What are your rimfire cleaning procedures?

[rideHPD]

When do you clean?
What do you clean?
What rod/bore guide/jag/brush/solvent/oil/etc. do you use?

I still have yet to clean the 40x I had built last year, as I haven't really needed to until now, and I'm wondering what everyone does for high-quality rimfires shooting match ammo. I know to clean when switching ammo wax types, but what else? What do you want to remove (lead/carbon/etc.) from the bore/chamber and how often? I've heard a variety of answers, including "just do what you do for centerfire" but I'm not convinced that it is that simple yet and would appreciate everyone's approach and how/why it differs from centerfire.

 

[mrspradlin]

Get a good bore guide from MWerks and a one piece cleaning rod. I would get an Ivy rod Dan sells them at Killough shooting sports.
I run a wet patch then dry patched till clean after every card. About 50 rounds. Then when I get done for the day I will run a wet patch then a nylon brush then a wet patch then dry patches till clean.
I always remove the brush or jag before I pull the rod back thru and I always wipe the rod clean before each pass.
You will notice when the accuracy falls off and thats s sign of needing cleaned.
Check out
Welcome
Some real nice guys on there. Pretty much everyone is a benchrest shooter. But same concept.

 

[LngRngShtr]

clean bolt face, breech face, muzzle with a rag Q-Tip the chamber wipe bolt down with oily rag and silicone rag the rest of the rifle as needed nothing down the barrel except bullets.

I only brush the barrel when I acquire them to establish a starting point or if they start shooting erratically but most target velocity .22s are lubed enough that fouling isn't a problem

same with my .22 pistols have a Browning Medalist I bought 25 years ago has had a rod down the barrel maybe 3 times still shoots like a champ.

 

[BigJimFish]

When?
When I feel like the accuracy is slipping. Perhaps someday I will get scientific about it, record every group, and do some analysis. I think I shoot to much steel for this though. If I get frustrated I clean. I don't care a lick for the mixed lube thing. I'm not convinced there is anything to it. I've never noticed an issue and the folks that did the famous and excellent accuratereloading.com rimfire ammo comparison test with an absolute laser beam of a rifle didn't either.
As for the action, I clean that when it looks dirty with no relation to how I feel the rifle is shooting.

What?
I clean the bore and chamber.

What rod/bore guide/jag/brush/solvent/oil/etc. do you use?
Dewey .22cal brass rod or Dewey .17cal coated guide for the patches, Otis pull cable for the brushes/MWerks bore guides/Spear type .22 cal brass jag/ .22cal all brass brushes (I think proshot)/ Southern bloomers .223 center-fire patches with a corner cut off to fit snug/ Hoppies #9 or butch's if I get aggravated and want thins to move along quicker/I grease the action with Lucas #2 Red n' Tacky.

Method:
I alternate 5 brush strokes with three wet patches (third always comes out looking clean) until I get board then run two dry ones through. I also hand clean the crown. Given the relative amount that I shoot vs the amount that I clean, things never really get clean. They just look clean until you apply a brush. Folks who don't believe in brushing always think they have a clean rifle the same way somebody with a dirt floor sweeps it and thinks its clean. I also have no toleration for folks who think the brush is going to hurt their rifle. Really, to think that throwing a press fit peice of lead down the barrel, sometimes with copper cladding, under intense heat and pressure at 1050 fps is OK but a brass brush at 1fps is the end of the word.

 

[Pinecone]

Also clean only when necessary.

I shot small bore on my college rifle team, rifles were cleaned at the end of the season, ONLY. Once fired for the new season, they were just used until the end.

 

[bunsen27]

I'll clean the action every 500 rounds or so to get out the accumulated gunk with picks and Q-tips. The barrel I clean rarely if ever, and typically only when I feel accuracy has fallen off and am frustrated. I use a Otis .17 cal pull with Hoppes #9, Kroil, and three dry patches to finish them store muzzle down. I will also use a .22 cal nylon brush from the breech to clean the chamber to barrel transition and first 1-2" of barrel. I'm a cleaning minimalist even on my centerfires.

 

[rideHPD]

Thank you for all the responses and advice.

