Ok. how the heck do I clean my .22lr?

If you must use a cleaning rod, use one piece rods, not jointed rods. With a bore guide.

The outer layer of an aluminum rod is aluminum oxide, which is very hard. I'm not sure it's harmless to the bore.

But this is getting off track. If you just keep the rod out of your bore, it doesn't matter what kind it is.

Half the fun in owning a firearm is knowing how to take it apart and put it back together with no left over parts, and still have it function like it was designed.
I like my rimfires clean, I clean mine after every use, if it's shot it's cleaned . If it cost $50 used it gets the same treatment as my $800.00 centerfire.
Get yourself a take down guide and when you have the time practice diassemble and reassemble until it gets to be ingrained then it's not a problem.
The never reverse a brush is good info make sure you push it all the way through, the bore guide, if cleaning from the muzzle is good advice also. If you can't push the brush all the way through then dissamble the rifle.

.22 rimfire ammo is some of the dirtiest, all the lube on the lead bullets is spattered throughout the action, a good aerosol cleaner and a tooth or action brush is the ticket to a clean rifle.

The Beatles said" Happiness is a warm Gun ", They should have said
Happines is a CLEAN GUN!

I don't think it's necessary to clean a 22 rifle all that often. Even the chamber needs to be cleaned only occasionally. Do what you want, but you really don't need to clean it that often, if ever.

I clean the action out occasionaly on my Remington 597 but other than that, I have put over 5,000 round through it and it is still as accurate if not more accurate than when I got it out of the box.

I've got a tube fed Marlin model 60, and the only parts I clean are the bolt and trigger group, usually when when it gets to the point that it won't cycle reliably. Other than that I just wipe down the outside wtih CLP.

Guess that puts me in the "I don't clean the barrel" group.

I'm a little more fastidious about the rest of my collection, though.

I've got a Marlin Model 70 (box magazine). The firing pin begins to get gritty and starts misfiring after about 100 rounds, which means basically every time I shoot it . The easiest way to get it clean is to take the bolt out. With the bolt out, I can push a brass rod down the bore, and screw on a patch puller with a Hoppes soaked patch on it. If it comes out green, I push then pull a brush through (with the bolt out, it easily goes all the way through) and start pulling patches through until they come out clean. I only recently started using the boresnake. Miracle product for sure. Especially on those tiny .22 and .223 chambers.

If you can't find field stripping instructions anywhere else, let me know and I'll copy them from my manual (all Marlin .22's are basically the same, my receiver even has a hole in it where the tube magazine would attach).

Less is more when it comes to cleaning .22LR.

Cleaning a .22? Whudja, drop it in the mud?

22's rarely need cleaning, the best thing to do is to use foaming cleaner, leave in for 10 minutes, brush out , patch out, repeat the above.
likghty wipe down, clean , and lightly lube everything else. lightly lube the bore when done as well.

Hmm, perhaps I overclean, but I usually run an impregnated patch (Hoppes 9) through the bore, then dry patch until clean, then drip a little oil down the muzzle and store upright. When I bought a ruger 10/22 off a guy, I had to strip the receiver and just about soak the thing in Hoppes 9 to clean out the gunk. After lubing it, I rarely clean anything except the throat & bore.

owners manual
http://stevespages.com/pdf/marlin_self_loading_rimfire_tube_feed_manual.pdf

I hardly ever clean my .22 bbls. When I do it's because the chamber has too much crud in it resulting in malfunctions. Your mileage may vary. I have used a boresnake with great results.

For those of you who did not read powermads Marlin owners manual, it states on page 5 that unless the inside of your barrel gets wet or obstructed, there is no reason to clean it.

Thats pretty clear cut, lol.

I have a similar tube fed marlin and it has never been stripped. Probably over 25 years old passed from my dad to me shot thousands of rounds. Occasionaly I'll have problems if the chamber gets "clogged" with gunk, but that is the only cleaning I do. Still shoots great.

I have a Marlin model 60. I just run some oiled patches down the barrel after shooting it. It only gets shot a few times a year. After a few thousand rounds of cheap bulk ammo it gets gunked up. When that happens take it apart and clean all the crud out of the action, oil lightly, and shoot some more.

I clean my Ruger 10/22 regularly, as I shoot it with a suppressor and crud builds up regularly in the action, magazines, and bore. Not just a normal thin layer of residue, but big chunky pieces of carbon and other residue. (The suppressor creates a lot of backpressure and blows the crap back into the action.)

I put some CLP on a Bore Snake (the part before the bronze brushes) and run it from breech-to-muzzle twice. That cleans the barrel satisfactorily.

I don't understand all the talk about "cleaning damages .22 barrels" -- they're made of the same (or similar) steel to other gun barrels, and so long as one doesn't go completely overboard in their attempts at cleaning, no damage should occur.

Bore Snakes are amazing things, and I have one in each caliber I shoot. Makes life exceedingly easy.

I clean my Ruger 10/22 regularly, as I shoot it with a suppressor and crud builds up regularly in the action, magazines, and bore. Not just a normal thin layer of residue, but big chunky pieces of carbon and other residue. (The suppressor creates a lot of backpressure and blows the crap back into the action.)

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Well, see, that makes more sense because it's not "normal" usage. In normal shooting, cleaning the barrel just simply isn't necessary. I sort of agree that your probably not going to hurt anything if your using a brass or nylon brush, but it just isn't a requirement to keep it functioning and shooting accurately.

I have been thinking about it, and I honestly don't think I have ever really cleaned my one 10/22, and I know I haven't oiled it because I have never had it apart, and I have had that rifle for over 20 years now. Still shoots like a champ!

