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.

[35remington]

PP, the results speak for themselves. I don't neglect my rifles if they suffer no harm following this regimen, and they don't. Can't accuse me of neglect if the rifles aren't neglected. Neglect is only evident if there is damage, and there isn't any.

My attitude toward .22 maintenance is a virtue because it works. If it didn't work I wouldn't do it. You may well believe that as it's truthful as anything I've ever said. Feel free to stop by and look at my .22's.

If what I'm doing is working whether you "buy it" or not is immaterial. It's working. That is what matters, not internet opinion.

[shoot-n-lead]

No...been shooting some of them for years and they shoot and look as well now as when I started...including .22's.

And, apparently, what I have been doing, is working and is not internet lore, either.

To each...his own.

[shoot-n-lead]

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.

Do you reload your 22 ammo?

Factory .22 ammo has not used blackpowder in 75yrs.

[starnbar]

Lones Wigger I haven't heard that name spoken in over 30 years

[Outpost75]

Lones Wigger I haven't heard that name spoken in over 30 years

Yes, dating myself. My competition gun was a Remington Model 37 with Erik Johnson barrel in a P.J. Wright stock, chambered by Homer L. Culver. Before I bought the rifle it had been owned by Col. Maurice Kaiser, who you may also remember if you are old enough to have known "Wig." I still have a little bit of Eley Tenex in orange paper boxes I got from Pres Kendall, a famous smallbore shooter of the same era.

Col. Kaiser sold me the rifle to take to Camp Perry in 1967. We were soldiers once and young...

[Outpost75]

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.

Bravo Zulu for your Accuracy, Brevity and Clarity!

[tazman]

PP, the results speak for themselves. I don't neglect my rifles if they suffer no harm following this regimen, and they don't. Can't accuse me of neglect if the rifles aren't neglected. Neglect is only evident if there is damage, and there isn't any.

My attitude toward .22 maintenance is a virtue because it works. If it didn't work I wouldn't do it. You may well believe that as it's truthful as anything I've ever said. Feel free to stop by and look at my .22's.

If what I'm doing is working whether you "buy it" or not is immaterial. It's working. That is what matters, not internet opinion.

I have to agree with you on this one.
I clean my actions but not the barrel. I wipe down the outside to prevent rust. The inside of the barrel never suffers damage because of this.
If I thoroughly clean the bore, I will need to shoot it 15-20 shots before it gets back to normal accuracy.
However, my guns are stored inside the house instead of the truck or the barn.
My Winchester 72a still shoots 1/2 inch groups at 40 yards after over 50 years of this treatment. I bought this rifle when I was 10 years old and have shot it at targets and squirrels ever since. I hate to think how many shots it has fired over the years/decades. The bore is still spotless.

Petrol and powder--- You are entitled to your opinion. I am not suggesting you should clean your guns any differently that you already do. I am just stating what works for me.
I don't expect you will change your opinion and I don't expect I will change mine.

[Outpost75]

Factory .22 ammo has not used blackpowder in 75yrs.

Honestly...where does this stuff come from?

He must have found Skeeter's bottle of Jack Daniel's somewhere, or perhaps a few pieces of Dr. Death's peyote mushrooms... Either that or it is disinformation being planted intentionally by Democrat Space Aliens plotting to rust our barrels!

[Smoke4320]

all my guns after shooting get a general cleaning .. Then oiled inside and out

I am blessed with rust curse .. actually rusted a Stainless Kimber once .. had an emergency call during a shooting session.. Put gun in safe
3 days later I remembered I had not cleaned it .. perfect rust fingerprints in the stainless slide

[tazman]

all my guns after shooting get a general cleaning .. Then oiled inside and out

I am blessed with rust curse .. actually rusted a Stainless Kimber once .. had an emergency call during a shooting session.. Put gun in safe
3 days later I remembered I had not cleaned it .. perfect rust fingerprints in the stainless slide

That is definitely a curse all right. I had a similar problem for a few years due to the job I held. I could rust a blued shotgun receiver in a matter of a couple of hours. If I shot a round of trap in the morning on a hot summer day and didn't wipe the gun down, it would be rusted by afternoon.
Since I retired, the problem has gone away.

[shoot-n-lead]

He must have found Skeeter's bottle of Jack Daniel's somewhere, or perhaps a few pieces of Dr. Death's peyote mushrooms... Either that or it is disinformation being planted intentionally by Democrat Space Aliens plotting to rust our barrels!

