How often do you clean your .22?

[ReaperDriver]

How often do you guys, especially those who compete in comps, clean your .22 bolt gun bores? And is there any special or different cleaning regimen due to lead bullets that is different from cleaning centerbore rifles with copper jacketed bullets? What products do you guys use?

 

[dash4cash]

I clean it after every shooting session, and its cleaned the same way every time whether i put 20 rounds or 200 rounds through it. I use Hoppe's cleaning products along with One shot dry lube and Hoppe's lubricating oil. No copper plated for me.

 

[gkgeiger]

I clean after every time I shoot. I use Boretech Rimfire solvent and Boretech C 4 carbon remover. I soak with C4 on a patch at the carbon ring area for 15 minutes and then run a nylon brush thru for a couple of stokes. Then a couple of wet patches with Rimfire solvent and enough dry patches to get it clean.

 

[alamo5000]

I'm not a competition shooter but I just shoot fairly regularly. I'm suppressed 99% of the time so I break down the gun when things start to get sluggish. Usually I don't wait for it to get that bad but I've kind of got "the feel" down for when it's time. Hand cycle a few times see how it goes.

As for the barrel itself if I'm cleaning the gun I do that too at the same time. If I had to guess it would be every 1000 to 1200 rounds or so. I make sure to carefully clean up the crown of the barrel when I'm cleaning.

I use bore tech rimfire blend on all of it. Works amazing. Usually I will cap off the muzzle and fill the bore and let it do it's magic for a little while. After that I drain it and use a bore mop for a few passes.

I lube the gun with some kind of light weight gun grease that I bought a while back. It works great (much better than a traditional oil) in my opinion.

 

[Jefe's Dope]

I clean often. Just easier to get it clean. 300-500 rounds. But I can shoot 300+ rounds in a match or training.

 

[BushyAR15]

After each shooting session. i just don’t use harsh cleaners cause I only shoot lead compared to my center fire rifles. Plastic bore brush, hoppes #9, patches, bore snake, then CLP.

 

[KnightRaid]

600-700 rounds usually unless I don’t plan to shoot it for a while.

 

[seanh]

Just like my Center fires, when accuracy diminishes. With both my 40x and Izhmash, they've only actually needed it a couple of times. I don't know what the round count was probably over a thousand with the izhmash and maybe five or six hundred with the 40x

 

[striped1]

Well over a 1500 rounds and no degradation in accuracy so no cleaning yet. You don't clean rimfires like you clean centerfires.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Well over a 1500 rounds and no degradation in accuracy so no cleaning yet. You don't clean rimfires like you clean centerfires.

Please explain why.

 

[Vamike9]

How often do you guys, especially those who compete in comps, clean your .22 bolt gun bores? And is there any special or different cleaning regimen due to lead bullets that is different from cleaning centerbore rifles with copper jacketed bullets? What products do you guys use?

I use a Boresnake after each range trip and lightly clean the bolt with cleaner and oil..
I've put thousands of rounds through my B14r this way without accuracy degradation or malfunctions.
I do plan to give it a proper cleaning soon but for now it is rocking and rolling with no problems.

 

[seanh]

Lead fouls differently then copper. And, the cartridge isn't nearly as effected by higher round count between cleaning...

 

[tango11]

My gun has misfiring problem if I don't clean it after ~400-500 rounds...

 

[Dthomas3523]

Lead fouls differently then copper. And, the cartridge isn't nearly as effected by higher round count between cleaning...

Most of the cleaning in Centerfire isn’t for copper. Most cleaning for any rifle isn’t done for accuracy reasons.

More circa 1995 stuff.

 

[alamo5000]

Well over a 1500 rounds and no degradation in accuracy so no cleaning yet. You don't clean rimfires like you clean centerfires.

I've had .22 rifles and pistols both so carboned up that the bolt/slide wouldn't even go into battery. Yet I've never had that problem with any center fire rifle with way more rounds in between cleaning.

I don't think it is all about accuracy. Particularly with rimfire the gun can and will cease to function (especially suppressed) a lot faster than trying to have the same thing happen to an AR whether suppressed or not.

What I've seen with rimfire is that I get chambering and feeding issues and light or no primer strikes when it's too dirty. That has nothing to do with accuracy.

