Cleaned a .22 so it would shoot better

[CT10ring]

Since my .22 WMR was shooting well, I cleaned it so it would shoot better!
The bbl was somewhat dirty.
Target pix before cleaning, and after. Left dirty. Right, cleaned.
Sako w @ Lilja 22" bbl.
Live and learn. or forget.

 

[Brians356]

Since my .22 WMR was shooting well, I cleaned it so it would shoot better!
The bbl was somewhat dirty.
Target pix before cleaning, and after. Left dirty. Right, cleaned.
Sako w @ Lilja 22" bbl.
Live and learn. or forget.

It just needs to be broken in again, i.e. lubed with fouling. When I think about cleaning my 77/22 in WMR, I drink a couple of beers and lie down until the urge subsides.
-

 

[snert]

Been there, done that!

 

[Bojo]

My brother inherited a 22 from my granddad. Steven’s bolt gun. That gun barrel was by far the most neglected pipe I have ever cleaned or looked down. Completely unable to see any rifling. After several weeks of soak and scrub it looked pretty nice. He could not hit shit with it if he tried swinging it at a pile of it.
I believe that after 50 or so rounds that it came in pretty good and still shoots well.

 

[Hino895]

I don’t want to hijack this thread but I’ve just done the same thing, I think.
I have cleaned my CZ452 in 17hmr.
before it shot little tiny groups with Hornady ammunition.
Afterwards it’s opened up to 1.25”.
Should I or shouldn’t I clean it?

 

[Bojo]

I’m no rimfire expert at all just a plinker. I don’t do a serious clean on a barrel unless I have a problem or my groups open up. Light cleaning yes.

 

[topclass2017]

When I was shooting 4P competitively I asked one of my fellow competitors who generally shot in the mid to upper 390's how often he cleaned his rifle. He said about every case of ammo or so.

 

[JMayo]

Bench rest shooters clean every card, 50 shots. It takes 10 to re lube barrell.
Accuracy is the highest standards.
Using Quality ammo.
don't know about jacketed or cheap stuff.

 

[Bill K]

Rimfires often shoot best when fouled.

 

[bennett ford]

My first experience with Competitive shooting was with a college
ROTC program. The rifles were cleaned when the IG rep was due. There was a lot of weeping and wailing among the team members. Accuracy and zeros suffered.

 

[FNSafari]

Since my .22 WMR was shooting well, I cleaned it so it would shoot better!
The bbl was somewhat dirty.
Target pix before cleaning, and after. Left dirty. Right, cleaned.
Sako w @ Lilja 22" bbl.
Live and learn. or forget.

With a good Lilja barrel you really should not need to do a deep cleaning, removing all your selected bullet lube. Just a light one with a few patches and paying particular attention to any carbon buildup just in front of the chamber should suffice.

 

[FNSafari]

When I was shooting 4P competitively I asked one of my fellow competitors who generally shot in the mid to upper 390's how often he cleaned his rifle. He said about every case of ammo or so.

May be true, may be to gain a competitive advantage on you

 

[Rsadams]

Not uncommon , just refowl the barrel.... Normally about one or two shots per inch of barrel for .22lr , your may take a few more or less....

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I was told to never clean a rimfire barrel unless it has leading issues at the throat. I just pull a rope cleaner through it dry after about 400 rounds.

 

[Fuj]

There's two schools of thought on this. "Leave it alone"
and "Don't touch it".

 

[rjtfroggy]

My thoughts and actions, occasionally I run a bore snake with a little Hoppes#9 on it and call it good.

 

[AckleymanII]

Cleaning frequency depends a lot on the kind of ammo used, AND the level of accuracy you are trying to attain.

. High velocity ammo increases the cleaning frequency, and hyper velocity strips lead in the barrel....horrible for accuracy.

If you ever get a true match barrel chambered with a reamer that slightly engraves the bullet when chambered, you will be able to see the difference between a fouled barrel and a clean barrel. Yes, it may take a few rounds to get the barrel to settle in...few.

 

[KMart]

Not uncommon , just refowl the barrel.... Normally about one or two shots per inch of barrel for .22lr , your may take a few more or less....

That would be 52 shots in my 1929 mfg mod 52 Win. Then it would be time to clean again if I am shooting the BR 50

 

[MGYSGT]

Yeah, .22's are like that.

 

[AckleymanII]

The man that built my 22 RF used the same reamer on my custom barrel that he used to build the Olympic 22's. He told me to clean every 250 rounds when shooting the cci mini mag HP for best accuracy.