How often do you clean the bore of your .22?

[Mike A1]

I have not cleaned the bores on my .22 rifles & pistols for decades.
I have a rifle .22 Short & Long that had a perfect bore when I got it from Grandpa
who bought it new in the early 50s.

It really hit home when Rick Jameson from Shooting Times wrote an article about
how the Wax bullet coating would protect the steel barrels.

Only time I may call cleaning my .22 bores is when I change brands in order to wipe the old wax & retreat the bore
with the new bullets lube compounds.

 

[STI]

RARELY, bolt and feed area every now and then but do lube bolt and rails a few drops maybe monthly but it gets shot weekly all year long.

 

[PanHandlerFL]

The lessons I learned (and keep learning) about "tools" was the ole "take care of your tools, and your tools will take care of you!" So, probably I clean too much...but have rolled back from barrels from "every session" to every 1k rounds down my .22s and as STI does... bolt and feed areas as needed.

 

[Zipper046]

wait....they need to be cleaned???? LOL....honestly, I have a Ruger MKIII with lots of rounds through it (don't remember) and I have yet to clean it...I guess once it starts to malfunction I'll get to it....then again, I rarely use it anyway...

 

[Babboonbobo]

Not often but try to keep the mechanism clean and oiled. Just got my dads lever action Winchester last fall and it is badly in need of a good cleaning, it's bunked up from decades of use without even being oiled!!!! Dad wasn't big on cleaning any of them, maybe just an outer wipe dim and back in the wood/glass Gun cabinet!!

 

[Mike A1]

I agree we must keep all moving parts clean & lubed however just look at the mass amounts of bore guides, muzzle guides , M1A, M1 etc.
I understand that even a coated rod can & will act as a lapping rod when in Barrel contact + grits & grimes.

With wax as a coating that coats the barrel as well I do believe Rick J. when he says the friction & wear caused by any cleaning Rods & tools
will cause more wear over time than just leaving the Wax coating. High Power shooters call them Belly shooters, you know the Guys & gals
who shoot tiny groups at 50 & 100 yards with fat barreled .22s, Prone only.

The belly shooters buy .22s by the Cases & from then on they never clean the bore until they start a new Case & lot # only.
So my answer is like yours as well keep the moving parts clean & lubed but do not clean out the wax protection for your bore.

Last point. I have 2 Remington 6 shot mag fed .22lr 511S. I saw a dirty bore & asked the dealer if I could clean them, he said of course.
Both dirty bores cleaned up as good as new & both shoot 1/2" @ 50 yards, not bad for small game guns from the early 50s in 2021 >

 

[Rooster]

Well, I used to clean the bore of my 22s after every shooting session . Then I skipped a couple times and my group sizes got better .. not a little better , A LOT better!

Now I just keep the chamber , bolt and extractor clean after every outing . I'll clean the bore when accuracy falls off .

I have one rifle that doesn't get consistent until it has at least 300 rounds after a thorough cleaning . Needless to say, that bore only gets a light cleaning when the time comes .

On my pistols, I do clean them after every outing. However, I likely pull only a bore snake, a wet patch, a dry patch . Most of the time is spent on cleaning feed ramps, extractor, bolt face , breech face . I've had metal on the breech face and or bold face get deformed from build up on some pistols . Gotta keep the moving parts clean and lubed .

I find a 25 cal bore brush can make very quick work at removing the carbon ring that forms at the end of the chamber . Carbon build up in the chamber will kill accuracy faster than just about anything .

 

[HooDoo Man]

I guess I'm the anal one. I clean all my guns after a range trip. Hammered into me. Military & LE family from way back. But I like it.

 

[Bender]

I clean the action every 300 rounds or so.
The bore gets a few passes from a Boresnake, after cleaning the action.

I clean the bore, properly, every thousand

 

[CECannonJr]

I guess I'm the anal one. I clean all my guns after a range trip. Hammered into me. Military & LE family from way back. But I like it.

Me too.

 

[DPM]

I have a 10/22 with thousands of rounds through it , 20+ YRS it has never been broke down and cleaned properly, bolt gets a drop of oil every now and then. But all hand guns get cleaned after use !

 

[Vin]

I find that if you don't clean the 10/22 regularly is malfunctions.

 

[joepistol]

Have a Ruger Mk II (semi auto) pistol I bought about 30+ yrs.ago.
When it was used, I'd spray WD-40 down the bore & into the chamber, work the boltt a few times,
Then prop it up in a SS pan & let it drain. Maybe use a q-tip to clean the bolt face & area near the bolt face contacted.
Reading an article about how to take down this pistol, 1 day I decided to do it, to see how much gunk had accumulated from years of use
I wondered how effective my "flush it out" cleaning method had been . When I finally got it apart, it looked new inside.
Guess my method was very effective in washing out all the residue.
That was the first & last time I stripped that pistol down for a deep clean.

I've often used this "spray & wash"system on my 10-22 & other semi-auto rifles, to keep them functioning well.
Instead of using those WD-40 spray cans , I now buy it by the gallon, & fill a spray bottle, for use..(cuts cost dramatically)
Started doing all my pistols this way..usually spray them down ,after use..let them soak overnight, & wipe them off the next day..
Almost all the carbon build up wipes right off.

