Rimfire barrel cleaning

[cz452shooter]

I strongly suggest that you DON'T get a multi-piece sectional rod or an aluminum rod. Both are good ways to permentently destory a barrel. I got a kleen bore .17 rod from wholesale sports. It is one piece, coated steal rod and works real well. Comes with brush, jag, and mop. They can be found for quite cheap.

I would clean every 50 rounds or even 100 rounds with the .17. Cleaning every 10 rounds is not neceesery.

 

[Eagleye]

Rimfire cleaning gets worked over every once in a while, but there are so many opinions that there never seems to be a consensus reached. Most rimfire barrels, once broken in, do not require as frequent cleaning as centerfires, simply because of small powder charges, non jacketed bullets, modest velocities etc. Exceptions include the 17HMR, 22 WMR (jacketed bullets at somewhat higher velocities) and semi-automatics, which tend to dirty the actions more. Obviously, if your rimfire starts to gather lead deposits, you will need to address that promptly. That being said, a quality barrel usually has few, if any, leading issues. Powder residue does accumulate just in front of the chamber, and should be periodically removed. How often this needs to be done will depend on ammunition used, ambient conditions, and any accuracy degradation that may occur. This may seem like heresy to some, but I am not in the habit of cleaning the barrels of my rimfires too often, but do keep the actions and bolts clean. My high-grade 22 rimfires get a thorough barrel cleaning every 4-500 rounds, with possibly a quick swab in between. As has been noted, 1-piece cleaning rods (I prefer coated ones, and will not allow an Aluminum rod within 15 feet of my rifles) used with quality bore guides are the way to go. A pull-through works ok, but also as noted, one must be very cautious so as not to "rub" the cord on the muzzle of the rifle as you are pulling it through. It is possible to carefully pull it through, keeping it centered in the bore. Rimfire barrels tend to be quite "soft", and wear easily if any abrasives are present. You can imagine the result of a cord being pulled through the bore, rubbing on the side of the muzzle, when it has some unseen abrasives in it. (Keep in mind that practically all contemporary priming compounds have small amounts of ground glass mixed in with them). One more thing that needs to be mentioned is the tendency of most rimfires to require several shots to "settle" back to normal after the bore has been cleaned. Some individual rifles may require up to 15 shots to accomplish this "reconditioning" of the bore after cleaning. I have a couple of rimfires that are capable of solid .15-.2" 5-shot averages at 50 yards, and can honestly say that I cannot tell the difference in a group shot from rounds 11-15, to that of a group shot at rounds 476-480. But that is my opinion & observation. Your mileage may vary, depending on circumstances, ammo, requirements, fastidiousness, etc, etc. Regards, Eagleye.