Do you oil bore after shooting

[odfairfaxsub]

I always thought that the lube from shooting my non plated bullets protected the bore but supposably moisture mixes w fouling after cools down. So do you guys lube bore at end of day or do you do like me

[Earlwb]

I think it depends on how often you go out to shoot it. When I was a kid and teenager, I used to go out almost everyday to hunt and shoot. I would only clean and oil the rifle and or bore maybe once a week or so then. Later since I wasn't doing it as much, I would clean and oil the rifle and bore after a day of hunting and shooting. It might be a while before I could use it again. I know some guys will go weeks or even a year or so between cleaning the bore too.

[GunGuy2756]

Yes, I always do. 22's are dirty so I always clean and oil the barrel after shooting like I do with all my guns. I don't clean to excess though, just enough to get most of the gunk out then apply a thin coat of oil. I run 2 dry patches to remove the oil prior to shooting again. I've read that cleaning can reduce accuracy on rimfires until they get a bit fouled again but I can accept that since I only plink with mine and don't care if it doesn't split hairs at 50 yards.

[Petrol & Powder]

When I was young it was practically a hanging offense to put a dirty gun away after shooting it.
That may have been a bit of over kill but the practice is deeply ingrained in my brain. To this day I cannot leave a dirty gun overnight.
At the very least I will punch the bore with an oiled patch followed by a dry patch and wipe the exterior down.

[odfairfaxsub]

Sounds good, maybe I'll just run a light clp patch and immediately dry patch so I don't over clean. Had a nightmare cleaning w m pro 7 getting my barrel to shoot the way it used to and after I forget how many rounds it's back where it needs to be but this one patch followed by dry patch shouldn't hurt

[bangerjim]

I always cleaned the bore on all my 22LR guns. Haven't shot many in recent years due to lack of availability of "food".

But 22's are BP and should be cleaned-up after, unlike smokless powders we all use for most other cals.

[35remington]

22s use smokeless powder.

The wax on the bullet is a far better preservative than anything you can put on a patch and run down the barrel.

Since the wax is already there the barrel is protected. I've inspected many 22s that were never taken care of and the exterior looks horrible but the barrel cleans up spotlessly. Take that as a testimonial that the lube on the bullet preserves the barrel better than anything else.

[odfairfaxsub]

Good enough for me, I'll keep seasoning the iron like I have been

[bangerjim]

22s use smokeless powder.

The wax on the bullet is a far better preservative than anything you can put on a patch and run down the barrel.

Since the wax is already there the barrel is protected. I've inspected many 22s that were never taken care of and the exterior looks horrible but the barrel cleans up spotlessly. Take that as a testimonial that the lube on the bullet preserves the barrel better than anything else.

Well I have never taken 22's apart to test the powder. Nor do I really care. All I know is they smoke like crazy when they are shot and that = "smoky powder" to me like BP is. And they leave a filthy gun when done.

Whatever they use, it sure is carp powder if that is supposed to be smokeless in there!!!! Another reason I quit shooting 22's.

[MarkP]

I tried to clean my varmint bbls every 10 shots except 22 Hornet I would go to 20 or so then clean; 22 LR's very seldom maybe every 20,000 rounds, larger rifles shooting cast maybe every 100 shots. Shotguns very seldom 2,500 rounds or so. If shooting when damp or raining yes always clean bbl and oil. I oil the outside of all my guns regardless of weather after each use basically all surfaces that were touched.

[Petrol & Powder]

.22 rimfire ammunition was originally loaded with black powder but rimfire ammunition has been exclusively loaded with smokeless powder for MANY decades.

While smokeless powder and non-corrosive priming compounds significantly reduce the need to clean rifle bores, the need to occasionally clean those rifles still exists. Powder residue, priming residue and unburned powder can trap moisture against the steel barrel. While the debris in the bore may be relatively harmless, the water trapped in/under that debris is not harmless. The damage doesn't come from the powder debris but rather what the powder debris holds against the raw steel of the barrel. For every pristine .22 bore I've looked at, I've seen a dozen horrible bores that were damaged by neglect.

Relying on the waxy bullet lubricant to be evenly distributed on the interior of the entire bore is not an optimal method to protect the bore. While modern smokeless powder and non-corrosive primers certainly reduce the needs to clean .22 rifle barrels they do not make those rifles completely maintenance-free.

[35remington]

Wax actually protects against salts far better than oil, as salt can rust barrels under an oil film. It is not non corrosive primers and smokeless powder that prevent the gun from rusting.....it is the wax deposited on the barrel. Oil is poorer than wax at guarding against water corrosion as well.

Try this next time....oil a piece of steel, then let it out in the rain. Watch how fast it rusts. It will really be as if you didn't oil it at all.

Then wax the piece of steel. Notice how the wax is not as easily dislodged, stays on far better than oil, and protects far longer. Oil evaporates far easier than wax, and is easily washed off by water, and oil is miserable at protecting against salty sweat.

I would suggest a waxed barrel free of excessive residue and shot with waxed bullets has far better rust protection than a barrel purged of all residue and then oiled on its interior. It has long been a matter of knowing practice that if you want a gun to resist rust better than relying on a thin film of oil....wax it. Relying on oil to protect a barrel over time given gravity and evaporation and environment is really a matter of faith rather than actual events.

