How much barrel cleaning does a once a year fired gun need?

I'd put a few drops of CLP or similar gun oil down the bore and pull a bore snake through it two or three times before I put it away after the season and call it good.

Probably none except steps to minimize rust during storage assuming no corrosive ammo used or black powder?

A nylon bore brush is useless for removing copper and lead fouling in the barrel. I don’t know what a “barrel conditioner”. For the type of use you are describing I would try one of the foaming bore cleaners. I have had some shooters tell me that it really works. Just follow the directions. I always finish the cleaning of my guns with a patch of CLP even if I plan shooting the gun again in a few days.

p.s. I wish I had seen this topic a few hours earlier when I ordered some parts and Shooters Choice Copper Remover on line. I would of added one of the foaming bore cleaners.

I would just do a couple of patches with ballistol let it soak for about 10 minutes than brush than dry patch a couple of times. Than about once a month run an oil patch just to provide some rust protection. In this case I would use Corrosion X for marine products. if its going to be in the safe the rest of the year.

If they are shooting as accurately as you want them to, I'd touch the barrel as little as possible, other than a couple of oiled patches for rust prevention...

Aim1 said:

How much barrel cleaning does this gun need?

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If you're using jacketed bullets, basically zero. Just run a boresnake or patch through to get the bulky crud out and make sure it's oiled to protect from rust. How often that's done has more to do with the weather conditions in which it's used than how often it's fired.

For my hunting rifles, I rarely touch the bore. My .30-06 probably hasn't had anything down the bore except bullets for the last 5 years.
I clean and oil the action and wipe the rifle down after each hunting season.
I'll touch the bore if and when accuracy starts to fall off.

not a lot, but you probably want to clean it when you get it out to clean any old crud or spiders out, then again when you're going to put it away - really just so you can give it a little oil to go into storage

In my opinion, your posting was a good answer to your question; a couple of passes with any common bore cleaner and then a final pass with an oil base to prevent corrosion. You can probably start to worry about copper buildup after about 30 or so years.

Three times a year in non- humid areas, thirteen in humid areas. Right after deer season, 6 months if not a humid area, then right before season. Otherwise, same, with a check and reapplication of oil every month.
Be sure to clean the plastic out of the rifling on the Savage if you use sabots, or the lead if you don't. Slip 2000 Choke tube cleaner is great for getting plastic out of shotgun bores.

IF I had an accurate hunting rifle I only fire 3-ish times a year,, I wouldn't do much... I like leaving it be.

Run a couple patches of Hoppes9 solvent then a light patch of Hoppes9 oil to see it be pretty clean and another patch but a little heavier oiled. I'd pull the bolt and wipe it down with light oil and reinstall and wipe the whole gun in light oil and set it it the safe till next year.

Every several years I'd go over everything and evaluate for a deeper cleaning/re-oil as oil and grease will start to dry and gum up over time; even the synthetics given enough time.


I'll add that if I happened to have canned air, I'd 1st blast it down the barrel a couple times then do the above.

I clean after every use, but proportional to what was shot. For a hunting rifle, many seasons, that's the occasional 3 shots to verify scope zero.
Then some Mobil1 to keep the bore dirt and rust free.

OTOH, it's a lot easier, IME, to keep a bore clean and oiled, than to try to do damage control, once it's a sewer pipe.

Rifles shot once a year probably need to be cleaned once a year. That way you can oil them so they will be protected from rust the rest of the year. When you aren't paying any attention to the poor neglected firearm.

I like to use wax as a rust preventative on firearms that I barely use. It doesn't need to be repeated as often as oil does. It also doesn't risk damaging the wood like oil.
I started doing this after learning that it's what some museums do.

I learned at a young age from my Grandfather to at a minimum wipe down the exterior at the end of every hunting session/shooting session (or even when handled). His 1930’s era 1894 Win is in fantastic shape with one exception; it has an almost perfect fingerprint on top of the barrel just behind the rear sight from some Texas-sweaty paw that handled the gun then put it away without wiping it down. (That gun resides with my Uncle now)

Since you’re not shooting much I would first clean the bore with a good solvent that’s made for what’s been shot (copper solvent, lead solvent, plastic sabot solvent, etc.) and finish with dry patches until clean, then a final patch with an oil with CLP properties to protect the steel in the bore.

Lube the action /bolt etc. after wiping it down. Wipe off the excess so it won’t oooze downward towards the buttstock.

I would finish with a wipe down of the exterior with a clean rag then finish with a CLP treated oiled rag on the metal.

I would also briefly check it every 4 months or so just to be sure nothing is going wrong/rusting etc.

This may be overkill for some, but outside of my error leaving a blued revolver in a tanned holster too long (it wore off the bluing on the left side of the muzzle) all of my blued guns have zero rust in or on them.

Stay safe.

Once a year. Run a snake through it at the end of the season, oil the external metal, put it away.

I got my first gun 60 years ago. I was taught back then and still follow the rule. If you take a gun or rifle out in the field for a day whether you fire it or not. It should get a thorough cleaning afterwards.

Jack B. said:

I got my first gun 60 years ago. I was taught back then and still follow the rule. If you take a gun or rifle out in the field for a day whether you fire it or not. It should get a thorough cleaning afterwards.

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60 years ago ammo and gun finishes sort of necessitated that amount of cleaning. With today's ammunition and the material and finish many manufactures are using that rule is no longer strictly required. Won't hurt but not needed.

Bfh_auto said:

It doesn't need to be repeated as often as oil does. It also doesn't risk damaging the wood like oil.

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Riomouse911 said:

I learned at a young age from my Grandfather to at a minimum wipe down the exterior at the end of every hunting session/shooting session (or even when handled). His 1930’s era 1894 Win is in fantastic shape with one exception; it has an almost perfect fingerprint on top of the barrel just behind the rear sight from some Texas-sweaty paw that handled the gun then put it away without wiping it down. (That gun resides with my Uncle now)

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These posts shed some light on my cognitive bias I guess. I only own one firearm with a wood stock and it's not something I'd care about getting oil soaked. I don't own a single blued firearm. Most of them, including my deer rifle, get spray painted over the already corrosion resistant finish. My dad has my grandpa's old Stevens pump shotgun that I hope to get someday. That gun will get cleaned and oiled far more often and more carefully than anything I have now.

Aim1 said:

So Slip 2000 is sort of like CLP, cleaner and protectant?

You only need Slip 2000 for the barrel cleaning and storing?

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There are many different slip 2000 products, I recommend several of them.

http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_CTC.php

This is the one I mentioned for cleaning the plastic from the slug barrel. It is excellent for that, be sure to follow the instructions and let it sit in the barrel for 15 minutes. It works well on carboned-up AR and other auto parts, too.

Over the years of gunsmithing and owning guns, I have found that no one product does all three of these jobs the best. Break Free CLP comes the closest, and I still use it for some applications, but for your use, I recommend Slip 2000 EWL for use, and EWL 30 externally for storage. If I had to narrow it down to one lube, I would have a hard time choosing between Break Free CLP and Slip 2000 EWL.

http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_ewl.php

EWL.

http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_ewl30.php

EWL 30.

I use Slip 2000 EWL on my AR bolts. I don’t know what the stuff is made of, but it works for me.

Stay safe.