As I've written in before, I've always cleaned all my rifles and pistols in a pretty "old school" fashion.  Bottle of hoppe's #9, some patches, a brass brush once in a while, and hoppe's high viscosity lube.  

Well, I recently purchesed a Bushy varminter(w/24"chromy).  And now I'm thinking it would really be worth maybe learning to clean a more precisely(???).

TThis is what I've gathered, please tell me if any of the following is wrong.

Only heavily clean the rifle after a fair amount of shooting.  Clean somewhat lightly in between.  Like a normal day at the range.  Don't use a bore brush (increases wear), copper solvent, or bore paste.  Just probably run patches of hoppe's #9 through the barrel until it comes out fairly clean and then get the crud out of the reciever with #9, then a light coat of CLP (FP-10) over all the parts.  

After a substantial amount of shooting (maybe 1000-1500 rnds??) Time to do a little deeper cleaning.  Run Hoppe's patches through, then a brush with copper solvent??(1. which kind for a chrome lined bore) and then a patch bore paste (2.what does this stuff do exactly and is it any good??).  Give the bore a good brush scrubbing (phosphor bronze brushes) and then lubricate again with FP-10.  

Now a couple of general questions.

3.  I hear about peopel saying NEVER run your patches back through your barrel, take them off at the end and pull the rod back out.  Is this true??  Brushes, the same way??  

4.  If FP-10 a good enough lubricant for all firarms, from ar's to bolt guns, to 50 cals??  What else should I consider.

5.  I just have a 5 piece Saf-T-Clad kleenbore cleaning rod, any problems with this??

Let me know if you have any suggestions for different solvents/copper solvents (especially with my chrome lined bore) or procedures I should be using.  

Thanks in advance.

Gundraw

IMO, you should never pull a patch back through the barrel. It just pulls crap that you just swabbed out back through the bore. Pulling a brush back through is fine though. FP-10 (The new batch) is one of the best CLP's on the market today, good for any kind of weapon out there.  Not sure about the Saf-T-Clad rod, never heard of them. However, most precision shooters use a good one piece rod like a Dewey or Bore-Tec and a good rod guide. Hope this helps.

I prefer a Dewey coated rod and to use a bore guide when possible.I would avoid sectional rods altogether.They are know to cause damage to the bore.The safety clad rod you have is not so bad but will still bend rather easy compared to a solid rod.The edges of the sections can hang as well when they start to unthread during use.
I use nylon and bronze/brass cored brushes and have seen no problems with them.
The bore guide helps to keep the rod straight in the bore and keep foulig or solvents from getting out of the bore and chamber.
The general rule as I believe it is,clean the same direction as the bullet moves.So cleaning from the breech to the muzzle and removing the patch or brush rather than pulling it back through.Also if a patch or brush is pulled back into the bore it can deposit solvent,fouling and debris into the chamber,upper etc.
One thing to remember never reverse a bore brush in the bore.
I pretty much only use FP-10 to clean.I still use Hoppes #9 or my Bore Tech from time to time to go after copper,but the FP-10 does an excellent job by itself otherwise.
I use to use the bore paste,namely JB and the Remington bore cleaner but have since stopped.No reason other than the hassle.It is abrassive though.
I clean my weapons inside and out everytime I use them no matter how nasty they are.Fouling is fouling to me and I usually get them nasty.
You may also want to take a look at the Cleenbore SACS system.Ive been using it for a few months and it flat out works great with the FP-10.Man is it fast and easy to use,especially outdoors.
I did a post here sometime back regarding the SACS,Im not sure its still around though.
HTH
Raymond

Thanks everyone,

I still am a little puzzled on a good copper solvent.  If hoppe's #9 suffices, I really like that stuff, but I don't know how it does on copper?

Also, I know most people just lube their arms with FP-10(and i'm sure it's fine), but I know there are other lubes/grease (lube only, not clp) like tetra grease.  I've always thought something like that would be great for those "heavier" contact areas.  Like locking lugs, and bolt carriers.  I wrote a thread about this before.  Most told me fp-10 is just fine and would protect against wear.  Anyone have an argument?  Any of you using these greases or tw-25 care to comment??

Thanks

Hoppe's #9 will dissolve copper, but you'll grow old waiting for it.  Hoppe's makes a copper solvent, called "Benchrest".  It's faster acting than the #9.  

Sweet's 7.62 (a thick ammonia gel) is the best thing I've tried for removing copper.  

I do use grease occasionally on the locking lugs and other high wear points, but from what I've seen there just isn't that much difference between grease and oil, at least for civilian range use.  The most important thing is to use a lube.  

My 2 cents . Don't olver clean it. Thats myth about AR's. What I mean is spotless isn't nessary. I will wipe off parts ( bolt ,carrier and related parts and bore with Hoppes #9 . Scrub with cleaning USGI toothbrush. Wipe dry.Lube with FP-10 .The bore I have a few passes with Hoppes #9 and hit it with a nylon bore brush three times..Brass is fine also. .I then coat a patch with Breakfree CLP and run it through the barrel.I then run a dry patch through it.Reassymemble and done.20 minutes.I don't see areason to use a harsh copper solvent alot or often .My rifles are range plinkers.The new HOPPes #9 is better than the older hoppes #9. Semms since the new company bought the product they made it cut copper better. I have a old bottle and it won't produce much green on the patch.The new stuff seems to put alot of green on the patch.Hoppes#9 and FP10 and Breakfree CLP and your set. I use an OTIS cleaning system also for the pats three years.Won't go back to rods. I also see no benifit to run paste through a general plinking rifle.Cheers WarDawg