Cleaning

[jednorris]

I got into .22 Match shooting about five months ago. I have a C-Z 457 MTR heavy barrel and shoot S-K Match .22 bullets. Match bullets have a heavy coating of Beeswax on the bullet. I have been told by some good shooters that it is NOT a good idea to clean the barrel but clean the chamber for carbon often. They say the barrel gets "seasoned in" with the Beeswax and shoots better when not cleaned often. I am still shooting decent groups but wonder since if after about 500 rounds, cleaning might be recommended. For top performance in Match shooting what do top shooters do?

[ShooterAZ]

Will you likely get a lot of different opinions on this. I am in the "leave the 22LR bores seasoned" camp, and will do a regular thorough cleaning once (maybe twice) per year depending on the ammo, round count, and how dirty it gets. I will do a cleaning of the bolt face, chamber face and chamber a lot more frequently. I know a few guys that will use a Boresnake on their match rifles every 500 rounds or so, but I don't.

[johnho]

Lots of answers for this one. In the custom made RFBR rifles, unlimited class, we clean after ever ARA card. I do a "light" cleaning meaning I run a wet patch through the bore with RFB followed by two dry patches. At the end of the match I finish my cleaning with a bronze brush coated with Kroil, then follow up with a wet patch of RFB and three dry ones. I also see some of the factory shooters ( your type of rifle) cleaning between cards now. I have found twice now that when the accuracy starts falling off it's fast and ALWAYS during the match which has cost me dearly. I would at the least clean after every match well and then at the start shoot more foulers until it comes back. In my Unlimited rifles that's about 10-15 shots. I also do that many foulers after each cleaning. For the carbon ring I let a wet patch of C4 sit in the chamber while I'm starting to clean up the area and before the heavy cleaning. Usually about 10 minutes or so. With my borescope I see I get almost all of it out and that's fine from what I see on the target. Now for 10 more suggestions from others. :)

[Tatume]

The manual for my Walther GSP Bullseye pistol says to avoid cleaning the barrel. I keep the chamber clean and clean the bolt face, extractor hook, breech face, and extractor cut when they get gummed up, as an accumulation of fouling in these areas is deleterious to reliability.

[Chill Wills]

Can you spell out the acronym RFB please. I assume RF is rim fire but not clicking on the B.

[johnho]

RFB is a cleaning product from Bore Tech. Stands for Rimfire Blend. You also get the C4 from them.

[G W Wade]

Believe he's talking about Rim Fire Blend Oil blend made for rimfires. Forget maker

Believe he's talking about Rim Fire Blend. Made by Bore Tech Inc for rimfires. GW

[upnorthwis]

I'm on the Clear the Barrel team. I was also told to never clean a .22 barrel. After several weeks in the mini-Palma league, and keeping up with the big boys, the Anschutz 1907 (with Eley Match) started shooting patterns. Cleaned barrel and all is good again. My gunsmith recommends pushing mop thru from chamber end. Then unscrew mop to not pull it back thru muzzle.

[ulav8r]

Clean or not? Shoot targets from a good rest, keeping count of rounds fired. As soon as accuracy starts to fall off note round count. Then clean at about 60% of that count. OR whenever it makes you feel good.

[sigep1764]

I understand the seasoned barrel crowd and the clean every use crowd. I'm a mix. Some of my rifles only see lead rounds and they get patched but only brushed once a year. Two of my rifles get a mix of lead and copper washed ammo. They get brushed everything and I usually shoot 20 foulers. Groups tighten after that.

[country gent]

I let the rifle tell me what it needs. Most of my rimfires get the carbon cleaned out of the chamber throat. Barrels not so much. I leave the resin wax as a seasoning. Most of my rifles if cleaned squeaky clean need a few rounds to settle back down into there best performance and zero

[jednorris]

I am hearing a lot of shooters like "Bore Tech Rim Fire Blend" for cleaning. Does this product not deep clean the barrel as much as other products and therefore better for Match guns?

[Ithaca Gunner]

I'm with the, ''clean once/twice a year crowd'' after finding the ammunition it likes.

