Bore: to clean or not to clean?

[melchloboo]

I have been getting conflicting advice on whether or not to clean the barrel of my ruger, 5.5" bull barrel.

Some have said to never clean it, that the carbon deposits are a healthy "patina" so long as the rifling grooves remain visible.

Some have said that a bore worm/snake is ok to feed through a moist (rem oil) patch, followed by a dry patch, every 500 rounds or so.

Everyone seems to say never use solvent or other cleansers on the barrel, although I have seen others on the net say they do this regularly. I would think that in cases where the rifling grooves are filled, this is necessary.

Also everyone seems to say not to run a brass brush through if it can be avoided. BUT every 500 rounds or so bending a .22 brass brush and sliding it into the chamber a half inch or so is ok, to remove fouling that might interfere with the casing's ability to seal.

I am at around 2000 rounds now, and all I've done is the bore snake (piece of weed wacker with most then dry patch) a few times. Which advice is good or bad above?

[wlambert]

I think it depends.

Never clean from the bore end unless that is the only way.

Unless you are getting leading, a brush is rarely needed.

I shoot approximately 240 rounds per week.

When I was shooting my MKII, I would clean the bore once every three months. I used Hopies, and a .22 patch with a nylon jag.

Now I shoot a Marvel Conversion with a much tighter chamber. I clean it every other week.

No magic here, just what works for you.

wlambert

[recumbent]

I use a patchworm and patch with Hoppes #9 mixed 50/50 with Kroil and clean the bore after every outing. I usually shoot 500 rounds each trip to the range which is every week. And I keep it well lubed. And my ruger pistols function flawlessly and are very accurate.

I field strip it about every 2500 rounds.

Works for me.

[Song Dawg]

Similar to recumbent. I use my own weed wacker pull thru with a flannel patch soaked in Ed'a Red or a mixture of Kroil and GM Engine Solvent, which is basically becomes "home grown" Shooters Choice. Then a light coat via a cloth of CorrosionX.
This is done after every outing.
Spare the rod.... spoil the child!

SD

[Bullseye]

I clean the rimfires very little. I wait until they start to malfunction before I give them a deep cleaning. Since there are some makers that use mild steel in their barrels, I only use a nylon brush when scrubbing a barrel. I do use the bronze brush when scrubbing the chamber, I just don't push in too far into the barrel to engage the lands. I always clean from the breach end and use patches with solvent and a jag.

R,
Bullseye

[toyfj40]

another variation...
I use Hoppe's Solvent&GunOil with Qtips.
I'll clean in/around the chamber and muzzle/crown
and run the Qtip into the bore from each end for a few strokes.
leaving a couple inches in the middle un-touched.

IF I know the bore will be "set up" for a while (more than a couple months),
I'll run an oil-patch thru it... good luck -toy

[melchloboo]

i guess its a fair summary to say the consensus is to be gentle on the barrel no matter what. i like the idea of a nylon brush, i had not thought of that.

[marlin1881]

Lately, I've been using Hornady's One-Shot Dry Lub for resizing cases, in the red can. Hornady told me that there is 6 times as much teflon in the red can, as there is in the black (gun cleaner) can. In the red can, there is enough solvent to clean a gun quite nicely.

Basically, I spray everything I need to, and then wipe it down with a clean rag and Q-Tips. This leaves a really slick, clean and dry film, which the 22 powder residue doesn't stick to much at all.

I also spray this down the bore and then push a jag/patch through it. One fouling shot is all I use to get the gun ready for competition.

Works for me.

https://www.hornady.com/shop/?page=shop ... da112fcb76

Item number 9991.

Marlin