The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - how often to clean a 30-06

King Ghidora · October 12, 2008, 01:05 PM

I had my Model 60 for about 12 years before I ever took it apart to give it a good cleaning. I did clean the barrel once in a while. It never lost accuracy and only after that 12 years did it start to have feeding problems. Then I cleaned it and it worked like brand new again.

.22 power might be dirty but there just isn't nearly as much of it in a cartridge. Yes if you fire enough rounds you'll get just as dirty but in my experience if you keep the barrel clean and the feed ramp clean you can go a long time without having to clean your gun really well.

My brother used to hook up a drill to his cleaning rods and use a brush to clean the inside of his barrel. He still says that will clean the barrel better than anything and it will shoot better because the grooves will be cleaner and you'll get a more true spin. Personally I always thought this would wear out the barrel really quick but he kept his .22's for years and I have only very rarely seen anyone shoot better than him. My other brother and another guy I know were about the only real competition he had and we have a lot of really good shooters in this area.

Most of the time I still don't take my Model 60 apart to clean the insides real well. It's only when I start getting problems with feeding that I do this. Really dirty ammo (like Remington stuff) will cause problems fast. But I've shot Federal and CCI for long periods without having a problem.

My Savage is another story. It will affect the accuracy quick if I don't clean it. I don't have any problems with the first rounds I fire. In fact those are generally the best shots for me. After only 10 rounds I start to see problems with accuracy creeping in. I'll get a flyer or two out of every 8 or 10 shots after that. It seems to me that there is some fouling causing a problem or it could be a heat issue. Maybe it just shoots better after I clean it because I let it cool down before I can clean it.

I pretty much have to go with what I've seen from my brother on this. He is such a good shooter that it's hard to diagree with what he says.

October 12, 2008, 01:05 PM	#17
King Ghidora Junior member Join Date: April 7, 2008 Location: SE Ohio Posts: 584	I had my Model 60 for about 12 years before I ever took it apart to give it a good cleaning. I did clean the barrel once in a while. It never lost accuracy and only after that 12 years did it start to have feeding problems. Then I cleaned it and it worked like brand new again. .22 power might be dirty but there just isn't nearly as much of it in a cartridge. Yes if you fire enough rounds you'll get just as dirty but in my experience if you keep the barrel clean and the feed ramp clean you can go a long time without having to clean your gun really well. My brother used to hook up a drill to his cleaning rods and use a brush to clean the inside of his barrel. He still says that will clean the barrel better than anything and it will shoot better because the grooves will be cleaner and you'll get a more true spin. Personally I always thought this would wear out the barrel really quick but he kept his .22's for years and I have only very rarely seen anyone shoot better than him. My other brother and another guy I know were about the only real competition he had and we have a lot of really good shooters in this area. Most of the time I still don't take my Model 60 apart to clean the insides real well. It's only when I start getting problems with feeding that I do this. Really dirty ammo (like Remington stuff) will cause problems fast. But I've shot Federal and CCI for long periods without having a problem. My Savage is another story. It will affect the accuracy quick if I don't clean it. I don't have any problems with the first rounds I fire. In fact those are generally the best shots for me. After only 10 rounds I start to see problems with accuracy creeping in. I'll get a flyer or two out of every 8 or 10 shots after that. It seems to me that there is some fouling causing a problem or it could be a heat issue. Maybe it just shoots better after I clean it because I let it cool down before I can clean it. I pretty much have to go with what I've seen from my brother on this. He is such a good shooter that it's hard to diagree with what he says.