Hi. Thanks for the advice. It's quite accurate on what the salesman said to do. He said to clean before firing as there is some oil in the barrel when sold. He had many many different kinds of kits but he didn't want to tell me which direction to go. I respect that. A full kit? Make my own kit? Which brand of kit? what type of rod to stay away from? It's a 30-06. Although I'm sure this won't be the last firearm I buy I don't think purchasing except for all calm and gauges would be practical unless the price is right and its cheaper than building my own kit.Revisit the shop you purchased the Tikka from (great rifle by the way) and they should have what you require.
I would have thought they would have asked anyway ...few more dollars in the till
Many different approaches to cleaning but initially if this is a brand new rifle then buy a couple of boxes of shells and go to the range. Fire five shots ..run the patches through the barrel, wet patch ..dry patch, with a final two dry patches as you must NEVER fire your rifle with oil or cleaning fluid in the barrel. It MUST be perfectly dry.
Five more shots and same again and personally I do this for a full twenty rounds. IMPORTANT allow the barrel to fully go cold between sets.
Second box use to get used to your rifle shooting three ...cool down ....three ...cool down and the final five to zero and then leave as is with your barrel fouled.
If you clean the barrel at this point you will/should fire a couple of shots to foul the barrel again as it can make a big difference in where the rifle prints.
OK, now you will, without doubt, get another dozen different ideas
What calibre ????
lots to learn and lots to practice but the last thing I want to do is scratch up my barrel with a cheap made rod.
