Thank you for that. I have seen a bore scoped before was at a gunsmiths once when he was inspecting a rifle that was shooting eratically and he asked if I wished to have a look through the scope. Sometimes it would group nicely then the group would open up or move. Bedding was ruled out thus the bore scoping. Turns out that half of the bore length was badly erroded and heat crazed. The rifle was for the hot-rod 25-06 and had onviously been shot quite a lot and rather quickly. I do not know what the outcome was as he ut it down to deal with my little pick up, he had fitted a recoil pad for me, so I paid and left.
How often should a rifle barrel be cleaned?
- Thread starter AlexN
- Start date
Thank you for that. I have seen a bore scoped before was at a gunsmiths once when he was inspecting a rifle that was shooting eratically and he asked if I wished to have a look through the scope. Sometimes it would group nicely then the group would open up or move. Bedding was ruled out thus the bore scoping. Turns out that half of the bore length was badly erroded and heat crazed. The rifle was for the hot-rod 25-06 and had onviously been shot quite a lot and rather quickly. I do not know what the outcome was as he ut it down to deal with my little pick up, he had fitted a recoil pad for me, so I paid and left.
Chris J
Well-Known Member
What I have seen in some of my more frequently shot rifles is a degree or wear, erosion just forward of the chamber and again just about where the fore-end, ends. My presumption is that this is something to do with the early stages of the bullet leaving the case as the powder is burning and the bullet starts to bite into the rifling and then possibly further up as the bullet has left the muzzle and there somehow a second hot spot as the combustion gas is free of back pressure. Please don't quote that as being science. It just seems to be what I can see. None of these rifles are worn out and all still shoot well, but the rest of the barrel seems pretty factory fresh, it's just these two areas that seem to take the hammering. As for real signs of stuff sticking to the inside of the barrel I genuinely haven't seem much of that. Most of my rifles shoot Sierra bullets, maybe they're just lest prone to leaving copper behind.
Depends on the barrel. My old ZKK in .308 used to copper fould quite quickly and this was easily seen if a strong light was shone at an angle intot eh muzzle. The rifle was bought new and many makes and weights of bullets were tried over the years of ownership I finally settled on 165 grain Speer Spitzer as the bullet for it and the use that I had. Of course back then we were "allowed" to shoot these at targets and for general use unlike today it!
After pitting the crown of a new T3 barrel by not removing moderator and cleaning I thought I would share my experience!
For the last 10 years I have removed the moderator, cleaned crown and pulled a bore snake through after firing rifle plus a full barrel scrub a couple of times a year.
i used to pass a lightly oiled patch through prior to putting it away but have reverted from this as rifle used pretty frequently.
best advice I was given was to be consistent with what you do.
For the last 10 years I have removed the moderator, cleaned crown and pulled a bore snake through after firing rifle plus a full barrel scrub a couple of times a year.
i used to pass a lightly oiled patch through prior to putting it away but have reverted from this as rifle used pretty frequently.
best advice I was given was to be consistent with what you do.
I clean my barrel anywhere between 10-15 shots. Mod off, 2 patches soaked in boreshine through the barrel using a guide then use those patches to clean the crown. keep passing dry patches through until they have no dirt on them. Takes probably 5 minutes tops
works for me!
works for me!
I know this is an old thread, but I had religiously cleaned my Sako A7 .308 barrel until I gut shot a fallow, with what looked like a flier or a pulled shot, when I made a quick chest shot off the bipod.
We found and dispatched the deer, but I was so disturbed, I went to Bisley, twice, to check zero and a suspicion I had. I found that the first shot from a clean, cold barrel always seems to fly and only then the POI settles down to its customary c.1MOA. That's the end of me cleaning the barrel before stalking! I will clean it with Wipeout before a Bisley session, though, during which I may put 50-60 rounds down range of home loads. Just not afterwards...
Now I remember other stalks where we had checked zero before venturing out and recall always adjusting the windage three or four clicks. I thought it was due to travelling the rifle, but that's inexperience for you.
We found and dispatched the deer, but I was so disturbed, I went to Bisley, twice, to check zero and a suspicion I had. I found that the first shot from a clean, cold barrel always seems to fly and only then the POI settles down to its customary c.1MOA. That's the end of me cleaning the barrel before stalking! I will clean it with Wipeout before a Bisley session, though, during which I may put 50-60 rounds down range of home loads. Just not afterwards...
Now I remember other stalks where we had checked zero before venturing out and recall always adjusting the windage three or four clicks. I thought it was due to travelling the rifle, but that's inexperience for you.