By far the biggest factor causing negative performance if we are talking pure ".25MOA groups" is carbon. Excessive carbon harms accuracy in every platform, I would say more than anything else (all other factors being equal).

A big bottle of Bore Tech C4 is your friend.

 

[AManWearingAHat]

How often do you guys, especially those who compete in comps, clean your .22 bolt gun bores? And is there any special or different cleaning regimen due to lead bullets that is different from cleaning centerbore rifles with copper jacketed bullets? What products do you guys use?

I shoot my 1813 Anschutz until accuracy degrades. Other than that I don't touch it. Typically that would be every 1000 rounds Ill push a patch of solvent, a dry patch, and a very lightly oiled patch through. They really don't need much more.

Disclaimer, all I shoot through it is Eley Tenex and Match so that may have something to do with it.

 

[alamo5000]

By far the biggest factor causing negative performance if we are talking pure ".25MOA groups" is carbon. Excessive carbon harms accuracy in every platform, I would say more than anything else (all other factors being equal).

I want to correct myself. The biggest factor is that the shooter is unable to do his/her part. In a close second is the gun in question was never able to shoot 1/4 MOA groups to start with, at least not consistently. Then we have the problem of any of the 10,000 things that can be wrong with the ammo... but since we were talking purely about equipment 'assuming' those other elements are all present, then, after all that carbon is going to be the enemy.

I shoot my 1813 Anschutz until accuracy degrades. Other than that I don't touch it. Typically that would be every 1000 rounds Ill push a patch of solvent, a dry patch, and a very lightly oiled patch through. They really don't need much more.

Disclaimer, all I shoot through it is Eley Tenex and Match so that may have something to do with it.

I am along the same thought process as you. Cleaning is over rated and can (if you are not extremely careful) actually damage the barrel which would be counter productive. If some of my friends heard me say that they wouldn't believe it was me and would think someone hijacked my account. I am a self declared clean freak but in recovery mode somewhat.

It really is possible to clean too much. At least in my personal opinion it is. It really just depends on the nature and type of 'cleaning' we are talking about. But I am of the belief that scrubbing the bejesus out of the bore in most cases can be very counter productive in the big picture.

I hear people say 'no loss of accuracy after X number of rounds' and that's pretty true some of the time (but not always). It just depends on the baseline we start from as well as the expectations of accuracy. If someone started out with a 1 MOA barrel odds are they won't even notice a difference except in more extreme lack of cleaning situations.

Being clear about it though there is also such a thing about being 'too dirty' as well. There is a point where cleaning guns and bores of guns becomes needed to restore accuracy. To your point about consistency of ammo, if you switch up ammo it might be a good thing to clean the bore especially after shooting junk ammo.

That nice middle ground between spotless and filthy is where I like to live. Unless you are a world class shooter in very specific circumstances there is such a thing as practical accuracy. Basically that means unless you are doing something like extreme benchrest competition it's not practical to clean after every 5th or 10th shot or whatever. For some that 'practical' number might be 200 rounds. For others it might be 1,000 rounds or more (depending on expectations and other components).

 

[grauhanen]

Cleaning a .22LR bore may be over-rated -- for casual shooters with average rifles and random ammo (even random match ammo) who are indifferent to trying to achieve the best accuracy.

For the vast majority of serious shooters in 3P Olympic-style competition, as well as benchrest shooters, who for good reason are often very anal about it, cleaning is done very regularly, after each shooting session, and during them. They use a variety of methods typically involving cleaning rods (with bore guides) and brass or nylon brushes and patches and cleaning solvent. They would be pleased if their competitors cleaned only infrequently or didn't clean at all.

For shooters with mass-produced rifles with mass-produced barrels who've never noticed a difference in how one lot of a particular ammo may shoot differently than another -- two different lots of Center X, for example -- a regular and frequent cleaning regimen may easily seem like more trouble than it's worth. They can skip cleaning the bore and never miss a beat.

 

[MarkCZ]

I clean when I get the gun. after I saw this. then I don't. auto loader once a year unless need before that. you can do more damage cleaning than shooting.

 

[alamo5000]

I clean when I get the gun. after I saw this. then I don't. auto loader once a year unless need before that. you can do more damage cleaning than shooting.

Very much along the same line of thought as what I was trying to say above. Very well thought out video in my opinion.

