Rifle Cleaning

[chzhd]

I wanted to pose a question that I have been thinking about for a while. Between work and family commitments, I am lucky to be able to get to the range once per month, usually it's every other month. With that said, I always hear that the cleaning frequency id typically dictated by how the rifle shoots. If the groups start to open up, give it a cleaning or clean every 200-300 rounds.

What are the thoughts of cleaning after every range trip if you know the rifle will sit for a while? Typical range trip is 60-80 rounds through the barrel.

My typical cleaning routine is 3 wet patches with Shooter Choice followed by 3 dry patches and finished with an oil patch.

 

[BuLLet]

I mostly clean after each range trip. If I plan on shooting a few days later I'll wait. If the gun goes back in the safe then I want it cleaned and the barrel lubed. Leaving carbon and other fouling can attract moisture and it's best to remove it before storing.

 

[Newbie2020]

If you’re using a bore guide and using good technique it won’t hurt to get rhe carbon out.

 

[308pirate]

If you’re using a bore guide and using good technique it won’t hurt to get rhe carbon out.

This

There is a lot of stupid advice here on rifle cleaning. It usually starts with "more barrels have been damaged by over-cleaning than by not cleaning enough"

 

[chzhd]

As an engineer, I pride myself on have the exact correct tool for every job. I have a Lucas bore guide for every rifle and barrel.

I'm glad to hear I am not over doing it on the cleaning.

 

[mbeavers1]

Personally, i wouldnt be concerned with the intervals between shooting sessions. If you have a muzzle brake, clean that well every 1-200 rds and let the barrel go much further 500+. I regularly go as far as 800 and gun still shots 0.5moa or better. Plus, you are more likely to damage things (crown).

If you insist on cleaning the carbon, I doubt you will get it out w just the 3 wet patches. My routine is 3-5 wet patches (Boretech c4 carbon remover), 25 strokes with wet bronze brush, soak for 15 min, 3-5 wet patches, then dry patches til spotless.

Im sure Ill get flamed for the bronze brush, but this came from a good benchrest shooting gunsmith that tested bronze vs nylon to confirm if any damage is observed using a borescope. Nada.

Since you will clean more, make sure you buy a good rod that wont damage anything (Tipton, dewey, boretech, etc)

My 0.02...

 

[Sogan]

Personally, i wouldnt be concerned with the intervals between shooting sessions. If you have a muzzle brake, clean that well every 1-200 rds and let the barrel go much further 500+. I regularly go as far as 800 and gun still shots 0.5moa or better. Plus, you are more likely to damage things (crown).

If you insist on cleaning the carbon, I doubt you will get it out w just the 3 wet patches. My routine is 3-5 wet patches (Boretech c4 carbon remover), 25 strokes with wet bronze brush, soak for 15 min, 3-5 wet patches, then dry patches til spotless.

Im sure Ill get flamed for the bronze brush, but this came from a good benchrest shooting gunsmith that tested bronze vs nylon to confirm if any damage is observed using a borescope. Nada.

Since you will clean more, make sure you buy a good rod that wont damage anything (Tipton, dewey, boretech, etc)

My 0.02...

thats a lot of strokes. Im assuming you are removing the brush before pulling the cleaning rod back through the muzzle?

 

[mbeavers1]

thats a lot of strokes. Im assuming you are removing the brush before pulling the cleaning rod back through the muzzle?

No, just pushing all the way out then gently pulling back to allow bristles to center it. After that many rounds it takes a lot of brushing

 

[brianf]

clean your rifle...the barrel manufacturers that post on the hide say so multiple times a year.

Use proper Chems, don’t use bore paste and compounds like that, those can destroy a barrel.

the more of you clean the less work it takes each time which means less time on your part.

Possible pitting/moisture issues aside, if you wait for the rifle to tell you and it happens mid match or at the beginning of a range session...”thanks for telling me”

not starting a pissung match but if someone says they never clean and the rifle still shoots .5 or less.
post 5-5 shot groups at .5 or less with a 800 round dirty barrel.

for reference Benchrest guys clean between strings

hitting a 2 Moa plate is not the same as printing small groups in the X ring

 

[Dthomas3523]

Getting the carbon out is easy. Fill the barrel with carbon cleaner. Leave it for a while. Flush and patch it out. Use a brush if you like.

