Just as the title says every time or every x rounds? I've got 447 on my 6.5 barrel and a match next weekend gotta rezero to my load I've developed this weekend and figure my suppressor offset. Should I clean it then do all the zeroing and velocity gathering or wait til after the match?
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How often do you clean
- Thread starter danatkins
- Start date
Personally I would clean and lube and get ready for the shoot. However, Letyour conscience.... and the rifles performance or lack thereof be your guide.
That's what I'm thinking I run a boresnake after every session to just knock any excess crud out but just look for opinions to maybe expand my knowledge and options
started cleaning every 400 rounds maybe 500 , but went to the range and it was dirty under 500 rounds and got funky results with rounds not wanting to group so well , so now I light clean after every use and by light I mean clean barrel , bolt and lubed , chamber brush copper cleaning solution , and soaking it with clr and a rinse , a quick once over with isso products then a spray lube and patch to get the excess and wipe down after every use . I liked how the gun shot when new and clean i might as well have that feeling every time I shoot it also eliminates that aspect when looking over the data from the rounds I just shot . For my guns an hour or two is not to much to spend making sure baby is shiny and clean and ready for it's next use . but you can do or not do what every you want to with your guns only you can prevent forest fires .
but you can do or not do what every you want to with your guns only you can prevent forest fires .I run patches with boretech in it ,and never use a bore snake.
Almost never more than 300rnds.
Less if the next outing or match will put me significantly over 300 rounds.
I take carbon and copper out and get barrel as close to like new as possible. With the right cleaning solutions and process, it can be done very easily and efficiently.
And, if you never wait for accuracy to fall off before cleaning…….accuracy never falls off.
Less if the next outing or match will put me significantly over 300 rounds.
I take carbon and copper out and get barrel as close to like new as possible. With the right cleaning solutions and process, it can be done very easily and efficiently.
And, if you never wait for accuracy to fall off before cleaning…….accuracy never falls off.
Ditch the bore snake... just my humble opinion... Get a good quality cleaning rod and bore guide for your rifle.
D
Deleted member 181377
Guest
I walk one rifle or another around my 60 acres almost everyday. A wipe down with ballistol and running a bore snake through it with the same is the routine afterwards. I clean with a rod, patch and Hoppes #9 if I actually fire a round. Or Ten. Or Twenty. Or fifty. Any rifle I own is cleaned and lubed before it gets put up at the end of the day.
We clean our Fclass rifles after each day. Typically 40-100 rounds. Works great running Bartlein and Brux barrels. That’s using rods and patches not bore snakes
My personal stuff I never clean until several hundred rounds in. 556 get a bore snake. The rest be it 308/300/260/6.5 etc get cleaned every several hundred rounds or once a year depending on the use
My personal stuff I never clean until several hundred rounds in. 556 get a bore snake. The rest be it 308/300/260/6.5 etc get cleaned every several hundred rounds or once a year depending on the use
Patches after every solid shooting day which is ~100 rounds or if rifle will not be shot within the week.
Once accuracy dips or after roughly 500 rounds, I do the full shebang.
I'll shoot about a dozen rounds to "break in" the clean rifle before data gathering/shoot days.
Once accuracy dips or after roughly 500 rounds, I do the full shebang.
I'll shoot about a dozen rounds to "break in" the clean rifle before data gathering/shoot days.
If one MOA consistency is all you need for your shooting needs then go ahead and wait ‘til groups open up. If you need consistent precision, ie F-Class competition, then follow a routine that gets the carbon fouling out after every match or range trip. Don’t be scared to use Iosso, JB’s, or Simichrome.
The problem with these threads on barrel cleaning is that you are going to get 500 different ideas and ways of doing it. You have to find shooters with proven track records of success in your shooting discipline who you trust. Take their advice. Here‘s HOF shooter Jack Neary with Eric Cortina on how to clean a barrel:
The problem with these threads on barrel cleaning is that you are going to get 500 different ideas and ways of doing it. You have to find shooters with proven track records of success in your shooting discipline who you trust. Take their advice. Here‘s HOF shooter Jack Neary with Eric Cortina on how to clean a barrel:
every 3-4 1 day matches or 1 2 day match
i've let a 6.5 creed barrel go to 1000 without cleaning and it still shot the same
i've let a 6.5 creed barrel go to 1000 without cleaning and it still shot the same
I run a few patches of Kroil until they are mostly clean followed by two Hoppies gun oil coated patches followed by dry patches. I do this every other range session or after every day of a match. Over the years I've refine my process and these two products when used this way do not cause first shot displacement and prevent any issues with carbon rings in my 6mm bores.
