542 
FOREST A N D STREAM 
for any such game; and in the woods, whatever' 
is unnecessary is an abomination. 
The superiority of smokeless over the old 
black powder is undisputed. I have several times 
heard and read that the use of smokeless in a 
.22 ruined the gun; but the particulars were, 
in every case, unsatisfactory, and, to me at least, 
unconvincing. Lieutenant Townsend Whelen 
says that he is “not sure that any kind of clean¬ 
ing will keep .22 caliber rifles using smokeless 
cartridges in perfect condition for any length of 
time.” It is claimed that with the use of mod¬ 
ern smokeless ammunition, the bore of certain 
types of rifles becomes filmed over, or plated, 
with a thin coating of lead, which eventually 
destroys the accuracy of the gun. Further, this 
plating is not visible, and cannot be detected 
except by testing for it. 
It is a well-known fact that leading sometimes 
occurs in the form of lumps, in all guns, with 
any cartridges; but black powder seems to cause 
quite as much leading of this sort as smokeless. 
Whether it is the plating of lead, or the action 
of the smokeless residue on the steel, that is so 
particularly harmful to rifles of .22 caliber, the 
lieutenant does not say; but with all due re¬ 
spect to such eminent authority, I know that my 
own rifle shoots as true to-day as it did the 
day it was bought; and I have been using smoke¬ 
less cartridges in it for the last eight years. If 
there has been any injury to the barrel from the 
use of smokeless, it certainly has not affected 
the accuracy of the weapon. Also, I do not 
know whether or not there is any “plating” in 
the barrel; but so long as the rifle continues to 
shoot as accurately as it does at present, I do 
not particularly care! 
Indubitably, the greater velocity imparted to 
the bullet by smokeless has a tendency to cause 
leading of the bore, when soft lead bullets are 
used, uniubricated. Therefore, it appears that 
one should use either lubricated or harder bul¬ 
lets. A certain firm puts out .22 caliber smoke¬ 
less ammunition for which they claim that the 
bullets are superior, being made of a special 
alloy. They are certainly much harder than the 
general run of .22 caliber bullets. I have seen 
them almost perfect, after passing through four 
inches of pine. A certain amount of flattening, 
or mushrooming, is, however, desirable in any 
bullet used for hunting purposes. Which leaves 
us the alternative of well-greased bullets. 
It must be remembered, too, that smokeless is 
ferent in composition from black powder, and 
that its residue is much more corroding than 
the same amount of black powder fouling; hence 
greater care should be taken in cleaning. Also, 
after shooting smokeless, it is well to give the 
barrel a second wiping in a day or two. The 
smokeless residue permeates the steel, and sub¬ 
sequently “sweats out.” Ignorance of this fact 
has caused many a badly corroded barrel. I 
know personally of a case in which a fine rifle 
was discovered, after two months of disuse, in a 
hopeless condition, from this very cause. Yet 
the owner had, as he believed, cleaned it per¬ 
fectly, and had oiled it thoroughly before laying 
it away. 
The smaller the bore of a rifle, the more at¬ 
tention it seems to require. Pits and leading 
that would cause no trouble whatever in a shot¬ 
gun, and but little in a rifle of larger caliber, be¬ 
come so injurious in a .22 as to render the 
arm worthless, so far as accuracy is concerned. 
If pits develop to any extent in a rifle barrel, the 
only known remedy is a new barrel,—or re¬ 
boring to a larger caliber, which is seldom prac¬ 
ticable. But there is no excuse for allowing pits 
to develop; they will not if the rifle is properly 
cared for. 
Leading may be removed, usually, with a brass 
wire brush. If this fails, a thorough scrubbing 
with 28 per cent, ammonia, or one of the “metal 
fouling solutions” on the market will generally 
suffice. In extreme cases, it may be necessary 
to resort to the mercury treatment. 
To remove powder residue, nothing equals hot 
water. It should be absolutely seething. Thread 
a rag through the slot of your cleaning rod, 
stand the barrel muzzle-down in the pan of boil¬ 
ing water, and scrub. The steel will soon be¬ 
come so hot as to be exceedingly uncomfortable 
to hold. This is what is wanted, since the heat 
of the barrel thus dries any moisture that may 
be left after wiping. Now take a clean patch, 
and wipe until the bore is bright inside. 
For the finishing touches I use cotton batting. 
Forced through the barrel with the end of the 
cleaning rod, cotton gets into all the grooves 
of the rifling that a rag merely wipes over. I 
have seen wads of cotton used in this manner 
come out of the barrel with the marks of the 
rifling on them. And cotton has this further 
advantage, that any dirt remaining in the bar¬ 
rel is at once discovered. If the cotton comes 
out as clean and white as it went in, it is a 
pretty sure indication of a clean rifle. 
You will possibly get a few wads stuck in the 
barrel, and be compelled to drive them out back¬ 
wards with considerable force, before you learn 
the proper amount to use. Generally speaking, 
a wad the size of a hickory nut, or even larger, 
will pass through the bore of a .22 without too 
much friction, providing you do not attempt to 
ram the whole thing through at once. It should 
be eased into the barrel, a little at a time, until 
the entire wad is in the bore. Then you may 
push it on through as fast as you like without 
danger of jamming. 
A steel or iron cleaning rod unless celluloid 
covered, should never be used in any rifle: it is 
likely to wear out the barrel. Also, never clean 
from the muzzle, with any rod, as an exceedingly 
slight variation from a snug fit at this point 
will cause the bullet to fly wild. Large game 
rifles, and shotguns are cleaned with wooden 
rods—preferably hickory; but it is not possible 
to get a wooden cleaning rod small enough for 
a .22 that has the required stiffness. Here brass 
seems to be a solution of the problem. 
There may be jointed brass rods that do not 
unscrew, bend at the joints, or get loose and 
wobbly during use; but I have never discovered 
one. A one-piece rod is stiffer than any jointed 
rod, and obviates the bother of screwing your 
rod together every time you clean your gun 
and taking it down afterwards. Your fishing 
rod case solves the problem of its transporta¬ 
tion very nicely. 
After cleaning, oil your gun inside and out. 
If at any time the metal feels dry and harsh, 
it needs oil. In a hot, sticky climate or near 
the seashore, this is particularly important. 
One more word of warning: do not use an 
inferior oil in a fine rifle. There are a number 
of good oils, manufactured expressly for fire¬ 
arms, so that rust from the use of an inferior 
oil is inexcusable. 
When smokeless ammunition is used, oil is, in 
itself, hardly sufficient to keep a rifle in good 
condition inside. There are many preparations 
on the market that are excellent. 
Finally, when laying your rifle away for any 
length of time, grease all metal parts well with 
some good gun grease. The exercise of care 
and common sense will save your rifle through 
many seasons and much hard service, while the 
weapon of a careless man is rusting beyond help. 