Do the same thing for copper with copper solvent.

Less than 10min of actual labor. Barrel looks brand new. Takes a handful or less shots to foul back to normal.

You’ll never pressure out with a carbon ring, and your accuracy never “falls off”. Cleaning is preventative maintenance not reactive damage control.

Here’s a pic of barrel with something like 1500 rounds for life of barrel. The above method and very, very little manual labor:

 

[brianf]

^^^i dont believe you, Witchcraft i tell ya.

 

[Dthomas3523]

Also, it’s basically impossible for bronze brush to harm stainless.

The issue that arises is if the bronze brush starts flaking off in the barrel. Then you need to clean it out like copper.

 

[brianf]

...sorcery

 

[phlegethon]

I used to avoid cleaning, and then ended up with a couple of barrels with carbon rings that were nearly impossible to remove. I try to clean every hundred shots or so now. I also think without a bore scope you can’t really know if your cleaning routine is working or not.

 

[Dthomas3523]

I used to avoid cleaning, and then ended up with a couple of barrels with carbon rings that were nearly impossible to remove. I try to clean every hundred shots or so now. I also think without a bore scope you can’t really know if your cleaning routine is working or not.

This exactly. I’ve seen patches come out very clean. Borescope says otherwise.

 

[Ledzep]

Hornady used to give public tours before Covid. Anyway as part of that tour they take you down in their underground accuracy test tunnel and those guys clean their barrels every 5-15 rounds usually and get comparable barrel life to what most folks get in field use.

Don't let the rod smack the bore walls, and don't put abrasives on a brush. It's much easier to stay in front of the carbon fouling than to try to try to soak it all clean after 700 rounds. IME, with the barrels we're using (hand lapped), you almost don't need to worry about copper fouling. Carbon is what spikes pressure and causes velocity to creep up over time.

 

[308pirate]

Also, it’s basically impossible for bronze brush to harm stainless.

You would not believe how many times someone has told me with a straight face that a soft bronze brush will scratch 416 stainless with hardness in the mid 30s Rockwell C.

 

[SirDrinksAlot]

I use to not clean at all, now I pretty much clean after every range trip.

Not an intense clean, bore guide, wet patch, followed by a couple of dry patches until clean (takes maybe 3 or 4), wipe down the bolt face, and done.

I haven’t noticed any build up of carbon, and it’s such a light cleaning regiment I doubt I’m doing any damage to the barrel. I plan on getting a bore scope soon so we’ll see!

 

[AllenOne1]

My typical cleaning routine is 3 wet patches with Shooter Choice followed by 3 dry patches and finished with an oil patch.

I would say you are just knocking the dust out of your barrel not cleaning it with that routine. If it is working for you the way you want it tp just keep doing it though.

I personally clean after every range trip and check it with a borescope to verify. I run copper cleaner through it first and then go after the carbon with a bronze brush until it is clean. The main issue I seem to have is carbon building up in the sharp corners of the lands. This area can be hard for me to get clean but I think I need those sharp corners to grab the bullet.

It shoots better clean too. I have tried it both ways to prove it.

 

[THEIS]

You would not believe how many times someone has told me with a straight face that a soft bronze brush will scratch 416 stainless with hardness in the mid 30s Rockwell C.

Hi,

But I read that if you coat the barrel with nitride the bronze brush not only causes no harm but actually increases barrel life for every stroke of the brush.

Sincerely,
Theis

 

[Herb Stoner]

I skip cleaning after some range trips if the round count is low and haven't seen any detrimental effect. Advice on using the right tools is spot on though.

 

[spife7980]

But I read that if you coat the barrel with nitride

Is that like the nitro they do with Guinness? Could I just pour some beer down it?

 

[NavyshooterM40]

I have recently tried Hoppes #9 Foaming Bore Cleaner it has cut down the number patches that I have to run thru the bore.

 

[HiDesertELR]

Is that like the nitro they do with Guinness? Could I just pour some beer down it?

That would be a crime - waste of beer!

