Proper Cleaning Procedure for the EDM ARMS "Windrunner" rifles.
This information is supplied and written by me, Tom S. Miller, EDM Arms field rep (with permission from Mr. Bill Ritchie, owner of EDM Arms) and is based on my experience concerning the method I use for cleaning my "Windrunner" rifles. Several "WINDRUNNER" owners have recently contacted me about proper bore cleaning. The method described below is "tried and proven" by me but I'm sure it isn't the only way to clean a fouled bore. All shooters have their own opinions but one thing I know for sure, a badly fouled barrel will result in inaccuracy no matter what caliber or rifle it is. Therefore, it is important to clean and maintain your barrel properly.
The following instructions are for cleaning a "Windrunner" rifle barrel while it is attached to the receiver.
1. Place the rifle on a sturdy bench. Remove the muzzle break, stock and bolt. (The proper pin spanner wrench for muzzle-brake removal is an ARMSTRONG U.S.A. 34-354 3/4-2). Make sure the barrel has a downward slant by placing a leather shooting bag under the pistol grip insuring the barrel slopes downward. With the use of a FULL-LENGTH BORE-GUIDE it ensures that no cleaning agents leak down and into the trigger while cleaning the bore.
2. Slide a FULL-LENGTH BORE-GUIDE into the receiver by slowly rotating it clock-wise to ensure that the bore-guide O rings at the front of it seat inside the chamber and do not come off. You should always put a little TETRA grease on the O rings. Always rotate the bore-guide in and out of the chamber, not straight in thus protecting the O rings.
3. Screw a .50 caliber, stiff nylon bristle brush (or other caliber brush) into the male threads on the end of a DEWEY 54 inch, .50 caliber (or .30 cal) cleaning rod. Then wrap a 3x3 inch .50 caliber patch around the brush. Use a smaller patch for the .408, .338 and .30 calibers bores. Do this by standing the rod straight up and place the patch behind the brush, starting at the left edge of the patch rotate the brush clockwise thus wrapping the patch tightly around the brush. Hold the patched-brush between your thumb and fingers and then rotate it clock-wise into the rear of the bore-guide. This will keep the patch on the brush as it passes through the bore-guide.
4. Next, put some KROIL onto the patch through the slot in the rear of the bore-guide and then rotate the brush clock-wise through the bore-guide until you feel it pass through the chamber and engage the rifling in the barrel. Secure the bore-guide bushing (which should be on your cleaning rod up by the red handle) into the rear of the bore-guide which keeps the rod centered in the bore as the rod and brush are pushed through it. Make sure you only grip the cleaning rod by its' handle as you push it through the barrel thus allowing the patched-brush to rotate with the rifling.
5. Complete this procedure with the KROIL until all the black powder fouling is removed from the barrel. Always change the patch after it is pushed through the bore. Do not pull a dirty patch back through the bore, remove it from the brush and then pull the brush back and out of the bore-guide. Wrap another patch around the brush and repeat with KROIL until the patches come out clean.
Now, repeat this procedure with MONTANA X-TREME COPPER KILLER until the patches come out clean with no BLUE on them. Be careful not to breathe the vapors of this strong AMONIA based solvent. Wear gloves to keep this solvent off your hands. Wear eye protection! It's nasty stuff but it works.
6. Always run a CLEAN patch through the bore after completing each cleaning step, thus assuring that the agents used are not mixing together.
7. At this point most of the copper fouling should be out of the barrel. Now I wrap a patch around the brush and coat it with J-B BORECLEANER and run it back and forth in the barrel 10-15 times. When you are doing this only allow the J-B patched-brush to come out of the muzzle about half-way and then pull it back to the chamber and then push it to the muzzle and then back to the chamber. (The use of a ROD-STOP helps keep the brush from coming all the way out of the bore). The J-B will remove any remaining copper from the bore and will help smooth it out by removing unwanted machine marks and burrs. I use the J-B BORECLEANER sparingly and not necessarily every time I clean the bore. After your J-B application you must run 3-4 patches of KROIL through the bore to remove any J-B remaining in the barrel. J-B ensures that all the copper is removed from the bore. ("J-B is a non-embedding bore cleaning compound" and according to Brownells it "is guaranteed to improve the accuracy of your firearm and will not injure the finest bore"). I agree with this statement.
If you are using molly-coated bullets you must use the KROIL and J-B method in order to get all the copper and molly out of the bore and down to shinny steel. The use of a bore-scope helps you determine the exact condition of your bore at any given time.
8. Always run a patch coated with gun-oil (Hoppes #9 gun-oil, no teflon based oil) through the bore before storing your "Windrunner" to ensure no rust can begin forming. You should always wipe your entire rifle down with a rust preventative like (G96 Gun Treatment) oil before storing it as black oxide loves oil. Remember to ALWAYS run 2-4 DRY patches through the bore prior to shooting the rifle.
9. To clean the muzzle brake simply soak it in Hoppes#9 solvent or KROIL in a plastic container. Use a nylon tooth brush or similar nylon brush to clean the brake and then blow it out thoroughly with an air compressor. Apply a little TETRA grease to the muzzle-threads and screw the break on. It should be tightened slightly utilizing the ARMSTRONG pin spanner wrench and using the small hole on the bottom of the muzzle-brake. (right-handed threads, right on, left off) Place a patch between the spanner wrench and the barrel to prevent the barrel from becoming scratched.
10. Lastly, you need to wrap a nylon shotgun brush with a patch and apply some KROIL or HOPPES#9 solvent using a Dewey brass chamber rod to clean and then dry the chamber. Use Hoppes#9 gun-oil (again no Teflon oil) in the chamber for storage. Always run 2-4 dry patches to remove the oil in both the bore and chamber before firing the rifle.
11. The same above cleaning procedure is used when the barrel is detached from the receiver and secured in some type of padded vise. In this case you will use a CHAMBER-GUIDE to keep the patched-brush and rod in the center of the bore.
11. The FULL-LENGTH BORE-GUIDE, CHAMBER-GUIDE, ROD-STOP , NYLON BORE-BRUSHES and other "WINDRUNNER" items are available from me. I may be contacted at CELL 760-500-1151, E-mail TOMMILLER23@COX.NET , EDMARMS.COM, FAX 760-231-7786 or EXREMEFIREARMS.COM I'm always available to help you in any way possible regarding your "WINDRUNNER" rifle.
Tom S. Miller