30-30 and 45/70 cast boolits

I do, after every time I take it shooting. Especially if I'm plinking, cause then I'm using lead cast bullets so I want to clean off any fouling.

That goes for all my guns. From my .22 to my 12ga.
 
450 Marlin, (a belted 45-70) I clean about 2X a year if I'm just plinking/target shooting at the range. If it's really cold or if it's wet/damp then right after shooting. I think I've overcleaned in the past. If I clean, then go shooting, it takes a few "foulers", sometimes several, to get the bore shooting properly. I've fired 100's of rounds and accuracy, as long as I wasn't working up a load and overdid it, remained very good. Even in a 308 with cast bullets I've shot 100's without cleaning.
 
I should mention that when I go shooting, I don't just fire off a box of 20. It's usually well into the triple digits. Wouldn't bother for a few trigger pulls unless there was a special reason as big boar mentioned.
I like to keep my guns clean. That's my thing. I have a friend who never cleans his... ever. They still shoot, not sure how accurately, and his actions sometimes give him trouble. So I'd say if you sit somewhere between him and I you should be fine!
 
I clean mine after every time out. I use both the 150grain 110 grain lee bullits in the 30-30 with 10 grains unique. Never had a problem with leading just lots of powder residue.
 
you should look into that problem. there is usually a reason for leading and it can be fixed... usually.

Its preventative cleaning rather than corrective. I like keeping things clean to avoid any problems next time I take them out. On the other hand, if a certain load is leaving lead behind, I can take corrective measures to avoid it in the future.

There's only ever the slightest bit of residue after I've shot a lot of rounds. The way I see it, if I don't clean it this time, then there will be a bit more residue next time and so on. Eventually it could lead to a loss in accuracy, but more importantly, right now that gun is dirty.
 
I believe that more barrels are worn out from excessive cleaning than anything else.

Back to your question, in my Marlin 30AS running gaschecked cast boolits I do not experience lead build up, and clean the barrel only if its been out in very cold weather and returned to a warm house in order to remove condensation/moisture.

Apart from that it gets a deep clean once a year, before the Deer hunt.
 
I believe that more barrels are worn out from excessive cleaning than anything else.

And I believe otherwise. There is no way that a cotton patch with a little solvent does more dammage than a few hundred bullets travelling down the barrel at 1000-2000+fps. And if the solvent you're using damages your barrel, then you're using the wrong stuff. Its simple metallurgy.

You could dammage your barrel while cleaning, due to poor method and/or improper equipment - but the act of cleaning is not to blame.
 
When shooting (lots of cast) and I do! 7mmtcu , 7mm rimmed international 7 0/8, 30/30, 303 br 30 herrett 38spec, 357 mag ,357 herrett, 357 max, 44 mag, 445 supermag, 45 acp most running at or above 1900-2000 fps and I experience little to no leading . With proper boolit fit ( 1-2 thou over groove diameter) and a quality lube with gas checks where requiered, Most if not all will find that a properly cleaned barrell ( free of all the redskin fouling ) is just like your mom's/grandmom's old cast iron frying pans, They dont even work right untill they are seasoned! Just a quick wipe with a dry pach or two then a VERY light wipe with an oily patch to prevent corrotion and put em away. This is just my opinion and I have only fired 15-20 000 cast boolits out of my firearms over the last couple of years so yor results may vary!
 
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