New to rimfire. Cleaning question.

[thump_rrr]

I just purchased my first rimfire, a Savage BSEV in .22LR.
I shot it last night for the first time using CCI Standard Velocity.
How often do you clean a rimfire bolt action rifle when shooting wax coated lead bullets?
What is a good cleaning procedure?
I've only shot .223 and .308 using jacketed ammo in rifles.

 

[rodregier]

Over-cleaning the bore on .22 LR rifles is a common "sin".

I use a nylon brush on the bore with a guide, old toothbrush the breechface and bolt, and use a bit of solvent to remove the remaining powder residue from the bolt and breechface.

Lube.

The primary wear mechanism in .22 rifle bores is powder residue being dragged along it by the next projectile fired down it.
(Assuming the owner didn't over-clean it).
Bore effects won't show up for say 25K-50K rounds with luck.

 

[supernova]

Your rifle will answer this question better than anyone on these boards. Shoot until groups start to open up then clean. Do not clean after every range trip, cleaning causes more wear than soft, waxed lead at 1000-1650 fps ever could. With good ammo you could potentially go several thousand rds without needing a cleaning. If leading is a problem you will have to clean sooner. The only thing I do with my bolt .22s is to clean and oil the bolt periodically and clean the bolt face of any built up fouling. Its nice to shoot all day then just throw the rifle back in the safe! But that's all the maintenance it needs.

 

[AWOL]

I push a few lightly oiled patches through my rimfire barrels after every 500-1000 rounds. I will tear down and detail it once a year or if it gets too cruddy. One trick I use is to not over-oil them. leaving oil globs in & on the parts just accumulates dirt and the mix eventually turns into crud. Crud is bad.

I use an oiled cloth to wipe excess oil from all moving parts & everwhere else I can reach.

 

[torgoen]

My savage MK2 needs good cleaning every 300 rounds of CCI blazer, Marlin never needs anything other than a dry patch after a few bricks.

 

[supernova]

To add to that, I always wipe the boltface with alcohol based cleaners to remove any oil. A light film on anything that needs lubrication.

 

[Maritime Storm]

After break-in is dealt with. Twice a year is my regimen, once at the start of Rabbit season then at the end of Rabbit season before storage.

 

[hindey19]

I've only had my Mark II for a couple months, but I've run a Boresnake through it after every 150-200 rounds (probably 400-500 rounds through it total). Probably less often once more rounds are put through it (break-in period I guess)

 

[stubblejumper]

I use the same cleaning methods for all of my rifles, whether rimfire or centerfire. I use a one piece coated rod, a rod guide, proper patches, and a suitable powder solvent. For jacketed bullets, I use a copper solvent. Anyone that tries to use a multi piece rod, or a bore snake on one of my rifles, will have a fight on their hands.

 

[dizzy]

because you are using waxed bullets, cleaning is more of an issue than non waxed bullets. Most competition guys will clean after what most would consider just a few rounds. You would be hard to find a high dollar comp 22 that gets put away dirty. there is a fine line as it sometimes takes 20 shots with the waxed bullet to lay down the right amount of wax, for the accuracy to come back in. this is a delicate game of chasing accuracy.

My target rifles are cleaned after every 100 rounds, only 80 of which are shot for accuracy, the other 20 are seasoning shots.

 

[Hydroformed]

at Jr rifle the guns are cleaned about once a year at my club, and these guns (single shots) are accurate all year from cleaning to cleaning. I clean my 22 rifles after every use. I think its up to you.