How often should a rifle barrel be cleaned?

[Merlyn]

Luckily I have a piece of ground very close to my house where I can clear the barrels before I set off to the stalking ground.

 

[ChesterP]

i fond this fouling shot thing intriguing. I know a few people say they do it at the start of a stalk but doesn't that scare everything off? Also, how far off is your clean barrel accuracy? Surely only an inch or so? I can't tell a cold barrel, clean barrel from a fouled one on mine maybe that's just luck.

It's a valid question. At 100 yds, for most, a difference of between 1 to 1.5 inches might be typical so to 100 yds probably is an irrelevance. Mine used to fire an inch and a half high and to the right a little on first shot. That was, until I changed my cleaning regime and omitted the oiled rag through the barrel, instead using a meths soaked rag for the final clean through. Now, POI is bang on. I see no difference. The oiled rag was an old habit that died hard, but even if dry-patching before use, POI always differed for first round plus I started to notice marks on the case heads and twigged that what was happening was that even slight traces of oil left in the chamber were affecting obturation, allowing the case to slam back into the bolt face. When that started happening (and it took a while), I ceased oiling the barrel completely, and cleaned the chamber with meths. No more problems, no fouling shots needed. I also wonder just how much of this first bullet adrift syndrome is down to the shooter as we sometimes consciously treat the first shot as a fouling shot (say when checking zero) instead of taking deliberate care.

 

[J111]

It's a valid question. At 100 yds, for most, a difference of between 1 to 1.5 inches might be typical so to 100 yds probably is an irrelevance. Mine used to fire an inch and a half high and to the right a little on first shot. That was, until I changed my cleaning regime and omitted the oiled rag through the barrel, instead using a maths soaked rag for the final clean through. Now, POI is bang on. I see no difference. The oiled rag was an old habit that died hard, but even if dry-patching before use, POI always differed for first round plus I started to notice marks on the case heads and twigged that what was happening was that even slight traces of oil left in the chamber were affecting obituration, allowing the case to slam back into the bolt face. When that started happening (and it took a while), I ceased oiling the barrel completely, and cleaned the chamber with meths. No more problems, no fouling shots needed. I also wonder just how much of this first bullet adrift syndrome is down to the shooter as we sometimes consciously treat the first shot as a fouling shot (say when checking zero) instead of taking deliberate care.

Likewise I've stopped using oily patches and only use patch-out at the moment even if not fired a shot but been out in the damp and then a few dry patches. Don't find it moves poi.

 

[Muir]

"Oily patch"??
As posted earlier, when I DO clean a rifle, it is with a scant bit of oil on a patch and then the bore is patched dry. At gunsmithing school many decades ago I was coached to put on as much oil as you want but then dry off as much as you can. Oil penetration is measured in microns. If you can see oil in your bore, you're wasting oil and causing yourself problems. JMHO. ~Muir

 

[Cris]

Cleaning my barrels I find is a bit like cleaning the dog. Neither like it and miss behave after. Difference is the dog makes a mess in the house so has to be cleaned after each outing but not the rifles....I do take the mod off after each outing and clean if wet. Otherwise it's when I think about it.

 

[Chris J]

Have to confess I never clean mine. They're all stainless and I never suffer from fouling or loss of accuracy. Most copper solvents 'just aren't' and leaving it in there 20 minutes or 20 hours won't remove any real quantity of copper which you'd only put back the first time you shoot the rifle. I think that excessive cleaning is like over polishing your car. You end up doing more damage than good. My rifles are zeroed when they go into the cabinet and still zeroed when they come out. People talk about cleaning them, then have to 'shoot them back in' before they go stalking. Can't see the point in that. I'd make an exception if I was out in truly poor weather, of course, I'd dry them out properly. But I'd never do much more than run a patch or two through. KG12 is the only copper solvent that I have seen physically dissolve copper. If I had blued steel barrels, I would be saying something quite different. I have an endoscope which I run down my bores occasionally and they look absolutely fine, or again, I'd be advocating cleaning them all day long. I do however, check the chambers for deposits etc that could cause tight rounds. I had a .223 that became so badly caked that I couldn't close the bolt. Lesson learned.

When I do clean mine, I tend to run the rod carefully down the barrel from the muzzle end, then attach the brush and pull through in the direction of the bullet.This avoids flicking muck into the chamber. I've never felt comfortable pushing something against the direction of travel although that's probably just me.
Not cleaning probably isn't right. But I'd say that over cleaning is probably damaging; especially if done badly.

