How often do you clean your .22lr bore?

[FloridaConfederate]

About every 200 - 300 rounds. Wipe down every time. Give the action a little shot every other time.

 

[Zack]

After every time I shoot it.

 

[Dr T]

It depends. My general guideline is the efficiency of case extraction:

Marlin 39 TDS: When the ejection becomes sticky.

Ruger Mk I, II, III: About every 300 rounds or the first time it jams, which ever comes first.

Ruger Single 6, SP101, and S&W 617: When the fouling on the front of the cylinder begins to offend my sensibities.

Ruger 10/22's: I don't think I have ever cleaned one of mine.

Depending on how energetic I am (and how much time I have), cleaning will range from a Boresnake and aerosol cleaner to a rod-brush-patch job.

After reading all of the posts so far, it looks like the ejector and chamber need cleaning more than the bore.

 

[22-rimfire]

I clean the barrels every few years. Some have never been cleaned. I do clean around the chamber and if things get sticky, I'll give it a very thorough cleaning inside.

If I plan to sell one, I'll give it a good cleaning. Otherwise, generally when they need it which isn't often. My TC gets cleaned around the chamber after every trip out shooting, and sometimes during. I'll take solvent and a needed supplies with me in my vehicle, just in case. It has ejection problems if it gets very dirty. But I've never cleaned the barrel in the last two or three years and it gets shot more than most.

 

[zeekmeister]

I live on the Oregon coast so the Humidity and the salt air is really bad . I end up cleaning all of mine or a good oiling at least every 3 months . and i always clean them after hunting/plinking.

 

[Carl N. Brown]

On .22s, I clean the actions maybe five or ten times as often as I clean the bores. (Cleaning the action does include a last wipe of the firing chamber with a clean dry q-tip.)

 

[grimjaw]

If the gun is going to sit for awhile, I'll clean (i.e. run a boresnake through it) and oil it. Otherwise, boresnake every 2K rounds or so? Action gets cleaned when it starts malfunctioning on ammo that normally works well.

jm

 

[Ignition Override]

Strange coincidence.
Some powder near the chamber blocks most of the view down the bore after about fifty rounds of the LR. And this follows the cleaning with two tiny patches (Hoppe's #9) after each session.

With this 40s Savage, there must be a cloud of carbon which accumulates somewhere just past the chamber.
It looks like a black, nebulous, feathery shape which blocks most of the light.

Does this dark obscuration form quickly in other guns? Maybe there is too much oil left in there (?).

 

[Bear 45/70]

I was of the "whenever there is an issue (failure to extract FTF, etc)" so even with a match barrel it was every several thousand rounds. Last year bought a Bore-snake for the 22's and now I just run it thru the bore after each session. Cheap and easy and it means the bore does not sit around with a dirty bore.

 

[Geno]

I had to clean my first Contender .22LR match barrel every 10 to 15 rounds. The chamber was so tight that it would no longer close. That was a handgun. My Ruger 10/22HB I had to clean at minimum every 50 rounds because the chamber was so tight. Cleaning involved spraying out, then running a cloth through. It really was more of a wipe-down. With my other .22LRs, I clean if accuracy begins to fade.

Geno

 

[glockman19]

I'll run a bore snake through it with light oil after shooting and only clean the bore with rod and solvents after it has issues shooting.

 

[Al LaVodka]

OMG! Where am I!? I never heard of such a thing -- not cleaning your gun 'cause its a .22? I really am in shock. If I knew I wasn't cleaning the gun as soon as I got home I'd at least run a damp patch thru the bore. Eventually I switched to a Bore-Snake which made it much easier, but, some here still don't clean them often if at all. Wow.
Al

 

[noob_shooter]

i know it's a 22lr thread, but i'm gonna throw my comments in. I own a savage 17hmr BTVS and it's rare for me to actually scrub the bore. I'll run a patch or 2 through it just to prevent rust.. Accuracy seems to drop if i scrub clean it with a nylon/phosphor brush..

i think overall, rimfire rifles like a slightly dirty bore..

 

[LaserSpot]

Many year ago, I read an article in Precision Shooting about .22 ammo production in an Eley plant. They tested ammo lots for accuracy with barreled actions mounted to a bench. The barrels were only cleaned after several 100,000 rounds because cleaning would throw off the consistency.

On the other hand, I once shot some cheap bulk ammo that would leave streaks of lead in the barrel of my target pistol.

I guess it depends on what ammo you are shooting. Eley ammo has a heavy wax lube that will gunk up your magazine, but not the bore.

 

[Ignition Override]

And so lots of carbon build-up does not inhibit the twist given by the rifling?

 

[colonelhogan44]

My Marlin Microgroove barrel leads up after a brick of cheap federals...and accuracy goes to hades fast.
It's a pain in the @ to clean all that lead out, too.

 

[buttrap]

I can see that with a microgrove marlin. Guess there is always a exception to a rule. They may shoot fine but seemed to be a total pain in the rear from what I have seen on leading up. Marlin uses that as a big advertizing point or used to but now that microgrove is a dirty work they probably dont.

 

[bobelk99]

I have and shoot a number of 22s.

My view is that if you have no issue and there has been no exposure to bad weather conditions, leave it alone till 5000 rounds or so.

That has worked well for me.

A lot of 22 issues are due to crown damage from overzealous and perhaps unnecessary cleaning.

 

[Chris taylor]

I only clean my 10/22 every 1000rnds or so... Only problem -EVER- was the trigger got gritty and wouldnt release after being pulled. A quick spray of cheap aerosol oil and a rag scrubdown and she was good to go!

 

[muskiehunter]

I run a patch thru after each outing . I don't use the brush very often.

 

[dom1104]

Bore snake it every time.