Would you clean it after only 20 rounds?

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TinTentTourist

TinTentTourist

Member
Hi
I have a new Sako .308 that has still only fired about 100 rounds.
I cleaned it after every 2 shots for the first 20 - as advised by those who recommend a running in period.
Then after another 40 or so it was cleaned before being put away.
Another 20 and a clean...
Then last night, another 20 or so and I became curious... should I clean every time or not.
It's hard to do a search on this subject as the words are so common, so I'm after a bit of advice please.
Only target shooting at the moment, but hunting is on the cards rather than competition or long range shooting as I know they are different disciplines.
Should I clean it after every outing (where a shot is fired) or only after a given number?
Thanks in advance.
Martin
 
I would certainly give it a basic clean every time you put it away. Just a patch or two with some hoppes or something.

If the barrel is prone to copper fouling you will eventually need to give it a proper clean with either a more aggressive solvent or a bronze brush. I only do this if the rifle starts to open up groups.
 
As a recent SD thread attests and one of many I would recommend first establishing what 'conditions' must prevail for your rifle to hit the gold with the 1st shot from a cold barrel and if such permits being bore stroked with love and within an inch of its life.

Whatever the outcome never return a rifle to the cabinet without at least putting clean patches through the bore if it's been subject to rain or moisture. It's stating the obvious but you would be suprised at how many rifles are so abused as Callum Ferguson of PRS will happily confirm.

K
 
I was told of a rifle builder that you either clean after every 10 or 30 or 50 ect or not at all.i gave a 6.5-284 and it gets properly cleaned with forest bore foam every 50 rounds but in the other hand I’ve a tikka .25.06 and a .22.250 that’s never been cleaned since I shot them in!! the 25 will of had 1500 + rounds through it and the 22 1200+ And they both still shoot 5 shot thumb nail groups but the 6.5 is pretty much same hole so I guess what I’m trying to say is sometimes cleaning or lack of cleaning will not cause you to miss in the field.i suggest if you want to shoot paper then clean well though.PS I wouldn’t recommend not cleaning for as many as my examples but I was hellish in my young days of thinking if it ain’t broke I didn’t fiddle with it.
 
Thanks Guys, that's the sort of info I was after. Too new to me to know what it likes yet, but I'll work it out over time. I'm happy to keep it clean, but I will keep an eye on the first few shots each time I take it to the range. The group did seem to tighten up after the first half dozen shots, but then the barrel was warm then too... it's going to be fun getting to know it.
Thanks again.
 
I clean every time it's been fired if it's a centre fire rifle or a shot gun of any sort. If it's a .22LR I never ever clean it unless it's got wet. I also never bother with all this "hokey cokey" one foot in one foot out cleaning after one shot, then after five shots, the after ten shots then twenty shots supposed "break in" regimes. Just get out and shoot the thing to zero it. That's good enough break in as far as I'm concerned. If I'm not shooting I'll check my stuff every six weeks or couple of months.
 
As a sporting shooting newbie I (seriously!) read lots of these threads with interest - after all - every day’s a school day! As an ex soldier I have a little smirk imagining anyone trying to explain to an Armourer that the rifle they’re returning hadn’t been cleaned for accuracy reasons :rofl: :rofl: (That’s not to dispute the position mind - just that I find the notion entertaining )
 
Big_Sparky said:
As a sporting shooting newbie I (seriously!) read lots of these threads with interest - after all - every day’s a school day! As an ex soldier I have a little smirk imagining anyone trying to explain to an Armourer that the rifle they’re returning hadn’t been cleaned for accuracy reasons :rofl: :rofl: (That’s not to dispute the position mind - just that I find the notion entertaining )
Click to expand...
And their definition of clean too! :rofl:
 
Interesting one - I've always been in the 'clean it every 10 rounds' group. Then, when I bought my Schultz & Larsen, I asked about cleaning.....only to get, 'Up to you, but the owner of the company never cleans his'. So, I experimented by allowing it to go longer and longer between proper cleaning (apart from a quick mist of oil to deter Enfield's hellish red demon dust!). After two years I'd say that I'm up to 50+ rounds between a big cleaning job, and it seems to have no detectable impact on the rifle's accuracy. Bear in mind, other than check shots, the rifle is only used for hunting, not for target work. I shoot hand loads, with Fox non-lead monolithics.
 
Weapon cleaning in the army was purely to get you doing something when they had nothing else they could **** you around with normally on a Friday afternoon instead of just standing you down at lunchtime.
 
There seems to be almost an obsession with, sorry for the phrase, ‘precision accuracy’. My rifles are zeroed to me, to do a job (a clean kill). I have never been interested in target shooting, where (I guess) there is a modicum of competition between the, well, competitors. I guess what I’m saying is, stick with a couple of things. What works best for you, and what delivers the best end result. Whatever your shooting bent may be.
 
