Barrel cleaning?

[BULLET 05]

Fairly new to the high powered rifle business. I am sure people have different opinions on this but I would love to hear some feed back from you pro's and long time shooters. What is a good rule of thumb to go by to clean my rifle barrels? I do not shoot competition but still like to have my guns shoot as good as they can. I have been cleaning about every 25 rounds. Is this too much too little? FYI I have factory guns.

 

[dmoran]

For the most part, I clean my guns at the end of the day, no matter if 1 round or a 101-rounds.
If I am going to be shooting again soon (with in a day or two) I may elect to leave it fouled.
If they are going to sit for any length of time, I want them stored clean.
Oil is my last steps to all cleanings.
My 2-Cents
Donovan

 

[Riesel]

Fairly new to the high powered rifle business. I am sure people have different opinions on this but I would love to hear some feed back from you pro's and long time shooters. What is a good rule of thumb to go by to clean my rifle barrels? I do not shoot competition but still like to have my guns shoot as good as they can. I have been cleaning about every 25 rounds. Is this too much too little? FYI I have factory guns.

Sounds good to me. I usually clean somewhere around 20 or so when target shooting. Do a final cleaning with a light coating of Kroil oil in the barrel
till next time. I do a couple of fouler shoots to get the barrel back up to speed when I get back to the range.

 

[stork]

Rifle high velocity match-grade barrels get cleaned every 15-25 rounds. I try to not let copper and carbon build up too much. The longer you wait, the more layers you have to clean up.

Match pistols (1911's) get cleaned every 500-1000 rds. As they see nothing but lead bullets and slow velocities, they usually need nothing more than a ChoreBoy scrub and lube where applicable.

 

[savagedasher]

I clean mine every 25 to 35 rounds. The reason our matches are 15 and 20 rounds the rest is for sight in. I never have hurt a barrel from cleaning. Larry

 

[dkhunt14]

Cleaning usually can't hurt nothing. I usually clean after every match. Usually that is 17 shots because I use another gun in shootoffs. I have never saw it hurt anything that way. I never go over 50 rounds without a good cleaning. Some barrels like it dirty and some like it clean. How much I clean depends upon how much accuracy I am getting and how much I need to win. Matt

 

[Shynloco]

For the most part, I clean my guns at the end of the day, no matter if 1 round or a 101-rounds.
If I am going to be shooting again soon (with in a day or two) I may elect to leave it fouled.
If they are going to sit for any length of time, I want them stored clean.
Oil is my last steps to all cleanings.
My 2-Cents
Donovan

+1. If I'm testing a few groups, but then want to shoot different groups using another powder, I will run a wet patches down the barrel followed by a few dry patches. It's actually more important to do so with a Rimfire rifle than a Centerfire because of the different lubricants rimfire ammo makers use. But over all, Donovan's 100 rd rule is a good procedure to follow and that helps to keep the copper build up down and makes for barrel cleaning a lot easier.

Alex

 

[K22]

I'm a varmint and predator hunter. I clean my center fire rifles that shoot jacket bullets every 25 to 30 rounds.

P.S Make sure you use a bore guide.

 

[Lapua40X]

... I am sure people have different opinions on this ...

Yup; put a hundred shooters in a room an you'll get a hundred different answers on the "right way" to clean your rifle. And they'll all be wrong. That's because there is no one way to clean your rifle, except to say that you should avoid the wrong ways. Don't clean without a bore guide. Use bronze brushes with bronze inner twisted wire centers (stay away from steel centers) use a good commercial solvent, prevent solvents and other stuff from running into the trigger mechanism, use cleaning patches like they were free ... the list goes on but you get the idea.
If I shoot just a few rounds on any given day and expect to shoot some more within a few days I don't clean the rifle. After a match (usually 50 - 80 rounds) or after a load development session I clean every time.
I use Hoppes #9, bronze brushes, good quality patches, and finish up with Kroil followed by a dry patch. I swab the barrel (several passes) with solvent, let it set for 15 - 20 minutes, then swab with wet patches until they're fairly clean. Then I run a bronze brush through the bore for 5 - 6 passes After three sequences (total of about fifteen cycles with the brush followed by wet patches) I run dry patches; the barrel is clean enough. Next is chamber cleaning. I use a bronze brush just slightly larger than the free bore to clean the forward portion of the chamber. The brush is attached to a battery operated screwdriver mechanism that allows me to slowly spin the brush in the chamber. I wet the brush, brush the forward portion of the chamber, and finish that cleaning with a patch on the end of an aluminum pistol cleaning rod. I repeat that until my bore scope convinces me that the cleaning in complete; not perfect, just complete. I then do the same with a larger brush in the largest portion of the chamber cavity. Finally, the chamber gets a clean wipe with properly size bore mops.
Don't forget to clean and lube the bolt.