I clean mine after each trip whether I've had a shot or not and if no shot then just a single patch that has a drop or two of gun oil. Before I go out a patch with Meths to take the oil out and good to go - this is on the advice of more experienced colleagues who do clean regularly but I do wonder if I'll wear it out through cleaning rather than shooting - never fired it with oil in the barrel for reasons noted above relating to accuracy and terminal damage
Richard
Richard
I have always been a serial cleaner. The logic I was taught was if the barrel was always consistently clean it would always shoot consistently well.
I have tried lots of cleaning potions and methods over the years. Most have required a "clearing shot" after cleaning but I found a few years ago a cleaning fluid from Riflecraft which they swore required no clearing shot and always maintained a consistent point of aim. It works. I can shoot a very tight 3 shot group with the first shot straight after cleaning. So now the rifles all get thoroughly cleaned after every outing/range session and I know they will be consistent every time I get them out.
Because I don't oil the barrels I do keep a dehumidifier running in the room the gun cabinets are in.
I have a few mates who swear that you shouldn't clean your barrel until it starts to "go off", but I would rather maintain accuracy and not "go off" at all.
I have tried lots of cleaning potions and methods over the years. Most have required a "clearing shot" after cleaning but I found a few years ago a cleaning fluid from Riflecraft which they swore required no clearing shot and always maintained a consistent point of aim. It works. I can shoot a very tight 3 shot group with the first shot straight after cleaning. So now the rifles all get thoroughly cleaned after every outing/range session and I know they will be consistent every time I get them out.
Because I don't oil the barrels I do keep a dehumidifier running in the room the gun cabinets are in.
I have a few mates who swear that you shouldn't clean your barrel until it starts to "go off", but I would rather maintain accuracy and not "go off" at all.
I cleaned my sako .243 once. Never again. Damned thing took about 20 rounds to shoot straight again, and another 10 or so to group as it should. I wipe the exterior down with a lightly oiled rag and leave the barrel alone. Once a year I strip and clean the rest of the gun but will never touch the barrell again.
My two old Mauser get a dry bore snake after each session. That's it
My two old Mauser get a dry bore snake after each session. That's it
Moray Outfitting
Well-Known Member
Muir - STEADY! We may differ in views, but I rely upon a handful of folk with the remaining integrity to be solid in this ever shifting age. If you succumb - I'll only be left with Jayb and Charlise Theron ... 
.... not neccessarily in that order
.... not neccessarily in that order
ChesterP
Well-Known Member
I've found the same when using Wipeout. Providing it's left in the barrel long enough (most people I know who have it rarely leave it more than 15 minutes but long ago, I found that it's best left for a minimum of several hours).Like many potions on offer today, it contains powerful anti-corrosives so no oiling or dehumidifier needed but I do ensure that silicon ball packs are always in the gun cabinet just in case.
The argument of clean V's don't bother has been raging for years and no doubt will continue irrespective of what is written here. All I know is that in firing countless thousands of shots over the years, failing to clean a barrel has ALWAYS resulted in carbon fouling build up, and as it's a pretty powerful abrasive, I don't especially want that left in my barrels nor do I want copper wash building up.
The other school of thought is that some build up is good since it protects the throat area against thermal erosion and micro-cracks appearing. I don't know about that, but do know that if I don't do a full, deep clean on my smaller calibres especially (.17 and ,223) every 100 rounds or so, the accuracy drops right off. I also find that the smaller cals are the ones which carbon up worst and which copper foul worst.
I spent many hours this weekend trying to get fouling out of a barrel that I had cleaned quite regularly (after every outing) with a few patches of Wipeout or KG1, followed by some dry patches. This had not been very effective as I couldn't get a clean patch to appear this time round.
It took Bill Fisher's method of a good soaking for several hours (in my case using Wipeout) followed by short-stroking a brass brush (not out the muzzle though), followed by a rag soaked in more Wipeout and left for several hours. I had to repeat this twice before I achieved a squeeky clean barrel. I was amazed at the amount of fouling build up and coppering, even though I run a rag through every outing. Moral of the story is that these modern wonder-solvents such as Wipeout or BBS need to be left in a little longer (in my case) when patching out regularly to avoid the need to scrub with a brass brush which I try to avoid if possible. No damage will ever occur from cleaning with a jag and patch if used properly, with a bore guide and with patient attention to what you're doing, so the "I don't clean because it will damage the barrel" isn't to be believed.
The type of barrel also seems also to affect the amount of cleaning needed. Some will foul up quicker than others. The best for me is my Tikka factory barrel which only ever takes a single patch soaked in Wipeout and patches through cleanly within a few patches. The worst is a custom barrel which fouls much worse and much quicker and takes much more cleaning! My Tikka is my main stalking rifle and I can always place three shots into an inch after cleaning to point of aim, so that barrel is kept clean, because I have complete confidence in where it shoots from cold. I would never allow that to foul up.