[tazman]

You might be interested in reading through this thread. It has a lot of information about this very topic.

https://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?432981-I-found-a-better-cleaning-fluid-for-my-22LR

[johnho]

Well Jednorris, that's another story. Again, you'll get all different opinions on what's the best cleaning solvent. I have no idea. I have used the Bore Tech products now for some 4 years, I'm in my 5th year of this now (ARA unlimited) and all I can say their products work to my satisfaction and I see no reason to try something else given the results I'm seeing. I know for a fact the C4 gets that carbon ring out fast and with no effort. Do others get it out too? Again, no idea. I use what works and no need to experiment further. I have more than enough cleaners on my shelf just sitting there.

Where are you shooting and is it the ARA Factory?

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I let the rifle tell me what it needs. Most of my rimfires get the carbon cleaned out of the chamber throat. Barrels not so much. I leave the resin wax as a seasoning. Most of my rifles if cleaned squeaky clean need a few rounds to settle back down into there best performance and zero
I share this opinion.
.
Back in my rimfire rifle league days, I shot Federal match and ultra match (both have lube coated bullets). I only cleaned the bore, when the rifle was talkin' at me. Then, like country gent says, I'd need to shoot 20 rds or so, to recondition the bore.

[Chill Wills]

I only cleaned the bore, when the rifle was talkin' at me. Then, like country gent says, I'd need to shoot 20 rds or so, to recondition the bore.

Did the rifle barrel start "talkin" to you during a match and reflect in your score?
Or did you somehow deal with it ahead of time and have some "heads up" so accuracy did not drop off during a scoring string.

[Rapier]

Clean my guns after every outing, practice or match, shoot five rounds set the sights to zero at 25 yards and am ready for the next outing.

[schutzen-jager]

after every shooting session i pull one dry patch thru barrel - this removes any powder fouling that might attack moisture - i also ush out chamber - only do full cleaning when accuracy falls off or when not planning on using it for extended period -

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

Did the rifle barrel start "talkin" to you during a match and reflect in your score?
Or did you somehow deal with it ahead of time and have some "heads up" so accuracy did not drop off during a scoring string.
Both.
Some events allow the shooting of a couple foulers. That's usually when I'd wonder, did I flinch or not? Sometimes I'd be shooting it in between events, but it will almost always start with a cold barrel.

[jednorris]

I am just shooting local matches just for fun. I sometimes get some shots that I cannot figure out why. (I KNOW YOU GUYS NEVER HAVE THOSE.) I was hoping to have an excuse, but you are not giving me one. I decided to NOT clean my barrel yet.

[Chill Wills]

Both.
Some events allow the shooting of a couple foulers. That's usually when I'd wonder, did I flinch or not? Sometimes I'd be shooting it in between events, but it will almost always start with a cold barrel.

Thanks for the reply.

So there is no real red light indicator for you either. Just watching and some intuition.

I shoot a match called 22 BPCR, (silhouette) targets at 50, 100, 150 and 200 meters and among competitors this is always a subject of many opinions. I like to clean and it doesn't take but five or so rounds to get back into the zone. There is some abrasive ware from the priming mixture just ahead of the chamber, most often found in the lower half of the barrel. It takes a lot of rounds to have damage show up.

[papaglenn]

You guys clean your rifles?

[FergusonTO35]

It just don't feel right to put a gun away still dirty...

[gwpercle]

For a Quickie Clean ... pull a bore snake with a little bore solvent / CLP soaked in , through the barrel ... that way you don't risk damage from a metal rod .
I can't put away any rifle without doing something to clean it ... Daddy wouldn't let us eat supper till all the guns were cleaned and put away ...old habits die hard !
The one thing you can say about a bore snake is it will not damage the bore / muzzle .
Gary

[dverna]

For a Quickie Clean ... pull a bore snake with a little bore solvent / CLP soaked in , through the barrel ... that way you don't risk damage from a metal rod .
I can't put away any rifle without doing something to clean it ... Daddy wouldn't let us eat supper till all the guns were cleaned and put away ...old habits die hard !
The one thing you can say about a bore snake is it will not damage the bore / muzzle .
Gary

That is good advice. Bore snakes are a good snake.

IMO the gun may "talk to me", but it takes me a few groups to listen. I am not good enough to know if one group was bad because I am not a machine rest, or the wind got me. And as I get older, it seems my hearing is getting worse!!