Cleaning a .22?

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tsan0018

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I have heard a lot of opinions on how and when I should be cleaning my .22 rifle. Some say that I should never clean it just give it an oiling, while others say to disassemble it, clean the bore, clean up the internals and re-oil. I was just want to hear some of your opinions on the subject.

Having just acquired a Rossi 62 sac I would like to make sure it is working at its best for the hunting season after shooting it all summer.
 
I clean mine once per box. A box having 500+ rounds and it is not a scrub till my fingers hurt cleaning either, solvent on a pad, soak the wire brush and run it a couple times, a couple dry patches, an oily patch. I pay more attention to my bolt and firing pin but thats it. Done it 15-20 minutes.
 
A lot of guns are worn out or damaged by poor cleaning methods or just too much cleaning - particularly rimfires. Cleaning every time that a gun has left the house is way too much except for black powder.

Mine get a little action touch up when it starts to get a lot of gunge and a total clean-up every couple years or when it gets so bad that it affects function. Either accuracy or cycling, ejecting, firing pin etc.

When you do clean always work from the breech end and use bore guides and good quality rods. The bore snakes and some of the other stuff out there are, in my opinion just gimics and a good way to drag a lot of dirt into places that you don't want it.
 
There certainly are many opinions.

However most people seem to aggree that agressive cleaning of a .22lr barrel is unecessary. By this I mean scrubbing it with a copper-wire brush regularly.

Most shooters seem to agree that you only really need to clean the barrel if accuracy shows a decline.

I clean my .22's barrel after every few hundred shots and by clean I mean a spray with RemOil or any other 3 in 1 gun oil and then a couple pull-throughs. I dont use a boresnake, I just make my own pull throughs with a .22-cal patch tied onto a piece of 12lb test monofiliment with a lead split shot at one end that I drop down the bore from breech end. This job serves to clean out most of the powder-fouling and gunk but not really the lead 'fouling' that can enhance a .22 barrel.
 
Ohnad to clarify my comments. I was referring to me semi auto's. My bolt actions I only clean if I have an issue, I wipe the bolt down once in a while and oil but thats about it, no barrel cleaning unless I have problems or accuracy issues.
 
I only give my .22's a cleaning when they start to gum up, if I do not clean them soon after, they tend to jam, particularly my bolt action single shot. I just run a solvent patch, then a dry patch through the barrel, then I scrub the action with a toothbrush to remove any deposits. I also soak the bolt of my single shot in kerosene every once and a while.
 
depends on the gun, he more complex the action, the more likely to gum up.

i just scrapped a ton of crap out of a single shot stenvens, use a plastic dental pick tool to get all the crap from around the sides of the chamber, run a solvent patch, brush, oil patch, and finally clean patch through the barrel and give the bolt a light oil. its surprising how much crap can be dug out of one.
 
Why treat your most used rifle any less than your hunting rifle? I clean mine all the time. Everytime I take it out it gets scrubbed or at the very least a thourough wipe down if I'm planning on going right back out again. I prefer to keep my guns fairly clean, with the exception of some hunting rifles. I'll clean them, but then foul the bore if it requires it. My .22's are always cleaned and oiled, as I usually get bored once a month and pull everything out and clean them all. I need a life.
 
The lands and groves in a rimfire barrel are shallower and get damaged very easily and over leaning them has been proven ot damage accuracy and shorten the barrel's life span. Not to say they should never be cleaned but using wire brushes and also the cleaning rod scraping the inside of the barrel is a huge issue.
 
cleaning

If you have to clean any gun with a brush ,you left it too long. This is what i was taught by a gunsmith a long time ago . Clean after every use, you don't have to gun nuts and hurt your hands scrubbing just run a solvent patch through it, then three or four dry patches ( and don't use a rod) , quick check of the chamber and your ready for the next range outing . (think about what that wire brush does
to the lands a groves ,clean it often with a patch and and you never have build up)
 
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there's cleaning and then there's CLEANING- typicalliy, i'll clean ( small c) every time or 2 the gun is out to the range or field- cotton swabs, bronze toothbrush, and check the barrel with a borelight- maybe a couple of passes with a solvent loaded mop ( mops are cheaper and last longer than patches) followed by patches and then re-oiled- if it's REALLY dirty or about 2wice a year, i'll do the bronze brush thing
 
All my guns get cleaned after I use them. From the range or hunting, when I get home I give them a cleaning (i will use t stars small c for this), usually just a couple patches through the bore and clean out the action, then a light oiling, when used frequently I will do a thorough cleaning maybe once a month where all the guns come out and get a good Cleaning.
 