Whats the problem of letting a brush exit a muzzle, I see many people using this method, then retracting the brush. I though the issue was retracting the brush without it exiting the muzzle first?
ChesterP
Well-Known Member
The problem with pushing the brush all the way out is that there is a risk of jagging the muzzle as you draw it back in, because it will no longer be centred, and the rod may well be resting on the end of the muzzle. I've seen a fair few crowns damaged by cack-handed cleaning. I prefer not to push all the way through for that reason and have masking tape wrapped around my cleaning rod so that it coincides with the bore guide entry exactly at the point the brush is just poking out the end of the muzzle. I don't push it through any farther than that. Also, the brass brush may not wear the crown, but powder residue is very highly abrasive so regular scrubbing where you're dragging lots of fouling muck back and forth across the crown may not be a great idea. Each to their own, but it's a practice that I personally avoid. Paranoid? maybe, but if there's no benefit to it, but there is a risk of damage, then my thinking is just to eliminate the risk by adopting a cleaning regime that considers these things. For some, that might be taken care of by no cleaning! 
Slightly off topic - but what are people's opinions of bore guides?
I have one, and used it for a while, but found that I couldn't get patches of the appropriate size for certain calibres through it (they just jammed), even with the the alleged coorect size nozzle.
Having looked at carefully and thought about it, I don't really see that they serve much or a purpose.
I have one, and used it for a while, but found that I couldn't get patches of the appropriate size for certain calibres through it (they just jammed), even with the the alleged coorect size nozzle.
Having looked at carefully and thought about it, I don't really see that they serve much or a purpose.
Woodsmoke
Well-Known Member
I've never felt the need for one, personally. All my rifles get is a dry boresnake through the barrel when I'm done, and a light oiling on the metalwork. And I have wooden stocks, so I palm in a good deal of stock oil once in a while too
AN DU RU FOX
Well-Known Member
+1 couldn,t get my patches through,used it twice,
kenbro
Well-Known Member
After cleaning my barrels using Butches Bore Shine, I patch them dry and then wet a patch with Lock-Ease. (Graphited lock fluid) and push that through, then let the gun stand (On suitable surface) muzzle down for half an hour to let the carrier evaporate, then, push a loose patch through and I'm done.
Ken.
Ken.
Moray Outfitting
Well-Known Member
Mungo et al
Whats in your bolt raceway and locking lug area - oil/ grease/? - without a good bore guide, unless you have some very deft fingers ( and I've seen your mits! ) your patch travels through all that before starting on the bore.
Patch has solvent on it? Then as it enters the chamber / throat area there's potential for seepage - may not happen, but if it does you have solvent - which may or may not be harmful in long term exposure to metal/ bedding compounds/ stock material - potentially contacting all those.
Look at most coated rods used without a bore guide - 99% have cuts and scrapes where they contact edges within the raceway - peeling bits of nylon/ plastic off - which goes somewhere and allows grits etc a harbour on your rod.
The bolt raceway will likely do 90% of the job of centering the rod and reducing the risk of a flexed or angled rod touching bits you dont want touched. Espexcially if its already marked and harbouring grit etc.
A good bore guide will fit the chamber area snugly, be sealed to stop solvent leakage, stay in place in use, not harbour grit etc, take the right size patches for the bore its meant for!
Incredibly I suggest better than half the advertised guides fall flat on some or all of those areas - and can see how many people question their purpose.
But it remains individual choice.
Whats in your bolt raceway and locking lug area - oil/ grease/? - without a good bore guide, unless you have some very deft fingers ( and I've seen your mits! ) your patch travels through all that before starting on the bore.
Patch has solvent on it? Then as it enters the chamber / throat area there's potential for seepage - may not happen, but if it does you have solvent - which may or may not be harmful in long term exposure to metal/ bedding compounds/ stock material - potentially contacting all those.
Look at most coated rods used without a bore guide - 99% have cuts and scrapes where they contact edges within the raceway - peeling bits of nylon/ plastic off - which goes somewhere and allows grits etc a harbour on your rod.
The bolt raceway will likely do 90% of the job of centering the rod and reducing the risk of a flexed or angled rod touching bits you dont want touched. Espexcially if its already marked and harbouring grit etc.
A good bore guide will fit the chamber area snugly, be sealed to stop solvent leakage, stay in place in use, not harbour grit etc, take the right size patches for the bore its meant for!
Incredibly I suggest better than half the advertised guides fall flat on some or all of those areas - and can see how many people question their purpose.
But it remains individual choice.
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