 

[ChesterP]

Have to confess I never clean mine. They're all stainless and I never suffer from fouling or loss of accuracy. Most copper solvents 'just aren't' and leaving it in there 20 minutes or 20 hours won't remove any real quantity of copper which you'd only put back the first time you shoot the rifle. I think that excessive cleaning is like over polishing your car. You end up doing more damage than good. My rifles are zeroed when they go into the cabinet and still zeroed when they come out. People talk about cleaning them, then have to 'shoot them back in' before they go stalking. Can't see the point in that. I'd make an exception if I was out in truly poor weather, of course, I'd dry them out properly. But I'd never do much more than run a patch or two through. KG12 is the only copper solvent that I have seen physically dissolve copper. If I had blued steel barrels, I would be saying something quite different. I have an endoscope which I run down my bores occasionally and they look absolutely fine, or again, I'd be advocating cleaning them all day long. I do however, check the chambers for deposits etc that could cause tight rounds. I had a .223 that became so badly caked that I couldn't close the bolt. Lesson learned.

When I do clean mine, I tend to run the rod carefully down the barrel from the muzzle end, then attach the brush and pull through in the direction of the bullet.This avoids flicking muck into the chamber. I've never felt comfortable pushing something against the direction of travel although that's probably just me.
Not cleaning probably isn't right. But I'd say that over cleaning is probably damaging; especially if done badly.

Wipeout (Patchout or borefoam) will also dissolve copper as will Butches Boreshine, M-Pro7 and any number of other good products. It's simply untrue to say that none of these agents remove copper, because they do, if used properly. So your cartridges never deposit carbon or copper wash fouling into your barrels?

The trick to not damaging your rifle barrel is to clean properly. Providing care is taken, there's no reason why you should damage your rifle at all. Many bench-rest shooters clean after every 30 rounds or so! Ditto with the car analogy. There's a right and wrong way to do it and any paint damage is because you're not doing it properly or not using the right methods or products. For those who don't believe in cleaning, fine, each to their own, but it is perfectly possible for anyone with an ounce of common sense and care in handling cleaning kit (and using things like bore guides and one piece rods) using the proper methods and compounds to clean a barrel properly without damaging it. I've put thousands of rounds down some of my rifles, and not one has suffered through my cleaning regime. I hear the arguments from those who don't clean but I just don't agree or accept the arguments for not cleaning a barrel properly. Trouble is, this is like cable-threads to hifi buffs...it always creates endless and often pointlessly emotive circular arguments with no agreement. Best left as live and let live and people I'm sure will just carry on doing as they do irrespective of who says what.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Boresnake if fired. Thorough clean and dried if wet. Bolt checked and cleaned if required. Apart from that I leave them alone

 

[ileso]

fark, reading some of these I begin feeling I dont clean my rifle but then others I feel I clean it too much... hahaha
All I ever do is run a boresnake after a day out and give it a wipe with an lightly oily rag all over, clean the bolt and store.
If its been in heavy rain I strip it down fully wipe all the water off with the help of some WD40 for the fiddly bits, wipe it clean, then oily rag and reassemble it. thwe only thing I dont take appart id the scope because i dont have QR rings so I shove some WD40 into the joint, wait a bit and wipe it clean.

 

[Monty2011]

+1

+1 After every use

 

[Chris J]

After every use? Now I am not saying I agree or disagree, but I am interested in the reasoning for this. Define 'every use'

I have quite a few rifles and some of them shoot to point of aim from clean and some don't. So if I have to dirty a barrel ie shoot it in, with say three shots, why would I go and clean it so that it didn't shoot correctly next time I took it out? I understand keeping fouling to a minimum and certainly understand keeping any corrosion in check, but I'm intrigued over the 'after every use' responses. What is that intended to achieve, prevent, promote?

 

[Heym SR20]

I usually run a patch with bore cleaner down the barrel and then swab out if I have taken a shot or two, that is unless I know that I will be taking a shot or two in the next day or so. Firstly powder fouling, particularly the silicas in priming compound go hard after a couple of days, so next time you fire a shot you are effectively lapping the barrel - not by much probably, but still causing unneccesary wear. More to the point the fouling can attract moisture, and moisture sooner or latter will cause rust, which causes pitting, which means a new barrel.

For me it can be several weeks between using a rifle, so I when I put it away, I put it away clean, with a wipe of oil down the bore and the surfaces wiped down with an oily cloth. Same for the shotguns. I know that all my rifles shoot well and to the point of aim from a clean barrel. Frankly I haven't a clue how they shoot after 20 or 30 shots - save for the 22rf I don't shoot them that much. I know that I can pick a rifle out of the cabinet, run a patch with meths or lighter fluid down the bore and I can then shot anything I need to. I also don't have to worry about them rusting.

