Cleaning Frequency / Technique

[Coloradocop]

I know this isn't an original topic idea, but thought I'd revisit it here once again, just to see where everyone currently stands on this subject. Like many of you, I grew up under the outdated philosophy that "the sun never sets on a dirty gun". As well-intentioned and appropriate as that might have been at one point in the past, I think we've all pretty much acknowledged that this is an outdated way of approaching our cleaning regimen for modern precision rifles.

So, what are each of you doing? How many rounds do you run between cleanings? Do you always do "full" cleanings, or do you have some sort of "partial" cleaning method you like to apply at a certain point? How many rounds do you typically fire before you see a measurable accuracy degradation?

For me, I don't think I've settled on any one answer to this question. For a while I was running approximately 150 rounds between cleanings, and my cleaning method would usually proceed as follows: bore snake, followed by a couple of wet patches with Hoppes, followed by a nylon brush, then a final cleaning with some dry patches. I'd also thoroughly clean the bolt/action areas of the gun.

Anyway, I've stretched my cleanings out a bit, and I'm currently sitting at 220 rounds since I last performed any cleaning on my rifle. I don't think I've seen any accuracy reduction at this point, but I must admit that my last couple of range trips were shooting at steel plates at long distances in challenging wind conditions, so I can't really say if my paper target group size has expanded much since the last time I shot targets in that manner (maybe my misses were bad wind calls, or poorly ranged targets, or maybe my accuracy is going down due to insufficient cleaning, etc). As such, I'm debating whether I ought to fully clean the gun at this point, partially clean the gun, or just keep on shooting and save that time for watching another show on Netflix today! Things do appear to be shooting as well as they normally do right now, but I figured this would be the best forum in which to examine this issue a bit more carefully.

 

[S12A]

I clean my bolt and wipe down the outside of my rifle after all shoots . I will clean the bore if I know I will be able to test fire or re zero before an important event or hunt.

 

[sib1948]

Depends on the weapon-AR vs. bolt action. On my bolt guns I clean and grease the bolt and use a dry 20 ga. shotgun mop to clean the chamber whenever the bolt starts to feel sticky, usually after every 3-4 outings. I leave the bore alone until accuracy starts to degrade, usually between 2-300 rounds. Then with a proper bore guide I put one or two wets patches of BoreTech Eliminator down the barrel and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Follow that with 5 to 7 drys patches until clean. Follow that with a lightly oiled patch with Kranoil. I usually shoot weekly, but would clean also before any prolonged storage. For storage your barrel should pointed down, so any remaining cleaning material does not drain down onto your bolt and chamber. Quick and easy and works well for me.

 

[dbateman]

What is this "cleaning" you speak of?

Na I just shoot it till I feel like cleaning it or I notice a drop in accuracy.

Which usually involves pulling a bore snake through it and shooting it a bit more.

 

[Defusion]

Na I just shoot it till I feel like cleaning it or I notice a drop in accuracy.

This. And i generally don't feel like cleaning. Up to 450 rounds right now.

 

[Coloradocop]

This. And i generally don't feel like cleaning. Up to 450 rounds right now.

Like you, I don't ever really feel like cleaning, either. The only real reasons I clean are:

1) Maximize reliability
2) Maximize barrel life
3) Maximize accuracy


So, really, I guess I'm asking how infrequently I can clean the gun and still enjoy those three things (the first issue isn't as big of a factor in a bolt-aciton play gun... I clean for the sake of reliability every time with my work guns).

 

[Fatorangecat]

I am new to bolt guns and precision shooting but as of now I pull a bore snake with CLP a couple times before and after I shoot. I break out a bore guide and solvent every few hundred rounds. I would appreciate some feedback from guys with more trigger time than myself on the subject.

 

[RanchhandTCR]

I use to be one to clean after every outing, but now with the 30-06 hunting rifle I let it go for about 50 rounds, and my precision rifle I have yet to put a whole lotta rounds out of it yet only 138. I cleaned it at 60 rounds and it did not even change my POI or accuracy. But im gonna be the 60-150 guy I think and that will be just cleaning to get the curde out and leave the copper in.

 

[damoncali]

Most of my rifles are used in competitions, so I tend to keep them pretty clean - every 100 rounds or so so as not to risk substandard accuracy on match day. They all have good barrels, so they clean up pretty quickly - a few patches of solvent, and maybe a little JB and a nylon brushing if called for. I clean the AR's internals pretty much every outing, but mostly because they get really funky if you don't. That, and I'm not about to lose a round to crud build up in the middle of a match. I hardly ever clean rimfires.

 

[Sako man]

I was just thinking about this the other day. I have at least 200+ rounds on the TRG with no cleaning and it was shooting multiple bug holes yesterday. My ARs and SCAR not cleaned in 500+ rounds and cant tell the difference, probably should clean those soon.