Weapon cleaning in the army was purely to get you doing something when they had nothing else they could **** you around with normally on a Friday afternoon instead of just standing you down at lunchtime.
Click to expand...

Oh no! Cleaning was only a part of it! LOL! Henry Reed knew! Lessons of the War. Part 1 - Naming of Parts:

To-day we have naming of parts. Yesterday,
We had daily cleaning. And to-morrow morning,
We shall have what to do after firing. But to-day,
To-day we have naming of parts. Japonica
Glistens like coral in all of the neighboring gardens,
And to-day we have naming of parts.

This is the lower sling swivel. And this
Is the upper sling swivel, whose use you will see,
When you are given your slings. And this is the piling swivel,
Which in your case you have not got. The branches
Hold in the gardens their silent, eloquent gestures,
Which in our case we have not got.

This is the safety-catch, which is always released
With an easy flick of the thumb. And please do not let me
See anyone using his finger. You can do it quite easy
If you have any strength in your thumb. The blossoms
Are fragile and motionless, never letting anyone see
Any of them using their finger.

And this you can see is the bolt. The purpose of this
Is to open the breech, as you see. We can slide it
Rapidly backwards and forwards: we call this
Easing the spring. And rapidly backwards and forwards
The early bees are assaulting and fumbling the flowers:
They call it easing the Spring.

They call it easing the Spring: it is perfectly easy
If you have any strength in your thumb: like the bolt,
And the breech, and the cocking-piece, and the point of balance,
Which in our case we have not got; and the almond-blossom
Silent in all of the gardens and the bees going backwards and forwards,
For to-day we have naming of parts.
Click to expand...

And the other five poems of the set of six:

"Judging Distances" by Henry Reed

Full-text of Henry Reed's poem Judging Distances.
www.solearabiantree.net

"Movement of Bodies" by Henry Reed

Full-text of Henry Reed's poem Movement of Bodies.
www.solearabiantree.net

"Unarmed Combat" by Henry Reed

Full-text of Henry Reed's poem Unarmed Combat.
www.solearabiantree.net

"Psychological Warfare" by Henry Reed

Full-text of Henry Reed's poem Psychological Warfare
www.solearabiantree.net

"Returning of Issue" by Henry Reed

Full-text of Henry Reed's poem Returning of Issue.
www.solearabiantree.net
 
Last edited:
Its really down to what works for you and your rifle, I have a forty plus year old Sako in .243 its fired around 30,000 shots and still shoots to point of aim.
Now what is this mumbo jumbo I hear you talk of cleaning ! My rifle says it would like it and I have promised it a clean for
its fiftieth birthday which is not far off but only if its good mind you.
Seriously though I put its longevity down to several factors none of them scientific but I think there may be something in
It.
Firstly it was used as a stalking rifle and as such was out and shot most days both by me and with clients under the estate rifle clause, now that I'm officially retired if not actually ( out a lot less often now) my cleaning regime may have
to change.
Fired on most outings so not left dirty in.a cabinet for weeks on end.

Second. Used only as a stalking rifle it seldom fired a string of shots rapid firing through a hot barrel contributes to barrel
wear IMO

Third. Never fired hot loads , not that I have anything against hot loads just that my rifle didn't like them the most
accurate load for it proved to be just a little above a starter load.

Four. As a Highland stalker the rifle is traditionally kept in a slip until the final few yards before the shot, I am a!so an advocate of insulating tape over the barrel , so most of the time water did not get into the barrel.

As far as cleaning is concerned the outside and the bolt are always given a wipe over and the barrel will get patched
out with ballistol if there has been any danger of water getting into it.
Otherwise I leave alone until accuracy starts to fall off when it will get a deep clean and then a few shots put through it
to dirty the barrel,yes another one that does not shoot so well with a clean barrel.
Not in the least scientific but it works for me and my rifle.
 
bogtrotter said:
Third. Never fired hot loads , not that I have anything against hot loads just that my rifle didn't like them the most
accurate load for it proved to be just a little above a starter load.
Click to expand...

Some interesting ideas there, and I can see the merit. I haven't started home loading yet... I have a set of Redding dies sat on the shelf in front of me, but nothing else yet! Once you start adding different powders and charges to the mix, cleaning takes on a new dimension according to the threads I have read. Some powders now incorporating anti coppering agents!

It was interesting after my last 20 shot clean, the barrel was not particularly dirty. I use a squirt of Napier and leave it to stand 10 mins then push threw a few patches. Came clean in no time! (after a box of winchester 150g Super X)
 
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