Anyone Rarely/Never clean a barrel?

I used to clean stuff all the time, but not so much anymore. Now I kind of like to run stuff dirty, especially semi-autos, just to see how dirty it can get.

For my match .22s I never clean the barrel..... Like ever......

The theory is the lead fills in the scratches and grooves and give the subsequent bullets a smoother barrel....is that actually true?... I really don't know, but my barrel is shooting well as is and I see no reason to change it.

That being said, there are guys out there who clean after every 40 shots.... and they are shooting on par with me.....soooo...¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I wet a patch with Breakfree CLP and punch it though the bore to get the grit out and to rust proof. I rarely bush. Like thousands of rounds before brushing.

I only clean the bore/cylinder if my bullseye guns every 2500-3000 rounds. Those are all lead too.

I have only deep cleaned the barrel of one rifle. More years ago than I want to admit to I brought a Marlin 336 35 Remington that had a dirty barrel. I broke my rule of not buying a gun with a dirty barrel as it might be hiding pits and rust.

I first cleaned the barrel.with the traditional brass brush and solvent but could not get a clean patch so I cleaned the barrel with Outters Foul Out system and got the blackest nastest looking stuff I have ever seen out of the barrel. I was very happy with the results. Generally nowadays I use a few patches of Breakfree and don't worry about getting down to bare metal.

22's almost never. Center fires, as needed. After a thorough barrel cleaning it takes 3-5 shots for the full accuracy to return to normal. After that it takes several hundred before accuracy begins to decline.

It depends on the gun but mostly no.

Recently cleaned the bore of a RAR in 223. Must have had 2-3 hunert rounds through it. Mostly monarch steel cased ammo. Liked to not got the patch down the bore at first and literally had to drive the patch through by pounding the rod on the floor. It was very dirty but accuracy was still good IMO.

I have many barrels that have had nothing but bullets down them.

Very seldom. Unless corrosion is a concern.

Never rimfires. Centerfires if I'm about to start shootin lead. I NEVER hunt with a clean bore

I shoot alot of surplus so yeah, cleaning is a must but on the few guns I own that do NOT get corrosive ammo? Not often.

The only one that get's cleaned religiously is my .338 Lapua. My deer guns and others get shot, coat of oil down the bore, one patch through to clear the oil before shooting and then that's it

Personal Observation.

I get a lot of guns to list on consignment. 15%-20% are clean with the balance ranking dirty to filthy. They ship in the same condition that they were in when I received them. Don't get paid enough to spend and hour or two to clean them right. If they are really nice I might run a patch thru them.

Black powder guns get abused more than any other kind. I would not buy a BP gun unless I could get confirmation on the bore condition. Most are rusty and/or pitted.

As for my own guns, I clean them religiously after each outing.

As for my own guns, I clean them religiously after each outing.

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For clarity I do clean my guns but with many of them that does not include running anything down the bore.

I rarely clean my guns unless I've shot corrosive ammo. I strip, clean, and oil new guns before firing them but after that it's mostly basic maintenance. Cleaning actions and oiling and greasing. When I start feeling guilty I run some patches through the bore, probably every 2000 rounds or so. I have my mom's old Nylon 66, because after she died my brother started talking about cleaning it and I knew if he took it apart it would get all Humpty Dumpty and be lost to the world forever. I love shooting it but I will never clean it. If it can shoot 100k+ wood blocks (or whatever that record was) it can handle the box of ammo I put through it per year.

I had a Ruger 22/45 MKIII that had over 10k rounds through it. I never cleaned it, mostly because I just wanted to see what would happen. I never noticed any decline in accuracy, as a matter of fact I was more accurate with it than any handgun I own, except maybe my 1911. I'd say at least 75% of the rounds through it were Federal Auto Match.

I sold the thing, and I've regretted it ever since. It's in my plans to get another one soon (and keep it).

Cleaning? At most, one run-through with a little WD 40 sprayed onto a patch, followed by a patch with a spray of a little RemOil. That's any time I don't plan on further shooting for a day or six.

After some 3,500 rounds through my '06, the group size began enlarging. A thorough cleaning to get rid of copper restored it to original sub-MOA.

Same sort of treatment of my .243, but after maybe 1,000 rounds.

.22 rimfires? Bullet wax takes care of any corrosion problems that might hurt the barrel.

I only run a boresnake through my barrels after every few hundred rounds, followed by a patch with some oil. Wipe down the externals and call it a day. BP guns are a totally different story.

I rarely clean and haven't seen any issues.

Pistols- I shoot mostly lead and always inspect the barrel for leading and I'll clean it if I see any, but that is rare. I only clean powder residue when they get real sooty inside- like every 1000 rounds or so.

Rifles- only regular cleaning if shooting corrosive ammo.

Depends, many rifles accuracy will eventually degrade with too much build up. I have bought old 22's that didn't shoot. A very good cleaning often brings them back to life.
Another thing is corrosion. Where I live there are extreme temp swings and humidity so condensation is a problem requiring cleaning and oiling. It also depends on the barrel, some like to clean, some don't. Whatever works for you.
Black powder guns always need to be cleaned each use and corrosive ammo too. Other than that it to some degree shooters choice and what the gun likes and round count.

Rarely clean the rimfire's barrels. They like CCI and Wolf ammo and both of those run pretty clean through my guns. Centerfire barrels get cleaned after every use.

I clean the actions on my guns often.

Very rarely touch a barrel. For my deer rifles, I'll run a patch of Hoppes #9, followed by dry, followed by oil, followed by another dry at the end of the season before I put it up. That's it.

I can't remember the last time I even ran a patch down the barrel of my Marlin 60. I've had it for about 14 years. It may have had 3 patches down the barrel. Maybe.

I can still group them in a quarter size group with cheap bulk ammo, so I don't plan on changing the way I do it any time soon. I do keep the action on it clean though. I'll hose it out with Gunscrubber every so often and keep it lightly oiled. I don't like a gritty action even on a .22 lr.

Centerfire barrels get cleaned after every use.

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I used to do this as well. But most guns shoot better with a fouled barrel than a spotlessly clean one in my experience.
Even if I cleaned the barrels more often than I do, I think I'd shoot 2-3 rounds the day before hunting season started so I'd be in the sweet spot.

I don't even know if you hunt, but that's my logic on it.

The gun i clean the most is a 9130 mosin just because of the ammo on the other hand i dont clean my 10-22 rugar or my S&W m&p-15 and both shoot realy well.

What is this strange, and mystical 'cleaning' of which you speak?

You guys are making me feel a lot better. I clean the barrels on my .22s about... a couple of years ago. My other rifles I shoot lead out of so they get cleaned or at least checked pretty often.