There is no set procedure for what shooters should do to clean a barrel or how often to clean it. The information from Lilja reproduced above is a good example.
For every custom barrel maker there is probably a variation on cleaning routine and frequency. Bartlein's website doesn't recommends using a jag/patch combination over brushes (apparently for all their barrels) rather than brushes of any kind. h t t p s ://bartleinbarrels.com/cleaning-and-breaking-in-guide-lines/ On the other hand, Shilen calls for the use of brass brushes followed by patches. h t t p ://www.shilen.com/faq.html#question11 Benchmark tells users of their custom barrels to use their normal cleaning regimen, following the cleaning product manufacturer's instructions. h t t p ://benchmark-barrels.com/Benchmark_Barrels/Benchmark_Barrels_-_Support.html
Ammo manufacturers also have recommendations. Eley, for example, encourages frequent cleaning of .22LR barrels (and remember they don't make cleaning products). Eley insists a "clean gun shoots better than a dirty gun." But how often to clean? Eley has this to say:
At ELEY, when testing a rifle we note when it is cleaned and data is collected on the fouling shots. Our engineers have crunched the numbers and come to the conclusion that cleaning is good for rimfire barrels. I’ve also drawn the same conclusion from my experience shooting Benchrest. Every barrel loses accuracy once it becomes dirty, although the point at which it loses accuracy is different for each barrel. In almost all rimfire competitions, somewhere between 25 – 100 shots are required before a competitor can easily clean their rifle. I also have not personally seen a rifle that could not shoot at least 100 rounds before losing accuracy due to fouling. So, we settled on 90-100 rounds in between cleanings.
Dan Killough, who wrote those words for the Eley website, describes the cleaning procedure he uses at the Eley facitilites:
At the Texas range we use a bore guide that fits the cleaning rod tightly and that does not go all the way to the barrel. Instead it stops at the loading ramp. I like to see the rod as it goes into the barrel. This is so I can verify that it is going straight down the center. For this I use a Kleen Bore Jag because it is the same diameter as my cleaning rod. I prefer Pro-Shot 1 1/8 inch square cleaning patches, and Pro-Shot 1-Step Solvent. I push one wet patch down the barrel and remove the patch at the muzzle. Then, to remove the combustion ring, I use a Short 10 inch cleaning rod. This has a .22 caliber nylon brush to scrub the first two or three inches of the barrel with a back and forth motion for about 10 strokes.
Next, I push more wet patches down the barrel until they come out clean. Typically this takes about four patches. If I’m continuing to shoot the rifle, I’ll end with a dry patch. If I am finished shooting for the day I’ll end with a wet patch.
I’ve bore-scoped many .22 barrels and have found that a nylon brush always removes the combustion ring. In the past I’ve used a bronze brush which I don’t believe will damage the barrel. Although many people do not like to use them on rimfire barrels. The nylon brush could not possibly damage the barrel and I know it is getting the job done, so that is what I use.
h t t p s ://eley.co.uk/barrel-cleaning-for-improving-your-shot/
For anyone looking for a detailed and thoughtful review of the need for cleaning, cleaning techniques, and products should read Steve Boelter's excellent treatise "Rimfire Cleaning" h t t p ://www.ssvtexel.nl/index.cfm?act=files.download&ui=C5C9D865-2200-0A21-B5F5CF897974784F It's 45 pages long -- but it has pictures too.
Who's to say any of them are wrong? What they have in common is not to avoid cleaning, use proper equipment -- including a bore guide and a good rod. Feel free to use a brush, brass or nylon, but definitely put a wet patch (better still, several of them) through the bore soon after shooting, followed by dry patches, especially if storing the rifle.
I will conclude with a couple of posts from Rimfire Central back in 2011 in one of those frequent and interminable threads about cleaning. h t t p s ://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=393714
I have read that Olympic shooters rarely clean the barrel of a .22, and would NEVER use a metal brush, if they ever did clean the bore.
Bench rest and centerfire guys seem to be all over the map, and what they do for cleaning doesn't seem to affect how they finish.
I'm an Olympic rifle shooter and I clean my rifle every time I shoot. That is between 75 and 175 rounds a day. I always use a rod and always use a bronze brush. 99% of the others in Olympic level shooting do likewise.
If you are shooting at those big fat NRA targets (or squirrels), it may not be necessary. If you are shooting for maximum accuracy you clean regularly.
I always use a bore guide. I'd LOVE to see my competitors using a bore snake!
Eric U
Eric U is Eric Uptagrafft. He was on the U.S. Olympic shooting team in 1996 and 2012 (where he finished 16th) and shares the world record for 50m prone. He's an engineer and currently produces precision shooting products.
In my pursuit of the 1/4" challenge, I'm cleaning every 100 rounds. I back up my decision to clean this "often" with my borescope, as it shows me that appreciable fouling has indeed accumulated in the chamber, and a few patches do nothing to remove it. I push a wet patch, remove the jag at the muzzle, and pull a .223" bronze brush back through the bore, repeating 1-3 times while at the range, and at the conclusion of shooting before going home. Even with this treatment, after say a 500 round day, I still see fouling in the chamber when I get home and a more thorough brushing is required. It takes no more than 5 fouling shots for the rifle to be back to high level accuracy. I would view shooting 1000+ rounds without cleaning as neglectful, while someone here claimed this interval to be "aggressive". I've seen several rifles start to lose their edge around 75+ rounds fired from a clean barrel. Not to say they suddenly become "shotguns", but enough that it makes a successful 1/4" 5 group string much less likely to occur.
