Can you over clean a rifle barrel?

[imoutstalking]

I have a Blaser r8 with 243 and 270 barrels. I've shot the 243 a bit more, had about 500 rounds through it. About 80 rounds through the 270. I've noticed that the 243 group has opened up slightly. Still within 1" at 100m but when the gun was fresh it was 0.5". Im curious to know if a gun can be over cleaned. Most times I run a bore snake if one or two shots have been taken. If I've have had 10 or 15 shots then its Boretech Eliminator time and a full decontamination. Would cleaning regularly and not allowing copper to build up give way to a barrel wearing out faster?

 

[VSS]

You could try not cleaning it, and see what happens to your group sizes.

 

[imoutstalking]

Good point and could give that a go. I do often wonder when looking down a dirty barrel and can see lots of fine debris attached to the walls that the next shot is grinding this into the rifling and wearing it out. Thats my ocd kicking in again

 

[trickie]

There can be other non barrel related items that can cause the same issues. Have you tried to ensure it’s not one of these:
Stock bolt torque
Scope mount and ring fitment and torque
Butt pad tension
Loose fittings on the bipod

 

[tackb]

it all depends on your cleaning process

if you drag an old pull through up your barrel without a care for your crown etc then probably yes

if you use a bore guide with the correct for calibre spear tip jag and premium solvents and a premium rod the chances are greatly reduced that you will wear out your barrel

more sporting barrels are ruined by poor cleaning than too much shooting

 

[Heym SR20]

If you start using aggressive chemicals and materials you can probably quite quickly wear out a barrel.

Run a patch or three down the bore after shooting to remove powder residue etc will have minimal negative effect. I would suggest more barrels will be damaged through moisture getting absorbed by powder residue and then being the start of rust pitting.

As for accuracy, a lot comes down to the shooter, conditions and indeed what you constitute accuracy to be. To get a true indication of a rifle’s accuracy you need to shoot five round groups and eliminate all other variables. And what is more than accurate enough for hunting purposes probably doesn’t cut it when it comes to precision rifle shooting.

 

[Klenchblaize]

All I’m going to say is go EASY with this stuff:

K

 

[nic531]

It may be due to being an ex squaddy that had to clean his rifle every time they touched it (but was only worried about hitting a man sized target at sub 300m), but these days I hate over cleaning a rifle.

My AR15 I will shoot just over 100 rounds per outing... and will have a complete strip down every other go!

my deer rifle gets a quick pull through?brush through each time, mod off, check over and a good dry off, but I only shoot 1 or 2 rounds a trip.

never had an issue

 

[Keith Edmunds]

A good bit of advice I had was - whatever your method - use the same method and don't chop and change.

 

[MAH]

copper to build up

You might want to Google Galvanic Corrosion.
Basically two dissimilar metals in contact with each other and the presents of electrolght (moisture) lead to Galvanic Corrosion.

So, copper build up leads directly to pitting in a barrel.

I do two things
1. Drying and oiling after each outing, to exclude moisture.
2. Regular removal of copper.

M.

 

[Utectok]

Honestly most people think they clean there rifle but don’t. Buy a bore scope the you will see what’s clean and what’s not. Yes you can over clean a rifle but most people don’t actually clean it at all

 

[sauer]

Over barrels life as you wear out throat, if groups open up a bit try retweeting your loads oal see if can close grouping by readjusting length a bit

 

[cjm1066]

The amonia based cleaning fluids will damage a barrel if not used correctly.

Other than that over cleaning is wasted effort, a bore scope is the best way to judge cleaning efficiency.

To wear steel with a cotton patch is a very ambitious project, I doubt any one with a life has achieved it.

 

[Cyres]

Yes
My .204 doesn't like a deep clean.
D