How often should I clean my rifle - Page 2

precision_shooter · August 10, 2017, 02:39 PM

I clean when accuracy degrades or action starts acting up from being dirty.
Otherwise I just wipe them down when I get home and put them away.

Slamfire · August 10, 2017, 03:13 PM

I will clean my small bore prone rifles every two days in a four day match. They will have a minimum of 320 rounds. This keeps the chamber clean and I grease up the firing pin cocking cams. I see other shooters cleaning the tube each day at the end of the match. With my Martini BSA rifles, I will stick a worn 22 lr brush in the chamber when I notice the thing is not kicking the cases out. That mechanism has an automatic ejector.

In Bullseye Pistol, I have been surprised to see a National Champ and a couple of other real good shooters, pass a cleaning rod down the barrel before going down range to score. That's ten rounds between pass. These guys are shooting semi auto pistols and what they are doing is keeping the chamber clean so there are no failures to eject with their light loads.

For highpower rifles, basically I would be worried about rust more than anything else. However if you are shooting every day, I would wipe the exterior down, to wipe off powder residue. That collects moisture. Depending on the amount you shoot, wiping out residue in the locking lug recesses of the receiver won't hurt, might not do anything either. You might want to add a drop of lubricant to the firing pin cocking cam and to the bearing surface of the lugs. At some point I would run a chamber brush to break up anything in the chamber. Keeping the chamber clean is very important for positive extraction, be it a pistol or rifle. Does not take much to clean, a push and a couple of twists, and wiping the surface with a patch.

As long as you are not having severe jacket fouling, of lead fouling, you can shoot a rifle barrel a long time without fouling causing any accuracy issues. I know one F class Champion who told me her rifle shoots tighter once the barrel fouls in. I do believe that if accuracy gets worse it is time to clean out the crud in the throat, and that is with JB bore paste. Chemical cleaners won't remove the crud that gets impacted there. I would say around every 300 rounds or so, maybe more.

Reloadron · August 10, 2017, 07:31 PM

Quote:

How often should I clean my rifle
Been shooting every day last week, do I clean after every say 50 rounds or am I good for a bit

I clean mine when it needs cleaned. Seriously, it depends on the rifle, action type and the ammunition being shot in the rifle. You make no mention of any of the above? Gas guns which see several hundred rounds I break down, field strip and scrub the gas system and barrel. Bolt guns I generally punch the bore after a session of about 100 rounds. Semi-auto 22 rifles I wash out with any of the good action cleaners. There is no set rule. It is a matter of you developing good shooting habits including cleaning the guns as required.

Ron

Kachok · August 12, 2017, 12:48 PM

I worked up some handloads for a 30 year old Browning BBR the other day, I was impressed with the accuracy and when I returned it to my friend and bragged about the accuracy (1/2-3/4MOA with both 130 and 150gr bullets) he told me that they had not cleaned the bore of that rifle in at leased 20 years. Makes me wounder how much we really need to scrub the bore out.

ColoradoMinuteMan · August 12, 2017, 04:47 PM

There are people on both ends of the spectrum, but unless you have some very specific needs such as bench rest competition, there is no good reason not to treat it much the way you would a car, tool, or anything else that is expensive, you want to last, and you want to rely upon it working well when you need it. When it gets dirty clean it, do basic maintenance such as lubrication, store it somewhere safe, store it somewhere dry, etc. You also should clean it to the extent it's dirty. You don't need to scrub everything down with bronze brushes every time you shoot a few rounds anymore than you need to strip and wax your car every time you drive through a puddle. If you have just gone to the range and shot a few boxes of ammo through it, then field strip, clean with patches and solvent, lube, and put it away. If you spent a week in the bush, been through the mud, rain, have put hundred of rounds through the barrel, in that case break out brush or bore snake, do a detailed strip, and do a through lubrication. It also depends on your ammo. If you're using cast lead, black powder, corrosive ammo, or etc, you need to follow best practices for cleaning.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (meaning my post is likely full of poor typing and autocorrects using wrong words)

kenny53 · August 12, 2017, 06:31 PM

I clean my guns when I clean them. I just changed my clean location from my shop to my basement. The basement is where my guns are kept. So I think my cleaning will be a little more frequent. That being said, if I take a bunch of guns (10 or more)to the desert I clean them while I am out there.

