember, there is never going to be a absolutely, completely clean patch coming through, unless you want to wear yourself and the metal out.

Have fun, and stay safe.

skidmark

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Perhaps give Blue Wonder Products a try..

http://www.bluewonder.us/

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In normal circumstances, I'd never recommend using a stainless steel "tornado brush", but for one that's been grimed for decades, it could get the crud worked out in conjunction with the kroil soak. They are hard on a barrel, so don't over-do it.

Another trick is to chuck an over-size bronze bore brush in your drill and go to town on it with some flitz polish.

Both have worked for me. Good luck!