Skeeter, I normally don't tear down the gun completly until after the season is over. What I mean is I clean the bore well until my patches come out clean. I also clean as best I can the nipple and anything else I can reach short of tearing down the gun. As for the scope, I had a redfield 3x9 on it for a while but recenly switched to a leupold 2x7 with leupold quick release bases and rings. I don't remover the scope however when cleaning. I should also mention that I had the same problems as above when shooting my CVA staghorn prior to getting the Black diamond. The odd thing is with my old sidehammer gun I always marked the ramrod and seated the bullets identicly. That gun was very accurate, even with open sights, but not always the most reliable.