Do you clean your barrel after every raneg outing?

[flinginairos]

I took my 7mm-08 to the range the other day and found that after I clean it really good it takes it 5-6 shots before it settles in and starts grouping them good. My buddy that has an Encore says that his does the same thing. I HATE wasting shells and want it to hit where I want the first or second shot, espesially if I am hunting. So, do you guys clean your gun every time or do you let and go and only clean it every couple of times out?

[UAD7116]

I clean mine every time if I am just going to the range and shoot, but when I go and sight it in for hunting I dont clean it til seasons over. Kris

[Swampman]

I clean my barrels once a year right after hunting season.  Cleaning ruins more guns than neglect.

[Grumulkin]

It could be that IMPROPER cleaning ruins more guns than neglect but proper cleaning won't ruin a gun.

Some barrels take a few shots to settle down and some don't.  If you leave oil in your barrel, which you should never do, the first few shots will be wild ones.

Some barrels get dirtier faster than others.  I have a couple that it probably takes 50 to 75 rounds to even start getting dirty.

I don't clean after every range session; usually after 20 to 30 rounds down the tube unless it's a new barrel in which case it's cleaned after every session for the first 100 or so rounds.

[Slowpoke Slim]

Yes.

The sun never sets on a dirty gun. Cleaning never hurts a gun unless you're cleaning it in a washing machine. I've never heard of such foolishness.

Some guns get cleaned several times DURING a range session. It depends on the gun.

[Swampman]

Cleaning wears out a gun faster than shooting.

[Grumulkin]

Cleaning wears out a gun faster than shooting.

Pray tell us how?

You send tightly fitting hunks of metal down the barrel at 800 to 4,000 fps and you would like us to believe that cleaning with cotton patches is hard on the barrel???

[wreckhog]

People destroy crowns with cheap rods, which kills accuracy. The cheap rods also flex, which hurts the rifling. And if they don't use a bore guide, that sucks too. Of course there are better things than cleaning rods.

[Grumulkin]

I would agree, don't use a cheap rod; mine are coated.  Don't use stainless steel brushes; in fact, don't use any brushes at all.  Cleaning tips should never be steel but brass or better yet Nylon and should ENTIRELY cover the end of the cleaning rod.  A bore guide is nice to have but optional.

[gunrac]

I would agree, don't use a cheap rod; mine are coated.  Don't use stainless steel brushes; in fact, don't use any brushes at all.  Cleaning tips should never be steel but brass or better yet Nylon and should ENTIRELY cover the end of the cleaning rod.  A bore guide is nice to have but optional.

I agree. After break-in, it's solvent's only. I may run a brush thru once, every 100 rds.

[flinginairos]

Thanks for the input guys! I just wanted to know if it hurt anything to leave it after shooting for a while. I just got in to shooting alot here recently. I have hunted for a long time and always just cleaned the gun after season was over and didnt pull it back out until season came in again. Archery is my big thing and I shoot ALOT year around while my guns just sat in the safe until just a few months ago. I vowed this year that I would do alot more shooting with my guns and get more proficient with them. I am having a ton of fun and have been going to the range once a week. I already feel alot more confident with them

[Ladobe]

"Cleaning ruins more guns than neglect."   
Probably true.

"...proper cleaning won't ruin a gun."   
Mostly true.

"Some barrels get dirtier faster than others."   
True.

"Cleaning wears out a gun faster than shooting."   
Sometimes true, but not always.   Some barrels are shot-out faster than others.

"People destroy crowns with cheap rods, which kills accuracy. The cheap rods also flex, which hurts the rifling. And if they don't use a bore guide, that sucks too."   
All true.   

"Of course there are better things than cleaning rods."
What, bore snakes?   They can get impregnated with metal shavings over time and do as much damage as cheap rods, maybe more.

"...don't use a cheap rod; mine are coated."
Coated rods can get impregnated like bore snakes, so can still cause damage.   Quality, uncoated stiff rods with a bore guide are safer IME.

