So this question pop up often: "Should I clean between ammo changes, or if I don't what will happen?" Which is followed by a few different thoughts on what you should do and why. I was shooting yesterday and decided to record what I do and what I almost always see (I only say almost because I try not to speak in absolutes, but this is what happens every time). I have been lucky enough to own many very accurate 22lr and play around a LOT with ammo and accuracy, the effects of changing ammo is almost exactly the same every time with many different barres and ammo.
To start off I want to say the reason I don't clean is one because I try my best to minimize cleaning any bore a much as possible to minimize the chance for damage to the bore, crown, or bedding. Yes I know a quality bore guide helps, but honestly the chance is still there. Take each rifle on a case by case basis, like a high carbon barrel should be cleaned more often than a stainless (yes even rimfires shooting waxed bullets, I have seen corrosion develop in some rimfire carbon steel barrels).
Second, because I had rather be shooting than cleaning.
Third because in my experience depending on how thoroughly you clean it can take more shots to season from cleaning than from just shooting.
So getting into it. Yesterday morning I had the good fortune of light winds that were very predictable for about 30 minutes. I shot 30 rounds of Eley Match through my custom Anschutz 1827B which was seasoned for the ELey, accuracy was good as expected. I ran out of Eley and changed over to Center X, also a solid performer in my rifle. The winds were still light so I decided to record the shots and start this thread. The rounds are numbered on the target from the Center X and then I shot 30 rounds of Center X, but the wind had picked up by the time I got back from marking the target for the order of rounds fired during the seasoning process and the groups reflect it (pretty horizontal in nature and larger than normal, but the point still comes across).
What I normally see when changing ammo is excellent accuracy for 4-6 rounds, then it opens bad for 5-7 rounds, and then settles down again. So normally 10 to 15 rounds are required before you will see the accuracy that will be normal for that ammo. I wish I had a few other brands with me and also cleaning equipment as I could record what happens when seasoning a clean bore, maybe Ill do that next time.
See target below:
To start off I want to say the reason I don't clean is one because I try my best to minimize cleaning any bore a much as possible to minimize the chance for damage to the bore, crown, or bedding. Yes I know a quality bore guide helps, but honestly the chance is still there. Take each rifle on a case by case basis, like a high carbon barrel should be cleaned more often than a stainless (yes even rimfires shooting waxed bullets, I have seen corrosion develop in some rimfire carbon steel barrels).
Second, because I had rather be shooting than cleaning.
Third because in my experience depending on how thoroughly you clean it can take more shots to season from cleaning than from just shooting.
So getting into it. Yesterday morning I had the good fortune of light winds that were very predictable for about 30 minutes. I shot 30 rounds of Eley Match through my custom Anschutz 1827B which was seasoned for the ELey, accuracy was good as expected. I ran out of Eley and changed over to Center X, also a solid performer in my rifle. The winds were still light so I decided to record the shots and start this thread. The rounds are numbered on the target from the Center X and then I shot 30 rounds of Center X, but the wind had picked up by the time I got back from marking the target for the order of rounds fired during the seasoning process and the groups reflect it (pretty horizontal in nature and larger than normal, but the point still comes across).
What I normally see when changing ammo is excellent accuracy for 4-6 rounds, then it opens bad for 5-7 rounds, and then settles down again. So normally 10 to 15 rounds are required before you will see the accuracy that will be normal for that ammo. I wish I had a few other brands with me and also cleaning equipment as I could record what happens when seasoning a clean bore, maybe Ill do that next time.
See target below:
