Cleaning or not cleaning a .22lr.

[Master Blaster]

I know that this is a controversial topic and that there are two schools of thought.

one is to clean after every shoot and the other is that you should not clean a .22 cause you will wear out the rifling/ barrel crown.

lately because I have been shooting so much, I have fallen into the never clean camp . That is until two weeks ago, when I discovered RUST in the barrel of my 10/22. I had shot it about 10 days before and put 200 rounds through it. It was stored in my safe in the air conditioned part of the house not the basement.

I was surprised when I found the light coat of rust in side the entire bore the outside of the rifle had a usual light clp wipedown and there were no signs of rust on the outside, the rust cleaned out fine, but it made me check and clean and CLP all of my other .22lrs. None had rust in them but the 10/22.

I now think that it is a good idea to clean a .22lr after every shoot. The smokeless powder, is not corrosive but it is hydroscopic it attracts moisture that may cause rust.

To clean or not what do all of you think?

 

[Ed]

I'll wipe out the reciever of my 10-22 every once in a while, I also have a bearcat that was cleaned last in 1978. Still shoots real nice....

 

[Warner]

First time I ever heard of rust like that, and under those circumstances MB. I also have fallen into the seldom clean (barrel), because of advice I have read.

I wonder what the mega-round target shooters do or think about it.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Clean it when its NIB----then never----unless it gets rained on or condensation----or if the action is too crudded up to work.

Or just buy the stainless one----even though he same rules apply.

 

[Selfdfenz]

Bore snake once in a while but otherwise not.
S-

 

[Jaywalker]

Not.

But I sure think I'd try to figure out why yours rusted!

Jaywalker

 

[RustyHammer]

Sure it wasn't just copper?

I clean lightly with CLP between shoots. Mostly to get the bulk of the crud out and to leave a light coating of CLP to help prevent the "R" word.

YMMV

 

[cool45auto]

I haven't been cleaning mine on purpose and haven't had any problems yet. I'm going to get a bore snake for it soon, though.

 

[Black Snowman]

Bore Snakes are the best invention yet for making gun cleaning easier. One swipe with the Snake gets mine as clean as 15 minutes of scrubbing and swabbing used to. Tidy up the action and you're done.

I always clean every gun after I shoot. I'll put it off a few days sometimes but I always get it done. My concern is corrosion accellerated by the residue in the barrel and it makes sure that I properly lube them afterword. With the Bore Snake I'm no longer worried about damaging the bore or crown and I think the actions last longer if kept properly cleaned and lubed.

But I don't have any scientific evedence to back any of it up. It's just my thinking.

 

[larryw]

I think RustyHammer's on to something. As it was just in the bore and nowhere else, I'd guess it was copper or other fouling that looked like rust.

I clean mine on a regular basis. Cleaning takes only a couple minutes: wipe the abrasive crud off the moving parts, q-tip the chamber clean with Hoppes, and run a BoreSnake down the tube.

 

[zahc]

I have 10/22.

I clean my chamber and bolt, breech face every 400rds or so to maintain reliability and function. I boresnake the barrel whenever I feel like it. And I clean the trigger group maybe once a year.

 

[dave3006]

I clean my 10/22 and 22/45 everytime I shoot them. I clean every gun after every trip. It is just the right thing to do.

 

[.45&TKD]

I'm shocked!

I just bought my first .22LR, a 452 Beech Lux.

Are you guys actually saying to minimize cleaning it compared to other caliber rifles?

 

[chaim]

My owners manual for my Marlin 60 calls for cleaning once every 500 rounds. However, I too was told to never clean a .22lr because you might damage the barrel.

What I do is, approx. every 500 rounds I take it down and clean out the action. I may lube it a bit more frequently if I haven't been shooting it much and it took a while to get to the 500 rounds or if it starts feeling gritty. However, I have yet to clean out my barrel and I certainly have many thousands of rounds through this gun (no way I could even guess how many, nearly 3 years, some months I shot it nearly every day, others I went 3 or 4 months without shooting, sometimes I'd go and blow an entire 500 rnd brick others I'd only shoot one 100 round box of CCI Mini-Mag).

My Remington 581 barrel got fully cleaned once. It is kept in a storage unit where humidity isn't well controlled. One time I found some surface rust on the outside of the barrel and I cleaned the inside of the barrel just in case- I also occasionally hit the inside of the barrel with CLP, not to clean but to prevent rust.

The 10/22 I had I cleaned the action once or twice, but normally just sprayed Remington Dry Lube into the works and it didn't seem to mind.

 

[sm]

NO

For one I do not know when I last used a Cleaning rod with a muzzle guard on a .22. I have Always used a pulled through method. I use a Otis cable, before that I used a pc of rawhide with a slit. Any fear of hitting the muzzle, I used a drinking straw if a muzzle guard was not avail.

Personally not real comfortable pulling dirt back through a bore, clean patch ( old T shirt) everytime. Dirt/grit seems like "lapping compound" to me. IMNSHO.

New guns get cleaned, New guns to me get cleaned. I do check chambers, I pipe clean/ M16 brush extractors, bolt face from time to time, main focus is chamber and extraction. Actions get inspected and maintained as need.

