Clean Gun Shoots Better!

[HalfCZ]

Why did I read or hear YouTubers saying they seldom clean their .22LR rifles?
I fell for it and after shooting arrays that defied explanation I decided to clean
the barrel. My guess is it had shot about 500 rounds. I did learn the SK ammo
was less affected by what's in the barrel. Once all that was shot up I cleaned it
and Viola all the other brands came to the party.

So what is a good solvent to use in a barrel ?
Clean after each use?



Thanks for any help,

 

[Nomad88]

Why did I read or hear YouTubers saying they seldom clean their .22LR rifles?
I fell for it and after shooting arrays that defied explanation I decided to clean
the barrel. My guess is it had shot about 500 rounds. I did learn the SK ammo
was less affected by what's in the barrel. Once all that was shot up I cleaned it
and Viola all the other brands came to the party.

So what is a good solvent to use in a barrel ?
Clean after each use?



Thanks for any help,

Seems like whatever solvent you used is good enough.

What did you use?

 

[DaWhit]

Boretech Rimfire Blend and a bronze brush. Also used Boretech C-4 and Hoppes #9.

 

[Turkeytider]

If you`ve seen one rifle cleaning regimen, you`ve seen exactly that. One. For me, I `ve decided to use little, if any, abrasives BUT clean my guns after each shooting session, regardless of how many times I shoot. Also trying to stay ahead of the dreaded carbon ring. Allow 20 minutes or so for a C4 soak then several patches. Finish with a couple of patches of Clenzoil and a dry patch at the end.
If Eric Cortina cleans after each session, that`s good enough for me.

 

[HTSmith]

If you`ve seen one rifle cleaning regimen, you`ve seen exactly that. One. For me, I `ve decided to use little, if any, abrasives BUT clean my guns after each shooting session, regardless of how many times I shoot. Also trying to stay ahead of the dreaded carbon ring. Allow 20 minutes or so for a C4 soak then several patches. Finish with a couple of patches of Clenzoil and a dry patch at the end.
If Eric Cortina cleans after each session, that`s good enough for me.

I think rimfires are a little different animal

 

[CharlieNC]

Looking at many references concerning 22RF bench rest competitors, overwhelmingly they clean thoroughly after a match and many clean lightly during a match. But they are not YouTubers.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

I use C-4 only. wet mop in the chamber for 10-15 minutes. Rotate and scrub chamber with the mop. Then wet and dry patches until it comes clean
RBLP Vudoo with a Muller 3 grove barrel

 

[rlporter507]

Ive seen guys at Camp Perry clean after every target and shoot cleans with 18+ X's. And guys like me that clean once a year with hoppes. I do clean the muzzle and bolt after every match. If the wind is blowing and its dusty, I will run a dry patch down the barrel. If it rains, I run a dry patch and then one with a light coat of break free, then another dry one. My zero's hold and it shoots well. I'm pretty sure it depends on the barrel, ammo, and shooter.

 

[DGP4]

I use C-4 only. wet mop in the chamber for 10-15 minutes. Rotate and scrub chamber with the mop. Then wet and dry patches until it comes clean
RBLP Vudoo with a Muller 3 grove barrel

Exactly what I do after trying everything else!

 

[RabbitSlayer]

Lets be real, the avg shooter probably can't shoot the difference between a clean or dirty barrel. For them it shoots the same, so why would they clean?

 

[JSH]

22RF
I run a dry patch
Dry brush
A patch with Kroil
Then a 17 rod and jag with a 22 patch slobber with Kroil and let it set for a couple of days or at least 24 hours.
A 17 rod with a 6mm patch with Kroil
Then a dry brush followed by a dry patch.
Usually makes my rig happy.

I get in no big hurry about cleaning.

 

[mauser284]

Well 22LR is a different beast than jacketed center fire I mean 22LR still uses lubed ammo fromt he factory.

22LR if you over lube the barrel or push velocity too high you will have deposit issues you would not other wise have.

Also a clean rifle will shoot great for a short time but every time you clean it your POI and cone of deviation changes. For a compeitive shooter this can be a bigger issue than the slow degradation that happens over the course for 400-500 rounds.

If you cleaned your rifle and allowed to cool completly after each shoot so that each shot was a clean cold bore shot I would dare you to shoot a group that did not look like someone was shooting down range with their both eye's closed.

So for most shooting disiplines finding the magic round count to clean at is the trick not never ending dirty rifle.

If looking at a rifle from a machine stand point history tells us it is stupid to clean a machine every time you use it if it is regularly going to be used. This is why we do not change the oil, spark plugs, air filter, ATF, Gear Lube etc....every time we drive our car, operate a machine in a factory, fly a plane etc..... The real problem with shooting is that unlike these other activities we do not actual have science and engineering playing an active and intelligent role in small arms car, maintence and operation. I have not run into a gunsmith or arms manufacture on this site or any site that will actual make definitive statements about their product and specific competitors and then back that up with actual science, engineering and empirical measurments! They will talk out their rears and beat their chest and get their friends to ban you but they never actual put their money where their mouth is. They either fear litigation even if they are speaking the truth and can back it up with hard measurments or they are afraid they might give away a competitive advantage or they will reveal that it is not the great all knowing all power Wizard of Oz but a man behind a curtain baffeling you with bull-pucky when he can not dazzle you with his brilliance. Voodoo(not arms maker) produces a huge number of repeat customers!

That is why we never get to the bottom of the well that is barrel makers, accuracy, custom actions, carbon wrapped barrels etc! It is not that we lack the science or engineering it is that we get banned if we call out the snake oil salesmen too loudly since they are often the ones holding the purse strings.

