Cleaning & Oiling Your Barrel

[Coote]

When we mostly used military .303 Br rifles and ammo, we used to clean and oil our rifle barrels as soon as possible after shooting. This was because of the corrosive primers - plus it was drilled into us that this was the right thing to do. And even now I would generally clean and oil the barrel of any centerfire rifle after I'd used it, corrosive primer or not.

On the other hand, we seldom cleaned the barrels of our .22 rimfires, and there has never been an obvious problem.

So I'm thinking now that I'm using lead boolits, Federal Large Rifle Primers and modern powder, there is probably no urgency to clean my centerfire after I've used it (unless I've been out in damp weather).

It is convenient if I'm camping for a week to simply not clean my rifle.... and to be able to pick it up and use it without wiping the oil from the barrel.

Is my reasoning faulty?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.... Coote.

[ss40_70]

i rarely clean the rifles i use to shoot cast unless i have a problem or just plain feel guilty
and when i do clean its rarely more then a couple patches .
i know people say barel seasoning is a myth but for some reason i have better groups after 10-15 shots down a cleaned barrel

[Coote]

Ah.... I'm pleased with your response ss40_70. Thanks for that.

I can understand the guilt though.

[nicholst55]

As long as I'm using smokeless powder and noncorrosive primers, I let my rifles tell me when they need to be cleaned. When accuracy drops off noticeably, they need to be cleaned.

[dale2242]

I don`t clean after every shooting session if I know I will be shooting the gun again soon.
I live in a very moist climate, and run a lightly oiled patch through the bore after each session in case it gets put away and not used for a while.
My cast loads need very little cleaning.
With jacketed loads, copper fouling will be the deciding factor. It normaly takes a lot of shots to copper foul a barrel....dale

[Coote]

Thanks guys.... a common sense approach.

[canyon-ghost]

If the match is competitive, I like an oiled barrel for first shot. Otherwise, your thinking is right. There's no major emergency to cleaning the barrel.

[357maximum]

The bore of the barrel on my cast only guns............ If you put a patch down one of them....we are gonna have us an argument. I baby the rest of the gun...but the bore does not get cleaned until it asks for it. My 357max has not had the bore worked on in.....heck I forget it has been so long. The MikesMicroLithi lube I am using will not actually shoot at it's full potential until a few shots have went down a clean pipe and then it settles down accuracy wise and does not require any cleaning. Sure the bore gets a looksee once in awhile but I do not ruin the good juju that is in there by raping the bore with a piece of cloth. I am not promoting my system to everyone, but it works for me.

[Coote]

I'm in good company.

[Larry Gibson]

I clean mine after shooting....old army habit.......even my .22LRs.....

Larry Gibson

[school of mines]

My practice is to use a bore snake with CLP/Break Free after every time I fire my hunting rifle during the hunting season. After the season is over, I will use Butch's Solvent and a cleaning rod with brush and patches to really clean the bore. Then a oiled patch through the bore for storage.

[atr]

I'm with Larry,,,I clean mine after every shooting,,,even the .22 LR
Most of the time I clean at the range when the barrel is warm....

yup...old habit...dies hard

[btroj]

You can clean your barrels?

I am like 357 Maxi, I clean mine only when they need it. Might be a few hundred rounds or ore. Keep the rest of the gun cleaned and oiled but I leave the bore alone.

[Wally]

What's the big deal---run an oil or solvent patch through your barrel w/ a Jag tip? No big deal. Then before I shoot I run a dry patch then a patch soaked with Gumout through the barrel. Leaving a barrel "untreated" to me is like sitting around, after a big dinner, with the dirty dishes still on the table.

[50-170-700 sharps]

I clean mine after every session with boretech eliminator and then run some kind of light oil down the barrel if I'm going to shoot it soon, if not i will run some breakfree into the bore.
I honestly don't know why people dont clean their barrels, I have seen first hand that not cleaning reduces barrel life. But do what works for you, if your getting good groups it really doesn't matter what you are doing.

[gnoahhh]

The only time I don't clean a centerfire barrel is after final sighting in before hunting season. I don't like the idea of a potential slightly off target first shot from a clean oily bore. If the weather is predicted to be damp/rainy then I forgo that and clean and oil it anyway. I'm probably being too anal about that attitude, but as with some of y'all, old habits die hard.

.22 rimfires on the other hand do I rarely clean. Only when accuracy falls off. I subscribe to the thought that more .22 barrels are ruined by excessive cleaning than by shooting.

[btroj]

I suppose that in the end it comes down to what works for each of us.
Having a gun sit dirty doesn't bother me a bit. If it was something where it could be harmful then I would clean every time. I just don't see a need. I have never fired a corrosive primer and don't shoot black so why?

We all have out own quiks I suppose.

[Newtire]

Probably has something to do with the climate but if you live where redwood trees grow and they live on fog for their water, I guarantee you had better take a look at the bore once in awhile or you will be disappointed like I have been when you find the rust has taken over.

We cleaned a shotgun barrel of a guy from Southern California that looked like a sewer pipe from never having been cleaned and it came out clean as a whistle. Dry climate down there.

[Coote]

Thanks for your thoughts.

Like has been said.... different things might work for different people and circumstances.

In my case, it is good to get home from hunting or range shooting and just lock the gun away without worrying about the bore rusting like it would have back when I was shooting military .303Br Mk vii. I would have probably already spent the best part of the day away from the family, so it makes for good relations to not have to go through a cleaning ritual immediately upon my return. I might also have a deer to cut up and get in the freezer, so that is a priority for my time. Furthermore, I might want to use a gun in a hurry within the next few days and it is good to know I can just grab it. load it and shoot it without having to wipe oil from the bore.

I have great affection for the old military guns and ammo, but now that I have got a couple of modern rifles and I'm doing my own reloading with non-corrosive components I feel somewhat liberated.

I'd never be happy to leave my guns for months without checking them for corrosion though.

I like this forum.

[405]

Guess I'm in minority so far- I clean after shooting. Old habit but it has never let me down. One thing that is a possibility is that under those layers carbon and/or copper and/or lead is a confined environment that can be conducive to corrosion. Also, as I understand it even the overlooked possibility of galvanic action between dis-similar metals could exist. If the regular cleaning is done with the right tools it won't harm the bore. If the wrong tools- then better left alone or learn how to do it right.

Lots of bores out there that have been neglected.... and they show it.