I don't usually clean for copper until the end of match season.
I don't usually clean for copper until the end of match season.
So what’s the issue with the bore snake?
Yeah a nice rod is better, but for a quick field clean, snake beats nothing, especially when you can’t stow the rod.
If the snake is just nylon and brass, how could it hurt the steel barrel?
I go between every 150rds - 500, more cleaning with say a 22 and less with a pistol or 308etc, boretech and G96 and slideglide for chemicals, carbon rod or bore snake (if space/time limited for tools.
Yeah a nice rod is better, but for a quick field clean, snake beats nothing, especially when you can’t stow the rod.
If the snake is just nylon and brass, how could it hurt the steel barrel?
I go between every 150rds - 500, more cleaning with say a 22 and less with a pistol or 308etc, boretech and G96 and slideglide for chemicals, carbon rod or bore snake (if space/time limited for tools.
D
Deleted member 181377
Guest
Between my 10/22, MIni-14, various lever actions, my boresnakes see a lot of action. Cleaning every time seems easier than waiting for accuracy to be effected and you've got a big job on your hands.
I'm cleaning after every range trip, that goes for my 6BR, my 308, my 6.5 Grendel, and my 223, all bolt guns, though I do have semi's in 308, 6.5G and 223. Most guns don't see more than 50 rounds per range outing, am I overdoing it? I'm going for peak accuracy as I test loads, all are capable of Sub-MOA groups with their preferred loads, but I'm still in test mode for all of them. I'd love to settle on one load for each of them, but with component shortages (powders, bullets AND primers) I'm constantly changing something based on what I can find.
Some of the guns shoot their best when meticulously cleaned, some don't settle down until after 20-30 rounds. I'm keeping decent (but not great) notes, but it's still a struggle to know what's really working. I clean the 6BR and the Grendel with nylon brushes ONLY, using Bore Tech Eliminator, per their instructions. I guess I'm just trying to eliminate the variable of a dirty barrel as I do the testing, typically with 10-shot ladder loads and 5-shot groups.
Your thoughts?
Some of the guns shoot their best when meticulously cleaned, some don't settle down until after 20-30 rounds. I'm keeping decent (but not great) notes, but it's still a struggle to know what's really working. I clean the 6BR and the Grendel with nylon brushes ONLY, using Bore Tech Eliminator, per their instructions. I guess I'm just trying to eliminate the variable of a dirty barrel as I do the testing, typically with 10-shot ladder loads and 5-shot groups.
Your thoughts?
If you don’t clean the bore snake or get a new one every so often, it’s the equivalent to running dirty patches.
Nothing wrong with it as long as you maintain or replace it.
I will run 1 patch after a day of shooting then after about 250-300 I will do a proper cleaning. The exception in my 375ct shooting solids I clean every 80-100. There is more copper fouling with the solids.
Came across this 1848 letter from Thomas Boss to a client on cleaning his Boss and Co. gun:
".... in cleaning barrels, water not warmer than milk is best -- if very hot water is put into them, it extracts all the oil from the Patent breeching and nipples and makes it very difficult to screw them out again. The servant should be careful to oil the inside well after cleaning. Further, servants on cleaning the gun [need to] apply a little raw linseed oil and rub it in with a wad of cloth."
So your best bet is to instruct your servants accordingly and make sure they don't under oil your gun.
Hey, it works for @TheGerman and I! Bottom line is to make sure you instruct your servants correctly!
Sirhr
".... in cleaning barrels, water not warmer than milk is best -- if very hot water is put into them, it extracts all the oil from the Patent breeching and nipples and makes it very difficult to screw them out again. The servant should be careful to oil the inside well after cleaning. Further, servants on cleaning the gun [need to] apply a little raw linseed oil and rub it in with a wad of cloth."
So your best bet is to instruct your servants accordingly and make sure they don't under oil your gun.
Hey, it works for @TheGerman and I! Bottom line is to make sure you instruct your servants correctly!
Sirhr
My gunsmith does my cleaning for me. He unscrews the dirty one and screws on a clean one.
Seriously on a top tier cut rifle barrel I clean it prior to the first shoot, once at 100 rounds plus or minus just to make sure nothing is really weird. And then only if it gets wet or starts shooting oddly. My last 6cm barrel went to 1400 and was never cleaned. It lived a hard life.
Factory barrels (hammer forged, button rifles) seem to like it more often.
Seriously on a top tier cut rifle barrel I clean it prior to the first shoot, once at 100 rounds plus or minus just to make sure nothing is really weird. And then only if it gets wet or starts shooting oddly. My last 6cm barrel went to 1400 and was never cleaned. It lived a hard life.