 

[xswanted]

It depends on the rifle for me.

I have a 22br that loves being dirty. It doesn't get cleaned until it shows a sign of shooting errant shots.

On the other side if have a .204 that hates being dirty. 15 shots and it's ready to clean.

I usually clean carbon. Then clean copper. If the gun sits for a long while a little bore tech goes in there and it sits.

 

[BULLET 05]

Very helpful everyone. Thanks a bunch. I had a friend tell me that he read about a fellow that says never clean your barrel until at least 1000 rounds. WOW that doesn't seam right unless his caliber shoots better dirty. .308 I think.

 

[BULLET 05]

Very helpful everyone. Thanks a bunch. I had a friend tell me that he read about a fellow that says never clean your barrel until at least 1000 rounds. WOW that doesn't seam right unless his caliber shoots better dirty. .308 I think.

 

[chuckshooter]

I shoot up 1500 rounds in a weekend of shooting squirrels with 4-8 guns and do not clean until I get home. Butches bore shine.. witches brew and a new brush. A bore scope to know if cleaning is complete and then a little oil

 

[chuckshooter]

Also many people believe excessive cleaning does more harm to the barrel than shooting it dirty. It all about accuracy ..if it shoots good don't mess with it. Just my opinion

 

[Liven The Dream]

You can go to Krieger barrels wed site and read a good article on barrel cleaning by the man that should know ?

As for me ,I am a Palma Shooter, normal 3 day weekend 170 to 190 rounds . I clean the barrel when I get home.
If I would shoot a different Powder then I would clean it before or after the powder change.

 

[watercam]

Don speaks for a lot of High Power and Long Range competitive shooters. There are matches that last 4-5 days straight and most will not clean their barrels until the end of it all. Could be 350 rounds+ in that time.
Needless to say someone has to load all that ammo as well!

 

[Forum Boss]

You'll find a myriad of opinions.

I always offer this advice:

1. Use the least invasive cleaning method that works.
2. Always use a bore guide and be very careful of the crown.
3. Experiment with generous cleaning intervals... you may well surprise yourself.
4. Wet patches followed by WipeOut can be very effective, and may be nearly all you need. There is some anecdotal evidence that 1+ hour soaks with WipeOut may "soften" carbon deposits so they come out easily.

I also add that some very successful shooters (including a recent F-TR Champion) are cleaning way, way less than you might think.

I strongly believe that most shooters (at least those not in the point-blank benchrest game) are cleaning way more than they need to....

That said, certain powder/bullet combinations can create more issues than others.

 

[dogdude]

I agree with ''dkhunt14'' method and the Boss's 1-2-3. I'm lucky to own a Hawkeye to prove the results, but one thing that I only recently started using from the muzzle, holy crap it needed it badly (last 3-4 inches),used a case neck brush (nylon) on it, back and forth..now shes shooting much better.

 

[Zero333]

Like the Boss said.

Experiment and let the targets dictate what works best with your barrel and loads.

 

[BULLET 05]

Gentleman thanks for all the help. I have been testing loads that I have reloaded and that too may be another reason I have cleaned a little more than usual. I wanted to make sure it was not the dirty barrel causing the shot gun patterns just bad reloading. HA