When do u clean? Time vs. # of rounds

[Guest]

I know everybody cleans after a given # of rounds.
But how long do you wait to clean if you don't shoot your # of rounds?

Figured I'd start a thread that wont end up in a flame thowing competition.

I clean rifles 40 rounds unless I know I'm putting a gun down for a few months. Shotguns I clean at the end of each of their hunting seasons.

 

[Riflemanse]

Hi

I clean mu guns after every trip to the range or after every hunt. Even if I have only fired one shot.
My .308 Win which I use for long range i never shoot more than 15 rounds without cleaning.

 

[captdavid]

About every 6 months or every 2-300rds or if I notice accuracy falling off. I have one 3/4-1/2" VLS and the rest are Mauser Commercials that shoot around, or a little better than 1.25".

 

[Varmint Hunter]

It really depends on which rifle and what cartridge it is chambered for. In general, I'll normally clean the bore of my large bore rifles between 15 and 20 rounds. When I'm shooting vermin with moly bullets in my .221FB I willl let it go alot farther.

If a gun is to be put away for the season, I will clean & lube the bore even if it had only one round through the tube.

Rifles that haven't been fired in a year or more are cleaned and wiped down with a rust inhibitor annually.

 

[Guest]

Varmint Hunter, I'm the same way except I usually go about 40 rounds on my rifles unless end of hunting season comes first. Or if hunting season is about to start and I'm been shooting at the range, I'll clean and shoot off three more rounds before going hunting.
My shotguns (Deer & Turkey) never come close to 40 rounds so it pretty much end of season. Goose & Duck are another story. It been WAY over 40 when the seasons are good....and they usually are!

I noticed you are in NY. Did you hear that the rifle hunting bill passed the State Senate & assembly? Just waiting for Pataki to sign it and it goes into effect immediately. I hunt Schoharie, Otsego, and Herkimer counties so I'm pretty excited. I hunt Rifle where I live, but all my hunting buddies are in those shotgun zones along with my hunting property. Gotta hunt with hunting buddies!

 

[Ian M]

John M.
Pretty much similar to your routine, every forty when we are shooting on steel, might put 100 to 120 per rifle per session so three or four cleanings. Good for letting a hot barrel cool down a bit.
Always clean and oil before putting away, oil or RIG in the bore if the rifle is being put away for an extensive period, if going to shoot soon just a light oil.
VERY IMPORTANT to remove oil from chamber, my new 6.5-284 does not like any oil in chamber, case head mark to show that, after second shot no marks.
I am using MT Solution now, really like it for carbon and copper removal.

Best to adopt the mindset that cleaning is an integral part of shooting - gotta do it to maintain best accuracy.

 

[sniper2]

No set time but when accuracy begins to fail it can really vary from caliber to caliber!!!

 

[jro45]

After accuracy falls off at about 20 rounds for most of my rifles.