"in fact, don't use any brushes at all."
False.   Doesn't hurt if nylon, or even phospherous bronze if used properly.

[Keith L]

I am a believer in stiff stainless steel un-coated rods, and cleaning when accuracy falls off or before storage.  Bore guides are also used whenever possible.

[Swampman]

It doesn't matter what you use, it isn't good for your barrel.  Once a year is more than enough.

[kansasj]

Perception is reality---You have to believe in what you do--common sense is the key--what does your gun like?

[expeditionx]

It doesn't matter what you use, it isn't good for your barrel.  Once a year is more than enough.

How exactly will my Otis cleaning cable harm my barrels?
Nothing harder than brass comes in contact with the
gun steel.

[Keith L]

Grit can get embedded  in the plastic jacket of the cable and remove steel each time you use it.  The same thing happens with "soft" aluminum or coated rods.

[expeditionx]

Grit can get embedded  in the plastic jacket of the cable and remove steel each time you use it.  The same thing happens with "soft" aluminum or coated rods.

Burned gun powder residue is harder than barrel steel?

My next question is would the burned power residue
do more damage contacting the steel with minimum
pressure behind it (loose cable surface) or with
intense pressure (scraping along side of the bullet)?

[Varmint Hunter]

I have been shooting & cleaning factory and custom guns for the last 30 years. Here is my opinion - take it for what it's worth:

If you clean a rifle PROPERLY you will maximize bore life and it will last measurably longer than a rifle that is not kept reasonably free of copper and carbon fouling.

If you clean a rifle IMPROPERLY than you can cause premature loss of accuracy which can not be reversed.

Experienced benchrest shooters use various bore cleaning techniques. However, some issues are fairly universal.

1. Use a stiff rod of maximum diameter for the bore. ie: don't use a .224 rod in your 6mm bore or a 6mm rod in a .308 bore.

2. Don't insert a rod into the muzzle end of the barrel. This is very likely to degrade the integrity of the crown with a resultant decrease in accuracy.

3. Always use a quality, properly fitting, bore guide before inserting the cleaning rod through the action.

4. Don't run patches back and forth through the bore. They will pick up abrasive residue which should not be worked back and forth in the bore.

5. It is my opinion that you should occasionally change the bore cleaning method used. If you regularly use a liquid bore solvent than every 100 rounds or so you may want to use JB bore paste or a similar mechanical cleaner. Bore foam is also a good alternative to regular bore solvents. An occasional cleaning with a particularly aggressive copper remover, like Barnes CR10, may remove copper fouling that you did not even realize was there.

Some fouling seems to be more effectively removed by one method than another. Using the same method all the time MAY allow some fouling to accumulate while removing others. This is just my personal observation after cleaning many, many barrels. Your mileage may vary.

[Keith L]

Grit can get embedded  in the plastic jacket of the cable and remove steel each time you use it.  The same thing happens with "soft" aluminum or coated rods.

Burned gun powder residue is harder than barrel steel?

My next question is would the burned power residue
do more damage contacting the steel with minimum
pressure behind it (loose cable surface) or with
intense pressure (scraping along side of the bullet)?

I never said the grit comes from powder residue.  That is your idea not mine. 

Do what you want to your guns.  I truly don't care. 

[expeditionx]

Grit can get embedded  in the plastic jacket of the cable and remove steel each time you use it.  The same thing happens with "soft" aluminum or coated rods.

Burned gun powder residue is harder than barrel steel?

My next question is would the burned power residue
do more damage contacting the steel with minimum
pressure behind it (loose cable surface) or with
intense pressure (scraping along side of the bullet)?

I never said the grit comes from powder residue.  That is your idea not mine. 

Do what you want to your guns.  I truly don't care. 

I'm not trying argue I'm just wondering what is grit composed of.
Burnt powder first came to mind. Only things else I can think of are
are copper jacket residue and maybe lead off of the base of the bullet.
I may start flushing my dirty barrels with brake cleaner to
flush out harmfull particles before I actually pull a cable through
the bore.

