Cleaning your .22's, how often?

[His lordship.]

In the old days I used to clean all my .22 rimfires after an outing to the range.  This involved cleaning the bore, bolt and action.  I now clean the barrel once after 1-2 years or so, the action is cleaned out with a Cotton swab after each trip to the range.  Should I put off cleaning the action, and if so how often?

I was looking into the action of my new Ruger 10/22 in stainless after its first day at the range, before I cleaned it, it was very, very dirty.

I have heard of people who do not clean their .22's and others who only clean it after 1-2 years of shooting.  I clean mine as it seems that it would be better to have the bolt ride on clean oil/grease instead of grit and grime.  How often do you people clean your .22 rifles and pistols?

Thanks.


 

[Keith L]

I clean the action after a few sessions at the range or in the field.  I clean the bore when I loose accuracy or when I can't stand it any more.

[Ladobe]

Good answer Keith.   IMO folks generally over-clean their rimfires and do more damage than good by doing so.   

I clean when I get the urge that one needs it, which is not very often with the rimfires.    Depending on the action type, in some cases not for many years.

[torpedoman]

Almost never but i had to clean the granddaughters 10-22 when it quit cycling it a 1970's model and i cleaned it last year.

[Graybeard]

If I ever decide to clean the bore on one I'll try to remember to let you know. Don't recall having done so in the last 15-20 years or so I'd not advise holding your breath waiting.

[LaOtto222]

I just bought a Marlin 982 VS CS. The owners manual that came with it is a generic one that covers 22 LR, 22 WMR, 17 HMR and 17 Mach 2 bolt rifles. I am going to quote one section of the manual - "With normal use it is not necessary to clean the bore of your rifle." They only advise cleaning the bore if it gets wet or there is a foreign substance that gets in it. I have cleaned rim fire bores in the past, thinking I was doing them good. I have become more knowledgeable so I have not done so for many years. I only clean the action when it gets to the point of non functioning, which is not very often. I believe there has been more harm/wear done by cleaning a rim fire bores than good.

[drdougrx]

I've probably shot 500 or more rounds in my ruger 77/17 (17HRM) and the accuracy got better the more I shot it.  Nope...don't clean it.

[His lordship.]

That was one of the things I really like about the maintenance on the .22 rimfires, you can leave the bores alone for awhile, not like a 30-06 though.  On my .17 HMR, because it is a jacketed round, I clean the bore from the action every other visit to the range, or if I plan to leave the rifle for a few months to protect it from moisture.  With the cost of ammo going up, I don't plan to shoot my .17 HMR as much as I did 4 years ago.

I am starting to feel like a European with me acquiring more and more .22 LR guns, and less centerfires.

[LaOtto222]

I also have a 17 HMR. I had for over a year and shot several (maybe 300 - 400 rounds) boxes of ammo through it. I was feeling guilty about not cleaning it. I bought a new one piece cleaning rod, patches and bore guide for it (dang 17). I cleaned it once and regretted it. Took many more shots to settle back in again. I do not plan on doing that again any time soon. BTW It is a Volquartsen SS hand lapped barrel. It shoots good clean, but shoots better dirty. The Marlin manual I quoted above says "with normal use it is not necessary to clean the bore of your rifle." This applies to all of their 22 rim fire, 17 Mach 2 (jacketed), 17 HMR (jacketed) and 22 WMR (jacketed) bolt action rifles. Do not be so hasty to clean your rim fire barrels; even if they are jacketed. Now center fire cartridges are a cat of a different breed.

This is the day of corrosive free priming material. Back in the day when the primers were corrosive, bores needed cleaned no matter their caliber, center fire, shot gun or rim fire. The only corrosive primers I know of now are old domestic military stuff, some over seas military (usually old) or maybe some cheap over seas civilian ammo. I just bought a Marlin 22 WMR and to start with I was getting 2 1/2" strings both horizontal and vertical to start with at 50 yards. 50 or so shots later I am getting 5/8" groups with it. I expect it to get better and better with more shooting. I am not going to be cleaning that gun for a long while, even though I shoot jacketed bullets in it.