The rifled interior of .22 barrels really require little in the way of rust prevention if waxed bullets are shot. We clean .22's to rid them of gunk in the action, primarily. To suggest that impermanent, easily washed off, easily evaporated and completely ineffective against salts oiling is superior to the wax lubricant on bullets is really questionable in my opinion.

Excessive gunk in the gun does not help, true. But I would that suggest cleaning out the gun and then shooting a few waxed bullets down the barrel before storing it is probably more effective at preserving the rifling than doing the cleaning and then oiling it.

I've seen a great number of farm gun .22's with rusted exteriors, stored in humid conditions and given complete neglect in care that had perfect rifling. We can thank the wax on the bullets for that.

[badbob454]

i almost never clean my 22 rifles i can shoot a golf ball and hit it 6 out of seven time with open sights in a 40 year old gun i might clean my 22 every 2 years if that my 223 -308 rifles i clean every other shooting session

[35remington]

A large part of the "smoke" seen when shooting .22's is from the wax on the bullets. Just like cast bullet lubricants do.

[Outpost75]

When I shot smallbore competition, the recommended practice followed by Lones Wigger and George Stidworthy was to push one wet patch with nothing more than a food grade mineral oil USP through the bore to remove any loose fouling, protect the bore from condensation and to keep the fouling soft. Prior to firing one dry patch was run through the bore to remove any dust and loosened fouling, and to dry the chamber. Using greased ammo such as R50 or Eley Tenex foulers were unnecessary and you could go for X's on your first shot. In pistol competition the same drill. Dry bore would cause fliers, one wet patch, one dry patch.

Dry wax lubed ammo like CCI Green Tag is more consistent if the first few rounds fired from a cold barrel are very lightly oiled, using one drop of oil on a patch, wipe rounds, then wipe off with dry patch leaving very minimal fillm.

[John Boy]

Do you oil bore after shooting

Absolutely!

[shooter2]

Absolutely![/h]

Amen to that!

I use a product from Brownells called "Polar Active Rust Preventative number 2". It was recommended by my gunsmith many years ago and I have never been sorry. I have some pricey stuff that I do not want to lose because of carelessness. One clean patch before shooting the next time. I also use it on the outside of the gun. It takes only a few minutes of time and helps me sleep better at night.

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not buying the notion that waxed bullets turn a .22 rifle into some kind of self-cleaning oven. I don't think smokeless powder, non-corrosive priming compounds and external wax based bullet lubes are a bad thing for .22 rifles but I don't think those three things turn a .22 rifle into a maintenance free device either.

I will grant you that .22 rimfire bores require little maintenance but I've seen FAR too many neglected .22 bores to say they are maintenance free because of wax based external bullet lubes. They are NOT self cleaning devices. The powders and primers may not be bad for the steel but the water they trap next to the steel is decidedly harsh on that ferrous metal. A little bit of wax streaked down the bore just doesn't cut it.

The waxed based bullet lubes certainly do no harm but the notion that they evenly and completely coat the bare steel interior of the bore better than an oiled patch is just a little too much for me to accept.
That tactic may work fine in locations with low humidity combined with regular use of the rifle but I would never put a dirty rifle in storage with the belief that the bullet lube would preserve that ferrous metal bore indefinitely.

If you don't want to clean your .22's that's fine with me but I will at least run an oiled patch down the bore before I put a gun away.

[35remington]

Not my experience. I've seen many old .22 rifle stored in old barns that suffered general farm neglect and very obviously suffered the effects of humidity externally that also had perfect barrels on the inside.

Multiple passes of the waxed bullet over the barrel interior do seem to coat it pretty effectively and it's not just a "one pass" sort of thing as the bullet has multiple opportunities to do so. Oil evaporates, runs off, and just plain goes away. Wax has more longevity.

Water doesn't get "trapped" next to steel after the rifle is shot. Rather, when the gun is shot, the wax remaining prevents the oxidation of metal by preventing oxygen and water from reacting with the steel.

The guys storing the .22's in old barns and bouncing around in the back of pickup cabs just didn't care about cleaning and they were exposed to just as much humidity as a midwestern summer can provide, year after year. Lecture them all you want about not doing so....but the barrel interiors were pretty much unharmed by such unthinking treatment of those I have examined. Badly rusted .22 barrel interiors due to neglect just haven't cropped up from what I've seen.

Gun neglect is the default condition, and I just haven't seen the rifling of .22's pay the price. The exterior? Oh, you bet many looked bad. Kinda makes the point for me.

I very highly doubt oiling the barrel interior and storing them in the barn under the same conditions would have done better as I've seen too many of these neglected rifles that had no harm whatsoever to their rifling to believe it is mere chance. Often the rifles are forgotten, coated with dust, and under such conditions the permanence and longevity of oil is quite suspect. More so than wax.

You'll just have to pardon my thinking that oil is not superior to wax, and I also suspect the notion of gravity and time not helping oil stay put has considerable validity.

Just my experience. It doesn't have to agree with everyone's, but applying that same experience has not resulted in a single rusted barrel on my watch either. I don't get bent out of shape if I don't clean the barrel interior right away, but I do wipe down the exterior. If my viewpoint was invalid, I would have got burned by now, and I haven't, nor has anyone I know that does the same. It would be odd if I said one thing and did another.

[Petrol & Powder]

If you wish to neglect your rifles that's your business. If you want me to believe your lazy attitude towards maintenance is some type of undiscovered virtue, you need to try a little harder - because I'm not buying it.