 

[Chris J]

I have to say that if mine all shot square from a clean barrel, it would probably change my view. Also if I lived somewhere where I could simply stick the rifle out the back door and fire off a couple it would be different too. Interesting what you say about the compounds in primers. I shall have to research that. It certainly would be a good case for cleaning pretty much every time they're shot. Mine are all kept in a warm dry environment so I am not sure I'd go tot he lengths of oiling the bore after thorough cleaning.

So far though I can't say the accuracy in my rifles has suffered for lack of cleaning and I have a bore-scope that I inspect the bores and chambers with and haven't detected any problems. Nearly all of my rifles are stainless. I think three are blue steel and I certainly never get those ones wet!

Useful thoughts, thanks.

 

[Heym SR20]

All my rifles are traditional blued and non-stainless. And I sight mine with a clean bore, as 90% of shots I take are from a clean bore.

 

[Chris J]

Unfortunately mine don't work like that. Which I don't think is unusual. If I go to the range with a clean barrel generally my first three rounds are quite wild. Certainly not something I'd be comfortable with shooting at live quarry. They aren't predictably wild, like all 2" high and 1" left. They're just anywhere on the target. After three rounds, they're all pretty much bang on where I left them. I do have some exceptions to this, the 7mm Rem is one; so is the .300 WM Clean or dirty, same point of aim and strike every time. Moderators have made a difference I have to confess. With a clean barrel, I can just shoot into a solid backstop without it alerting the anti-terrorist squad. But it's still a nuisance doing that before I stalk. So before a trip North I'll try to get a session in on the range and check the zero with my rifles of choice. It's usually a bit of a bind to go to that trouble just to put 6 rounds down range, but I like to know it's not had a smack or anything. We just don't really have anywhere where we stalk to be able to do this. Maybe we need somewhere in Lincolnshire that's nice and flat!

The bore scope is quite enlightening. All that people can mostly do is hold the rifle up to the light and look down the bore. Well, get a bore scope and have a look at what you think is a clean barrel. You might be rather surprised. A lot of these solvents may well get copper salts out, but as to dissolving metallic copper? The only one I have found that actually attacks copper is KG12. It will dissolve a bullet but very slowly.

 

[Conure]

Well reading this thread has given me a bit of giggle some of the ideas posted are really amusing. I especially liked the cleaning the car damages the paint one. Like most things do the job correctly and you won't do any damage and you will instead protect.

Another classic was " mine are stainless and don't get any fouling" .............................. the very act of firing the gun produces fouling. Combustion residue is left and depositied onto the surface that is unless you are not using normal smokless powder and primers which do produce this fouling never mind the bullet travelling down the bore. Just firing a primed but empty case will deposit some fouling.

Leaving jacket fouling in the bore can lead to pitting of the barrels bore under the fouling and this is nothing new and has been known for many decades. Due to the "modern" thinking on cleaning and care of rifles I had thought about trying to get a bore scope so that we could inspect the bores of used rifles before considering them for purchase. The cost of bore scopes made this idea impracticle. Used to inspect them by eye and light but with the rather worrying fad of pull throughs I have to admit has made me more concerned about damage and wear caused by improper cleaning and care.

 

[Chris J]

It might be a giggle if anyone had actually said what you quoted. Maybe you're reading a different thread.

I paid £125 for my bore scope by the way. It even takes stills and video. Have a look at some car equipment sites.

 

[Chris J]

Sorry, bit shaky, but here's a still from inside my new stainless 7mm-08 Sako Finnlite.

Screen is better than this. It also comes with a little 90 degree mirror for getting into tricky spots.

 

[Conure]

It might be a giggle if anyone had actually said what you quoted. Maybe you're reading a different thread.

I paid £125 for my bore scope by the way. It even takes stills and video. Have a look at some car equipment sites.

Post #66 :-

Have to confess I never clean mine. They're all stainless and I never suffer from fouling or loss of accuracy.

So I did not quite para phrase it exactly first time.

Interesting about that bore scope as when I looked the one that was suggested was well over a grand. Care to share details and make/model ................................................ Please?

 

[Chris J]

If you click the pic, you'll see the make is Eazy View. I bought mine in a local car parts place but was recently on their website looking at upgrades for the software. There's a fair few models but I got a basic one.

Here - http://www.eazyview.com/pro5/

I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting you might want to Google around for one. But you might try searching for inspection camera instead. Eazyview isn't bringing much up. Just seen some one on bay at under £50!!! No idea how good, you'll have to do the research. But be warned, what you think is a spotless barrel is about the change .....