I came across this from Lilja, and something I was surprised to read was that they recommend short brush strokes, in the bore, as in changing direction of the pull inside the bore, which I previously understood was a cardinal sin?

"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.

Every 200-300 rounds a loose (worn out) 22 caliber bronze brush, wet with solvent, should be worked back and forth in the leade area with short strokes and withdrawn from the chamber end. If there is any evidence of lead in the barrel then brushing the full length of the barrel with solvent is suggested.

Match quality bullets have a wax coating on them that aids accuracy. It may take 10-50 shots to "lay" a good coating of it down in the barrel and using solvents will only remove this desirable wax coating.

Users of the 10/22-type semi-auto barrels may have to remove the accumulated powder fouling buildup that forms on the breach end of the barrel. Extraction problems may result eventually unless solvent is used on this type of fouling.

The 22 WMR and 17 HMR cartridges are rimfires but they fire a jacketed bullet and therefore centerfire cleaning and break-in instructions apply.

The solvent we use and recommend for our barrels is Butch's Bore Shine from BBS Industries (406-652-2495). "

I never really thought too much of this, as all I've ever learned was that a softer material should not cause damage to a significantly harder material under low-force friction, but I assume I am missing something if everyone seems to be in agreement that it results in damage. Any thoughts?

 

[BigJimFish]

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.


Every 200-300 rounds a loose (worn out) 22 caliber bronze brush, wet with solvent, should be worked back and forth in the leade area with short strokes and withdrawn from the chamber end. If there is any evidence of lead in the barrel then brushing the full length of the barrel with solvent is suggested.

I have heard a variety of folks talk about the build up that forms in the leade area and how they clean it. Brushing back and forth in this area is not an uncommon practice.

 

[xring11]

After each session (typically 100 rounds), I run a Hoppe's bore snake twice through the barrel, and use Q-tips w/ CLP to clean/lube the bolt and breech face.

 

[ivanthesane]

Wipe the outside down to prevent rust...

Will worry about barrel cleaning when accuracy falls off, which hasn't happened yet in over 3k rounds...

 

[sib1948]

For my cheap Savage I shoot copper coated CCI Mini Mag 22LR HP and clean chamber with CLP and Q tip, then bore snake with CLP after every 500 rounds or so. Takes about 10 minutes and accuracy has not suffered after 3000 or so rounds.

 

[justin amateur]

At the end of the morning I pull 2 dry patches through the bore,
then insert a plastic drywall anchor into the chamber,
aim at the berm and squeeze the trigger. I feel better about
putting a rimfire away with the firing spring uncompressed.

When accuracy falls off or I get a ftf or fte
then I follow Lilja's recommendations:

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Rimfire Maintenance

 

[bunsen27]

At the end of the morning I pull 2 dry patches through the bore,
then insert a plastic drywall anchor into the chamber,
aim at the berm and squeeze the trigger. I feel better about
putting a rimfire away with the firing spring uncompressed.

When accuracy falls off or I get a ftf or fte
then I follow Lilja's recommendations:

Lilja Precision Rifle Barrels - Rimfire Maintenance

If you hold down the trigger while you close the bolt it won't cock the firing pin.

 

[IrishWind]

Bore snake the barrel. Remington's bore cleaner on the bristles, and lots of Rem oil on the end. Wipe down the receiver/bolt/ exterior with RemOil. Occasionally getting a nylon or brass brush to scrub the faces of the bolt and chamber when it is really dirty.

 

[justin amateur]

If you hold down the trigger while you close the bolt it won't cock the firing pin.

True, but there's something about seeing the chamber filled with yellow plastic, closing the bolt,
squeezing the trigger and hearing the click, that makes me feel better when I put the rifle or pistol away.

 

[darth_ritis]

I typically run a Bore Snake through after each shooting session, not because the gun needs it but just because it makes me feel like I'm not neglecting my cleaning duties. Every once in a while (very scientific) I'll break out the Hoppe's No. 9, some Q-tips, and an old soft toothbrush and clean the bolt/chamber areas, followed by minimal amounts of strategically placed gun oil.