Dog town cleaning regiment?

[750k2]

What are your cleaning schedules and procedures on your shoots?
This is my second year and we are fine tuning and learning.
Have our own thoughts but may pick up a killer idea without any
learning curve ;D

First year was the typical barrel burn year - they are worse
than Lays potato chips.

 

[Eddie Harren]

If you have a regiment to clean your rifles, you have far too many rifles.

 

[hedditch]

Here is what I do on a dog shoot. I don't clean! I make sure my rifles are sighten in before leaving on the shoot then clean the barrels. I then go on the shoot. When I return from the shoot, I take the rifles back to the range to check for accuracy and group size again before cleaning the rifles. On my current rifles I don't see a difference in group size or shot placement pre or post shoot. I usually take four rifles so that I don't overheat the barrels and fire about a hundred rounds a day in each rifle for a three or four day shoot. That said, in the past with my 22-243, it wouldn't make it through the shoot without a cleaning. It was very obvious when it needed cleaning. It just went wild on shot placement. So, in my view, don't clean unless you know it needs cleaning. A lot of shooters will not agree with me on my method but that is the way I do it.

 

[LWolken]

Thats pretty much what we do just shoot and have fun clean at the end of the day or during breaks. A couple rifles will keep any one from getting too hot. We normally will shoot @500 rds a day.

 

[Hammer]

.

Have tried different cleaning methods over the past thirty years of prairie doggin'.

One has always been to take enough rifles and barrels that when one suspects that barrel cleanliness is affecting hitting then remove that barrel from shooting. Spin on another barrel and keep going.

The removed barrel is then soaked with the preferred cleaning solvent of the day -- currently Wipe-Out.

If we thoroughly clean that barrel at night -- which is a maybe -- we will re-enter it into the barrel using rotation.

We have considered having more pre-chambered barrels delivered to us from Shilen, Pac-Nor, Jim Briggs, etc in the prairie dog towns by UPS to keep up with the specific barrels which are failing. No problems with the barrel suppliers but the UPS truck drivers don't always like fording streams in the big brown truck.

So take enough barrels when you go.



.

 

[russ2far]

I do some dog hunting, I live in Montana so it is something I grewup doing and grew to love. I only had one gun for several years, a Cooper Model 21 mtv 204, I got it after I could afford to shoot something other the a 22 or my 22 mag. I found that it liked a cleaning between 150 and 175 rounds. It is very easy to tell when it needs cleaned, one shot one dog, then the next three will be misses. I always take a little box with a cleaning rod, nylon brush, patches, and a cleaner, I use Blue Wonder. Cover the brush with cleaner, run it thru the barrel 6-7 time, have a drink and a snack, run a patch or 2 thru it and back to shooting. I have also found that a clean rod is a must if shooting dogs all day, I can't remember the last time I went out and didn't have a piece of brass stick in the chamber, things get dusty, gumed up and a cleaning rod has determined weather we go home at noon or dark several times. Again time is not a big thing for me as I am shooting for fun, but this was my regiment for several years. I now have a couple of more rifles, a 223, 220, and a 222, but I still find I shoot my 204 enough that I end up cleaning it at least once on a weekend shoot just because I love to shoot it.

 

[bheadboy]

I have tried a number of routines, and this is what i settled on

i take 3 guns, shoot two alternately as they heat up, then when hits begin to deminish usually after 75-100 rounds depending on powder dirtyness, i take those two, stiff dry brush them, then hoppies with a lot of strokes, let sit about 15min and wipe out.

in the mean time i shoot the third gun and begin the rotation again

i use 221fb, 22-250, 22lr, this system has worked for 222, 223 and 222m as well
Bob

 

[people]

I clean when accuracy goes. I also try not to get the tube too hot. That is all.

 

[kyreloader]

Ultra Bore Coat and shoot all weekend. FILs Remington 700 SPS Varmint has about 700 rounds down the barrel and still 1/2 MOA.