How often do you clean your barrel?

[Hook'N'Bullet]

I'm shooting a Tikka T3X in .308Win. Coming from the rimfire world, I used to shoot the entire deer season without cleaning it (5 or 6 shots a season).
At the end of the season, it would get a good clean with solvents and put away in the safe. Last year I learned the hard way that this definitely isn't best practice. Suffered some light pitting and corrosion on the crown. (although never stored with mod on).

Since getting the crown redone, I now, clean it after every outing - No shot fired, it gets a oily mop and 2 or 3 dry patches. If I do shoot it, it gets a nylon brush usually soaked in solvent (although sometimes just gun oil) for a few passes and then dry patches until clean.

Just wondering what you guys do in the even of no shot vs one shot? Obviously after a couple of shots, solvent is used

Regards,

HNB

 

[User00040]

Avoid oil, totally pointless on a bolt action rifle and oil in the chamber might mean you need a new rifle sooner than expected.

Anytime rain or moisture is involved, I try and clean the barrel, which is often in Scotland.

 

[old keeper]

I always run a couple of dry patches through the 204 after firing

 

[Tf223]

Centrefire;

Wipe over the external, mod thread and crown with oily rag after every outing. Obv mod stored off.

If a shot is taken, that night or next morning it’ll also be rodded through with a little bore cleaner on a patch, phosphor bronze brushed through, and then probably another 3 patches until they come out reasonably clean. I don’t overdo it though.

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Centrefire;

Wipe over the external, mod thread and crown with oily rag after every outing. Obv mod stored off.

If a shot is taken, that night or next morning it’ll also be rodded through with a little bore cleaner on a patch, phosphor bronze brushed through, and then probably another 3 patches until they come out reasonably clean. I don’t overdo it though.

Do you recommend any solvents? Been using Hoppes no 9 or Parker Hale 009. Hard to find the ammonia stuff down my way

 

[J.kerslake]

I clean my .222 probably every 100 shots unless it loses accuracy before that…does that make me a bad person

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Avoid oil, totally pointless on a bolt action rifle and oil in the chamber might mean you need a new rifle sooner than expected.

Anytime rain or moisture is involved, I try and clean the barrel, which is often in Scotland.

Is that from fire cracking? Or what does oil do to a chamber? As I mentioned, I don't leave it oily, just run a mop through it and then dry patches

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

I clean my .222 probably every 100 shots unless it loses accuracy before that…does that make me a bad person

Yeah see that's what I was doing .

 

[User00040]

Is that from fire cracking? Or what does oil do to a chamber? As I mentioned, I don't leave it oily, just run a mop through it and then dry patches

Your barrel is going to wear, no matter what.

Cleaning is just to stop this process being accelerated by fouling/rust/dirt/moisture/chemicals being left in the chamber, barrel and action.

Above all, you should avoid getting anything into the trigger group, so a bore guide is useful.

As for the bit about oil, avoid getting it in the chamber, as any lubricant in there will reduce the ability of brass cases to grip the chamber, resulting in greater bolt thrust onto the action.

It used to be a method of proof testing guns.

Another thing I would not reccomend is putting WD40 or simillar down a moderator which cannot be dissasembled. Easy to put in, hard to get out...

It's pretty well accepted that shooting copper (monolithic) bullets will mean you'll need to clean the barrel more often. Look below and you'll see why. The copper/brass/whatever needs to go somewhere, and unlike a jacketed bullet, the core can't deform to accomodate the lands of the barrel, so the copper has to be 'pushed' sonewhere (hence why most copper bullets use drive bands). And some of that ends up staying in your barrel.

 

[Muntybuck5803]

Oil / (or anything that shouldn’t be there) in your chamber can cause pressure inconsistencies and can hinder brass expansion and the subsequent problems that will come with it.

 

[paul o']

Every 3rd outing in the winter more .

 

[Foxyboy43]

Another WD40 tip - I always spray it into my moderators after use - many, many rounds later all of them from .17 through to .308 are sound and without any issues but if you have not fired your rifle and perhaps leave it against a wall with the moderator attached to air when you get home you can get a devil’s brew leeching from the barrel thread/moderator junction which really does not like blueing! Do not ask me how I know………

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Another WD40 tip - I always spray it into my moderators after use - many, many rounds later all of them from .17 through to .308 are sound and without any issues but if you have not fired your rifle and perhaps leave it against a wall with the moderator attached to air when you get home you can get a devil’s brew leeching from the barrel thread/moderator junction which really does not like blueing! Do not ask me how I know………

I dont mess around with wd40 and gun but thanks for your insight!

 

[Steff]

I'm shooting a Tikka T3X in .308Win. Coming from the rimfire world, I used to shoot the entire deer season without cleaning it (5 or 6 shots a season).
At the end of the season, it would get a good clean with solvents and put away in the safe. Last year I learned the hard way that this definitely isn't best practice. Suffered some light pitting and corrosion on the crown. (although never stored with mod on).

Since getting the crown redone, I now, clean it after every outing - No shot fired, it gets a oily mop and 2 or 3 dry patches. If I do shoot it, it gets a nylon brush usually soaked in solvent (although sometimes just gun oil) for a few passes and then dry patches until clean.

Just wondering what you guys do in the even of no shot vs one shot? Obviously after a couple of shots, solvent is used

Regards,

HNB

You‘re on a pretty good route already which is certainly not going to hurt your barrel. Just exchange your nylon brush with a bronze brush and use it with plenty of oil, not solvent. Solvent will eat up the bronze and do little more on carbon dissolving than oil.
I used to be with @caberslash on the ‚no oil in the barrel‘ trip. But nowadays this has changed. Oil does a lot of good even after you have put the gun back in the safe after cleaning. Just store it muzzle down and make sure it is dry, especially the chamber, before you shoot it again.

 

[Tf223]

Do you recommend any solvents? Been using Hoppes no 9 or Parker Hale 009. Hard to find the ammonia stuff down my way

I just use whatever I have in my kit - I’m not fussy - bisley bore cleaner (for shotguns) it seems - this is all i bother with. Never bothered with solvents or copper cleaner.

 

[lochty]

Every 10 shots, or when it gets wet, whichever is first.

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Every 10 shots, or when it gets wet, whichever is first.

Yeah thats sort of what I was doing, I'd be lucky to shoot 10 shots over a season but it ended up damaging my barrel as a result

 

[VSS]

Outside of the barrel after every outing.
Inside of the barrel after the end of the fallow season.
However, I am meticulous about drying my rifle, and bringing it up to room temperature before it goes back in the cabinet.

 

[finnbear270]

When there's no brandy left in it.

 

[25 Sharps]

I clean my .222 probably every 100 shots unless it loses accuracy before that…does that make me a bad person

To be fair last time you cleaned it, it did make it shine