Hadn't thought about it...but he may reload his 22 ammo as I think the reloaders use BP...IDK

[Sam Casey]

Can't help myself. Few drops of Hoppes down the bore; let it soak while clean rest of gun. Then a dry patch down bore followed by a couple drops of Kroil down bore and 2 runs of 22 bore snake.

[Plastikosmd]

I was also of the school, clean it when done. I still mostly do, minus some stuff. After years of blackpowder shooting, I don't really consider most of my smokeless stuff all that 'dirty' , even when it is

[Outpost75]

Can't help myself. Few drops of Hoppes down the bore; let it soak while clean rest of gun. Then a dry patch down bore followed by a couple drops of Kroil down bore and 2 runs of 22 bore snake.

Sounds like an effective routine. With the Kroil you don't need the Hoppes.

On a match rifle I would avoid the bore snake, because it will pick up, imbed and accumulate the ground glass contained in rimfire primer residue, and believe me, for the cost of what it takes to professionally, refit/rebarrel/rechamber an Anschutz or similar high grade target rifle you DO NOT want to wear it out cleaning it.

I have seen more rimfire match rifles and target pistols with barrels ruined by improper cleaning than by the lack of it or by shooting. For those who want to know, at about 20,000 rounds a bolt-action .22 match rifle begins to get a "frosty" spot at the origin of the rifling starting at the 6:00 position. With continued firing this spot widens gradually until it meets at the top and forms a "ring" at about 100,000 rounds. At this point if done skillfully, the barrel can be set back one inch, be properly refitted and rechambered and you are good to go again.

You don't want a tight interference fit of a rimfire barrel with the receiver, because a force fit causes a constriction. The barrel shank should be carefully lapped in to a "ring fit" about 0.001" smaller than the barrel hole in the receiver, BEFORE chambering, such that it can be pressed in snugly by hand when both surfaces are cleaned and lightly coated with anti-seize compound, and the barrel will "pop" slightly when pulled out. The barrel is then chambered, headspace set and the barrel coated with anti-seize and reinstalled with no stress on the shank when the barrel pin(s) are set. On autopistols or semi-auto rifles a service-removable Loctite 242 is used.

With a semi-auto rifle or pistol it only takes about half as many rounds to complete this cycle, because the rate of fire and barrel heating is greater. George Stidworthy wrote an article about this in American Rifleman and other noted shooters, Wigger, Kaiser, Kendall, Gary Anderson and LTC Elis Lea (USA, Ret.) of the USAMTU all related similar experiences to me in beer garden discussions at Camp Perry.

[Four Fingers of Death]

I clean them and treat with FrogLube, then clean them every three or so years whether they need it or not and that pretty much goes for my centrefire handguns as well.

[rollmyown]

I clean just like shooting lubed cast lead bullets with smokeless. Loose dry patch only. No issues. Cleans away powder residue that may absorb moisture and lead to rust. I keep a close eye and don't have any problems. Like 35remington says, the wax lube protects. Jacketed bullet rifles get a protective film applied.(after a proper cleaning with copper solvent etc)

[Forrest r]

Sounds like an effective routine. With the Kroil you don't need the Hoppes.

On a match rifle I would avoid the bore snake, because it will pick up, imbed and accumulate the ground glass contained in rimfire primer residue, and believe me, for the cost of what it takes to professionally, refit/rebarrel/rechamber an Anschutz or similar high grade target rifle you DO NOT want to wear it out cleaning it.

I have seen more rimfire match rifles and target pistols with barrels ruined by improper cleaning than by the lack of it or by shooting. For those who want to know, at about 20,000 rounds a bolt-action .22 match rifle begins to get a "frosty" spot at the origin of the rifling starting at the 6:00 position. With continued firing this spot widens gradually until it meets at the top and forms a "ring" at about 100,000 rounds. At this point if done skillfully, the barrel can be set back one inch, be properly refitted and rechambered and you are good to go again.

You don't want a tight interference fit of a rimfire barrel with the receiver, because a force fit causes a constriction. The barrel shank should be carefully lapped in to a "ring fit" about 0.001" smaller than the barrel hole in the receiver, BEFORE chambering, such that it can be pressed in snugly by hand when both surfaces are cleaned and lightly coated with anti-seize compound, and the barrel will "pop" slightly when pulled out. The barrel is then chambered, headspace set and the barrel coated with anti-seize and reinstalled with no stress on the shank when the barrel pin(s) are set. On autopistols or semi-auto rifles a service-removable Loctite 242 is used.

