So, how do you...

[Mike in Oregon]

clean your everyday varmint rifle or rifles? Do you clean it in the field as needed, each time or get home? Do you do a complete breakdown, separate the barreled action from stock, or...... what? I'd like to hear your way of cleaning. I've been told I overdo it. Of course I'm a perfectionist with OCD tendencies!

 

[saunaking]

I clean every 80-100 rounds in the field (take the first layer off), and do a deeper clean every night back in the hotel room. When the trip is over, there is a deeper clean that includes the parts of the bolt. Back in the 80's and 90's there wasn't a need to clean the barrel from a 4-5 day p-dog shoot...the barrel was shot out and had to be replaced.

 

[ebb]

Now you have gone and done it.

 

[K22]

Just to be clear, we are talking about Varmint / hunting rifles.

Here's what I do and this works for me keeping in mind that the first shot is often the "money" shot in hunting therefore whatever cleaning procedure I use must not cause first shot flyers.

I full clean after every 50 to 60 shots fired. The full clean involves using a simple solvent (Hoppe's 9 or Shooters Choice) and a bronze brush. After a full clean, I put a couple of patches with very lightly coated Barricade. Before a range session or hunt, I run a dry patch down the bore.

Sometimes, during a hunt I will only fire 1 or 2 shots. Most range practice sessions for me involve only 10 to 12 cool / cold barrel practices shots. After this level of shooting, I run a patch of Mineral Spirits or Hoppe's 9 down the bore followed by a dry patch then a patch of Barricade. I started doing this a few years ago to keep the carbon down and to prevent moisture being attracted to the unburnt carbon because it might be several days before the next hunt or range session and leaving unburnt carbon in the bore did not seem like a good idea. However I didn't want to do a full clean either. This a relatively recent innovation and it has worked marvelously. I dry patch before the next hunt or range session. I got the idea from our Forum Boss who uses a solvent immediately after a shooting session.

When my round count reach 50 to 60 shots, I do a full clean. I am shooting in the 1/2 to 5/8 moa range for my varmint rifles. Also, most hunts here in the east are low volume shooting situations. This is totally different than prairie dog hunts out West. Also, I've been hunting varmints for a 50+ years, all eastern ground hog and predators.

 

[D-4297]

TR shooter here . Since I shoot a average of 50 rounds every Thursday at "Practice Day" and some club Matches on weekends , I usually clean about every 150 -200 rounds , doing a thorough barrel cleaning , with some extra attention to the neck area of the chamber to eliminate that potential Hard Carbon in the neck .
I do a "quick clean" on Thursdays , after the Practice shoot , but it is just some "Wet Patches" of C4 to get the Black out , if I'm going to be shooting the week-end .
I have found the rifle consistency is better with "Less" cleaning , up to a certain number of rounds . You can over-do a good thing .

 

[5spd]

I very rarely clean whilst shooting pdogs. Usually run 300 to 500 on them,.
I may run just a swab after 200 rounds but that's it.
Deep clean when back at home, not in field.

 

[Clancy]

I clean every 50 rounds or less if it’s going to be stored. I’m not going to stop hunting to clean until 100, but if I’m home it’s 50.

I flush the triggers out and remove the stock if they’ve been in dust or rain.

 

[DShortt]

I don't have an 'everyday' rifle. Inevitably, unforseen life events occur and everyday stretches into weeks or months.
Ruined a couple of barrels because I just knew I was shooting in 1 to 3 days.

Shame on me.

 

[Alguapo]

Quick clean each day at noon (lunch) A better cleaning at the end of the day in the field. And when I get home a deep clean.

 

[Bc'z]

Well first i pour a couple measures of good bourbon....
Damn thing never got cleaned... lmao

 

[jpx2rk]

I usually run a couple wet patches thru the bore after 100 or so rounds out in the field letting it soak while I'm using another rifle if activity is high. If it's slow or a lull in the action, I may clean it with a couple wet patches and then dry patches. Serious cleaning back at the motel at night.

 

[K22]

I've said this before and probably the membership is tired of hearing it, but it may be of value to repeat it.

The best and most effective rifle cleaning procedure is the one that you have developed, tested, and found to meet your specific shooting performance requirements. The fact that there are so many different approaches by many different successful and experienced shooters supports this supposition.

There is nothing wrong with soliciting information on what others do. In fact, it may result in you discovering something then testing it and finding it improves your current process. Sharing ideas and information is one of the benefits of this Forum. Just test and verify. And don't get emotional if someone does it differently.

Cleaning is one of those issues for which there may not be an absolute perfect procedure that fits everyone's shooting purpose. However, a few commonsense issues do apply such as using a high-quality bore guide, a single piece high quality cleaning rod, if using bronze brushes - use ones with brass cores and looped end, and make sure you clean the chamber and bolt each time you do a full clean. The most important issue is making sure your cleaning procedure does not harm the bore.

 

[Gabe22BR]

I use Danzac-
Kroil patch-200/300rds as needed…

 

[M-61]

it.

The best and most effective rifle cleaning procedure is the one that you have developed, tested, and found to meet your specific shooting performance requirements.

Well said, and should be (hopefully) the end of the post.

Regarding issues with site currently:
My posts are BOLD font preceded and ended with a ‘b’ in brackets.

 

[338 Mollett]

If I get over zealous about cleaning a rifle it makes feel guilty about other things I have neglected !

 

[vonb]

Shoot up to 300 rounds in a p-dog field and clean that night. No way am I cleaning every 50 rounds in the field.

At the range, I clean after every range session....Usually 50 rounds.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

Hunting rifles, no cleaning unless firearm gets wet or accuracy problem. Prairie dogs, end of the day while barrel is warm IF rifle was over 100 rds. If switching barrels for next days shoot, I clean after pulling the barrel.

 

[Mike in Oregon]

Well, I guess it's my turn.

My norm when I was sage rat shooting, was in-between strings (or as often as possible and time allowed) I would pull a bore snake through a couple times or so. When in the rat patch, I would run my rifles dry due to the wind and dust. At night I would do a complete wipe down and pull the bore snake through several more times and that would be the extent of it while in the field. I would shoot and confirm POI and accuracy throughout the trip. I always had luck and nothing ever changed! When I got home, I would pull the barreled action out of there stocks and do a detailed cleaning, leaving the bolts together. Then at the end of the season, I would do a complete break down and inspection and then lube up and do a light coat of CLP and put away. The 10/22's where different. We would break them down nightly and do a complete cleaning. Our trips would generally be a week-long trip, especially if the shooting was good. We would go through several bricks of 22, hundreds of other RF and several hundred rounds of CF.

I just was curious on what all methods you used and when K22 posted his thoughts, that's exactly right. We all are going to have our own way of doing things and if that works, so be it, right? Thanks, you guys!!!