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Proper Cleaning Procedure & Frequency

I am not very good about cleaning my rifles (typically many hundreds of rounds between cleanings). I do not want to start a war, but what is the recommended time to clean a rifle? When accuracy drops off? After so many rounds?

Also, what is the procedure? I typically swap w/ a wet patch (usually Shooter's Choice), wait 10 minutes & then send several dry patches thru. I will repeat if the dry patches seem excessively dirty. Generally, I do not send a brush thru (either brass or nylon), but every so often, I will.

Am I hurting my guns because of infrequent cleaning? The guns (stock 700 AAC-SD & Sig 716 DMR) seem to hold at a little bit better than a minute.
 
If your method works for you, then there is little reason for you to change....BUT I would hasten to add that for many purposes that require the best possible accuracy, what you do would be generally viewed as very inadequate. Having said that, don't change for any other reason than to solve a problem that you actually have. What would be the point?
 
Regardless of what a consensus might be, you would have to have the discipline to follow it. Since that doesn't appear to be part of your internal make up, clean when you decide to preserve some of your investment or when accuracy becomes more than just a word. :)
 
IMHO, it really depends on what your goals are in shooting. If it's just general hunting or even plinking, that wouldn't require a change in your cleaning pattern. Now if you are a Benchrest or competition shooter, you just might want to pay more attention to barrel cleanliness. But you aren't hurting anything or the rifle itself. And as mentioned disciplined shooters have a more strict regiment and that's for the simple reason they've figured out under what conditions their rifle shoots the best (in terms of rounds down the tube between patching/cleaning).

Alex
 
I am not into benchrest shooting or competition but would like to improve my shooting. Currently shooting under a minute at 500 yds. This is not great compared to many of you, but it is where I am currently at. I would like to get more accurate as well as extend the range. So, as originally asked, what is the cleaning regiment & frequency that most of you follow?
 
OK, here goes.
One piece cleaning rod(s) with good handle bearings (I prefer Dewey, coated 44")
Cleaning rod guide that has a bushing that stays on the rod and plugs into the back of the guide.
Appropriately sized piercing, and Parker Hale style jags.
A dozen brass core bronze brushes
A few nylon brushes.
Square flannel patches of a size that does not require too much force to push a wet one through a dry dirty barrel
Cleaning solvent, strength depending on the quality of the barrel, with the understanding that less quality equals more jacket fouling, which requires a stronger solvent to remove efficiently. For custom hand lapped barrels, I prefer Butch's Bore Shine.
Some sort of plastic squirt bottle to hold and apply solvent, one that will not deteriorate from solvent, or cause the solvent to change.
Jar of JB Bore Cieaner, and tube of IOSSO
Action and chamber cleaning tools with supplies.
Specialty grease for locking lugs and cocking cam.
Roll of ordinary kitchen paper towels
Plastic box for cleaning supplies.
Cases for rods ( I use two, one for brushing and the other for patching.)
If you have the budget, a bore scope will teach you a lot, if not, a friend who has one will be a big help.
One also needs some sort of cleaning vise, and with that some sort of patch catcher can be handy. I also recommend the use of scope caps to protect the lenses while cleaning.

When I clean, I first make sure that the rifle is unloaded, remove the bolt, and place it in the cleaning vise. Then I insert the rod guide and secure it, an cover the comb of the stock with something to keep the solvent off of it, to protect the finish. Then I put a patch on my jag, and insert it into the back of the guide until it is within the solvent port, and use the solvent bottle to wet it thoroughly. If the barrel is very dirty, with more than about 25 rounds fired since the last cleaning, I slowly push the patch down the bore, just far enough so that it can be removed after it clears the muzzle. Then I repeat, but this time I short stroke the patch vigorously in the throat of the chamber and on down the barrel, being careful to slow down and be more careful as I approach the muzzle. All the time that I have the rod in the bore I take great pains to keep its handle in perfect line with the bore, and not to bow the rod. If the patch is too tight, I remove it and trim it with some scissors that I keep in my cleaning kit. After perhaps running 5-6 patches, I wet a bronze brush (in the port with the bottle), and cycle it up and down the bore perhaps 15 or 20 times, being very careful to not extend the brush farther past the muzzle than I have to to reverse it without jamming the bristles. I follow this with 2-3 very wet patches, just passed through and removed at the muzzle, (otherwise the ground up bits of bronze from the ends of the bristles will give a false reading as to the condition of the bore with regard to jacket fouling). Then I let the wet barrel sit for a few minutes, and if the next wet patch looks good, I dry the bore with patches, use the action kit to clean and dry the chamber, and clean the lug recesses. Then I put a very thin film of bolt grease on the backs of the locking lugs, and a larger amount on the cocking cam. I do this every time that I clean.
Every hundred rounds or so, after my normal cleaning, but before doing the action and chamber work, I saturate a patch with light gun oil (nothing fancy) and work some JB into it before stroking it up and down the barrel, without letting it go past flush with the muzzle except when I am finished, to remove it. I use a Parker Hale jag with the patch wrapped for a snug but not tight fit for this. After 10-15 cycles I use solvent to clean all of the abrasive our of the bore and chamber, and then do my usual chamber and action work. This is not a complete description of all of my cleaning options, which vary by barrel, powder, and caliber. I did not get into the nylon brushes and IOSSO because that would be a topic of its own. I have not edited this, but simply rattled it off of the top of my head, so pardon the rough edges. Barrels do not have to be spotless, just clean enough so that the fouling does not stack up from cleaning to cleaning, back to a uniform starting place. Factory barrels will have to be fouled more shots than smoother custom ones after cleaning to get to a stable condition needed for best accuracy. The number of shots needed will be greater after abrasive use. Be very careful with abrasive use, and with rod technique. Every time that I take a rod completely out of the barrel, I wipe it off, and I do not lay rods on concrete benches, or dirty tables. I keep them in a homemade double rod case between uses. When cleaning at the range, I take pains not to drip solvent on the bench, floor or a table. I have built a large rang, so it irritates me to see people not take care of facilities.
Boyd
 