[Keith L]

Unless you use the rods/cables in a clean room each time they are used they can be exposed to grit sources like sand, dust, metal filings on your workbench, dirt on your hands etc.  Also new guns are normally full of chips from the manufacturing process that can become part of your cleaning kit without you knowing it.  And some of the solvents like brake parts cleaners and other things used frequently can soften the plastics on coated rods and allow even light content to stick to the surface.  It is really common to be able to feel the grit with your hands on the surface after using a rod a few times.  That's why I use only stainless steel and bore guides, and clean the rods before and after use.

[bangbang47]

So after reading all these threads on modern high-tech ways to clean ones bore, A thought of a forgotten time crossed my mind.
Back, lets say about 150 or 175 years ago, when hardened steer rustlin herd drivers wore thier six guns and saddle holstered lever guns at  thier side, across 2000 miles of badlands; where on thier horse or hide did they pack thier SS rods and brass bore cleaning cables. Back then, alloy steel was not 1/3 the quality it is today. Yet these pioneers lived and died wearing thier guns. Yet for some reason, they trusted the accuracy of thier six shooter with thier life.
So the point is, thier is 100 ways to clean them bores and every one has thier correct own way.  
 

[Jake McCracken]

It doesn't matter what you use, it isn't good for your barrel.  Once a year is more than enough.

So your saying that my guns need cleaned only once a year? 

Even if my son and I burn through 700-1000 rds a week?

If once a year is more than enough for you, then you do not shoot it nearly enough!!!

[Keith L]

Yet these pioneers lived and died wearing thier guns. Yet for some reason, they trusted the accuracy of thier six shooter with thier life.
 
 

Not nearly as often as movies and TV would have you believe, and many of them were often replaced because they were worn out.  Even wonder why most of the collectible guns are fancy?  Its because they weren't used and worn out by their original owners.  If you want to wear your guns out with careless cleaning, knock yourself out.  I want my kids to use mine when I am gone and will be careful how I do it.

[epanzella]

I let my guns call the shots, so to speak. I'll clean a new gun every time out as long as I'm getting copper out of it. When the copper stops, the cleanings get farther apart. I have an '03 Springfield that I clean once a year just to see if it needs cleaning (like pumping a septic tank) and it always turns out that it was unnecessary. My 30-06 Encore and my 300 WSM Coyote are still cleaned every time 'cause they're still giving up copper but I see improvement. Like everyone else said, cotton patches, clean from the breach with a guide and one direction only. I believe that it's the rough spots in the bore that shave the copper off the bullets and they will smooth out with use. Leaving the copper in the barrel insulates the rough spots from the subsequent bullets and prevents them from ever burnishing out. Just my 2.
Ed Panzella

[flinginairos]

Thanks for the input fellas! I shot a few boxes through it and the accuracy started to drop off pretty bad at 100 yards. So while at the range I cleaned it and bam, grouping was back after shooting a couple shots. I think I will probably be cleaning it every two boxes of ammo. It seemed to really drop off after two so thats what i'll try

[LaOtto222]

flinginairos - I think you got it - let the gun tell you what it likes. Some of my guns like relatively clean bores and some like it dirty. There seems to no rhyme nor reason to it. Some just do not shoot well until you get 50 - 60 rounds down the tube and others; the accuracy goes to heck when you get that many down the tube - maybe sooner. I have factory barrels and I have custom hand lapped barrels - there seems to be no pattern to it - but the rougher the barrel, the cleaner it likes it - it seems...but not always. When I get a new barrel, I shoot and clean as I go, sighting in at the same time to save ammo. after the initial break in, I keep shooting until the accuracy goes South. I then clean the barrel thoroughly. I have my own methods, but they do not involve brushes and do involve bore guides, patches, solvents and foams. I then start shooting again; and again let the barrel tell me when it is time to clean. After a few sessions, you will learn what it likes best. A new barrel will usually, but not always get longer between cleaning sessions until you get 200 - 300 rounds down the tube and then they will settle in and be more consistent. Good Luck and Good Shooting