2 Clean or Not 2 Clean

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Yep!

It's possible to do more damage to a soft steel .22 RF barrel by too much cleaning then not enough. Wax coated .22 RF bullets do a good job of cleaning & protecting the barrel on them.

Nobody I ever heard of said not to clean centerfire rifle, shotgun, or handgun barrels.

They have to be cleaned occasionally, probably with copper solvent occasionally to keep jacket fouling at bay.

rc
 
All good advice so far!

It's a good idea to not over clean a centerfire rifle barrel also. A good regime is to start with a squeaky clean barrel and shot till accuracy starts to fall off, consistently, then a couple patches soaked with a good copper cleaner followed by a couple dry patches and your good.

If your barrel is fouled badly, consider getting an Outters 'Foul Out', these things do actually work IF you follow the directions to the tee. We have several at both shops that run all day during certain times of the year.

The Foul Out machine will strip ALL of the copper and lead out of the barrel, right back to factory clean, so, as most rifles shoot their best with some degree of fouling in the barrel, you'll have to foul the barrel again.

Once the barrel starts to 'tighten up', it is fouled back to its sweet spot...just keep shooting until your accuracy falls off and then follow the simple 2 patch with copper solvent regime and your back to shooting those small groups like you always do.lol:D
 
Cleaning is good, but some people get too OCD about it. Guns are machines; your cars engine doesn't care if it's dirty, neither does your gun.

Excessive cleaning is a waste of time can can cause excessive wear on the gun. Cleaning the barrel can throw off the accuracy for a few shots. You need to clean only when it's necessary to restore accuracy and reliability, or to provide corrosion protection, or to remove possible obstructions from the bore (like twigs from hunting) and grit from the action and trigger.
 
Excessive cleaning is not needed, but I like to clean my centerfires after each shooting sesson and leave a light rust preventing coat of oil in the barrel. Rust is not your friend, and can ruin a good barrel quickly.
 
I always thought that cleaning was as much about avoiding corrosion as anything else.

They say burnt powder soaks up moisture in the atmosphere.

Yet some guns seem to go for months, or even years, without attracting rust.

Is the rust fear overstated?
 
emilianoksa:

You pretty much summed up what I was really digging at. I guess when I clean a rifle it is more about corrosion protection than anything since I may not shoot it again for months or maybe even a year, it just depends. However, I do not want to be overcleaning either. All I know is that this is a $4000 rifle so I want to make sure I do not screw it up.
 
Just my opinion, but guys have gotten way too OCD about this since the rise of the internet forum. Your barrel sees a lot more wear from a day's shooting than from cleaning it afterward - heat and pressure have a much greater effect than a few swipes of a cotton pad and some Hoppes. I've yet to see wear that could be attributed solely to cleaning - except for overly zealous use of stainless steel bore brushes.

Practice good technique, and clean as often or in-often as you feel the need. The gun is unlikely to be any different.

I think a lot of the fuss is caused by the marketing of new and improved cleaning items that "solve" non-existent problems.
 
Well, I generally clean my centerfire rifles and handguns after every shoot, with the exception of my hunting rifles - once I have checked my zero for the season (assuming I didn't shoot more than 8 or 10 rounds), I will not touch the bore until hunting season is over. First shot or two from a clean barrel is often not at the same POI, and most animals don't hold still while I take a couple of fouling shots.
 
I dont worry about it. I put several thousand rounds through my 9mm AR before I ever really cleaned it. I have only cleaned my Mossberg 590 once, maybe twice. I have a Kimber that had 5k put through it before it got cleaned. Lube, shoot, repeat.

If you clean it every case of ammo (or after shooting milsurp), you'll be fine. Just dont let it get so dirty that it needs bead blasted to get clean (like I did that Kimber).

IMO, cleaning a gun after every range session is like changing your oil every time you drive your car.
 
I've never used a bore guide and never ruined a barrel.
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Enough to notice at any rate. Try it with a world class target rifle and get back with us.

Cheap protection and proven to protect the critical throat area. :)
 
Obviously this doesn't apply to surplus rifles shooting corrosive primed ammo. Those, esp. the ones with aging bores, need a fair amount of cleaning after a range session. And I mean the day you get back. You don't want to leave them in the vault for weeks.
 
Enough to notice at any rate. Try it with a world class target rifle and get back with us.
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Fair enough, but a difference that makes no difference is no difference. If whatever supposed damage done by my cleaning rod is so slight as to be completely unnoticeable to me then its not a problem. Then again I've never owned a world class target rifle and never will.
 
It's a personal opinion in many cases
falls into two basic categories, those who like to polish their rifle
and those who knock the crud off when the have to (day of, as quickly as possible with lots of hot water for shooting corrosive) I've spent my time polishing the star chamber of a M-4, I much prefer the solvent tank or brake cleaner and quick once over. I have better things to do.
 
IMO, cleaning a gun after every range session is like changing your oil every time you drive your car.
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Actually it's kinda like wiping you butt every time you poop. :D

But.............to each their own.
 
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