On top of that few of us live in a world of absolutes and what most of us actual want is nudge predictable outcomes in our favor so that we get the outcome we want more often than would happen by just chance alone. Everyone on this site if givent he choice would chose to purchase a barrel that is straighter and more concentric becasue that favors the odd's of producing a more accurate barrel than choosing the barrel with the most bend or that is least concentrick and true. If they find out latter that a barrel that is not very concentric or true shoots better they will all want that barrel but none of them would say going forward I am going to choose the barrel next time that is the least concentric and true and is most visualy bent! We want the competitive advantage but we do not want to violate our belief systems or convention either. That will not stop some people though from proclaiming "bent barrels are the best", " I think I should time the barrel so the curviture of the barrel is clocked 12 O'Clock", and all kinds of other intersting idea's! If just one guy wins doing that it suddenly becomes a thing like cleaning out your barrel after every match with CLR!

Anyone that is into NASCAR or like racing should know that decieving your competitors to rob themselves of performance, power, aerodynamic advantage is often times better than improving your own car's performance! Rumors and lies are just as valuable as developing creative ways to gain performance! Smokie Yunic and Dave Vizard and many others knew that and taught that!

 

[Kracken McGraw]

Lets be real, the avg shooter probably can't shoot the difference between a clean or dirty barrel. For them it shoots the same, so why would they clean?

Hopefully for their own personal safety, if that light bulb ever turns on.

 

[Steven B]

I'm just getting into Benchrest Shooting with my .22 CZ Varmint and have found that cleaning after every outing is working pretty well for me. I only shoot about 100 rounds per session, so I'm not really letting the gun get dirty.

I run a wet patch with MPro-7 or Bore Tech Rimfire Blend followed by a few patches. I then let the chamber sit with a bore mop and Bore Tech C4 for at least 15 minutes followed by a .22 chamber brush and a dry patch.

After checking with my bore scope when the carbon ring is gone I'm done.

Next time I'm at the range I fire 5 rounds to season the bore and then I'm ready to score. I'll probably start taking a rod, .22 brush and patches with me to lightly clean between targets.

Steven

 

[Tim Slater]

Also a clean rifle will shoot great for a short time but every time you clean it your POI and cone of deviation changes. For a compeitive shooter this can be a bigger issue than the slow degradation that happens over the course for 400-500 rounds.

It would be fairer to say that some .22LR need a few fouling shots after cleaning, but certainly not all. In my experience, any change to the zero or group is only temporary; bung a few fouling shots down range and all is well. Yes, some barrels need more fouling shots; factors here include manufacturing tolerances, chamber, wear, cleaning regimen, and not least the shooter's confidence. Actually, this isn't an issue among smallbore shooters that I'm aware of; some still clean annually, but many competitive shooters clean after shooting, and just accept the need for an extra sighter or two. As for how long accuracy lasts, cleaning between squads doesn't seem to be common in the UK.

If your competition doesn't allow sighters, then yes, adjusting your cleaning to accomodate this is sensible. But, there are many types of competition, some of which allow unlimited sighters.

 

[qldreloader]

My CZ 457 MTR that has been a very accurate rifle recently started shooting over an inch at 50m with Eley Club and throwing the odd flyer out another inch or so. I tested it at 25m and it's usual one small hole group was out to half an inch or so (sorry to mix metric and imperial). Something was wrong.

Rifle has about 2500 rounds through it and is normally shot in competitions that require 50 to 100 rounds. It has always been cleaned after matches by pushing a patch wet with Ballistol through the bore followed by a dry patch and then another wet patch. Bore is then dry patched before the next firing. I shoot it on a weekly basis.

As stated rifle has always been accurate and has won many club matches. So what has changed?

I ran a wet patch followed buy a dry patch through the bore before getting out the borescope and having a closer look. To say that I was surprised was an understatement. I had thought that my brief but regular cleaning regimen was all that would be required for a 22 Rimfire. I was completely wrong.

While I always borescope my centerfire rifles during the cleaning process I had never bothered with my rimfires as I believed I was probably over cleaning at any rate. I really wish I had taken some photos but I can best describe the first four inches of the barrel as totally caked in crud. Not just a little bit of lube and powder fouling but really heavily fouled with what is best described as a metal grey build up. I could not see the start of the rifling.The rest of the barrel was not as bad but still fouled more than I would have expected.

I gave the throat and first four inches a scrub with C4 Carbon Remover and a nylon brush and patched out. Borescope showed big improvement but still not great. I let some C4 soak for 30 mins and brushed again but found little difference.

Some will no doubt cringe but I ran a bronze 22 cal pistol brush through the bore half a dozen times (one way and remove at muzzle) with some Hoppes #9 followed by some patches and borescope showed a clean barrel. Start of rifling clearly visible and no carbon ring. Time to get back to the range.

Next outing I ran 5 rounds of Eley Club through the barrel to foul it in and then went straight into a match that had targets at 50m. Rifle was back shooting as it had previously and even better - the zero had not changed.

I think from now on I'll be doing a thorough clean and using a bronze brush at 500 round intervals (opening a new brick of ammo will remind me) and continuing the patches and Ballistol after each time rifle is fired.

 

[D-4297]

As a Junior ; Both my Twin and I shot with a Winchester 52D- International Match 22LR . We both shot the same rifle , in practice , and in Matches . The ammo of choice back in that Day was the Win XX . One of the more consistent rounds available , and that rifle loved it .
That rifle got a through cleaning every time it came home from the Range . Did not matter whether it got 10 rounds fired , or 100 rounds . It got cleaned . And it still shot near-record scores when Dad sold it , while "WE" were both vacationing in S.E. Asia .