Do you clean the bore of your ....22.... REVOLVERS ??

[Landgroove]

Back in my days of going to matches, I subscribed to the theory of "BULLET POLISH" and did not clean 22s.

Is this still a valid theory? For REVOLVERS ?
Even with the cylinder to barrel gap jump?

I don't use a bore snake and just carefully run an oily mop down the bore from the muzzle.

Thus, my question. Clean bore on 22 revolvers? Or no?

 

[Dain Bramage]

Don't know if it's wrong or right. I run a boresnake through my S&W Model 17 when the chambers get sticky, including the barrel.

 

[Riomouse911]

The bore, not every session. Though I will run an oiled patch through the bore to keep it from possible corrosion.

I scrub my rimfire chambers every session. Those often get stuff in them making seating cartridges tougher as the day goes on.

YMMV, do to yours what you want.

Stay safe.

 

[PistoleroWadcutterGANG]

Yes, I’ve also heard that parable? Before. The first and last time I ever listen to such older wisdom cost me many hours of cleaning. Never again. Clean regularly. The carbon rings were mfbi&);. I usually run a couple of patches of kroil through the bore and chambers. Sit have a cup or watch tv for 20min then bore brush or run a snake. Every time I use them. Keeps the function gremlins away. Once a month I strip everything down and get all that action parts cleaned up. I can’t remember the last time I had an issue. Has not diminished my Pardini sport, numerous mk’s and my high standards and the FA83 Silhouette.

 

[BobWright]

Just a tip fer cleanirg rebolvers: I buy those bristle pipe cleaners from the tobacco shop. To clean the chambers, fold one in half, then fold out two "wings" to make a "T". Dip the stem of the "T" in Hoppe's No. 9 and twist into the chambers. Worksd well for me.

Bob Wright

 

[.38 Special]

I have found that A) The wax from decent ammunition protects the bore from corrosion, B) Accuracy rarely or never deteriorates due to the bore not being cleaned, and C) Accuracy almost always deteriorates after the bore has been cleaned, and some amount of shooting is required in order to restore accuracy. So I don't clean rimfire bores without pretty good reason.

(Note, of course, that we are speaking of bores. Actions, chambers, etc. are all susceptible to the same sort of troubles as are centerfires, so receive the same sort of attention.)

 

[Pat Riot]

Yes, I clean the bore of my .22 revolvers.

 

[film495]

I just clean them like anything else that goes to the range. no special rules for anything keeps it simple.

 

[sparkyv]

Me too.

Yes, I clean the bore of my .22 revolvers.

 

[Rodfac]

I have found that A) The wax from decent ammunition protects the bore from corrosion, B) Accuracy rarely or never deteriorates due to the bore not being cleaned, and C) Accuracy almost always deteriorates after the bore has been cleaned, and some amount of shooting is required in order to restore accuracy. So I don't clean rimfire bores without pretty good reason.

(Note, of course, that we are speaking of bores. Actions, chambers, etc. are all susceptible to the same sort of troubles as are centerfires, so receive the same sort of attention.)

Yep...that's my experience as well. Shooting on the USAFA small bore team for four years, we never cleaned the bores...to do so required about a box of 50 to restore the accuracy. But we did keep the bolt faces clean, as well as the chambers of our Smith M-41's.

That said, I must clean the bolt face and chamber area of my .22 autos or risk multiple failures to feed, chamber or fire. Cleaning the chamber area is an easy twist or two with a bore brush. But rest assured, another shot or two is also required to restore the before cleaning zero.

With revolvers, I actively clean each chamber of the cylinder & it's face, as well as the barrel face & forcing cone as it extends beyond the frame. Like the autos, a cylinder full is usually required to restore the zero.

Lastly, if the bore is badly leaded, it'll need a severe cleaning with a chore boy ALL COPPER scrub wrapped around a well used .22 cal. bore brush or a "Lewis Lead Remover". This takes some work to get it thoroughly cleaned out. For accuracy, I use standard velocity rounds of the gun's choosing that'll run the auto actions & ejects well from the revolvers. Or....a quality plated round like the much appreciated CCI Mini-Mag. It's one or the other; waxed plain lead or plated....mixing them indiscriminately is a sure-fire prescription for leading and inaccuracy.

YMMv, but I clean the chambers, forcing cones, and breech faces only. Best regards, Rod

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Interesting, I always clean the bore, but have heard of people never cleaning them. I do trust the comments of Rodfac and .38spl, so maybe I'll change my ways. Or try it. All my .22LR guns rifles and pistols are very accurate, not sure if I could detect a difference in accuracy.

 

[tactikel]

I had no choice, Grandpa was Army, Dad was Navy, you CLEANED every bit of your firearm every time you fired it. Bore and each chamber every time. I never considered why it was an option to not clean it.

 

[tominboise]

I wipe the gun down after every outing, and clean the cylinder. I clean the bore every other outing or thereabouts. Depends on how many rounds I put through them. I clean more often than not.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

If one rarely cleans the bore, do you ever run just an oily patch down it, if it was going to go hiking/trekking, etc., especially if it was going to be out in damp or humid weather? I've always had tactikel's dad and grampa in my head, making me clean any firearm, even .22's, every time they are fired.

