This is just an observation/ opinion thread with a little heads up info...
For many years I have been cleaning all my rimfire rifles with a Dewey nylon coated 20 cal rod and VFG felts. I have always been happy with the results using the felts and feel they are superior to a patch (IMO they fit the bore a bit snugger, have more cleaning / contact area with the bore, conform to the land and groves better than a patch: think get into the corners, and most importantly they help center the rod in the bore).
I was an early user / owner of a Vudoo V-22 (early Gen 1 rifle) and I purchased one of VGW's bore guides. I have owned a small truck load of various bore guides over the years from very cheap to very nice and IMO the aluminum VGW bore guide was one of the very best I have seen. It fit the Gen 1action perfect and incorporated an insert that was a very close fit to the 20 cal Dewey rod, which in my opinion is a requirement for any bore guide. If you can push a patch / brush through the initial rear opening of the bore guide then it's not doing much other than keeping solvent out of the action.
So on to the point. My Dewey rod was getting long in the tooth so I ordered a Bore Tech proof positive 22 rimfire rod because I have a few of their of their larger diameter rods and like them a lot. Bore Tech claims a diameter of 0.195" for this rod where my Dewey was 0.185" in diameter. I found the Bore Tech would not fit in the rod guide for my Vudoo bore guide. I measured the Bore Tech rod and found it was slightly larger than spec and somewhat inconsistent in diameter not a big deal, just a few thousands. But in my opinion a rod needs to be very close in diameter to the insert for the bore guide. Here is the Bore Tech rod measured in the same place just 180 degree apart:
So you can see there is a 0.0045" difference in that one spot, again not a big deal but too large for the Vudoo guide. I used a 13/64 (0.203") bit to open the bore of the insert. It was still too snug in a few spots, just could feel some drag. So I took a old 22 cal brass brush and some Flitz and honed the insert to a perfect fit, no slop but no drag. Now with this guide and a felt my rod is as centered and supported as possible in the bore.
A little more about the original Vudoo bore guide. It was designed for and fits in the Gen 1 action. It will not fit in the Gen 2 without a little modification. You need to remove the screw that locks it in the action and cut a relief for the bolt guide in the action. I did this with a die grinder and roll lock disc. I simply cut a flat on the guide as you can see in the picture (it fits perfectly in the action now):
Last is the VFG felt. One thing to know about using it with the Vudoo action (and others I'm sure) is that it can snag on the ejector. A very simple and effective solution is to insert the felt on the jag (either just over the smooth section for a single pass, or threaded on for working the throat) and twisting the leading edge in your fingers to point it slightly. Here is the felt as they come out of the package:
And here it is after I point it:
And pointed but threaded on the jag:
One more thing to note about the VFG felts is that you really need to reduce the OD of the jag so that it matches the rod diameter. They are fairly large when they are new. You can see in my pictures that the jag is the same diameter as my rod. I did this by chucking it up in a drill and using sandpaper until it's the desired diameter, very quick and simple.
I was cleaning my Vudoo's this morning and thought I would pass this along in the hopes it may be useful to someone. I'm not saying this is the end all be all for cleaning, it's just what works for me.
For many years I have been cleaning all my rimfire rifles with a Dewey nylon coated 20 cal rod and VFG felts. I have always been happy with the results using the felts and feel they are superior to a patch (IMO they fit the bore a bit snugger, have more cleaning / contact area with the bore, conform to the land and groves better than a patch: think get into the corners, and most importantly they help center the rod in the bore).
I was an early user / owner of a Vudoo V-22 (early Gen 1 rifle) and I purchased one of VGW's bore guides. I have owned a small truck load of various bore guides over the years from very cheap to very nice and IMO the aluminum VGW bore guide was one of the very best I have seen. It fit the Gen 1action perfect and incorporated an insert that was a very close fit to the 20 cal Dewey rod, which in my opinion is a requirement for any bore guide. If you can push a patch / brush through the initial rear opening of the bore guide then it's not doing much other than keeping solvent out of the action.
So on to the point. My Dewey rod was getting long in the tooth so I ordered a Bore Tech proof positive 22 rimfire rod because I have a few of their of their larger diameter rods and like them a lot. Bore Tech claims a diameter of 0.195" for this rod where my Dewey was 0.185" in diameter. I found the Bore Tech would not fit in the rod guide for my Vudoo bore guide. I measured the Bore Tech rod and found it was slightly larger than spec and somewhat inconsistent in diameter not a big deal, just a few thousands. But in my opinion a rod needs to be very close in diameter to the insert for the bore guide. Here is the Bore Tech rod measured in the same place just 180 degree apart:
So you can see there is a 0.0045" difference in that one spot, again not a big deal but too large for the Vudoo guide. I used a 13/64 (0.203") bit to open the bore of the insert. It was still too snug in a few spots, just could feel some drag. So I took a old 22 cal brass brush and some Flitz and honed the insert to a perfect fit, no slop but no drag. Now with this guide and a felt my rod is as centered and supported as possible in the bore.
A little more about the original Vudoo bore guide. It was designed for and fits in the Gen 1 action. It will not fit in the Gen 2 without a little modification. You need to remove the screw that locks it in the action and cut a relief for the bolt guide in the action. I did this with a die grinder and roll lock disc. I simply cut a flat on the guide as you can see in the picture (it fits perfectly in the action now):
Last is the VFG felt. One thing to know about using it with the Vudoo action (and others I'm sure) is that it can snag on the ejector. A very simple and effective solution is to insert the felt on the jag (either just over the smooth section for a single pass, or threaded on for working the throat) and twisting the leading edge in your fingers to point it slightly. Here is the felt as they come out of the package:
And here it is after I point it:
And pointed but threaded on the jag:
One more thing to note about the VFG felts is that you really need to reduce the OD of the jag so that it matches the rod diameter. They are fairly large when they are new. You can see in my pictures that the jag is the same diameter as my rod. I did this by chucking it up in a drill and using sandpaper until it's the desired diameter, very quick and simple.
I was cleaning my Vudoo's this morning and thought I would pass this along in the hopes it may be useful to someone. I'm not saying this is the end all be all for cleaning, it's just what works for me.
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