Barrel cleaning...how often

[Bullmark]

I was hoping to get some feedback on the topic of cleaning your rifle barrel. Mainly just how often it's needed, and how to go about it and not damage things in the process.
I have a smokeless muzzleloader and two hunting rifles that don't typically see a ton of action. I do a lot of plinking for practice though.
My newest rifle, which has a bartlein barrel, was brand new last year and I put about 12-14 rounds down the tube. Is it necessary to clean it before it goes into the safe for 6-8 months of idle time??
As far as the actual method, I've read where people have damaged the barrel internally somehow during the cleaning process. What do I avoid to make sure I don't do this??
And last of all, is there any one product that will clean the barrel of all the different residue ?
Thanks In advance for your thoughts.

 

[belldar]

Depends on a few things. Your muzzle loader will need more frequent cleaning to keep things running smooth(easy of loading, clean flash hole, etc..). As for rifles that depends on how they are shooting, environment, and the equipment itself. Some barrels just require more cleaning. If your shooting degrades give it a round of cleaning. For break in I generally shoot 3 and clean for a couple times than 5-10 (this depends on barrel)shots between cleaning all while testing the load waters a bit. The barrel will get easier to clean as you go and that will tell Me it is broke in. I like to give my rifles that sit longer at least a Balistol swab before sitting for long periods in the safe.
Excessive cleaning could have something to do with barrel wear and I like to keep my cleaning to a minimum after break in. I found a lot of my rifles shoot better with some fouling. a good set of cleaning devises is a good investment. A good brass ended carbon cleaning rod, good brass brushes/jegs caliber specific, and cleaning patches Make a difference. A chamber guide helps as well.
As far as solvents I like to use Eliminator bore cleaner as directed on the bottle and finish that off with ballistol wet patches till they are clean. One dry patch after that and done. Note: between the Eliminator and last ballistol I clean my chamber first by spraying it with gun scrubber with barrel down then a light patch swabbing with ballistol before the final patches go down the barrel.
This is by no means the bible to perfect barrel care but is what I found works best for me. I clean a lot of rifles and this is based on what I found best. There are many right and wrong ways to clean and I am sure they will come up as well. The Main thing is to take care of your rifle And use common sense. I have some rifles that will go over 100 rounds between cleanings easily.

 

[Bullmark]

Thanks for the excellent info. I was wondering if I should move away from my SS cleaning rod and start using carbon.
Years ago I had a Browning A-bolt in .300WM that always shot respectable....1 MOA or less. Then after giving it a big time cleaning, no bore guide used, it lost its accuracy. This was long before I knew what a custom rifle, or load development was. I think I bought every type of factory ammo produced and none of it would shoot better than 2"-2.5" inches at 100yds.
I gave that gun to my nephew and he's killing deer every season at close range....we live in the east where a 100yd shot is a poke. Anyway, I think I may have damaged the bore jamming the SS rod up and down, without being careful.
Oh one last ??......when using a brush, do u only go from one direction? As in shove from the action out the muzzle, then unscrew the brush, pull out the rod, screw it back on and repeat. A friend told me he never shoves a brush from muzzle to action. Truth or fiction??

 

[belldar]

I go one direction breech to muzzle when pushing patches. I used to do that with brush as well but now go back and forth the ten times with my brush. This is after I have pushed most of the fouling out the end of the barrel with the first rounds of solvent. I keep my rifle in a gun cleaning vise with the barrel tipped slightly down so as not to get a lot of crud in my action and trigger assembly. This is also why I clean my action and bore right after the eliminator(brushing) and right before I finish putting ballistol patches down the barrel. I use a shorter rod with a larger jeg or patch holder to clean my action. I like a Layer of ballistol at the end of cleaning any gun then wipe it completly dry. I run all my Guns like this. The Ballistol gives it a light layer of protection and whipping it dry reduces dust and other debris from sticking to it.
I would say truth to always clean from the breech. This helps you guid the rod better and not hurt your muzzle crown. I have also heard of guys bending and or breaking their rod or brush cleaning from the muzzle. This is where a good bore guide comes in handy. Also keeps solvent out of your action and trigger housing.

 

[Kimber7man]

Bore guide of your choice
Dewey coated rod
boretech jags (don't give false copper positives)

butch's bore shine, boretech eliminator, or other solvent of your choice.
boretech C4 to remove carbon buildup.

lather, rinse, repeat!

 

[snox801]

I do the same as many here. I made a quick call to boretech and they set me up with everything needed.
All the stuff they ha e would be very hard to damage your barrels as they are softer than the barrel.
As for how often. I clean them bare at the end of each hunting season. Then run oily patch down before storing for months. Then dry patch before shooting. After some practice shots I'm ready to hunt or target shoot. On mainly hunting rifle they make a whole season without cleaning till the end. Only way I'll clean it is if I have long time a few weeks between hunts I'll run a patch of eliminator through it. Other than that I wait till it start to lose accuracy then clean but that rarely happens as I shoot a bunch of different rifles so they only end up with a small amount of rounds a season. Maybe 100-150 then cleaned bare and stored

 

[LM056]

Only clean from breech, not from the muzzle, in order to preserve the crown of the barrel. I also recommend not pulling a bronze brush back through the muzzle but unscrewing it when it protrudes through the barrel. A plastic bottle over the muzzle can reduce splatter and catch patches. Recommend always using bore guide.

 

[Mikecr]

My father taught me to put away guns cleaner than I pull them (always).
So I clean bores if even used for only a single shot.
This would cause a fouling problem for most folks, as it takes burning any petroleum out before stable fouling takes a set.
That can take a few shots, or higher.

For cleaning I've used a version of Speedy's method for as long as I remember: https://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=13001
And to address fouling I have always dried bores after cleaning (with alcohol), and for 30yrs+ I've pre-fouled with a dry burnishing of Tungsten Disulfide (WS2). The bores are put away dry & ready for any single shot. No seasonal fouling required.
It seems that WS2 functions as a universal fouling, It doesn't affect the load, and I like that it cleans right out.