Dramatic change in accuracy; how to clean this?

[TheGerman]

Was trying some different ammo and took along some Midas+ as well. I know this shoots well an can always get somewhere in the range of .4-.8 at 100 yards with it.

Shot 5 groups of it and everything was great, shot some Wolf Match, Wolf Extra, SK Standard and started noticing that in the neighborhood of 260 rounds on the barrel, I couldn't get anything under an inch due to 1-2 flyers per group. Grabbed some Midas+ again, same thing.

This tells me 2 things; apparently my Lilja goes to shit at around 260ish rounds. And it seems like its time to clean.

Question is, and I've seen about 50000 different answers for this; for the rimfire, what am I trying to clean out and am I trying to keep anything in the barrel? What do you guys use, a simple Hoppes patch or do I need something that will practically strip all of the carbon/lead (if any)/etc out?

I know all about centerfire for this, but rimfire always has me confused.

 

[Hoser]

My Lilja tightbore does this exact same thing.

Now I just clean it every 100-150 rounds to keep it shooting well.

 

[flounderv2]

Clean it as you usually would any rifle.. Foul it with some after cleaning shots, and be done with it.

 

[TheGerman]

My Lilja tightbore does this exact same thing.

Now I just clean it every 100-150 rounds to keep it shooting well.

Do you remember the round count where yours drops off?

What do you guys use to clean the rimfire as with my regular bolts, I'm not worried about lead.

 

[I Am Hero]

I just use bore foam and a bore snake on my .22. Perhaps it isn't enough but I do this every 200-300 rounds. It is quick and simple and keeps me on track with my accuracy I seek out a rimfire.

 

[TheGerman]

The thing that pisses me off the most was that with 3 MIDAS groups, I was shooting ridiculous small 5 shot groupings. 2 had all 5 touching somewhere and when trying to find my 'call' on the target I couldn't see them because of this.

Then I start shooting like I used a shotgun with bird-shot about 20 rounds later.

 

[Hoser]

Do you remember the round count where yours drops off?

What do you guys use to clean the rimfire as with my regular bolts, I'm not worried about lead.

Somewhere right around 200-250. I am shooting Eley Blue/Team. When it goes away/runs out I will be shooting Eley Black and Red as Team is not made anymore.

I use VFG felt pellets and a 50/50 mixture of Kroil and Shooters Choice.

It only takes a few shots (under 5) to get the rifle shooting again.

 

[rg1911]

I use VFG felt pellets and a 50/50 mixture of Kroil and Shooters Choice.

It only takes a few shots (under 5) to get the rifle shooting again.

Hoser,

Are you somehow shooting the felt pellets through the bore? I've done that with air rifles, but not with any other type of firearm. A quick check of the web did not return any results about firing the felt pellet instead of using it with an adapter on a rod.

Thanks,
Richard

 

[yoteman]

Was trying some different ammo and took along some Midas+ as well. I know this shoots well an can always get somewhere in the range of .4-.8 at 100 yards with it.

Shot 5 groups of it and everything was great, shot some Wolf Match, Wolf Extra, SK Standard and started noticing that in the neighborhood of 260 rounds on the barrel, I couldn't get anything under an inch due to 1-2 flyers per group. Grabbed some Midas+ again, same thing.

This tells me 2 things; apparently my Lilja goes to shit at around 260ish rounds. And it seems like its time to clean.

Question is, and I've seen about 50000 different answers for this; for the rimfire, what am I trying to clean out and am I trying to keep anything in the barrel? What do you guys use, a simple Hoppes patch or do I need something that will practically strip all of the carbon/lead (if any)/etc out?

I know all about centerfire for this, but rimfire always has me confused.

Greman.check out Frank Greens post in :: cleaning a new 22 rifle
Frank know alittle bit about barrel`s
hope it helps, did for me

 

[Hoser]

Hoser,

Are you somehow shooting the felt pellets through the bore? I've done that with air rifles, but not with any other type of firearm. A quick check of the web did not return any results about firing the felt pellet instead of using it with an adapter on a rod.

Thanks,
Richard

Not shooting them. Pushing them through with a jag.

 

[rg1911]

Not shooting them. Pushing them through with a jag.

Thank you. The "It only takes a few shots" confused me.

Richard

 

[Hoser]

Thank you. The "It only takes a few shots" confused me.

After getting the barrel clean, it settles in after a few shots.

 

[TheGerman]

Somewhere right around 200-250. I am shooting Eley Blue/Team. When it goes away/runs out I will be shooting Eley Black and Red as Team is not made anymore.

I use VFG felt pellets and a 50/50 mixture of Kroil and Shooters Choice.

It only takes a few shots (under 5) to get the rifle shooting again.

Blue was surprisingly good; shot better than Edge for me.

When you hit the 'cleaning node' did you notice your POA shifted as well?

 

[mark5pt56]

I've just been pulling a couple pellets through with Bore tech carbon remover and drying on my 64 MPR. I've only gone as high as 150 or so in between though. I haven't tried the rimfire blend, not sure if there's any advantage. Any fliers I do get seem to be all ammo related.

 

[JG26_Irish]

Was trying some different ammo and took along some Midas+ as well. I know this shoots well an can always get somewhere in the range of .4-.8 at 100 yards with it.

