Rifle Crown

[Jani55]

Hello - I was just oiling my rifle and I put the nozzle of the oil bottle slightly inside the muzzle to drop some oil in the barrel. Would I have caused any damaged to the crown ?

Thank You in advance for your insights !

[bambihunter]

I assume it is a plastic bottle. If so, then no. Think of it another way, think about how solid a projectile is and every shot fired goes through the crown. That said, I'd never oil a barrel that way. It could possibly leave too much oil in the barrel which, though unlikely, can cause too much resistance when the projectile encounters it and could potentially cause the barrel to burst since liquids are not compressible. Also, any excess oil will run down the barrel and into the action if you stand them upright like they are in the typical safe.

It is recommended to clean the bore from the breach end if that is possible on your rifle. If it is not possible, get a muzzle guide to keep the rod from hitting the crown or use a coated cleaning rod. When cleaning from breach, push the brush or patch to the end, but not so far that the whole thing comes out the muzzle. Repeat until it is cleaned to your satisfaction, put a clean, lightly oiled patch on the rod and push it through in the same way. You can do it several times rotating the patch slightly each pass so that it will cover all the surfaces. This will keep the oil light as well as evenly distributed and it won't run down the barrel. On guns in good condition or that doesn't shoot blackpowder or corrosive ammo like some military arms, I actually then run another dry patch down the barrel to wick up any extra. For those with existing rust or that do shoot corrosive ammo, I apply the oil a little heavier and don't wipe excess out. I will then wipe the extra out before I shoot them. In my safe, I use the "Rifle Rods" to hold my long guns upright. Those that need this extra oil, I use an orange rod to denote I need to wipe them before firing.

Edited May 28 by bambihunter