Anymore I prefer to clean the breechblock and action parts well, and try to use dry patches on the bore to get the smuts out. Sometimes I'll put a borebrush in the chamber, and sort of twist it around in there to get any residue from the throat of the barrel. The lubricant from the lead bullets sort of coats the bore. You need a certain number of rounds down the bore for it to settle in.

If you deeply clean the bore you remove that layer of lubricant, which you will only need to replenish by shooting additional rounds until the rifle "settles in."

Since the advent of noncorrosive priming compounds, the necessity of cleaning your firearm to prevent rust has greatly diminished.

So. Run a bore snake down the bore dry. Clean the breechblock or bolt and the receiver to assure proper function. And shoot the firearm until you get sick of it. Brushes and solvents really have no place in a 22 rimfire.

My $.02

I've got a tube fed Marlin model 60, and the only parts I clean are the bolt and trigger group,

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For those of you with a tube fed 22, don't forget to clean that magazine tube from time to time. I had trouble with my Marlin 39a not feeding properly. When I cleaned the magazine tube it was full of black looking "gunk" that I suspect was mostly just plain dirt and bullet lube. It took several patches with Hoppes on them to get it clean. Rifle functioned fine after that. Same thing for the follower that slides inside the tube. That needs to be cleaned inside and out to get the same "gunk" out.

We think about cleaning magazines for handguns, 10/22's and such, but I know I never thought about the tube magazine on my 39.

I would use a bore snake with the brush removed or better yet a Patchworm. http://20-20.8m.com/. If i was using a cleaning rod to clean a 22 semi auto rifle i would use a 22 handgun brush and patch puller. Coat your cleaning rod with CLP insert in the muzzle through to the breech screw on a bore brush or patch puller and pull the brush or patch puller through the bore with a muzzle guide. Wipe and re lube the rod every time before putting the cleaning rod in your barrel. One word of warning about lubing a Marlin 60 tub magazine don't leave Breakfree or Hope's No9 on the tube it will attack the brass and make gummy mess. Rubbing alcohol works good for cleaning the tube And a coat of silacone spray will make the tube slide easy.

Mike

Most of my .22rf shooting has been with handguns, specifically a Ruger Mk1, High Standard, and Smith Mdl 41.

(As a side note, the Ruger Mk 1 is the only semiauto pistol, of whatever flavor, that has never had a malfunction that was not ammunition related.)

Just keep the recessed area of the bolt face clear of accumulated crud. That'll help prevent an alibi 'dud'.

I used to slather Marvel Mystery Oil all over the bolt. (It looked and smelled like Transmission fluid). Don't know if it helped much, but it give me something to do during relays and, I think, didn't hurt.

'Tight' or 'Match' chambered .22rf rifles may need more attention to the chamber and bolt face than working 22s.

Unless the 'Match' .22rf is a bolt action rifle or a 'take-down' like the Rossi or Marlin 39, cleaning the chamber may prove to be something of a problem.

Just shoot it. Clean the bolt face recess every thousand rounds or so. A skinny flat blade screwdiver or pocket knife blade works. Add a drop or two of Grandma's Singer Sewing Machine Oil every leap year.

If you need to feel good about cleaning, use a bore snake, a skinny tooth brush and Hoppes #9. (Note: Continued use of Hoppes Number 9 using the same tooth brush with nylon bristles will eventually cause strange things to happen to the nylon toothbrush/bristles. I 'spect the Hoppes may have some Acetone in its composition.)

salty

Oops, Double post. Delete.

sd.

Well, see, that makes more sense because it's not "normal" usage. In normal shooting, cleaning the barrel just simply isn't necessary. I sort of agree that your probably not going to hurt anything if your using a brass or nylon brush, but it just isn't a requirement to keep it functioning and shooting accurately.

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See, this is what puzzles me...what is it about .22s that makes them exempt from cleaning, while non-.22 guns require routine cleaning?

They're all burning chemically similar powders, with chemically similar primers. The residue should, I think, be quite similar. The only difference is that most centerfire guns shoot copper jacketed bullets, while most .22s shoot either copper plated lead or lubricated bare lead bullets.

Even when shooting unsuppressed, I clean my .22s just like I do any other ordinary gun, and for the same reasons. Your (meaning "everyone else", not a specific person) mileage may vary.

See, this is what puzzles me...what is it about .22s that makes them exempt from cleaning, while non-.22 guns require routine cleaning?

They're all burning chemically similar powders, with chemically similar primers. The residue should, I think, be quite similar. The only difference is that most centerfire guns shoot copper jacketed bullets, while most .22s shoot either copper plated lead or lubricated bare lead bullets.

Even when shooting unsuppressed, I clean my .22s just like I do any other ordinary gun, and for the same reasons. Your (meaning "everyone else", not a specific person) mileage may vary.
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.22s are loaded with pixie dust and don't get dirty.

Actually .22s just don't burn enough powder to get that hot.

I don't clean the bores of my rim-fires until I see accuracy fall off. You can actually decrease accuracy by having a clean bore.

I clean the action when a malfunction occurs. (semi annually)

I wipe the outside of the firearm down with Rem-oil after each use.

Stop by Remfirecentral.com and read some of the cleaning posts.

I made my own .22 patchworm for pulling through patches using .095 Grass Trimmer Line(weed wacker).
First I melted the end and pushed it against a flatsurface, then let it cool and shaped it down to size with some sandpaper and a block.
I used a spent .22 case as a gauge for sizing and it works great!
I cut the other end of the cord on an angle and I thread it through a hole in the center of a patch, add a couple drops of CLP and then pull it through.
Leaves the barrel clean of powder residue and lightly oiled.