I recently received a model 88 from my grandfather and had one question about this thing. How in the heck do you clean the thing? I looked online and found a manual for it and it says that to get the action out of it I need slave pins. I took it apart once and barely got it back together. I just wanted to know if anyone knew where I could possibly get these slave pins or is there something else that I could use?

No you don't strip it down to clean it! If you do you are asking for trouble(please don't ask how I know).

If you want/need to de-gunk it I would reomend one of the spray in action cleaners.

If you really want to give it a shot you should be able to get the slave pins at a bearing shop/machine shop type supplier. The pins are a pretty standard size(3/16??). With the action out of the stock you can mic them. I belive you will need to cut them to size.

I found a punch that came in one of those Harbor Freight punch sets that was the correct size. Actually it was a wee-bit too big so I polished it with 600 grit sand paper. This could have been cut to size to make the slave pins.

I had to make the punch work because the well known gunsmith who reassembled my barreled action put the pins back in the wrong holes. Swapping the pins was easy. Getting everything lined up so that the pins can be installed requires a third hand.

My gunsmith can take a pile of gun parts and presto he has them assembled. He did say the Win 88 is tricky. If he finds it tricky---it is. Don't you just love that 88? I gave my 1957 model to my grandson. It's .308---has Pachmyr decellerator recoil pad, 2x-7x compact Leupold and an extra magazine in a leather pouch that attaches to the sling. I think a very good set-up. He has taken axis deer, wild hogs, bobcat and a truckload of whitetail with it. Almost all have been one shot kills.

Naturally, the 88 must be cleaned from the muzzle. One thing that can be done is to push an untipped rod down the muzzle into the open action, there, attach a .44 caliber brush, pull it back into the chamber to clean the chamber. The chamber may also be swabbed using oversized swabs. The bore may be cleaned in the normal manner.

I clean the bolt face with a toothbrush and wipe out any visible crud with a patch and toothbrush.

Incidentally, these 88s are surprisingly accurate and it isn't unusual to place three rounds within an inch at 100 yards.

I made slave pins for the 88 out of drill bits many years ago. You need the pins to hold the trigger/lever assembly together (red circle). 88s can be a real pain in the butt.

You might want to call Sinclair's and chat with one of their tech staff. They sell a line of rods which are strong, but flexible enough to clean M88s from the breech. I believe they are made from graphite, but can't recall for certain. Anyway, they are "non-imbedding", and are apparently intended for M88s, 742s, 100s, and similar rifles which usually have to be cleaned from the muzzle if regular steel rods are used.

Clean from the breech, not from the muzzle. This lessens the possible damage to the crown, bore. etc.