HereSkip wrote:Now gentlemen I have been hearing recently from a couple different shooters that they never clean their 22 barrel
most people agree that you give the action a quick clean but dont touch the barrel, what's peoples thoughts?
Wm.Traynor wrote:Homer touched on the subject of proximity to the ocean. As someone who lives a few miles from the Pacific, I recommend thorough cleaning and oiling or your bore Will Rust This has happened to a rifle of mine and it was treated with a bronze brush and light oil. That cleaned out the rust and it shot beautifully. The question is, "Did that procedure spoil the accuracy for any length of time (before the accuracy returned) or change the point of impact"? The truth is, "I cannot recall"
However, does it matter which option you choose? This assumes that you are not going to shoot with rust in it.
Or are you the kind of person who would? Speaking for myself, I would never dream of it.
in2anity wrote:Please read this http://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=fi ... 897974784F
zobster wrote:I've stopped shooting 22lr for some time now, instead I switched over to the 17. She gets an exterior wipe down and that's it. Have put approximately 1.5 bricks through her.
No1_49er wrote:in2anity wrote:Please read this http://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=fi ... 897974784F
For several years I have encouraged shooting acquaintances to read that article, which has been available for several years.
Some are astounded by what is often dismissed as "old wives tales" with respect to not having to clean a rimfire barrel. The quantity, and nature, of the fouling really does a barrel no good at all. A few minds were changed very quickly.
All that can be done is to provide the information.
No1_49er wrote:in2anity wrote:Please read this http://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=fi ... 897974784F
For several years I have encouraged shooting acquaintances to read that article, which has been available for several years.
Some are astounded by what is often dismissed as "old wives tales" with respect to not having to clean a rimfire barrel. The quantity, and nature, of the fouling really does a barrel no good at all. A few minds were changed very quickly.
All that can be done is to provide the information.
PaddyT wrote:I clean the action and the breech, shoot a bit of G96 in, patch it out with two patches (2nd patch comes out clean everytime), spray some inox or gunlube or tackleguard (whatever spray lube i have in reach) on a patch and the run it trough once, store the rifle. Run a dry patch through before shooting, rifle (LA101) shoots very straight, I cant see how a bit of basic cleaning can hurt.
in2anity wrote:Sigh, here's how many target shooters operate; they clean their rifles regularly (with utmost care high quality equipment. As Blade has said, the gun will not shoot optimally with that pristine barrel. But those few sighters also double up as fouling shots, bringing the rifle into its peak "accuracy window". The gun will then (for a time) basically shoot at its peak accuracy, enough to get them through the match. After a while, accuracy will degrade (ever so slightly; where talking only fractions of measurement ), but enough to measurably affect scores. For knock-about hunters and plinkers of course this fractional gain is irrelevant.
bladeracer wrote:PaddyT wrote:I clean the action and the breech, shoot a bit of G96 in, patch it out with two patches (2nd patch comes out clean everytime), spray some inox or gunlube or tackleguard (whatever spray lube i have in reach) on a patch and the run it trough once, store the rifle. Run a dry patch through before shooting, rifle (LA101) shoots very straight, I cant see how a bit of basic cleaning can hurt.
Nobody is saying that cleaning hurts the rifle. But cleaning can give you less than optimal accuracy, or consistency. The claim above is that not cleaning the bore damages the bore through chemical reactions between the fouling and the steel. This may well be true, but whether you clean the bore or not you should still get longer barrel life than most shooters will ever be able to measure in a .22LR. Barrel "life" being measured by permanent loss of accuracy.
Put a brick or three through it and shoot some groups periodically to see if accuracy is effected.
From a clean bore you might find it improves after five rounds or fifty rounds, or you might find accuracy drops off after fifty or a hundred rounds. Some rifle/ammo combinations prefer a clean bore.
marksman wrote:you are very lucky to have an uncle that will gift you a rifle Stoney
bladeracer wrote:in2anity wrote:Sigh, here's how many target shooters operate; they clean their rifles regularly (with utmost care high quality equipment. As Blade has said, the gun will not shoot optimally with that pristine barrel. But those few sighters also double up as fouling shots, bringing the rifle into its peak "accuracy window". The gun will then (for a time) basically shoot at its peak accuracy, enough to get them through the match. After a while, accuracy will degrade (ever so slightly; where talking only fractions of measurement ), but enough to measurably affect scores. For knock-about hunters and plinkers of course this fractional gain is irrelevant.
I think with serious competition shooters there is a preference for a bore that shoots best when it's clean as it allows them to control consistency. Even if the bore might shoot slightly tighter groups after a hundred rounds, before dropping off after 150rds, you can't clean after every shot, then shoot 100 foulers before you take a shot for score. It makes sense to find an ammunition that shoots best in a clean bore for serious competition, and control the condition of the bore by keeping it clean.
For the rest of us though, having a rifle that only shoots well for a few rounds after cleaning is just bloody annoying (I'm somewhere around 15,000rds of .22LR already this year). My .22LR levers get filthy and require stripping the action after about 300rds to keep them functioning, very annoying when you're having a long session of fun. I think my Ruger Target is currently well over 1000rds, and probably close to 1500rds without cleaning, and is still dropping rounds where I want them. I had two fail-to-extracts last week, probably telling me to scrub the chamber clean. Both within the same mag, so it could've just been some crud on the ammo, mag, extractor or chamber.
Shooting groups with a table full of different ammo has shown me that most ammo behaves similarly in an already-fouled bore. A few don't group well until after a few fouling rounds, say between five and twenty, even in an already-fouled bore - I guess they just like their own lube. A small handful really prefer a fairly fresh bore, more so with the high-end competition ammo, although I haven't shot enough bricks of the $30+ stuff to be definitive.
It makes sense that there are not all that many wildly-varied recipes for bullet coatings, with most probably having the same ingredients just at differing ratios.
Stoney wrote:Hey blade, in my quest for .22 accuracy I have noticed a wide ranging difference in lubricants on .22 lead bullets, from sticky, powdery, waxy, slippery. Also the colour of the lead differs from grey to very black. My success so far has been from Eley Club and surprisingly CCI Standard. Very dark lead. I have also noticed once the barrel gets warmed by a few rounds groups shrink. I never let the barrel cool like you would on a centrefire.
PaddyT wrote:Blade, got what you are saying i was just explaining my routine, but my shooting routine is this which adds to the story- when i take the 22 to the range i put 2-300 rounds of CC std through- all shot offhand when i first arrive- any accuracy stuff or ammo testing i do after that so i guess i am refouling before i get down to the accuracy stuff.
Crankycant wrote:If it's any consolation I haven't cleaned my 17hmr bore in 200 Rds other than first initial to remove grease. Of course I clean and oil the action and other components as you should but it really hits the sweet spot at around 100-150 Rds put through it. Head shooting rabbits out past 100 is my vice and for some reason this girl likes it dirty so I just do as she tells me.