Factory barrels (hammer forged, button rifles) seem to like it more often.
Our company's banker takes us pheasant hunting at a private club just out of town once in a while. When finished they clean your birds and guns for you so I think I'm in!!!
Whenever i feel like it, which is usually when there is enough dust and dirt to start making the action hard to run.
Barrels can easily go 500+ between cleanings.
More damage is caused by OCD and inexperienced people over cleaning than anything else.
Rimfire is the exception, every 50-100 rounds clean off the bolt with a oily rag to keep it running (vudoo).
Barrels can easily go 500+ between cleanings.
More damage is caused by OCD and inexperienced people over cleaning than anything else.
Rimfire is the exception, every 50-100 rounds clean off the bolt with a oily rag to keep it running (vudoo).
I run a couple of oily patches after each outing, cleans out most of the crud and ensures no rust in the bore (live in a very rust prone environment).
I try stick to this as it can be a long time between shooting rifles if life gets in the way, so nice to know there's a bit of protection in the bore.
Then just one dry patch to remove oil before I go shooting, it usually comes out fairly clean.
I do a proper clean when I get around do it.
I give my 22lr a thorough clean more frequently as shooting that suppressed causes a tonne of fouling.
I try stick to this as it can be a long time between shooting rifles if life gets in the way, so nice to know there's a bit of protection in the bore.
Then just one dry patch to remove oil before I go shooting, it usually comes out fairly clean.
I do a proper clean when I get around do it.
I give my 22lr a thorough clean more frequently as shooting that suppressed causes a tonne of fouling.
Since I mostly shoot a 6mm, I try to clean mine about every ~200-300rds, but I've gone as long as ~500-600rds quite a few times without anything getting wonky (mostly).
I have had my barrel speed up and throw my dope off a couple of times when running it into that 500rds+ range (most likely due to carbon building up), so now I try to stay more on top of it, just more so for keeping my speed/dope from getting wonky, not so much for any sort of accuracy fall-off reasons.
For a larger bore/caliber cartridge like 6.5CM, I'd probably go longer between cleanings.
That said, compared to some around here who're pulling out the abrasives and borescopes: by their standards, my barrel has probably never been clean lol! I just stick to Boretech Eliminator, using patches and nylon bore brush, and I don't spend longer than ~10-15mins cleaning.
The only thing I do that is maybe somewhat out of the norm is half way through cleaning I pull the bore guide, then I use a 10" chamber rod with a nylon chamber brush to get my chamber/throat while I let some of the Boretech marinate in my barrel. This is for peace of mind and/or added comfort that I won't have to go up against the dreaded carbon ring, and helps get any carbon junk out of the receiver/feed-ramp area. I finish the chamber with a chamber mop, pop the bore guide back in, and finish cleaning the barrel. Think I use maybe ~20-25 patches total.
If you don't already have one, I recommend this thing:
Amazon product ASIN B00LCT9WCK
Before a match I usually will clean it... but I also try to send a few downrange if there's a "zero range open" period before the match... it probably doesn't matter, but no reason to be firing foulers on the clock if I don't have to.
I have had my barrel speed up and throw my dope off a couple of times when running it into that 500rds+ range (most likely due to carbon building up), so now I try to stay more on top of it, just more so for keeping my speed/dope from getting wonky, not so much for any sort of accuracy fall-off reasons.
For a larger bore/caliber cartridge like 6.5CM, I'd probably go longer between cleanings.
That said, compared to some around here who're pulling out the abrasives and borescopes: by their standards, my barrel has probably never been clean lol! I just stick to Boretech Eliminator, using patches and nylon bore brush, and I don't spend longer than ~10-15mins cleaning.
The only thing I do that is maybe somewhat out of the norm is half way through cleaning I pull the bore guide, then I use a 10" chamber rod with a nylon chamber brush to get my chamber/throat while I let some of the Boretech marinate in my barrel. This is for peace of mind and/or added comfort that I won't have to go up against the dreaded carbon ring, and helps get any carbon junk out of the receiver/feed-ramp area. I finish the chamber with a chamber mop, pop the bore guide back in, and finish cleaning the barrel. Think I use maybe ~20-25 patches total.
If you don't already have one, I recommend this thing:
Amazon product ASIN B00LCT9WCK
Before a match I usually will clean it... but I also try to send a few downrange if there's a "zero range open" period before the match... it probably doesn't matter, but no reason to be firing foulers on the clock if I don't have to.
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