Do any of you have a 22 you DON'T clean?

[harmonic]

I've read that 22 rimfire is naturally lubricating, but if 22 rimfire lead is a lubricant, then why isn't centerfire ammo similar?

 

[Kingofthehill]

my experiences are that .22's are some of the dirtiest guns to fire in general.

My ruger 22/45 goes between 5,000-10,000 between cleanings. Its a massive workhorse for me and that bulk ammo is disgusting.

I have other .22's like the Sig Mosquito and P22 that can't even come close to 500rds without cleaning before they start to jam.

 

[highorder]

I can't bring myself to not clean, though usually it's just a quick tug on a boresnake.

 

[Carter]

I have a 1968 franchi .22 that gets absolutely filthy after shooting. That along with the design in general leads to jamming after say 150-200 rounds. So of course it gets cleaned after every range visit.

 

[22-rimfire]

I clean 22's every year or so, or when the accuracy noticably falls off, or semi-auto's start jamming. The cleaning is mostly the action (and chamber) and not the barrel although I will clean the barrel if I am cleaning the rest.

 

[TeamPrecisionIT]

barrel=never
action after every session.

 

[DasFriek]

I rarely clean my CZ Ultra Lux's bore, But clean the bolt after every range session.
This is mainly a benchrest gun.
If you look at a box of mid priced $3 a box of 50 all the way up to $20 a box it has lube on the bullet. Most bulk ammo don't have any at all, But CCI ammo generally does even tho its a harder wax type.
The lead doesn't lube the bore the lube on the ammo does.

The cheaper bulk unlubed ammo will foul a bore faster and loose accuracy faster if not cleaned more often.

I will clean my bore if i shoot alot of copper washed ammo as that can leave deposits.
Even tho most bench ammo isnt copper washed i still shoot some since it can be cheap and accurate. From what ive seen copper washed ammo isnt lubed either.

Another thing is higher end .22's have hand lapped bores that are so smooth dirt doesn't cling to it. Mine after a Hoppes brush and then a dry cloth produces such a clean patch that is cleaner than a patch after i clean my 15-22.

Centerfire ammo has no lube on on the copper jackets and the copper fouls the bore.

 

[KingMedicine]

I didnt clean my 10/22 for a few years, thinking it was true. Then it would not cycle at all even tho i kept the chamber clean. That cleanup was a pain in the butt, so now i give it a cleaning once a year. Its just easier and does not mess with its performance.

 

[rmfnla]

More than one concept at work here.

Most .22 ammo has a waxy coating on the bullets that acts as a lubricant.

I think .22 ammo is not dirty because of the bullet/lube but because of the powder used.

I had a Nylon 66 that I only cleaned every ten bazillion rounds and it never malfunctioned. I'd still be shooting it if my dumb-a$$ "friend" hadn't run it over with his Jeep.

 

[Tilos]

Clean the action, not the barrel

I only clean the action when the cheap ammo smooge slows it down.
I sometimes clean the forcing cone/top strap on revolvers.

 

[Lovesbeer99]

I have several .22's but the only 1 I don't clean is my HenryH001, other than just wiping it down on the outside.

 

[AK103K]

My ruger 22/45 goes between 5,000-10,000 between cleanings.

My Rugers were like any of my other .22's, and usually got grumpy at around 200-300 rounds. I've had High Standard, Colt, Smiths, Beretta, SIG, Walther, and a few others that were less memorable, and all of them required cleaning to keep them running properly. Some wouldnt even make the 200 round mark, others, maybe a little more, but not by much. Rifles seemed to do a little better, but still, they all do better when clean. I had an old Charter Arms AR7 that would start to give you two and three round bursts if you didnt flush the gunk out the receiver on a regular basis.

 

[Weevil]

Oh every once in awhile when I'm bored I'll clean a .22.


Honestly though I've never had one that malfunctioned because it was dirty, and I've had them where I've ran several thousands rounds of the cheap bulk ammo through them.

 

[Sgt_R]

When I was a kid, a friend of mine had an old pump action .22 rifle. We carried that thing all over the orchards & fields around his house and shot at just about anything we took a mind to. I don't remember ever seeing anyone clean that rifle, and I don't remember it ever jamming, either.

I wish I knew the make and model, I'd buy another one in a second.

R

 

[Walkalong]

I have never cleaned my Marlin 39A. It is still scary accurate. Bore that is. I do clean the action.

 

[.38 Special]

I've read that 22 rimfire is naturally lubricating, but if 22 rimfire lead is a lubricant, then why isn't centerfire ammo similar?

.22 RF ammo isn't "naturally" lubricating; it's lubricated. So are lead bullets in centerfire ammo. And I have found that properly sized, fitted, and lubricated lead centerfire bullets do not foul the bore significantly. I only clean the centerfire guns because the powder fouling makes a mess. The .22 LR rounds I most commonly use don't cause significant powder fouling because they don't contain significant powder charges. (Some .22 LR does powder foul in my experience -- mostly the promotional bulk-pack stuff.)

Unless I am using the kind of .22 LR ammo that powder fouls, I only clean the bore of my .22s (they're all competition guns) when accuracy falls off. The actions get cleaned just before experience has shown me that they begin to act up. In my semi-autos this is normally every 500 rounds or so. In my single shots it has not yet happened, so I haven't yet bothered to clean them.

 

[BK]

I have an ancient .22 auto-loader that isn't worth owning if it isn't dead clean and lubed to an exact tolerance. It is a lot of fun to shoot and I don't own another 22lr.

 

[nathan]

THe first time i disasembled my Walther G 22 was a pain in the a__. I lost the tiny spring and had to call Walther . THey gladly sent me two replacements . NOw i know how to stripped it but still a pain to break apart just to clean . I will leave it as is as long it shoots fine. Maybe every 5000 rds or when i feel like it. I doubt i shoot it that much now so its not a problem.

 

[Kingofthehill]

NOw i know how to stripped it but still a pain to break apart just to clean . I will leave it as is as long it shoots fine. Maybe every 5000 rds or when i feel like it. I doubt i shoot it that much now so its not a problem.

Thats why im so relaxed on cleaning my Ruger 22/45. I hate taking it apart. If it came apart like a Glock/XD/M&P ect. Then i would clean it every trip like my other guns. But not that one. No thanks

JOe

 

[SkylandsRover]

I stopped cleaning the bores of my .22lr's altogether. Ive been told that over-cleaning will wear out the bore faster than shooting ever will. On my bolt actions I just wipe down the bolt, chamber face, and exterior surfaces every once in awhile with a little CLP.

However on my semi autos I clean the action every 500 rounds or so. .22lr is a dirty round and it tends to really foul up actions if you put off cleaning them for long periods.

 

[UKShooter]

A guy at a shooting club I used to go to had an old .22 Anschutz single shot bolt action target rifle. He had the thing for 20 years +. He used it to train new club members to shoot rifles so it was getting many many rounds through it. He let me have a go and it was the most accurate .22 I have ever shot. Out of interest, I asked him how often he cleaned it, he said he never had!!

 

[CajunBass]

I clean mine every once in while. Just sort of whenever I feel like it.

 

[JoeMal]

Damn....I clean my 22 after just about every session....am I over-doing it? Is that possible? I'm sure it's not bad for the gun...but cleaning supplies do get expensive

I feel like it needs cleaned regularly...when I take the barrel from the stock, my action is full of specs of grainy crap that I can actually feel in the movements of the gun...

 

[Sawblade]

I've got my remington single shot so lead fouled that when I finally did clean it, a tube of lead about 4" long with a perfect rifling pattern on the outside got stuck on the cleaning rod.

 

[heviarti]

I've got a colt pre-woodsman I haven't cleaned... but then again, I haven't figured out how to disassemble it yet.