How often should rimfire guns be fully field stripped?

[His lordship.]

I bought 2 new Ruger 10/22's last summer, and I occasionally shoot them.  I clean and oil/grease the bolt area in the receiver, both with the bolt locked open and closed to get at as much surface as possible without taking them apart after each trip to the range.  I also do this with my Browning Buckmark and Ruger Mk. 3 pistols.

I also purchased a DVD on how to take apart a Ruger 10/22 and am wondering on the maintenance time period as to when I should completely take apart these actions to do a full clean and re-grease?  I had read that the Ruger .22 cal. Mk series of pistols can actually loosen up from the barrel to the lower receiver if you tear them down frequently, I don't want to have that problem.

I also have a CZ-452 .22 bolt action rifle, I have only torn down the bolt assembly once in the 7 years I have owned it, but occasionally will pull the bolt from the receiver to do a wipe down on it and the receiver area.

While I have read that some of the members of this forum have never torn down some of their 10/22's, you gotta figure that the lubricant that came with them from the factory is history.  How often should a person field strip their semi-auto .22's?

Thanks.   

[Graybeard]

At least once a life time. With some that's all you'll ever wanna try it. 

Seriously if you take the stock off and blast them out with BC Gunscrubber taking them down fully is mostly a wasted effort.

[mcwoodduck]

I shoot my 10/22's till they stop working.
I have had one since i was 18.  three months after by 18th and I had my NJ firearms ID card and a JOB (home for the summer from boarding school) I bought one so 1986.
It has had 10's of thousands of rounds through it. 
I clean it after most shootings but do the full tear down about every other year.
I bought a Stainless Steel I model so I could shoot it when the other stopped shooting and then would clean both.
My guess on the stopage is about 2,000 rounds less if you use a lot of greese and oil a little more if you use other than the cheapest stuff on sale and depending on where you live.
On the east coast in VA and NC the gun would shoot longer.
In So Ca.  the dust and sweat tend to gum things up a little faster.
OH I found to get the bolt handle back in easier I cut a coat hanger and would use the thin metal, diped in some of the plastic tool coat, to hold the spring compressed through the ejection port till I could get the bolt on top and in place.

[pastorp]

more guns are worn out by cleaning than shooting, especially 22s. I think your cleaning them as far as you should but too often. And don't use grease. A light gun oil is all you need unless your going to store them for a long period of time.

I just wipe them down on the outside with a oily rag. Then maybe once a year pull a bore snake through them. JMO

Regards,

[gunnut69]

Just thought I'd chime in.. The 22 rimfire is a dirty little beast and the blow back autoloaders are the worst. Powder residue is blown back into the action with every shot and these rifles get shot alot! Still the type of lubricant is more important than the frequency of cleaning. I seldom clean the bore of a 22. Only if the accuracy level drops off.. When lubing an autoloader I suggest a dry lube. There are several and I've tried most.. DrySlide, LockEase, etc all work well as does a homemade concoction of molly powder and solvent (mineral spirits) as a carrier. The solvent evaporates and leaves the dry material behind to lubricate the works without the grung grabbing capabilities of oil. Also some rifle designs are worse than others. I've seen 10/22's trigger groups so full it seemed the hammer was emerging from a solid block of material.. Some versions of the little Marlin are horrific but in some the fire control is open bottom and are simple to clean..wintout disassembly.. The main idea is to never Never use anything inside the rifle that will catch powder residue..such as oil! GunScrubber is great stuff but watch plastic parts and wood finish for damage from the solvents. I usually use a very cheap carberator spray cleaner. Brake ckeaners are likely better as they have no aditives but the cheapest from WalMart is just Mineral spirits and acetone and works great for dang little money(I am a bit thrifty).  Just as a humerous note..An old friend who taught me a lot about gunsmithing used to give away WD40 and 3-In-1 oil on the counter in his shop.. I asked why since he had opined that WD40 was a terrible thing to do to a rifle. he replied that he told all the same thing but they all knew better and so when their rifles they brought them in to be cleaned and it was a great moneymaker...

[His lordship.]

When I owned a Ruger Mk. 2 pistol I never took it apart as the release lever on the backstrap had been peened in by someone at the factory, it would not release, later traded the gun off.  But for the 14 years I had it I used to spray Remoil, or others like it into the action to clean it out and lube it, just watch the drips on the floor!

As an experiment I decided to not clean it every trip to the range and after about 3-4 trips the gun got so dirty that it started jamming.  Otherwise it was very reliable.  I have a Mk. 3 now and eventually I would like to experience what it is like to tear down and re-assemble one of those Ruger pistols.  I heard that it is all in the technique. 

[Victor3]

 About 20 years ago a friend brought me his 22 (Tube mag Remington with alum receiver, I can't remember the model), asking if I could fix it because it was jamming. I took it apart and found that the inside of the action was more gunk than gun. Chunks of black greasy stuff fell off when I dug inside with a toothpick.

 I asked him how long it had been since it was taken apart for cleaning, and he said "never." He and his brother had been using it regularly for 25 years or so without a problem, just oiling it with whatever they had on hand once in a while.

 I occasionaly still ask him how the rifle (recently passed to his Son) is doing. Still going strong, and hasn't been taken out of the stock since I did it.

 I so seldom take my 25 year old Ruger MKII apart that I forget how the lever thingy in the grip goes back in every time.

 My Win 62A that I've been shooting for 40 years has been taken completely apart once since I've had it, and only because I was refinishing the wood. I didn't note any appreciable wear on the moving parts.

[S.S.]

I clean all my guns after shooting them.
may not be necessary but it makes me feel
better putting them up clean.

[pastorp]

Well fellows my bolt action, tube fed JC Higgens, that my dad gave me when I turned 14 has never been taken apart to clean. I run a mop through the bore, brush out the action and oil as needed. It still works perfectly. On october 2nd I will have owned it 50 years.

I don't shoot it much anymore but for years when I was younger I shot a brick of longrifles through it each week. The only repair ever made on it was a new firing pin at about 30 years of service.

Like I said, I think you guys clean your guns way too much It's just nor nesecary.

Regards,

[Arier Blut]

If it's  an auto you can pretty well go until it starts jamming. I just broke down a marlin 60 that is 50 years old or better down. Grandpa would soak it down with wd40 down the barrel (not the best solution)  it ran for him his whole life. I break my 10-22 down  after 10,000 rounds or so. It is a match rifle and only get's cleaned when accuracy falls off. It is fully disassembled and miked at this time. I usually go through every year or two and oil the exterior of all of them but never store a rifle with a clean barrel because the POI will shift as soon as the chamber gets powder fouled.