Thread: In-between barrel cleaning

Bore snake before and after every outing. Followed by a squirt of aerosol oil before it goes back in the cabinet.
If it's a longer range sessions then a number of patches and brass brush and solvent until it comes out clean. This may take place sometime after last use.
Zane

clean chamber, dirty barrel

1. I don't think burnt powder residues are protective so after each day when I've fired it, I'll put some sort of oil in it. In the bush, it's just a waterproof oil, not even trying to clean out fouling. At home, it's carbon solvent and every 100-200 shots copper solvent but I'm not sure how often you really need to do that.

2. I always dry patch out the barrel after cleaning so its stored ready to fire. Prevention for senior moments. The dry patch doesn't remove 100.00% of the oil so it is still protected against the elements. A 22 might lead a shelterd life and a target rifle even more so (those are the guys who say the "never clean the bore") but out hunting in NZ your barrel will have a short life if you carry it actually dry. Of course, if you don't plan on using the rifle for more than 10 or 20 years you can afford to be a bt more casual ....

A never ending argument I reckon.
I reckon if you can take out the residue from the powder then that has stopped the corrosion unless you have a humidity problem.
I spray remoil on to my bore snake and that leaves a very light protective coating of oil and drags all the shit out.
I only deep clean once my accuracy drops of and then wipe out is your freind!
What ever floats your boat really.
I'm not OCD so less is best!

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Stored rifles should be re-oiled monthly or more often in a humid climate. Any light surface rusting is nipped in the bud and can be removed with a bronze brush and oil. When they come out of storage always clean and check the bore for any obstruction before using and clean and oil before they go away again.
After a hard days hunting, look after the rifle before you look after yourself. Clean and oil the bore, then remove blood and grime from the externals and give it a going over with the oily rag. Regularly take a bronze brush to the chamber, as the baked on build-up of blood and dirt from grubby cartridges leads to stuck cases and torn off rims which can ruin your day. Don't forget to check bolts and screws for tightness as they as another cause of many a rotten day.
Clean daily when working. Carry a pull-thru in your belt pouch to remove any barrel obstructions when hunting. Have a multi-section rod for use in camp, with a fired case with the primer drilled out to fit the rod, as a rod guide.
Youngs used to be used for everything, now replace it with a product like CLP for field use.

I'd never thought of an old case as a rod-guide, great idea .An Army gunsmith once told me humidity (as mentioned by others), is the big problem ,and that barrels left uncleaned hold way more moisture,ie, the residues suck it up over time, then become something nastier than the somewhat inert residue.(artistic-licence with the "somewhat-inert") I clean with patches soaked in spraying thinners until clear, then a well oil-soaked one,and a regular wipe-over outside,with an oily rag. A brush goes through whenever I feel the need, and I degrease bores-bolts etc before hunting. The .22's get way-more use , I only do a hard-out clean on the bore when accuracy drops off, followed by a few shots to settle it down again.

Ya bunch of fuss pots.

I keep them dry at home and away from high humidity.

I clean them with a patch and oil if they get damp or wet

I usually use a clean bore snake once after each hunt. I chuck the bore snakes into the washing machine every now and then. Not with my wife's nickers though, because the brass bristle brush part is pretty hard on them.

If accuracy drops off or if I have some sort of fit I get all of my rifles out and give them a thorough clean with all of the right solvents and stuff. Maybe every 6 months.
They get the same after a long trip.

I like to see a well used rifles that show their rights of passage on their skin, but have well looked after innards.

Well looked after to me doesn't mean that you are obsessive to the point that you harm the crown through constant uneven pulling of bore snakes or that accuracy suffers because the next bullet never knows what solvents and shit the last bullet had to wade its way through. I reckon consistency, and less is best.

I clean mine after use, whenever they get fired. Cleaning just means a patches and a pull through, then couple of oiled patches until I am not showing any fouling, leave some oil in the bore. Doesn't take ten minutes.

I dont use special solvents or oils, or gels or cleanses or detoxes. (Come to think of it I don't even use gun oil. I use motor oil.)

I have to check mine in the gun safe otherwise they start to rust. Some rifles I have to run a patch down and oil again after a few weeks, others seem to sit just fine without extra attention.

Most nice rifles get ruined because the bore rusts and gets pitted. People just neglect them out of laziness, not because people shoot them enough to wear them out. I know people who consider themselves knowledgeable gun people, who don't even really know how to clean a rifle.

Once in a hut one of them watched me run a patch down the bore of my rifle one time in silence, and then said, you're going to wear the barrel out doing that.
I said its not going to last long shooting bullets through it then.
He then something that was even more witty, but I am telling the story and that part is not included so I can have the last word.

I might run a oily patch through it when I get home from a trip. Emphasis on might. Probably would if I fire a shot or two. If not, then it won't get a patch.

A dry evening/morning/day hunt or when I'm home from work and the rifles been in the truck all day with me it'll generally go straight back in the cabinet.

If I'm bored on a rainy Sunday I might them out and run a brush through them if they look like they need it.

The only rifle barrel I've got pitting in is my 223 and its had about 6000 rounds through it now. Still shoots an inch at 100 easily.

I'll always dry them out properly when I'm home, give them a quick wipe down with an oily rag and in the cabinet.

When mine gets a fuzzy red/brown colour in the barrel i put some crc in it

Bit of boretech then bit of oil and in the heated safe it goes

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

The hunting rifle is left fouled to minimise cold shot shift in POI next time out. Very dry storage conditions here though.

The old POI worry mainly comes from older badly made rifles and points to mechnical problems. Have tested with chrony clean and fouled velocities to be within 50-75fps, this equates to .5 moa spread. So in a modern hunting rifle at normal hunting distances it doesn't matter a toss how you want to clean or not

I'm wondering if there is a correlation between how frequently people clean their rifles, and how long they keep them...some people seem to have a very high turnover rate, while I have never sold a rifle.
Are the people who rarely clean the barrel the same people who flick their rifles on after only a few months or years? And are others like me, who clean (almost) religiously have had those rifles for 32 years, 26 years and 24 years? I'm not suggesting people are selling problems, more that if you only have the rifle a short time you are less likely to see any problem develop, and if you know you are going to have it for decades you tend to look after it better (argueably)?

Originally Posted by Cigar

I'm wondering if there is a correlation between how frequently people clean their rifles, and how long they keep them...some people seem to have a very high turnover rate, while I have never sold a rifle.
Are the people who rarely clean the barrel the same people who flick their rifles on after only a few months or years? And are others like me, who clean (almost) religiously have had those rifles for 32 years, 26 years and 24 years? I'm not suggesting people are selling problems, more that if you only have the rifle a short time you are less likely to see any problem develop, and if you know you are going to have it for decades you tend to look after it better (argueably)?

I dont turn over rifles very often, I went from cleaning everything every time to cleaning when needed for s/s when I worked out I was causing more issues than I was solving by cleaning.