To clean or not to clean?

[nouseforaname1246]

Ok so at the Nevada cast boolit shoot a few years ago I was sitting there cleaning my -06 when one of the more experienced cast boolit shooters told me that you should never clean the barrel of a cast boolit rifle unless you get severe leading or shoot some full length gas checks. Since then I have followed that advice with no noticeable ill effects. But then again I don't shoot competitively.
Yesterday a friend of mine asked me why I don't clean my barrel and I told him I don't need to.
But that got me to wondering, how many of you guys do or do not clean your barrels? Has anyone done any quantifiable testing on weather or not it does any good or harm to accuracy or the barrel?

[wantoutofca]

I don't clean but it may be because I'm superstitious. When I do clean I shoot a dozen or so shots to settle the barrel down before doing anything important.

[stubshaft]

It takes my barrels a few rounds to settle in before I get good accuracy and consistent POI. I do clean them though, about every 5000 - 6000 rounds...

[runfiverun]

i dunno it's been 15 years on one rifle now so the test isn't over.
in my 44 mag levergun i pushed a couple of patches down the barell while doing some lube testing with it.
shrug....
i'll clean the chamber and the action/bolt and such and maybe push a patch down the barell.
even on my jacketed barells i don't get all panicky about scrubbing them down to metal,unless i just bought it.

[Raven_Darkcloud]

I clean out my glock with a jhp but only ever get min leading when running fast multi target drills. The glock does not seem to care and just keeps going.

[Jim Flinchbaugh]

I run a dry patch through my rifles once a year whether they need it or not :mrgreen:

[williamwaco]

I clean only when they get leading.
This occurs only when I screw up a test load.

As long as I am using my tested - known good - loads, I never clean.

EXCEPT:

When I am doing accuracy testing, I start every new load test with a perfectly clean barrel and do not record the first two five shot groups.

[GabbyM]

Does your rifle shoot smaller groups after cleaning? After the generally required fouling shot??

I've a few loads that seams to self clean. Other loads. Even some with the same lube and powder. Require cleaning about every 25 rounds to maintain accuracy. Those dirty shooting loads don’t get listed as “Keepers”.
You just have to do what needs done. With my clean shooting loads. One look down the pipe and there is no question . When done all I do is run a patch soaked with Ed’s Red. If it takes half dozen patches to get the bore clean then it was dirty.

That said. I’ve shot a lot of dirty ball powder under J bullets. In spite of the black crud I can usually shoot half day or around eighty rounds before any accuracy gain is achieved by cleaning. Not talking BR scores here but sporting use. First gun I used prairie dog shooting was a 243 Win. I cleaned every 25 rounds with 12 strokes of a bronze brush then patches. That barrel didn’t last very long. 243’s don’t last anyways but I’m sure I wore it some with all the brushing. Then just shooting flame down a naked bore. I can’t think of a scenario where not cleaning a bore during the day would increase wear. But there’s a lot I don’t know. I do know a rust preventative can be a good thing at the end of day. I’ve run to many patches down bores to see brown rust to not think so. Even stainless steel corrodes. Plain ole ATF is as good of a rust preventative as I know of. Amsoil MP in a spray can is good but ATF mixed with K1 Kerosene has proven itself to me. I use it from a paint spray can on farm equipment. Traction chains and such. Items sit outside all winter and are still working in spring. Usually use old stale D1 instead of odorless K1 lamp oil but D1 is stinky stuff and you’d not want that on a gun.

With a lube like Felix Lube and a powder like RL7. After you get pressure up close to 30M psi it’s very clean. 28.0 grains of RL7 under 160 to 200 grain boolits from a 30-06 is almost a cleaning agent. Even Unique powder. Which many think is always dirty. When charged up in a large capacity rifle case is extremely clean. In my 243 AI a charge of 11.0 grains Unique under my 84gr Loverine will shoot all day. This charge just does make enough pressure to achieve case seal to keep a clean case without gas blow-by. With cast boolit shooting we always want accuracy. But a clean shooting load is very desirable in any application. In my 30-30 Win M94 I’ve been shooting 26.0 grains of RL-7 under a Saeco 30-150-FN. My little 30-30 is a walk about rifle. Not like I’ll be carrying a tackle box full of cleaning supplies around with it. Nor want to mess with a clean up job in the middle of a blasting session. Even though this Saeco bullet has a pencil thin grease grove. When you fill it with Felix lube then run a clean burning powder. You can pretty much blast away forever with your only concern being rust prevention. Inside and out actually. I’d not have any use at all for a 30-30 load that needed maintenance. That would defeat the reason for having an iron sight, never mess with, pick it up and hit target rifle. My 94 needs to be ready to go at any time. That is it's job. BTW I love my M94 AE in 30-30. Next on that list is my M70 in 30-06. Have several hot rod guns. But with those tried and true 30 calibers I can feel confident in snatching one up off the shelf to place a round on target just as it did the last time I sighted it in. 22 caliber seams to work that way also. Which makes me wonder if the US military actually did spend five days testing calibers before spending billions of dollars. Good vibrations.

[MaineJim]

I like most here i dont clean the bores,have settled on loads that work well in all my firearms by now.
I just clean the action ,whether rifles or handguns,Felixs wonderful creation of a lube keeps bores rust free.

[shredder]

Now you got me wondering. I always run a few patces soaked in ed's red down bore between range trips and 2 dry patches before shooting. My barrels look like the mirror on the hubble telescope. SHINY CLEAN. It always takes a few shots to settle in at the range. This makes me think that I may probably be building up a consistent fouling level and application of lube before things settle down. Then again the barrel may just be warming up to a consistent state.....

There are so many variables at work here, it may be hard to seperate cause and effect.

Perhaps it is time to question "conventinal wisdom" and let my lazy side take over for a while.....

[runfiverun]

or just use a lube with atf in it....

you are probably gonna be fighting a c.o.r.e. condition anyway might as well make it work with you as much as possible.
and before anyone asks wha a core condition is it's in the lube sticky 'the quest for the ultimate lube' gearknasher started, and was written up by eutetic.
it's somewhere along in the 58th page range.

[eka]

My rifles get one pass with a bronze brush per round fired between groups. A five shot group gets five passes etc. I use a bore guide also. This is just to keep bore consistent group to group. No other cleaning necessary.

Keith