With a semi-auto rifle or pistol it only takes about half as many rounds to complete this cycle, because the rate of fire and barrel heating is greater. George Stidworthy wrote an article about this in American Rifleman and other noted shooters, Wigger, Kaiser, Kendall, Gary Anderson and LTC Elis Lea (USA, Ret.) of the USAMTU all related similar experiences to me in beer garden discussions at Camp Perry.

Excellent answer and explanation!!!
I've said/done the same thing for decades, clean the chamber and leade then 1 wet & 1 dry patch down the bbl and then clean the crown. When you start taking a good hard look at the bbl's chambers before and after cutting & re-chambering. The difference is night and day. Most people wouldn't know if their favorite dirt clod killer was ruined or not from lack of cleaning. The rifles were never good to begin & add to that wal-mart can't keep the blammo ammo on the shelves for a reason. Let alone as anyone should know, the 1st step in rimifre accuracy is consistent ignition. No clean bbl ='s no clean bolt & no clean bolt ='s I can shoot 1/2" groups all day long @50yds with walmart blammo ammo and my favorite $50 beater that hasn't been cleaned since dirty little billy used it for his worm box back in 1961.

Most shooters don't realize there's ground glass in the rimfires priming powder. The worry about it being corrosive or not and omit the ground glass/silica being deposited in the leade of the chamber and the 1st couple inches of bbl after every shot. Coupled with the nitrogen (gunpowder residue)/h2o thing that deposits moisture in the leade/beginning of the bbl along with making an acid that the "wax" coat on a bullet couldn't ever keep that area of the bbl looking shinny and new.

A side note:
A lot of rimfire shooter like to use aguila rimfire ammo because it has been "eley" primed.

http://i162.photobucket.com/albums/t242/forrestr-photo/EleyPrimer2_zps501ab46b.jpg (http://s162.photobucket.com/user/forrestr-photo/media/EleyPrimer2_zps501ab46b.jpg.html)

This type of discussion comes up all the time to clean/not clean or oil/not oil. What I've found over the decades is:
The more $$$ the rimfire costs, the more likely the bbl is to be properly cleaned and taken care of.
The higher the level of competition with rimfires, the more they get cleaned.
The rimfire shooters that are competing with high $$$ firearms & high $$$$ ammo (namely bench rest) clean their rifles more in 1 outing then most people bathe in a week.

One of the best lines I ever read was on another website. They were asking another member (long time shooter on the us army rifle team) if he cleaned his rimfire bbl's. His reply was, "I've made a living off of the people who didn't".

One of the best in the business right now when it comes to rimfires, Steve Boelter of Rimfire Research & develipement. His article on rimfire bbl's and cleaning them complete with borescope pictures. The pictures clearly show what's in your bbl and what it does to those bbl's.

http://www.rrdvegas.com/rimfire-cleaning.html

To the OP:
Take the time to click the link posted above and if nothing else look at the photo's. You'll get the picture real quick (no pun intended) and at least break out the oil.

A Anschutz 1712 manual, page 25 maintenance intervals states "after shooting", Clean the bbl with a plastic brush and gun oil.
oil.
http://jga.anschuetz-sport.com/downloads/Manuals/EN/BA_1700_2011-06_EN.pdf?downloads

A ruger 10-22 manual, page 28 "care and cleaning", at regular intervals.
https://ruger-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/_manuals/1022.pdf

The anschutz 1712 is extremely popular in the silhouette community and the 10-22 is extremely popular in the killing dirt clods @ 10 paces community. And their manuals reflect just that.

Anyway, do a little reading and use what you've learned/know. Just because someone has done something wrong for decades doesn't mean you have to.

forrest r

[Blackwater]

This is really a pretty interesting discussion. Count me in with 35 Rem., Tazman and the others who don't regularly clean their .22 RF barrels. I used to, but first round fliers, and sometimes a couple more after the first, was the rule, and I was young and didn't much like wasting my precious ammo supply, so I quit cleaning and just watched the bores closely for any signs of rust. Never found any, so ... I just quit cleaning the bores, but always wiped them down after use. If I had it in the rain or it otherwise got wet, then I'd clean the bore too, and just reconcile myself to having to suffer through a few fliers when I took it out again. And I shot everything in it, plated and waxed, and never saw enough difference in POI, other than the permanent differences due to differing ammo, so I still stick with that proceedure today.