 

[AManWearingAHat]

Cleaning a .22LR bore may be over-rated -- for casual shooters with average rifles and random ammo (even random match ammo) who are indifferent to trying to achieve the best accuracy.

For the vast majority of serious shooters in 3P Olympic-style competition, as well as benchrest shooters, who for good reason are often very anal about it, cleaning is done very regularly, after each shooting session, and during them. They use a variety of methods typically involving cleaning rods (with bore guides) and brass or nylon brushes and patches and cleaning solvent. They would be pleased if their competitors cleaned only infrequently or didn't clean at all.

For shooters with mass-produced rifles with mass-produced barrels who've never noticed a difference in how one lot of a particular ammo may shoot differently than another -- two different lots of Center X, for example -- a regular and frequent cleaning regimen may easily seem like more trouble than it's worth. They can skip cleaning the bore and never miss a beat.

I'm a pretty serious 3P Olympic small bore shooter, and am not particularly anal about cleaning. When the rifle needs it, the scores will drop off. Long as the 10's keep flowing, why mess with success? Even when I was in college before a competition, if we'd clean the rifles we would burn at least 100-200 rounds through the barrels after cleaning to get the barrels to settle down again.

Cleaning during a competition, at least for 3P, is madness. You would never do that. The bore guides you mentioned, at least for a 54 Action Anschutz is to keep the solvent out of the trigger group as parts of them are epoxied in place and some small parts are plastic. In my time behind and Anschutz, I think I can count the number of times I've felt the need to use a brass brush on one hand. With match ammo, the barrels simply don't accumulate that much crud. I personally never gave much thought to how much my fellow competitors were cleaning or how anal they were about it. It's all in the scores. Do what works for you. What worked for me was a very simple and very light cleaning regimen. I can also attest to many shooters who were much better than met at the time who saw a lot of success with the very light cleaning regimen I described.

The ones I do know clean their rifles after every competition are Biathletes, but that's more about removing water from the snow. I imagine they probably run a patch with some oil after every race to drive the water out. Ill let you know next year when I'm hopefully a competent enough skier

 

[grauhanen]

I'm a pretty serious 3P Olympic small bore shooter, and am not particularly anal about cleaning. When the rifle needs it, the scores will drop off. Long as the 10's keep flowing, why mess with success? Even when I was in college before a competition, if we'd clean the rifles we would burn at least 100-200 rounds through the barrels after cleaning to get the barrels to settle down again.

Cleaning during a competition, at least for 3P, is madness. You would never do that. The bore guides you mentioned, at least for a 54 Action Anschutz is to keep the solvent out of the trigger group as parts of them are epoxied in place and some small parts are plastic. In my time behind and Anschutz, I think I can count the number of times I've felt the need to use a brass brush on one hand. With match ammo, the barrels simply don't accumulate that much crud. I personally never gave much thought to how much my fellow competitors were cleaning or how anal they were about it. It's all in the scores. Do what works for you. What worked for me was a very simple and very light cleaning regimen. I can also attest to many shooters who were much better than met at the time who saw a lot of success with the very light cleaning regimen I described.

The ones I do know clean their rifles after every competition are Biathletes, but that's more about removing water from the snow. I imagine they probably run a patch with some oil after every race to drive the water out. Ill let you know next year when I'm hopefully a competent enough skier

To be clear, it was BR shooters who I said are anal about cleaning and they may do so after each card. You may not be serious about cleaning after every range session, but many serious 3P shooters are. For what it's worth, Anschutz itself recommends cleaning after every shooting session as does Walther and Feinwerkbau, three of the leading match rifle makers. For Anschutz, see J.G. ANSCHÜTZ GmbH & Co. KG - FAQs (anschuetz-sport.com) Ammo maker Eley also recommends cleaning after every session. See Eley FAQs on cleaning FAQ's - (eley.co.uk) At the Eley testing facility, they have settled on no more than 100 rounds before recommending cleaning, with the motto "A clean gun shoots better than a dirty gun." Does a cleaner gun mean a cleaner shot? (eley.co.uk) From a barrel maker's perspective, Lilja recommends patching their barrels every 100 or so rounds. 22 Rimfire Maintenance - Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels : Lilja

Few rifles and few shooters need the 100 to 200 rounds you say are required before the bore is adequately fouled for resumption of accuracy. If you choose to use a cleaning rod without a bore guide in a rifle such as a 54 Anschutz, that's a personal choice, but it's not advocated by match rifle shooters in general. Pushing a cleaning rod through the chamber into the bore without a bore guide (or, more accurately, a rod guide) is folly. While many 3P shooters prefer to use a convenient pull-through with wicks, many shooters use nylon or brass brushes on a regular basis. Olympians such as Eric Uptagrafft recommend using a bore guide, brush and cleaning patches on a daily basis. See Tech Blog (uptagrafftllc.com) There are others who follow a similar regimen, but the point should be clear that the minimalist approach to cleaning is not as widely favored as you seem to suggest.