My .22s get cleaned after each use. This consists of a squirt of BriteBore down the barrel then a (clean) bore snake three times through the barrel. The action gets wiped out but I only do a thorough cleaning (including dissassembly) about every 1000 rounds or so.

Matthew
 
Exactly !

Drewz said:
The lands and groves in a rimfire barrel are shallower and get damaged very easily and over leaning them has been proven ot damage accuracy and shorten the barrel's life span. Not to say they should never be cleaned but using wire brushes and also the cleaning rod scraping the inside of the barrel is a huge issue.
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Any rod down a .22 bore is harmful because of above.

I have a BSA Martini that was used since 1950 and the bore not cleaned until 1990 - It shot extremely well - one hole 5 rd groups at a 100 yds.
Cleaned the bore in 1990 and the groups opened way up.
Took 300 rds to recondition the bore and get my accuracy back.

What does need to be cleaned is the ring of lead at the end of the chamber just before the lands and grooves. - That ring is detrimental to accuracy after just a few rounds in some guns.

I have .22's stored with dirty bores for years - no rust - shoot fine when I bring em out.
 
Cleaning .22 rifles

tsan0018 said:
I have heard a lot of opinions on how and when I should be cleaning my .22 rifle. Some say that I should never clean it just give it an oiling, while others say to disassemble it, clean the bore, clean up the internals and re-oil. I was just want to hear some of your opinions on the subject.

Having just acquired a Rossi 62 sac I would like to make sure it is working at its best for the hunting season after shooting it all summer.
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I've been reading the various opinions regarding cleaning .22 rifles bores. Perhaps another opinion on this matter might enlighten some shooters. It has been mentioned that the lands and grooves of .22's are very shallow and thus are liable to damage if cleaned in an aggressive manner. Now consider the lands and grooves of an air rifle/pistol. Here the lands and grooves are even shallower, yet one of the top coaches, psychologists and trainers of olympic champions in Germany (Heinz Reinkemeier) states, no surprise here, that dirty barrels shoot worse b/c the lead and powder rests have a deleterious effect on the accuracy of the projectiles. The shallow lands and grooves of air rifles/pistols tend to fill up even more quickly resulting in loss of accuracy. I have competed in Free Pistol(.22) and Air Pistol(.177) as member of the Canadian National Pistol Team and I wouldn't dream of not cleaning my pistol barrels after each match (about 80 rounds, including 20 sighters). I don't use bronze brushes or other similar aggressive cleaners, but only the well-regarded VFG Rifle and Pistol Cleaners. These are felt pellets, which in the case of .22s. can be used with the Dewey cleaning rods. My Free Pistols average around $2000 and the Air Pistols around $1600. So you can see I have a vested interest in maintaining the accuracy and value of my equipment. I also use some silky material (Seidenwerg, Sucolin) for cleaning which is a very gentle material for sensitive barrels.

Just another shooter's (abt. 45 years of experience, as if that matters) opinion. http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/images/icons/icon10.gif
 
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How about just soaking a shoe lace with small knot in your gun cleaner of choice and pulling it through a few times? Soldiers have done it.
 
chopper 1 said:
Any rod down a .22 bore is harmful because of above.

I have a BSA Martini that was used since 1950 and the bore not cleaned until 1990 - It shot extremely well - one hole 5 rd groups at a 100 yds.
Cleaned the bore in 1990 and the groups opened way up.
Took 300 rds to recondition the bore and get my accuracy back.

What does need to be cleaned is the ring of lead at the end of the chamber just before the lands and grooves. - That ring is detrimental to accuracy after just a few rounds in some guns.

I have .22's stored with dirty bores for years - no rust - shoot fine when I bring em out.
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:rockOn:

I will not clean my 22 bores until accuracy drops off noticeably.

Other parts of the gun get a wipe down after every range trip. Bolts are pulled off the bolt actions, sprayed with G96 or whatever spray lube cleaner is handy, toothbrushed, wiped dry and re-assembled. Semi-autos, when the action gets gritty and slow, is given the same spray/toothbrush treatment, but no need to disassemble.

Complete disassembly? Haven't fired enough rounds to even bother.

The less dismantling, the better for these tiny actions.

If you're anal about clean guns, that's a different story.
 
mmatt said:
My .22s get cleaned after each use. This consists of a squirt of BriteBore down the barrel then a (clean) bore snake three times through the barrel. The action gets wiped out but I only do a thorough cleaning (including dissassembly) about every 1000 rounds or so.

Matthew
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This is my exact method I use, except if I get a new part or somthing then I give her a good clean.

I find cleaning my guns relaxing aswell, I lock the wife and kid up in the house and head to the garage with a couple of road pops.
 
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