Gun Cleaning

[ohwin94_61]

I'm just bring this up debate about gun cleaning I have some people telling me it does more harm to clean a bore of the rifle than good ,OK here they claim that the cooper fouling acts like an abrasive wearing the bore lands and groves of the rifling I cant believe this theory Or maybe there scraping there cleaning rod not using a bore guide

[JReed]

Never heard that cleaning a gun was bad for it. If so someone needs to tell the Marine Corps. As you said more wear is done by the cleaning rod then cleaning it's self.

[jnyork]

There is probably more gunboard BS on this subject than any other 3 subjects combined.

Go to any gunboard, (this one or rimfirecentral for instance) and do a search on "gun cleaning" you will get enough reading to last you three weeks.

Read up all you can stand and then do your own thing.

[KSRtrd]

Experience has shown me that are a little bit on the pitted side shoot a bit better a little fouled, and the ones with nice bores do better clean. Copper fouling will hold moisture to the steel and black powder is hydophillic that will do em no good. So I say get or make yourself a bore guide and make em shine, there is no need for abrasive cleaners and stainless brushes. A bottle of Hoppes and a few patches are cheap insurance against a toasted barrel.

[C. Cash]

I believe it is the shooting that wears out a rifle barrel(unavoidable), unless one is careless with the rod and gets wear on the crown. One would be hard pressed to wear out a modern rifle barrel through cleaning with 100 percent cotton patches....unless one sat obsessively and patched a gun barrel for hours on end or was careless with the rod. Bore guide solves the latter problem. Two illustrations come to mind. I possess and have seen twenty two's that have shot truckloads of 22 ammo for many decades, have been cleaned thoroughly after each session, and do not show excessive wear or diminished accuracy. Another illustration that debunks the wearinig out the rifle by cleaning it myth comes from a fellow named Roger Fisher. He has over 60,000 shots through his Getz barreled long rifle. That is a cotton patched round ball with 120,000 trips through the bore and that's just the loading and firing, not including the innumerable cotton patches he used to clean it after all those range session. I make at least 40-50 swipes down the bore on mine after each range session so you can guess how much cleaning Roger's rifle has been through in addition to all the firings with that cotton patch travelling the length of the barrel. The rifle is still going strong and the barrel is made out of soft leaded bar stock, not even close to the hard chrome moly barrels that we are blessed with in the smokeless world. So there you have it....my opinion......which combined with a dollar ninety nine will get you a cup of coffee.

[Tycer]

This quote from Brad Sauve, 2004 F-TR Nat'l Champion fits my thoughts on cleaning.

During the first few years I owned the rifle, I was crazy about cleaning. My log shows that I cleaned the barrel 80 times in the first 998 rounds. That works out to cleaning every dozen rounds! No wonder it took me so long to find the right load! Boy, have I changed my habits. I still clean the barrel, but I run a much higher round count between cleanings than before. Now, I shoot 100-200 rounds before I give the barrel a thorough cleaning. This goes with my general thinking--that some folks will benefit from added trigger time more than anything else. Spend more time shooting than loading 'perfect' ammunition or cleaning.

On a jacketed shooting gun, I clean well if I'm going to put it away for a while. If not, once a year works for me. I'll drag an oiled patch through after each shooting session, but that's it. Saves having to shoot a few fouling shots to get the gun settled.

[Chas.]

The most accurate gun I have gets cleaned once a decade, whether it needs it or not. It's my 1946 Remington Scoremaster 511 .22 that my dad purchased new. I've had it now for a couple of cleanings (read decades) and it'll outshoot any of my lever guns.

[Swampman]

Nothing wrong with wiping the outside down with an oily patch after use. A light bore cleaning once a year (when using smokeless powder) is more than enough.

No since wearing the bore out.

[C. Cash]

I've never witnessed visual "cleaning wear" done by cotton flannel, limited use of bronze brushes, and proper cleaning. Rough leather in holsters, improper use of a cleaning rod, and lots of fast/hard bullets...does a good job quick.

[horsesoldier03]

The only guns that I probably dont clean as often as I should are my .22s. Generally, if I shoot a gun it is cleaned before it is put away. On occasion, during hunting season I may wait a few days. Regardless, even a hunting rifle that is being frequently used will get a wipe down and a quick swipe down the bore after each hunt with a thorough cleaning (break down) at the end of the season.

I have heard people say that you cause excessive wear by tearing down a rifle frequently to clean it. But I am getting old and already have formed my own habbits and opinions!

[Bigahh]

Any barrel I have ever owned shoots better with the barrel fouled. On the other hand if it gets to the point where there is too much that is not good either. Theres a happy medium in there somewhere. I clean with the Otis system, no more rods! Lever Guns are too difficult with a rod anyway. I use to use the real strong copper solvents that would probably melt a Semi, but after reading on the Subject I switched to Hoppes 9 Benchrest. If you run a few patches through often enough it works wonders. Many Barrel makers recommend it.

[Swampman]

I wouldn't even consider hunting or even trying to shoot a group with a clean barrel.

[76/444]

I went to bore snakes years ago. Three passes with a snake and a few drops of Rem oil on the brush area,... I'm done. It has been so consistent, I don't even check my bore after wards anymore.

[Hobie]

My rimfire coach wouldn't let us clean our bores, only the chamber rearward. Not the same as other barrels which you clean as they need it. Jeremy is right, in the Army you clean and clean some more. I as as bad as any other armorer or 1st Sergeant in that regard!

[abcollector]

I too have gone to the Otis gun cleaning system for general bore cleaning. About perfect for those firearms that have to be cleaned from the muzzle. Still give attention to keeping the cable centered as possible but should it make contact with the side of the bore, it's not a "oh s@#%" moment.

There are times when it's still advantageous to have a good one-piece rod though. Like measuring rifle twist, dislodging an object (try that with a cable!) etc.

I went with this one from Cabelas. And right now you can get free shipping from Cabelas using code "9SANTA".