 

[AManWearingAHat]

And that's fine, I'm just relaying my own experience. Thank you for the information though! I'm going to amend my process and see if it changes my results.

 

[alamo5000]

Context is key.

Directly from the Lija Website in the link you posted:

"Rimfire rifle barrels are different from centerfire barrels in that they require very little cleaning and essentially no break-in procedure. We have asked several of the top rimfire shooters and gunsmiths that use our barrels about their procedures and based on our own experience, have come up with our recommendation for cleaning.

In a match-grade stainless steel hand-lapped barrel, leading is an almost nonexistent problem. Powder fouling is minimal too. It is possible however to have an accumulation of fouling in the leade area in front of the chamber. A build up here is detrimental to top accuracy.

We suggest cleaning in the following manner. After approximately 100 rounds push a dry loose patch through the barrel from the breach end. This pushes out loose fouling. Then take a tighter dry patch and work it back and forth about 10 times in the leade area, pushing it out of the barrel at the muzzle end when finished."

They are talking about a specific part of the barrel which lines up nicely with what a number of people here have been saying. The crown is another key area in my opinion.

I haven't read the other links you posted up yet.

 

[grauhanen]

Context is always important, but it's not clear what's at issue. What's worth noting is that cleaning the bore regularly -- be it with a cleaning rod, brushes and/or patches or a pull-through with wicks or patches -- is important in maintaining consistent accuracy. Match rifle makers advocate daily cleaning as do winning shooters and ammo makers.

To be sure, the leade area just ahead of the chamber is at risk of developing a carbon ring. Regular cleaning with proper methods and solvents helps prevent or eliminate carbon rings, which are detrimental to accuracy. At the same time, cleaning the rest of the barrel beyond the leade area is part of the ongoing effort to have a clean bore, which as noted by Eley and others is relevant to achieving best accuracy.

Don't just clean the chamber and leade, clean the length of the bore for best results. A clean barrel alone won't necessarily make a significant difference. But it's one part. Doing all the little things that collectively bring about the best accuracy from a good rifle is important.

 

[Tim7139]

Context is always important, but it's not clear what's at issue. What's worth noting is that cleaning the bore regularly -- be it with a cleaning rod, brushes and/or patches or a pull-through with wicks or patches -- is important in maintaining consistent accuracy. Match rifle makers advocate daily cleaning as do winning shooters and ammo makers.

To be sure, the leade area just ahead of the chamber is at risk of developing a carbon ring. Regular cleaning with proper methods and solvents helps prevent or eliminate carbon rings, which are detrimental to accuracy. At the same time, cleaning the rest of the barrel beyond the leade area is part of the ongoing effort to have a clean bore, which as noted by Eley and others is relevant to achieving best accuracy.

Don't just clean the chamber and leade, clean the length of the bore for best results. A clean barrel alone won't necessarily make a significant difference. But it's one part. Doing all the little things that collectively bring about the best accuracy from a good rifle is important.

Finally.....at the #27 post mark top to bottom accurate information. Congrats.
Rarely will you see the absolute best, match grade, precise barrels get cleaned at what anyone would call infrequently, often 50-100 rounds, to maintain optimum performance and this has been proven over and over and over and it usually means with a quality rod, proper boreguide, bronze brushes and solvent, hopefully rimfire specific.
A good barrel, cleaned well, rarely takes more than 4-5 rounds to settle right in, it is also, pretty much what’s done in the test ranges.

 

[Nodak]

I mainly run bolt action suppressed in all rimfire calibers. I clean twice a year or if I see accuracy fall off. Sometimes I'll just clean the muzzle as need due to the can. Cleaning a rim fire wears out the barrel faster than shooting it.