August 10, 2017, 02:39 PM	#26
precision_shooter Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2007 Location: DFW, Texas Posts: 2,475	I clean when accuracy degrades or action starts acting up from being dirty. Otherwise I just wipe them down when I get home and put them away. __________________ "Laws that forbid the carrying of arms...disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes...Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man." - Thomas Jefferson, 1776

August 10, 2017, 03:13 PM	#27
Slamfire Senior Member Join Date: May 27, 2007 Posts: 5,261	I will clean my small bore prone rifles every two days in a four day match. They will have a minimum of 320 rounds. This keeps the chamber clean and I grease up the firing pin cocking cams. I see other shooters cleaning the tube each day at the end of the match. With my Martini BSA rifles, I will stick a worn 22 lr brush in the chamber when I notice the thing is not kicking the cases out. That mechanism has an automatic ejector. In Bullseye Pistol, I have been surprised to see a National Champ and a couple of other real good shooters, pass a cleaning rod down the barrel before going down range to score. That's ten rounds between pass. These guys are shooting semi auto pistols and what they are doing is keeping the chamber clean so there are no failures to eject with their light loads. For highpower rifles, basically I would be worried about rust more than anything else. However if you are shooting every day, I would wipe the exterior down, to wipe off powder residue. That collects moisture. Depending on the amount you shoot, wiping out residue in the locking lug recesses of the receiver won't hurt, might not do anything either. You might want to add a drop of lubricant to the firing pin cocking cam and to the bearing surface of the lugs. At some point I would run a chamber brush to break up anything in the chamber. Keeping the chamber clean is very important for positive extraction, be it a pistol or rifle. Does not take much to clean, a push and a couple of twists, and wiping the surface with a patch. As long as you are not having severe jacket fouling, of lead fouling, you can shoot a rifle barrel a long time without fouling causing any accuracy issues. I know one F class Champion who told me her rifle shoots tighter once the barrel fouls in. I do believe that if accuracy gets worse it is time to clean out the crud in the throat, and that is with JB bore paste. Chemical cleaners won't remove the crud that gets impacted there. I would say around every 300 rounds or so, maybe more. __________________ If I'm not shooting, I'm reloading.

August 12, 2017, 04:47 PM	#30
ColoradoMinuteMan Member Join Date: December 2, 2015 Posts: 18	How often should I clean my rifle There are people on both ends of the spectrum, but unless you have some very specific needs such as bench rest competition, there is no good reason not to treat it much the way you would a car, tool, or anything else that is expensive, you want to last, and you want to rely upon it working well when you need it. When it gets dirty clean it, do basic maintenance such as lubrication, store it somewhere safe, store it somewhere dry, etc. You also should clean it to the extent it's dirty. You don't need to scrub everything down with bronze brushes every time you shoot a few rounds anymore than you need to strip and wax your car every time you drive through a puddle. If you have just gone to the range and shot a few boxes of ammo through it, then field strip, clean with patches and solvent, lube, and put it away. If you spent a week in the bush, been through the mud, rain, have put hundred of rounds through the barrel, in that case break out brush or bore snake, do a detailed strip, and do a through lubrication. It also depends on your ammo. If you're using cast lead, black powder, corrosive ammo, or etc, you need to follow best practices for cleaning. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (meaning my post is likely full of poor typing and autocorrects using wrong words) Last edited by ColoradoMinuteMan; August 13, 2017 at 12:06 AM.

August 12, 2017, 12:48 PM	#29
Kachok Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2012 Posts: 304	I worked up some handloads for a 30 year old Browning BBR the other day, I was impressed with the accuracy and when I returned it to my friend and bragged about the accuracy (1/2-3/4MOA with both 130 and 150gr bullets) he told me that they had not cleaned the bore of that rifle in at leased 20 years. Makes me wounder how much we really need to scrub the bore out.

August 12, 2017, 06:31 PM	#31
kenny53 Senior Member Join Date: December 30, 2015 Location: My back yard Posts: 971	I clean my guns when I clean them. I just changed my clean location from my shop to my basement. The basement is where my guns are kept. So I think my cleaning will be a little more frequent. That being said, if I take a bunch of guns (10 or more)to the desert I clean them while I am out there.