# Creative way to clean .17HMR bore!



## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

Having bought a .17HMR i realized i needed a smaller diameter cleaning rod to fit down the bore of the rifle.

Picked up a new one piece rod that came with a brass brush and swab. All seemed fine. Come to find out the rod slides through the bore nicely; however the swab will not fit and the brush is VERY tight.

I have a huge bag of q-tips i use for cleaning my AR's and other small areas of my guns. On closer inspection i realized a Q-tip fits just nicely snug into the bore.

So the method i came up with.

Soak a Q-tip in your desired Hoppes or oil, etc; slide it into the chamber and then just push it through with the rod. Works like a charm! First cotton areas is soaked with cleaner, second soaks up the dirty stuff!!

3 or 4 Q-tips and my barrel is mirror clean!!

Hope this helps someone else out!!


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## Whitetail1 (Oct 17, 2008)

I just happened to have a dirty .17 at home. I'll give this a try. Thanks for the tip. Qtip that is.


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## Hoppe's no.10 (Sep 16, 2007)

Rugergundog said:


> Having bought a .17HMR i realized i needed a smaller diameter cleaning rod to fit down the bore of the rifle.
> 
> Picked up a new one piece rod that came with a brass brush and swab. All seemed fine. Come to find out the rod slides through the bore nicely; however the swab will not fit and the brush is VERY tight.


If you have a single shot you can also do things this way. Insert the rod without a swab or brush through the breech end of the barrel, screw on whatever implement you're planning on using, wet with solvent if desired and pull the rod through the barrel, much easier than pushing the rod through the barrel. You certainly want the be careful and not nick the chamber or crown with the cleaning rod. If you have a bolt action insert the rod via the muzzle (again being careful with the crown - a brass cone shaped rod guide is helpful here) and through the breech, attach implements etc. When doing it this way with a bolt action some judiciously placed paper towels will keep solvent and crud from dripping into the action/trigger. 

I use these methods when cleaning my AR.

When Remington came out with their .17 Remington cartridge in 1971 it soon became apparent to new owners that they couldn't clean their barrels very well because .17 cleaning rods weren't generally available or cataloged as the manufacturers hadn't really caught on to the .17 caliber market .

Hope this helps.

Hoppe's no.10


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

I have found that my .17 HMR's (stainless bull barrels on both a Ruger 77/17 and Savage 93)like to be a little dirty to shoot the best groups. If I took a brush (even a nylon one) to them they took 25 shots to get back into the sub MOA groups they are capable of. Usually I just pull a bore snake through them twice or three times every 50-75 shots. Sometimes getting the boresnake weight to drop through can be a problem, in that case I use a patch with some #9 on it first before using the bore snake.
Here is the best cleaning rod for a .17 I have found that wont clean out the bank:
http://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/2953 It's a very small diameter coated rod that won't harm your bore or chamber.
Great folks to deal with too. I would also recommend a Possom Hollow bore guide from the same people for you guys with bolt guns.


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## Rugergundog (May 21, 2008)

I too found my .17 bore needs to be fouled to some extent to shoot best. However i shot it 200+ times the other day and did notice the groups began to drop off, even with the barrel cool.

Good looking guys!


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