Clean a new barrel after first range day?

[Freediver111]

I'm going to admit that while I'm a fairly OCD and detail oriented, I'm a slacker when it comes to cleaning my rifle barrels. Mostly because I'm a hunter and don't have the luxury of sending a fouling round down the tube before I shoot.

That being said, I recently had a Savage action re-barreled with a Benchmark barrel. Shot it for the first time yesterday. I did not do any "break-in" voodoo, just gave it a quick cleaning before hitting the range, then shot it.

I put around 30 rounds down and I was very impressed. Great groups for sure and no issues.

My only question is, is it really necessary to clean it before putting it in the safe? I plan on shooting it again soon, but might be a few weeks. This time of year is busy for me at work and with the kids home from school. I usually don't clean too much if I know I'm going to the range soon, but it might be 2-3 weeks. Is it that necessary to clean it only to have to send a fouling round or two as soon as I hit the range?

Just curious what you guys think. I bought some bore tech eliminator to test out, but don't plan on scrubbing it like it owes me money......quick clean as Frank describes in previous posts. But do you really need to do it every time you come back from a quick range session???

I live in a dry climate and store my guns in a safe in my house so moisture/rust is not a factor.

 

[BangBangBlatBlat]

I don't usually clean every range trip. I clean once every 200 to 300 rounds for the most part. A wet patch followed by a couple dry patches wouldn't hurt if you want to put your mind at ease.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I do an initial cleaning like you did, but I also like to do a light cleaning (solvent soaked patch, 5 passes or so with brush, patch out) after the first 50 rounds on a new barrel just to make sure it isn't copper fouling badly right out of the gate. It may also just be coincidence but I feel like since I've done this my barrels have broken in a little quicker to the point they speed up a little faster. I've been seeing that in about 150 rounds now.

Other than that I pull a bore snake through once after I'm done shooting to get the loose stuff out, and then again right before I shoot it the next time to get the crusty layer out. My cold bore is always POA/POI doing this.

The only time I'll clean a gun for storage is if it's a safe queen that rarely gets shot. In that case I'll do a light cleaning, and after dry patching I apply a light coat of kroil. As long as it's not cleaned too much, a patch soaked with denatured alcohol followed by dry patching before the next time out will minimize clean bore POI shift and the number of foulers required.

 

[FUNCTIONAL]

I clean when i get a new gun/barrel then once my rounds stop speeding up. From the i don't clean unless its been shot in nasty weather (not a scrub just a clp patch and dry to follow) or i start getting unexplained fliers or wonky groups. (Average 400-800 round intervals depending on barrel/caliber)

Factory guns tend to require more attention, customs much less. At 1000rds on one barrel between cleanings now and she shoots as tight as ever. Let the gun tell you.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

I clean a new barrel before shooting it, after the first outing, when the spirit moves me afterward, but I definitely don't wait for accuracy to degrade before doing it, and when putting the guns up for the off season (which may or may not occur down South near the Border like we are here).

Load development is when I may clean the most; copper cleaning when changing bullet brands, etc.

Greg

 

[m6z]

I always run a few patches wtih CLP through the barrel before I put them away. I only worry about cleaning out the copper when the groups open up.

 

[bohem]

We recommend the following for barrel break in:

(All patches are pushed from breech to muzzle)
1) Brand new barrels are apt to pick up debris during shipping. It may also have some errant piece of dirt in it from polishing the outside. Best bet is an oiled patch through the bore.
2) Shoot a handful of rounds, 5-10, then lightly clean with a copper solvent to get a baseline. You don't need to remove all the copper, just get it to where there's a little blue on the patch.
3) Shoot another 5-10 rounds and repeat step 2. It should take less work to achieve the same result.
4) Shoot 5-10 more and repeat steps 2 & 3. Chances are there's no change in the copper fouling since the second set of rounds.
The barrel is broken in.

I use BoreTech's stuff for cleaning solutions, cleaning rods, jags, etc.

They're local, they're an excellent company with very good products and I happen to think they're doing things the right way. So we support their endeavors.

The Eliminator is great stuff, I have the following chemicals from them:

Eliminator
C4 Carbon
Chameleon Gel (this stuff is tits for carbon rings and nasty build up on muzzles)

The fuel injector cleaner and carb cleaner that I talked a lot about last year does really well. It also smells a lot more than the solutions from BoreTech and BT's stuff works great for cutting both carbon and copper.

 

[Ledzep]

Clean when you first get it to make sure there's no debris or chips etc.. hiding out. I shoot 10-20, give a slightly more thorough than normal cleaning, shoot 100 and clean thoroughly. Then from there on it's whatever interval is required to keep the gun running and accuracy tight. Usually 2 rounds of foaming bore cleaner every 200-300 rounds. Some brushing if things are looking bad. I've bore scoped guns that were religiously cleaned after every 5-10 rounds, and those that are cleaned every 300-500 and after a few hundred or a few thousand rounds it's all about the same. Gradual change from fire cracking and scorching with intermittent copper fouling to nearly new-looking towards the muzzle end.

^^^^ All with hand lapped cut rifled barrels. YMMV wildly with tight bore production grade Savage button barrels.