Cleaning precision rifles - How often ?

[ultimate_monkey]

x3 with Ians statement

my few handguns - light oiling after a range trip for protection as i hardly shoot them (2-3 times a year) and clean if they malfunction but they are glocks (cue glock haters) so that takes along time and a lot of rounds down range

rilfes - full clean when groups open up, my last barrel wouldnt have that happen untill 8-850 rounds before it was noticeable. BUT i do clean / wipe the carbon out, as this is what will do more harm to your barrel then leaving copper in there. as it will absorb and hold moisture.. to put it a bit more in perspective, my last barrel that was replaced had over 6k rounds threw it, and id done a full copper stripe maybe 4 times

 

[Ian Robertson]

This is barrel cleaning of course they may need the lug lubed etc. A lot of the high end guns I work on have more crap in the trigger from cleaning,another good reason not to clean.

 

[EC]

I don't clean my bore as often as I used to, usually when groups start opening up but I always clean the action and bolt, behind the extractor etc to get all the brass and crud out. Also as mentioned putting grease on the bolt lugs and camming area of the bolt is a neglected part of bolt gun maintenance,

 

[Dosing]

I got into the habit of cleaning and then oiling the bore after each outing due to where I lived, namely next to a river in a high humidity area (miniumum brush/boresnake, then patches with oil, maybe a solvent then oil again). That pushed me more into why and when I cleaned than most anything else. If I have a good copper solvent, and a well ventilated area, then it would get that as well, after every session. That said, it went against what some manufacturers suggested, but to each their own. Ultimately I was more concerned with keeping rust at bay than if it was costing me a quarter of an inch.

Kinda like this one.

 

[Longshot]

People are really using bore snakes on their precision rifle? Or are these just hunting rigs?

 

[swissinn]

People are really using bore snakes on their precision rifle? Or are these just hunting rigs?

Lol I wont even use a boresnake on my Forces issued C8

 

[Ruthless]

Lol I wont even use a boresnake on my Forces issued C8

True that.....bore snake? How difficult do people find to push a jag through the barrel few times?

 

[Dosing]

People are really using bore snakes on their precision rifle? Or are these just hunting rigs?

I have used them on everything, precision, shottie, fun guns etc. I just make sure I do a straight draw to avoid any crown abrasion.

 

[Longshot]

Lol I wont even use a boresnake on my Forces issued C8

Jezus neither will I. Hey they letting you guys use actual good sovents on your issued rifles or you still have to stick with CLP?

 

[Soyoman1980]

CLP and issued cleaning kits.

 

[caramel]

Boresnake are used in all my rifles as a fast spare cleaning tool, and it work great, once in a while, i put them all in a pillow case and wash them in my old washing machine... JP.

 

[kombayotch]

Anything in the bore that is going to cause any kind of degradation in accuracy is going to need to be removed by a solvent. Running the bore snake through the gun is about as useful as rubbing your cartridge cases with dry kleenex to try and clean then.

 

[caramel]

Anything in the bore that is going to cause any kind of degradation in accuracy is going to need to be removed by a solvent. Running the bore snake through the gun is about as useful as rubbing your cartridge cases with dry kleenex to try and clean then.

They are good to remove powder residus or to wipe out a bore that is oily, at the end tru the loop, you just put a lenght of clean rag and pull it, work good... JP.

 

[kombayotch]

Easily done with a dry patch with far less chance of damaging the bore or crown, and no danger of it breaking and getting stuck in the bore. Gunsmiths love bore snakes, every season they get a bunch or re-barreling job due to them. Boresnake does nothing useful for a precision gun... It offers risk without any reward.

 

[caramel]

Easily done with a dry patch with far less chance of damaging the bore or crown, and no danger of it breaking and getting stuck in the bore. Gunsmiths love bore snakes, every season they get a bunch or re-barreling job due to them. Boresnake does nothing useful for a precision gun... It offers risk without any reward.

Hey, i respect that, i just dont do it your way and never had a problem... Cheers. JP.

 

[EC]

Easily done with a dry patch with far less chance of damaging the bore or crown, and no danger of it breaking and getting stuck in the bore. Gunsmiths love bore snakes, every season they get a bunch or re-barreling job due to them. Boresnake does nothing useful for a precision gun... It offers risk without any reward.

Agreed 100% for the above reasons A bore snake and precision rifles don't belong in the same sentence. Unless you wash is after every pull through which is not practical and also increases the chance of it breaking off in your barrel...then you are screwed, you are just pulling the same crap through your bore again. Again this is for precision rifles. Would you reuse bum wipe?

 

[curseyou]

I use a boresnake on my precision rifle occasionally when shooting in bad weather and I want to make sure there is no water in the barrel, or oil from storage. I also use it on my precision rig with a little clp or oil before putting it back in the safe.

I have never seen a boresnake snap and if you use the right caliber boresnake you shouldn't either. They should pull though easily. Obviously if they get old and frayed, it is time to get a new boresnake. Same goes for cleaning rods, if they are old and damaged they need to be replaced too so the point is moot.

Nylon of a boresnake will not abraid the crown no matter how bad you pull it. Steel is hard and strong and abraison resistant, nylon is soft and flexible. Even the copper wires aren't hard enough. If it was a cleaning jag would destroy your rifling and crown. It makes sense to want to pull straight, and that is a good attitude, but barrel steel can't be eroded by boresnakes. Nylon is not hard enough to scratch steel. Those who make this argument are taking a good principle but carrying it too far.

 

[maynard]

I wish that everyone that I shoot against in competition would use a boresnake. Boresnakes have been around for about 10-12 years? I have been a competitive shooter for over 20 years and have seen a few other competitive shooters clean their rifles over the years. I have shot in competitions here in Canada, the US, UK and Barbados. I have never seen one shooter use a boresnake or pull-thru in a precision rifle.

 

[silverfoxdj]

Great thread...

 

[caramel]

I wish that everyone that I shoot against in competition would use a boresnake. Boresnakes have been around for about 10-12 years? I have been a competitive shooter for over 20 years and have seen a few other competitive shooters clean their rifles over the years. I have shot in competitions here in Canada, the US, UK and Barbados. I have never seen one shooter use a boresnake or pull-thru in a precision rifle.

No problem, i guess not everybody is a competive shooter, never the less we are shooters and we use a boresnake, i think this discussion is turning into bits an pièces, s it really important, i will use it in my new Sig 3000 and my Steyr Luxus 300 mag, i dont think it will make a big difference... Cheers.JP.