Rifle Cleaning

[Remmy700]

I just have seen to many bronze brushes give false copper indicators

 

[tony d willIiams]

Agree with fouled bore on hunting rifles. I generally see a POI shift after clean, cold bore. In the process of load development. Does anyone clean between loads (same bullet, same powder but different charge) or clean only when changing a component? Do you use fouling shots before going back to accuracy testing?

I clean in January or when my groups open up. Foul the barrel a bit. I know when it is proper as my groups are tight and point of aim is same as point of impact.
I also clean before working on new loads while collecting data on test loads. If I am going to change anything I clean first so I don't start at an unknown place. I will repeat tests later with a barrel fouled by new type powder, bullet or primer.
Laptops, spreadsheets and a touch of math helps to bring all the data into an area a dummy like me can understand and make use of.
I do remember that I used to do a lot of fidgeting with that mangy scope that wouldn't hold zero and "had" to be adjusted every time shooting until it settled down. A clean barrel and not understanding too much caused me a world of grief.
Shoot safe, well and have fun

 

[tony d willIiams]

Y'all are making me paranoid lol going on a cleaning spree today! Getting a bunch of the girls out!
View attachment 144414 View attachment 144415 View attachment 144416

Oh now I have sinned, what Remmy700 have you done to me?
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ***, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Very nice collection.

 

[Rick Richard]

I just have seen to many bronze brushes give false copper indicators

Yep, but I don't clean to remove ALL the copper.

 

[Remmy700]

Oh now I have sinned, what Remmy700 have you done to me?
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ---, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.
Very nice collection.

Lol. Thanks brother that is just a few of the girls lol

 

[John Klingenberg]

Im glad everyone piped up. I thought i was being lazy not cleaning after every range session. My poor 22LRs never see a bore brush

 

[Panteradave]

Match grade barrels are different than a factory barrel.
Clean it !
Lucas bore guide for action, caliber, and cleaning rod!
KG industries chemical.. most of us don't need sweets!
Dewey rods, and nylon brushes.
Everyone has an opinion, if you don't clean it right you can Pitt your barrel and do more damage.

 

[YZ-80]

I clean after every range session and use "Gun-Slick" foaming bore cleaner every other time to remove copper. At the range I'll pull a bore snake through every 10 rounds (two 5 shot groups). I like a clean bore. Not saying it's right or wrong it's just what I do.

 

[JTB]

Gunslick foaming cleaner really works on copper. Best/easiest I have found. After much testing on old car pistons I found a great carbon remover is a 50/50 mixture of Kroil and lacquer thinner. Give it a try. None of the banded solvents could match it.

 

[ronstone09]

Have heard so many different ideals on bore cleaning and when it should be done. Was wanting to see what some of you guys do that shoot a great deal on when you decide to full bore clean. I have always done my reloading in 100 rnd batches and for years once I hit that 100 rounds fired I would reload a new 100 and do full bore clean. This has worked great but I recently started just shooting a rifle until groups opened up and then clean. I have also heard of PRS guys never cleaning a bore at all. Just wondering what some of you guys intervals are. Thanks fellows.

Most precision shooters only clean when they start to open up ! Hunters clean usually after every use ! Precision guys like the carbon build up !

 

[ronstone09]

Clean is clean, fouled is fouled. Some like clean some like fouled and others don't bother with cleaning at all or until accuracy falls off.

In my opinion, waiting until accuracy drops off is a waste in components and possibly wounded game.

When I clean, I always go back to bright metal. the frequency depends on the use. for my hunting rifles I clean after 5 to 10 rounds.

When I first started doing gun work I started working on friends rifles trying to make them shoot better than they did when new. Without exception the ones that once shot good for hunting and had gone bad, simply needed a good bore and chamber cleaning Stock contact was another issue but it was solvable.

Some of these rifles took several days of soaking and cleaning before they came clean.

There are many different opinions and you will hear them, so I will join
Joseph and pop some corn and sit back and watch.

J E CUSTOM

I agree completely

 

[RiverSink]

I clean the carbon out after each range session. I don't scrub mine until accuracy degrades. It's worked out ok for me I guess. My 2 cnts.

 

[Greyfox]

My 6.5x47 PRS and Eggshoot rifles will hold group size, ES, and POI for as many as 300 rounds. I haven't shot much past this amount before cleaning. It is likely more , but I will generally clean every two matches, approx, 200 rounds, more-so just to also clean up the chamber area and muzzle brake. My hunting rifles are rarely, if ever shot more then 100 rounds in a season, less in practice sessions. Unless subjected to moisture, I will clean them at the close of the season. I haven't really taken my hunters more then 100 rounds before cleaning , but within this shot count they hold accuracy, ES, and POI perfectly. These rifles are 6.5x284 and 300WM. A note with both my competition and hunting rifles. As for the barrel, I see little difference in cleaning time, number of patches, or residues whether cleaning after 25 rounds or the max stated above.

 

[HiTechRob]

Have heard so many different ideals on bore cleaning and when it should be done. Was wanting to see what some of you guys do that shoot a great deal on when you decide to full bore clean. I have always done my reloading in 100 rnd batches and for years once I hit that 100 rounds fired I would reload a new 100 and do full bore clean. This has worked great but I recently started just shooting a rifle until groups opened up and then clean. I have also heard of PRS guys never cleaning a bore at all. Just wondering what some of you guys intervals are. Thanks fellows.

I shoot my rifles dirty. I will generally clean carbon every 100 rounds or so, but I do not clean copper unless the groups start to spread. When I was new to long-range shooting, I would fully clean (carbon and copper) after every shooting session. I found my "shooting dirty" strategy to yield far better results... Hope that helps.