Wow - what kind of rifle it it that you have? Shooting 0.400" groups at 100yds is very good. You should post some tgts on the 100yd 5x6 challenge sticky at the top of the rimfire forum. 4's at 100yds should put you near the top of the leader board and .4-.8's will put you in the top 10 for sure. Nice rifle whatever it is.

As for cleaning a 22lr, the Rx is as varied as anything I know and may differ depending on the bbl you have or where you live. I think you later said it was a Lilja? Most hand lapped custom match grade bbls do not need to be scrubbed aggressively to clean them. But they will develop a carbon ring near the throat after several hundred rounds and a carbon ring at the muzzle. Some need to be cleaned with a brush & solvent. Most can get by with a patch & solvent only. My rifle will start to walk after about 150rds. And it takes about 5-15 shots to foul and lube the bbl after cleaning before it really starts to perform its best.

I typically use this process if I have fired more than 100rds.

1.) Push a patch soaked with Hoppe #9 thru the bore to clean residue and primer abrasives from the bore 1st.

2.) Soak a nylon brush in solvent and make 4-6 passes up and down the bore, mainly in the area from the chamber to 1/2 way down. If you only shot a little skip this step.

3.) Run about 3-4 wet patches down the bore until they are coming out clean. Brush reduces how many you will need.

4.) Run 2 dry patches down the bore.

5.) Run 1 patch with Rust preventative down the bore to oil it. I use Sheath or Barricade. You can skip this step if you plan to shoot more or if the bbl is stainless and you plan to shoot again within a week. If not, I oil even the stainless bbls because the humidity is very high in my region and I do not have a dehumidifier in my safe.

As for the mix of Hoppes #9, Kroil, Sheath, Mamma JuJu's snake oil, etc. Use what makes you feel good. Don't be too aggressive, and use a good polymer covered rod with brass jags and take care to not damage the crown. Push all the patches thru from breech to muzzle (not the other way round) to protect the crown. Avoid steel jags and metal brushes and bare steel rods. Use of a good penetrating rust preventative oil is likely the most important with carbon steel bbls and humid locations. Out in Arizona you could probably clean it with water, lol.

Irish

 

[Hoser]

Blue was surprisingly good; shot better than Edge for me.

When you hit the 'cleaning node' did you notice your POA shifted as well?

Edge shot terrible in my EPS chambers. I have yet to try it in some other rifles to see if I am going to keep the case I bought this winter.

When I got to the point where I needed to clean all I noticed was flyers that were way off call. No group shift at all. Then again once I figured out what the problem was I quit shooting for the day and started cleaning after each match.

 

[TheGerman]

Edge shot terrible in my EPS chambers. I have yet to try it in some other rifles to see if I am going to keep the case I bought this winter.

When I got to the point where I needed to clean all I noticed was flyers that were way off call. No group shift at all. Then again once I figured out what the problem was I quit shooting for the day and started cleaning after each match.

Didn't know it at the time but when I hit the 'node' my group still grouped but went about 1.5 inches low and to the left a bit. Made me wonder WTF happened because it wasn't a flyer, it was like a flyer group. After that, the lone flyers started regardless of ammo.

Irish - It's a CZ455, Manners Stock, Lilja Match barrel, Vortex PST 4-16 FFP and shooting off a regular Harris bipod. I stopped shooting 22LR a while back once I finally got my suppressor for my Mk12Mod1 but got back into it this last few weeks again as the wife wanted to go along and I didn't want to make her regret it with loud noises and recoil; so the 22 came back out to shoot for the first time since getting the Lilja. Let me find what ammo this thing likes and I'll be happy to do the target 'match'. (seems Lapua Midas could be damn good in it, hoping theres something more readily available it ends up liking). Also, I did go around .4-.5 but that was definitely NOT the average.

 

[beb0541]

Boretech makes some great products. I would give them a look depending on how anal you want to be.

 

[Dinosaur Jr]

Here's what I would do -

Run a patch with MPro7 through the bore and let it soak for about 10 minutes. Then a nylon brush and scrub back & forth a few times. Then a dry patch or two to remove debris. Then, run an MPro7 soaked felt plug buttered in JB Bore Paste on a jag. Scrub back & forth a few times. Then run dry patches until they come out clean. Then wet patches with Rem-Oil until they come out clean. Do not overuse JB Bore Paste as it can adversely affect accuracy if applied too frequently.

 

[jbell]

Bore Tech Rimfire Blend would be my 1st choice also Butches Bore Shine is great. I guess I have been lucky over the years with my rifles, the cleaning intervals have all been the same:

When my guilt rises above the level of my suppression ability then I will run a few wet medium fitting patches down the bore, after 15-20 min brush with a very wet QUALITY & STRAIGHT bronze brush a few strokes, then patch out with snug fitting wet patch until it is clean. I will then dry thoroughly to include the action and extractor recesses. I also pay very close attention during cleaning that solvent only gets into the bore not in the trigger or bedding.

I have gone well over 1K rounds many many times before cleaning and have yet to notice any accuracy loss or POI shift. Some rifles will need 10-20 rounds to really start shooting back to the expected accuracy and POI. But the VERY best thing is to listen to what your rifle and ammo combo tells you. If you need to clean then clean, just don't over clean and make sure you are careful because these light lead bullets seem to be picky about bore and crown quality.