 

[cfullgraf]

I like to clean my 22lr revolvers after shooting if I know I will not be shooting it for a while. It does not always work out as planned.

I do a better job if cleaning my centerfire revolvers.

With today's non corrosive primers and available smokeless powders, the cleaning regimen of days past are not as necessary as days past. But, I still prefer to store a clean gun for extended periods of time than one that is not cleaned.

While I have not shot it in a while, I have a black powder cap and ball revolver, it gets cleaned after ever shooting.

 

[Old Dog]

I cleaned the bore of a Taurus 94 before I sold it; the only .22LR revolver I have left is a S&W Model 63. I may have run a bore snake through the barrel a time or two over the years, and I know I've scrubbed out the cylinders (you have to on the 63, otherwise you cannot eject the casings) from time to time, but a full cleaning, including the bore? Hmm.

 

[balin]

The only cleaning my bores have seen for at least 10 years is the bore snake I run through them before I leave the range. And I run the snake through the cylinders. And wipe them down. Bores are as clean and shiny as the day they were born.

 

[JohnKSa]

Since I've been shooting the plain lead wax-lubricated rounds, the bore hasn't needed cleaning. I'll put a dry patch down it just to push out the loose fouling and then when I examine the bore after that, there's just nothing in there to clean out--the lands and grooves are sharp and smooth and shiny.

 

[Ugly Sauce]

Well that's all an interesting take on it. My AirLite revolver has a stainless steel sleeved barrel, I do sometimes wonder why I'm cleaning it (the bore) after only firing a cylinder full. I guess I will have to re-think this.

Yes, black powder revolvers are a different animal. And, should always be cleaned after shooting. I just got done cleaning two of them that I shot today, but I can get one done pretty fast. Having said that, I did have a friend that fired his, and put it in his underwear drawer for six months or more, I forget, and it came out without a spot of rust or corrosion on it. Looked like it had just been fired. Magic underwear? Never opened the drawer to change them? I don't know. Surprised me. But I'll always be OCD when it comes to my BP firearms.

Anything bigger than a .22 I believe I will always keep clean, clean it well, although I have no problem waiting for the day after shooting to do it.

 

[Boattale]

The only cleaning my bores have seen for at least 10 years is the bore snake I run through them before I leave the range. And I run the snake through the cylinders. And wipe them down. Bores are as clean and shiny as the day they were born.

Same here. This thing is no longer anywhere close to new, but it shoots as good now as it did on the day IT was born.

 

[.38 Special]

If one rarely cleans the bore, do you ever run just an oily patch down it, if it was going to go hiking/trekking, etc., especially if it was going to be out in damp or humid weather? I've always had tactikel's dad and grampa in my head, making me clean any firearm, even .22's, every time they are fired.

I don't. My K-22 has logged countless backwoods miles in all conditions - including my propensity to fall off of anything more than a couple of feet off the ground - and so looks like absolute hell. The bore, though, could pass for new, and I don't actually remember ever cleaning it.

One big key, though, is ammunition quality. I've used most of the usual bulk stuff and have found that a lot of it will build up in the bore and cause diminished accuracy, if not outright damage. Were I limited to such stuff, I'd probably clean the bore after every session. Stepping up to midrange or better, though, changes the story, and I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford it without any worries. By the time we're talking say, CCI Standard Velocity or better, it seems to me that each bullet strips out a slight bit of wax from the bore and replaces it with a slight bit of fresh wax. The end result is that the bore stays in a consistent, protected state, and cleaning it simply means that you'll have to shoot it a bunch to get it back into shape.

I'm firmly in the corner of our servicemen and women, and understand the rationale for keeping your service weapons cleaned and ready. In the particular instance of a .22 rimfire bore, though, it just doesn't apply. In my humble opinion, of course.

 

[.38 Special]

Interesting, I always clean the bore, but have heard of people never cleaning them. I do trust the comments of Rodfac and .38spl, so maybe I'll change my ways. Or try it. All my .22LR guns rifles and pistols are very accurate, not sure if I could detect a difference in accuracy.

It mystifies me that people have opinions different from my own. They must just be dumb or something.

(@Rodfac probably has ten times my experience with .22 rimfires, and that he agrees with my findings warms my cockles. I can only add that during my brief and ugly participation in Free Pistol competition, I mentioned that I'd cleaned my bore with Hoppes and a brush and was met with slack-jawed disbelief, followed shortly by ridicule. The general consensus was that I probably shouldn't be allowed to be unsupervised in the presence of a competition pistol.)

 

[Lo-Profile]

Bore gets bore snake thru it.

 

[CraigC]

Nope. I clean what affects function but never the bore. I have a Single Six with at least 30,000rds through it. Never touched the bore, no need.

 

[JohnKSa]

Just so it's 100% clear, I'm not going to claim that my experience will definitely apply to shooting absolutely any .22LR ammo in absolutely any .22LR firearm. I could see how a rough bore or certain types of ammo might result in bore fouling. For example, I used to shoot a lot of copper-washed .22LR ammo in a semi-auto handgun and either due to the characteristics of the bore or the ammo, I did get bore fouling in that gun. Not a lot--it took hundreds of rounds before it built up enough that I figured it made sense to clean it, but there was some. But the .22LR ammo and firearms I'm using now just don't seem to result in bore fouling.