Unless there's an appropriate receptacle at the end of the barrel to catch said beer

 

[AIAW]

Is that like the nitro they do with Guinness? Could I just pour some beer down it?

I think I have been doing it wrong... that's what I get for listening to the marketing hype!

 

[308pirate]

Hi,

But I read that if you coat the barrel with nitride the bronze brush not only causes no harm but actually increases barrel life for every stroke of the brush.

Sincerely,
Theis

You convinced me. Imma call Winston Heat Treat in the morning to get that nitride coating put on.

 

[NFshooter150]

Hey so this is the barrel face right before the chamber. This is a brux barrel in 223ai with only 400 rounds on it.. I'm not sure what is causing this. I realize bore scopes are microscopes so this is all blown up alot. I always use a bore guide but i do usually clean the chamber with a patch and jag but this seems like its caused from something else.. the inside of the chamber and throat look great. At the range the otber day i did notice some sticking more then usual when trying to extract and cycle the next round.

 

[MikeinTexas]

^^how does it shoot? If the answer to that is “not good” I’d be sending those pics to the manufacturer. Otherwise, try and forget about those striations

 

[NBPRP]

After every match (or about 100 rounds in a .308 or .30-06) while using a bore guide, wet patch chamber to muzzle then remove patch. Pull bare rod through barrel then bronze brush chamber to muzzle and after it clears muzzle pull back to chamber. Do that x 5 then clean patch x 2 and leave dry.

It is what Barret Obermeyer suggested I do to clean the barrels he sold me and I have 3 of them. It is also what John Krieger suggested to clean his barrels and I have 2 of his.

That cleaning schedule served me well as a 'Boots' SS, 5r barrel on a 40-XC action chambered in .308 shot a 200 10X 'clean' at a 600 yds. Match and the barrel had 4,302 rounds through it at the start of the 600 yd. slow fire stage.

The load was 46 grs. IMR4831 (slight crunch) in a LC 79 Match case trimmed to 2.0" behind a Sierra 200 gr. HPBT Match King seated to 2.850" and set off by a Federal 210 Match primer. A chronograph said the low was 2,301 fps and the high was 2,308 for an extreme spread of 7 fps and average of 2,303 and standard deviation of 4.

 

[Oldmauser]

1. There are different levels of carbon fouling. And there is a carbon ring...
2. The level of carbon fouling depends heavily on your shooting routine and pressure in the chamber (hot loads). If I shoot PRS or other stuff where time is a factor, my HV barrel gets really dirty. Especially after shooting fast 10-20 shot strings in 30 degrees Celsius.
3. I am talking hard carbon in the chamber area and in the 1/3 of the rifling.
4. In order to get rid of it I use Boretech C4- I use pilz and run 3-4 pilz patches soaked with C4. then I let a pilz patch soaked with C4 stay in the chamber for 10 minutes. Then I use a new bronze brush-around 10-15 strokes. Then again 3-4 patches soakes with C4.
5. After that I check with borescope effects of cleaning. In case of hard carbon there will be still some carbon left. If this is the case, I use a nylon brush wrapped in a cotton patch. I put decent amount of Boretech Chameleon gel on it and run it 5-10 times through the chamber area up to 1/2 of the rifling. Chameleon is a silica based abrasive, it will not harm your barrel.
6. After that I run 3-4 dry patches through the bore.

 

[Ichi]

Some good fun...

 

[Ichi]

More power tools and even a hammer thrown in just because...

 

[Forrest84]

I used to avoid cleaning, and then ended up with a couple of barrels with carbon rings that were nearly impossible to remove. I try to clean every hundred shots or so now. I also think without a bore scope you can’t really know if your cleaning routine is working or not.

I fell into the dont clean your barrel propaganda for a long time and really just had this outcome. I also followed the whole wait till you have a decrease in performance to try to clean your barrel. Now I clean every 100 to 200 at the most. That carbon can get awful stubborn if left alone to long and you gradually degrade yourS-D’s and E-S’s

 

[NFshooter150]

^^how does it shoot? If the answer to that is “not good” I’d be sending those pics to the manufacturer. Otherwise, try and forget about those striations

These were from today.. pretty damn good but sometimes it has a hard time extracting