However, I WILL say this: That wasn't match shooting, and guys who shoot .22 LR matches mostly, in my experience, are the most ticky shooters I know. And they can have widely varying techniques, but they let their guns teach them what the gun wanted as an individual firearm, and didn't look for "general rules" to guide them. They just went out and tested them, and did so very thoroughly. .22 RF matches can be won and lost due to tiny differences in groups, and the better shots always strove to eliminate ANY and ALL variances. Some cleaned, and some would have shot you dead if you'd touched their barrels! So .... it's always seemed to me that, like so many other things in shooting, the real answer is "it depends on the gun." Just my take on it, anyway. Sure makes for some interesting arguments and anecdotes, though.

[victorfox]

Well I might be kicked in the rear for this but we cleaned last year the barrel of that .22 pump my father bought used in 1988/89... For the first time! It's quite ugly outside (farm gun...) but the bore was pristine. Only explanation would be lube deposits. Accuracy is also the same it always been. Used hair brush with kerosene and wiped some patches. I believe he didn't shoot it since then. On the other hand in my .22 pistol I run a hair brush dry on the range then at home run a dry patch then one with motor oil then another dry. It's comes clean. Then I clean and lube it with same oil. Gun looks like the day I got it. Same procedure with my other guns save I use kerosene in their bores and a brass brush to remove leading (shotgun and judge smoothbore).

[rfd]

always clean and oil after a shooting session, whether smokeless or black powder. it's really the right way to take care of all firearms if you care about them. ymmv.

[45-70 Chevroner]

I have several 22s right now and have given at least 6 others to my some of my grandkids in the last few years. Thousands of rounds through all of them and I may have cleaned the bore on them a very few times. I always wipe the guns down with WD-40 ( oh no not WD-40!!!! ). I have never had a gun rust using WD-40 and it has never harmed the finish or the blueing. If a gun gets wet I always clean thourghly in side and out and every where else.

[M-Tecs]

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.

Going have to give that a try!!!!!!!!

Some interesting history here http://22box-id.com/USA/Western.pdf

Just found this thread. It appears Western stopped using black powder in 22'S around 1912. In 1927 the Western Cartridge Company introduced their non-corrosive priming system.

[longbow]

Argue all you want. I clean and oil after use. I had one .22 that I left uncleaned after shooting (on a dry day by the way) and as usual it had some powder residue in the bore. Well, it didn't get used for a while and the bore wound up pitted. Not real bad but pitted. Stored in the basement closet just like all the other guns that had oiled bores.

I suspect that the powder residue soaked up moisture from humidity but that is speculation on my part. Regardless, I have never had any other gun get a pitted bore if I cleaned after shooting.

Longbow

[Mad Jack]

I clean the bore of my .22s about every 500 rounds or so. The only modern .22 rifle I own, Marlin Model 60, the manual says don't clean the bore unless it got wet or foreign material got into it. My other .22 rifles are from the 40's and early 50's. The bores of those are perfect and they were cleaned less often.

I admit I feel dirty not giving the .22's the same after shooting treatment all my other rifles get.

[zubrato]

Clean, no.
If I clean, I have to fire about 20-30 fouling shots to get back to optimal accuracy.

I do oil the bore, and I clean the chamber with hoppes 9.

Just because the bullets are waxed doesn't mean it doesn't need protection against rust. From my experience bullet lube/carbon fouling expedite the rusting process.

Fire a few cast bullets, with a few jacketed and leave the cases overnight in the grass. The cast bullet cases have decidedly more verdigris. That convinced me for good, if I'm not taking it out again for over a month it gets an oil patch and no more. Lead bullets love seasoned barrels, and I won't strip that down unless I've got leading.

[izzyjoe]

Well, if you walk in any pawnshop around chances are all the 22's have dirty bores, unless the shop owner cleans them, and most don't. But they are usually rode very hard and put up wet! And I'd be willing to bet that even with dirty bores, and gum up actions from "wd-40" will still shoot very acceptable groups. I was brought up cleaning guns like you clean yourself, very good! I have worked to hard for my guns to let the bores ruin, even the beaters deserve better treatment, but to each his own. If I find a 22 that I want to buy, I run a boresnake through it, and if it looks good, it goes with me, if I see anything I don't like, it's still there's. If I want just the action for a build, I'll use the rough barrel to haggle the deal, then it will get a green Mtn. barrel, which by the way shoot great! I've noticed if clean and use carb cleaner for the last patch, and remove any oil from the bore, it doesn't take many shots to get the barrel back to shooting.