Only one rimfire gets the special cleaning after 100 rnds or so and that is my Ruger 10/22 17hm2 full Volquartzen conversion. If not kept rather tidy it will do bad bad things.

 

[Tim7139]

the “way back machine” is stopped, as stated, around 1995......maybe 1985.
I mean.....WOW!

 

[~JM~]

These two products were recommended when I asked the same type of question a while back.

Rimfire Blend Bore Cleaner - Gun Cleaning Supplies

Rimfire Blend Bore Cleaner rapidly removes the carbon, lead and bullet wax fouling produced by Rimfire ammunition. Order a bottle for your gun today!

www.boretech.com

Wipe-Out Brushless Bore Cleaner | Sharp Shoot R

WIPE-OUT Brushless Bore Cleaner is a revolutionary new product that solves all the problems encountered with conventional bore cleaners.

sharpshootr.com

They both work very well.

 

[Hardpan]

Wipeout works like a charm for me. I use the accelerator with it, let it sit for an hour and a couple dry patches later the barrel is spotless

 

[mikehotel]

this:

A Guide to .22LR Barrel Care for the Precision Rimfire Shooter - The Truth About Guns

By Gregory J. Roman As anyone involved in the shooting sports knows, precision rimfire is growing rapidly. The internet is full of tons of advice, good and bad, on how to perform better as a shooter. If there is one thing that my time at Vudoo has taught me, it’s that there is not much […]

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

 

[obx22]

The action style and chamber determines how often I clean. Single shot 4-P and Prone rifles get cleaned every match or I’d feel the resistance during chambering. Even the 52C showed the same thing after a day of shooting, and it’s a mag-fed repeater.
My hunters, Silhouette, CMP Rimfire Sporter, and barricade rifle all catch a cleaning after about 300rnds.
Any gun that gets blown particles of dust, dirt, or even straw/grass gets a complete tear-down to avoid stoppages.

 

[Aftermath]

this:

A Guide to .22LR Barrel Care for the Precision Rimfire Shooter - The Truth About Guns

By Gregory J. Roman As anyone involved in the shooting sports knows, precision rimfire is growing rapidly. The internet is full of tons of advice, good and bad, on how to perform better as a shooter. If there is one thing that my time at Vudoo has taught me, it’s that there is not much […]

www.thetruthaboutguns.com

 

[Polaris13]

After every session. Boretech C4, Vudoo cleaning method (YouTube video)

 

[MarkCZ]

I clean when I get the gun. after I saw this. then I don't. auto loader once a year unless need before that. you can do more damage cleaning than shooting.

I have changed the way I clean. I use C4 carbon cleaner on the carbon ring every 300 to 400 rounds. I do not clean the barrel.

 

[Milo 2.5]

I have changed the way I clean. I use C4 carbon cleaner on the carbon ring every 300 to 400 rounds. I do not clean the barrel.

Me too, lol.
I guess all my rifles have their own regimen, the Rim X and Vudoo are on a schedule, (300 rds max), the Kidd's a more relaxed version, (500 rds), the Ruger 10/22's shooting CCI SV, I'll let go to 800-1K rds.
Now I have 3 sporter rifles that I don't have bore guides for,( I guess I do for the 2 Anschutz, but it sucks so bad), so I really don't clean often, but they are minimal rd guns anyway. I imagine, that will bite my ass down the rd.
C4 here too, though I do patch the barrel and let it sit while I clean the chamber-leade.

 

[nikonNUT]

Me too, lol.
I guess all my rifles have their own regimen, the Rim X and Vudoo are on a schedule, (300 rds max), the Kidd's a more relaxed version, (500 rds), the Ruger 10/22's shooting CCI SV, I'll let go to 800-1K rds.
Now I have 3 sporter rifles that I don't have bore guides for,( I guess I do for the 2 Anschutz, but it sucks so bad), so I really don't clean often, but they are minimal rd guns anyway. I imagine, that will bite my ass down the rd.
C4 here too, though I do patch the barrel and let it sit while I clean the chamber-leade.

I have a way around the bore guide issue. Have a Tippmann M4-22 and bore guides aren't a thing so I took a page from the airgunners book and picked up a .177 cal patchworm. .22 cal VFG weapon felts slide right on and are a snug fit in the bore. Just fish it thru and pull.