Cleaning .22 rifles

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Cleaning .22 rifles

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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 09 12:56 pm Post subject: Cleaning .22 rifles
Those with a .22 rife, do you clean the barrels and, if so, how often? I thought the .22LR round was quite dirty but some suggest they don't need cleaning at all as the lead just acts as a lubricant. If you do clean it, how often and what do you use?

Colin & Jan

Joined: 03 Mar 2006
Posts: 203
Location: Dover, Kent

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 09 1:11 pm Post subject:
Got to admit I only wipe the outside over. Doesn't seem to affect the accuracy although the barrel may be rotting from the inside out! Colin

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 09 7:16 pm Post subject:

No need to clean barrel only the action every now an again.

I know some shooters who've never cleaned their .22 in months if not years.

Some say cleaning barrel temporarily degrades accuracy. I don't know of any .22 ammunition which is corrosive so not cleaning isn't a problem normally. However, it is important to inspect the bore regularly, pulling a bore snake through before each shooting session ensures the bore isn't obstructed which is what I tend to do.

chicken feed

Joined: 27 Aug 2009
Posts: 2677

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 09 8:03 pm Post subject:
i only ever wipe it down but must say it has never had a good clean.

GENT

Joined: 03 Jun 2008
Posts: 387
Location: Student diggs- coventry.

Posted: Sat Oct 31, 09 11:39 pm Post subject:
I have to be honest and say that i completely clean my rifle each and every time. I do use CCI stingers which are copper coated- so that may be worth getting out the barrel, But apart from that it could be just that i like cleaning it!

whitelegg1

Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 409
Location: Woodford Green

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 6:29 pm Post subject:

Boresnake is best....

Using a rod you stand a good chance of damaging the crown! Not good....

Be careful with the pull string as you don't want to damage the crown with that either.....

I think the target shooting boys tend to have a regid cleaning regimen as they need it to behave exactly the same every time the shoot, so they clean it more often....

Talking about a different level of accuracy from target to hunting....

Pete

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 6:35 pm Post subject:
Interesting, GENT, I was advised you would clean rifle barrels if you use copper jacketed rounds as moisture can be trapped between the copper residue and the steel barrel. So looks like you're doing the right thing. Apparently that's not a problem with lead but I'm not sure why. I'll also ask at my club and see what they say, probably get half a dozen different answers.

Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 6:38 pm Post subject:

whitelegg1 wrote:

Boresnake is best....

Might try one. Ideally I was after a plastic rod so it was least likely to damage the barrel, but I can't find one.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 6:57 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Interesting, GENT, I was advised you would clean rifle barrels if you use copper jacketed rounds as moisture can be trapped between the copper residue and the steel barrel. So looks like you're doing the right thing.

Apparently that's not a problem with lead but I'm not sure why. I'll also ask at my club and see what they say, probably get half a dozen different answers.

Copper clad bullets are fired at higher velocities than lead and therefore different problems arise which merit regular cleaning. I've not heard of copper trapping moisture though.

A bore snake won't shift stubborn build up and aren't designed to replace good quality cleaning rod (always clean from the breach not the muzzle to avoid damaging the crown) in that respect. They're great for day to day cleaning though. I rarely rod my high velocity rifles instead use the bore snake after every shooting session.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 7:00 pm Post subject:
Hence my question really, it seems you get all sorts of advice and explanations, often contradictory. Is there any info out there that's based on facts and research or is it all governed by peoples views and the marketing of various cleaning products?

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 09 7:22 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Hence my question really, it seems you get all sorts of advice and explanations, often contradictory. Is there any info out there that's based on facts and research or is it all governed by peoples views and the marketing of various cleaning products?

Clean when you need to. If you see lead or copper deposits then clean. Sub/trans velocity rifles/ammo like .22 rarely require cleaning. Lots of myths out there. Use common sense.

KILLITnGRILLIT

Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 894
Location: Looking at a screen in the front room

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 09 12:23 pm Post subject:

I don`t visit "Rimfire central" website much so it may be worth having a looky there, however with the average UK based sites, Pigeon watch/airgunBBS etc. the general consencus is DON`T clean it unless you have had rain down the barrel.
With CF calibres & I would imagine .17hmr the corrosive gases that launch the projectile are where corrosion happens, especially @ 3000fps+
I remember, vaguely, that my accuracy tailed off with my BRNO when I last cleaned it, I think it was 5-6 or more years ago and I`m sure my was made in 1981 and was 2nd hand when I got it and it must have had many 1 000`s of rounds through it.

vegplot

Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 21301
Location: Bethesda, Gwynedd

Posted: Wed Nov 04, 09 1:17 pm Post subject: Re: Cleaning .22 rifles

Treacodactyl wrote:

Those with a .22 rife, do you clean the barrels and, if so, how often? I thought the .22LR round was quite dirty but some suggest they don't need cleaning at all as the lead just acts as a lubricant.

If you do clean it, how often and what do you use?

To clarify, the dirtiness is often down to the waxy lubricant coating the bullets rather than the lead itself. Under normal circumstances the bore will be cleaned by the bullet as it travels up the barrel but then leaves behind it's own deposits (hopefully not lead) as well as burnt power residue. These deposits will fill any small pitting or machining marks over time making the barrel more gas tight and improving accuracy (or more importantly repeatability of shot placement). Cleaning the barrel removes these helpful deposits.

Unhelpful deposits, often seen when lead or copper bullets are pushed to their velocity extremes cause bullet material to be left in the barrel contribute to a worsening of accuracy in the longer term.

Pushing boundaries of performance always negatively effects the barrel either by reducing barrel life or variable accuracy.

Somewhere in there is a happy medium.

KILLITnGRILLIT

Joined: 14 Sep 2006
Posts: 894
Location: Looking at a screen in the front room

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 09 9:58 am Post subject: Re: Cleaning .22 rifles

vegplot wrote:

.....Somewhere in there is a happy medium.

Here is that https://www.derekacorah.org/ Happy medium

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