BoydAllen,

Thank you for your reply. How many rounds do you go between cleaning? Some matches get close to 100 rounds.
 
This topic, like annealing and taste in food are a long way from being objective. ;)

I have changed my cleaning routine and products so many times, I have lost track.
 
I clean my rifles using a variety of things whenever I think they need it.

I continue cleaning them until I feel they are clean enough.

Then I stop until I think they need it again.
 
When I am working with my 6PPC, I have time to clean more often, usually every 25 rounds or so. When I am shooting varmints, I clean at the end of the day. Obviously, the more shots that I take between cleanings, and/or the dirtier the powder, the more time I take with my cleaning. For 133 with few shots between, it goes pretty quick. One thing that I did not mention in my previous post, that I frequently use for non-benchrest applications, is Wipe Out (a foam bore cleaner) I will generally put it in late in the day, patch it out, and then again before I go to bed, patching it out first thing in the morning. Depending on what I see, I may repeat. When I am satisfied with the color of the patches, I dry the barrel, wet it with solvent, and brush it a bit with a bronze brush, and then patch wet and dry. A tip for the Wipe Out is to wash your hands every time that you handle the stuff, with hot water and soap. It is not that it will hurt your hands, but some of it will stay if you just wipe your hands, and if you rub your hand across your face, you will notice that the edges of your eyelids are irritated. I have left Wipeout in my best barrels overnight with no problems. I have the use of a bore scope. They are the ultimate resource for evaluating cleaning, but they can cause scope shock, and cause people to over clean too. Barrels do not need to be spotless, just clean enough so that things do not stack up over time. Your need to get back to the same place. As far as how often to clean, I think that it is good to do a little experimenting with each barrel to see what it likes. For larger calibers, and relatively clean powders, depending on the accuracy required, high shot counts between cleanings can work. For example: http://www.accurateshooter.com/guns-of-week/gunweek053/
Bottom line, whether it is loads or cleaning "listen" to your rifle. Let it tell you what it likes.
 
Nothing fancy here, I clean about every 200 rounds, remove the stock, soak the barrel for an hour with Ed's Red Homebrew , swab like 3 times, dry swab , then Kroil swab. Scrub the muzzle face, Scrub out the chamber, lastly use a shot of Brake cleaner on the trigger group, light air blow. Oil up the bolt, few drops of oil on the trigger pivots and done. I don't shoot competitively so I just keep it simple. About every 500 rounds I do a copper de-foul cleaning.
 
Well, since people are going to specify what products they use and a variety of frequency, here goes with mine. I do not compete, but chase accuracy each and every time I go to the range, whether for score or testing. I primarily use Butch's Bore Shine as a cleaner to patch and scrub PLUS every fifth cleaning/outing, use Butch Bore paste that I let set in the barrel for 30 minutes and then scrub and clean it with Butch Bore shine before the final cleaning/pass with a product name "Prolix" that I suspect, is similar to what Boyd touched on a a final cleaning solution that you can safely leave in the barrel before putting you rifle away until the next trip to the range. As to the frequency of swabbing or dry patching, I have friends who compete and obviously, you cannot clean or patch while shooting a string in competition. But when the opportunity arises, they at least wet patch/dry patch before shooting another string again. And for me, since I have no time restriction, I will wet patch (one pass) with Butch's Bore Shine every 15 rds, followed by a one wet patch with Prolix and then a couple dry patches to pick up residue.

Finally and as you stated earlier (and by Boyd), this cleaning regiment was not some miracle process I came up with. I played around for years with a variety of cleaning regiments (and products) that others said they used and my rifles ultimate told me what they liked best. Perhaps excessive (as it may be), my stated process works for me in centerfire rifles. I would NOT recommend the above process be used in Rimfire Rifles as that's another world filled with much the same variety and recommendations.

Alex
 
I follow a modified version of Speedy's technique discussed here [see step 4 E]: http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=13001/GunTechdetail/S-G-Y-Precision-Rifles-LLC-Barrel-Break-In-Cleaning-Procedures

I use Butch's Bore Shine, Sweets 7.62, and JB (blue) as cleaning agents. Cleaning after each yardage or aggregate, usually every 40 to 50 rounds. :)
 

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