Re: Can you "over clean" a barrel?
todd,
SH#50 showed up at RO around 2004 I think maybe 2005, very, very little cleaning, with at least 15k rounds over the years ,potentially 20k rounds. The rifle shot fine for use, we never had an issue with the barrel, until the whole thing broke down. The trigger was fouled, action wouldn't cock. When George received it he was told by Jacob to just fix the action, keep the barrel... well the barrel was missing 4 inches of rifling, George said it was one of the worst cases he saw. We never cleaned it, it sat as is in South Texas, humidity, sea air, etc... for years, months at a clip.
All my rifle down there sit the same way. Whether I shoot them them a lot one trip or a little they are not cleaned before I leave, nor when I get back, and still all shoot lights out with factory flavor.
The Harbinger, on site since mid 2005 is the same way, in excess of 10k round, sits in the RO safe day in and out, is shot, not shot, and usually not cleaned. Never an issue with accuracy and whenever there is a problem we use that rifle to check things. Same with the Werewolf.
Why would we check for pitting, or care as long as we are getting that kind of barrel life and consistent accuracy across the board.
Here is a 5 shot group from the Harbinger, I don't know when I shot it, within a year, and was shot with an ACOG on it at 100 yards.
I may have gotten lucky, but that is what the Harbinger does... it shoots. It's also held 3.25" at 600 yards in competition. We don't clear it often, we don't put it in a climate control safe, we turn the A/C, we turn it off, we have the violent dew storms most nights, moisture is everywhere.
Bottom line, why look for trouble. Cleaning done in moderation, correctly is fine, especially when you know you're not going to use it. But frankly, all that other stuff is not worth worrying about. It's not a bench rest gun.