I do not use brushes on .22 lr, I quit using nylon and went back to good quality bronze/phosphor type for .22 mag , and this only if accuracy starts to dwindle.

Unless exposed to elements ( rain, snow,) I won't clean the bore.

Pretty much sums up my care for bores on anything, handgun, rifle, shotgun. I never use a brush on .22 lr, anything bigger I might use a good bronze/phospher brush. Elements, accuracy tells me when. Copper solvents, again a rare use...I don't currently have any around.

Last copper solvent used was for a friends 10/22, he "over cleaned" everything, had "rust or something" in his bore. After new Hvy target bbl we cut his old one to look. Yep, Schumann and McMillian smart fellas. Seems the mixture of chemicals, scratches, (nylon scratched btw) remnants of bristles, and condensation gave us that "rust or something" result. 500 rds and he plum wore out a 10/22 deluxe. Real eye -opener under magification!

I played with the cut away bbl and learned some stuff.

This is not the first bbl he has to replace. His wife threatened to chunk all his array of chemicals, rods and to break his arm if he didn't quit being so anal. His Weatherby requiring a new bbl after 300 rds was the straw that broke the camel's back.

His wife did give away most of his wonder chemicals, this way he can't mix and cause harm, he may be a whiz at being a CPA...a chemist he is not.

McMillian and Schueman...right smart fellas...

 

[.45&TKD]

McMillian and Schueman...right smart fellas...

I give up. Who's McMillian and Schueman?

 

[scottsw1]

I clean after every shoot.

 

[sm]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60102&highlight=gale+mcmillan


http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?
&postid=124412#post124412


http://www.schuemann.com/

"... doing inspections of a number of rifle barrels with a very high quality borescope over the past two years has shown that a number of shooters are doing significant damage to their very expensive Stainless Steel barrels..." "illustrate the impact that improper use of some cleaning materials and methods can have on barrel steel. The barrel in the picture had somewhere between 150 and 350 rounds through it when it was retired - it quit shooting well and was very difficult to pass a patch through. Note the gross pitting and cracking evident on the surface of the barrel..."

 

[Sactown]

my Volquartsen .22 tension barrel shoots best when fouled. I don't go near my .22 barrel with a bore brush or bore snake. I only clean the barrel with the patch worm. Actually I don't clean any of my .22 barrels with a bore brush. i just use patches and it's all good.

 

[Jaywalker]

.45&TKD:

Are you guys actually saying to minimize cleaning it compared to other caliber rifles?

Well, there is a lot of controvery on this issue, but some say overcleaning can be detrimental to both barrel life and to accuracy.

As to barrel life, consider that the 22 rimfire is a very low pressure round, and therefore doesn't need the high speed steels used on high pressure centerfire barrels. Since manufacturers are in it to make money, they're going to use the softest steel that will support the intended use in order to prolong tool use. More barrels, more years, less cost per barrel is the basis for this argument. Softer steel is damaged more easily, especially around the crown. Therefore, the argument goes, more 22 cleaning, shorter barrel life.

As to accuracy, I'm told, the best is achieved from a slightly fouled barrel. You'll need a box or two of shots to get it back to that level after cleaning - so why do it? Rimfires in the .22 variey are outside lubricated, so there isn't much point to cleaning it out, then re-lubing.

While not a target shooter, I have to agree with both these arguments. I haven't cleaned a .22 LR rimfire barrel in 30 years, and there's no rust that I can see. (The 30 year reference is deliberate - that was when I damaged a .22 revolver crown, and stopped doing their barrels.) 22 Mag and 17 HMR have copper jackets and don't fall under this discussion.

Jaywalker

 

[swingset]

Backyard shooter with a 10/22? Yeah, clean it if and when you feel like it.

$3,000 benchrest gun? You WILL clean it or you won't like how those groups open up on you.

It's about cleaning correctly. If you change the oil in your car correctly, it saves the motor. If you do it and introduce dirt or grime into the oil fill, it's better to never change it. It's the same with guns. Bad cleaning=bad. Good cleaning=good.

So much for this controversy.

 

[Okiecruffler]

I asked this same question a few months ago

I was surprised at how many people never clean their .22's, but then again my dad never cleans his. So I stopped scrubbing my barrel after each outing and just keep the chamber clean. The groups have shrunk on both my 10/22 and my Striker. I think it's because the barrel is fouled from the get go when I'm still fresh. So I'll keep an eye on the bore, but unless I spot a potential problem I'm going to leave it alone.

 

[bad_dad_brad]

The prevailing wisdom with rimfires is to clean the barrel only when accuracy drops off. I think because of damage to the barrel from the cleaner rods because of such small tolerances - just a guess.

But the bore snake negates that, and I think you can use that device safely as often as you like.

I really love my bore snakes and use them for all my barrel cleaning chores from .17 to .45 cal.

This tool really seems to work. I put a drop of CLP on the end. Machine washable - just put in a washing bag!

 

[Pumpkinheaver]

I clean mine after every trip to the range. Just be careful with your cleaning rod.

 

[Feanaro]

I've never owned a .22(oddly enough) but I'd clean it lightly after every range trip. Why? Because I imagine my rifle growing eyes, pouting at me and asking me "Why, oh why are you leaving that crud inside me?"