 

[Rooster]

Have a Ruger Mk II (semi auto) pistol I bought about 30+ yrs.ago.
When it was used, I'd spray WD-40 down the bore & into the chamber, work the boltt a few times,
Then prop it up in a SS pan & let it drain. Maybe use a q-tip to clean the bolt face & area near the bolt face contacted.
Reading an article about how to take down this pistol, 1 day I decided to do it, to see how much gunk had accumulated from years of use
I wondered how effective my "flush it out" cleaning method had been . When I finally got it apart, it looked new inside.
Guess my method was very effective in washing out all the residue.
That was the first & last time I stripped that pistol down for a deep clean.

I've often used this "spray & wash"system on my 10-22 & other semi-auto rifles, to keep them functioning well.
Instead of using those WD-40 spray cans , I now buy it by the gallon, & fill a spray bottle, for use..(cuts cost dramatically)
Started doing all my pistols this way..usually spray them down ,after use..let them soak overnight, & wipe them off the next day..
Almost all the carbon build up wipes right off.

I did the same thing with a different spray cleaner for years with all my guns for years . The first time I had the guts to detail strip a 1911, I was expecting to see gunk all over . It was spotless . I quit detail stripping all my guns . .

A lot of guys don't like wd 40. I've used it exclusively to clean shotgun chokes and it is like magic . Another nice spray cleaner / lube for 22s is Hornady one shot cleaner lube .

Not the one shot bullet Lube! Both products label look identical, you gotta read the name .

 

[Danclay]

I have not cleaned the bores on my .22 rifles & pistols for decades.
I have a rifle .22 Short & Long that had a perfect bore when I got it from Grandpa
who bought it new in the early 50s.

It really hit home when Rick Jameson from Shooting Times wrote an article about
how the Wax bullet coating would protect the steel barrels.

Only time I may call cleaning my .22 bores is when I change brands in order to wipe the old wax & retreat the bore
with the new bullets lube compounds.

I go thru 300-800 rounds a week on average. Considering the gun, I clean every time. I've seen leading become an issue if I don't. That is not to say I scrub every time, 2 out of 3 I use a bore snake.

 

[joepistol]

..I did the same thing with a different spray cleaner for years.."
I used Remington brand spray cleaner on my shotguns..(back when I used them).. it worked great, but was expensive when used often.
At that time, everything got cleaned..after every use. Buying WD by the gallon, was much more cost effective.
I should have added, that I use WD -40 as a cleaning agent, not as a lube or preservative.
It works very well as a cleaner, allowing it to soak into built up gunk, but there are much better lubes,
many with preservatives (anti-rust/corrosion properties)..
I use Superlube ( a Teflon grease) on sliding surfaces, FP-10..as an oil, for rotating parts.
A little FP-10 goes a long way,..was given some samples by my gunsmith, who gave his recommendation for it..
& it works so well I bought some..but use it sparingly,for specific applications, as it's expensive, (in my COB opinion.)

 

[Mike A1]

I find that if you don't clean the 10/22 regularly is malfunctions.

U R right Vin it happens to every 10/22.
It's the bolt that binds up after a while, I found this out when no one had any gun oil that fine day at the range.
Being a Mechanic I thought why not car oil so I pulled the dip stick & dripped oil around the sides I
could get to, on the Bolt raceway. it worked fine all day so I now keep a small bottle of TriFlow in
my range kit for my Roogers MK1, 10/22s etc. You can see the sticky messy smear of unburned
powder that binds the bolt thus causing malfuntions.

I have parkerized MK1,2,3s so I can put them back together however. Why? Just take the plastic off first
clean with CRC Brake Cleaner, then just oil with some TriFlow & add a few drops of TF every now & then.

I do not shoot anywhere near 50 rds a week but I just do not remember any of my .22s leading their
barrels. Not saying it can not happen it's just something a slow moving wax coated .22 cal bullet would do that puzzels me.

A .44 Magnum 240gr lead bullet at 1468 fps yea baby, leading for the likes of the Louis Lead remover to rip out .

 

[joepistol]

I hated having to use my Lewis Lead remover..
but was glad I had it when it was needed. That was too often, when shooting soft lead bullets .
I really like HyTek-coated cast bullets!

 

[Mike A1]

I ran across & loaded some ( Can't remember their name ) lead bullets they came in light green plastic boxes.
This Mfg. cast graphite into the soft lead bullets like their .44 cal 230 grain Semiwadcutter HP dead soft but at
1200 fps no leading.


Anyone of you casters ever heard of these Graphite impreagnated soft lead mix & how much to use.
I need soft lead bullets that work better than the ol grease in grove.

Or Molly etc to mix into the lead itself. I'll try to find the name of the Co who made the Graphite soft lead bullets.

Always remember the Ammo shortage because us little piggies are buying toooo much???? BS https://bearingarms.com/camedwards/2020/08/18/why-gun-ammo-makers-production-n38709

 

[Old_Man]

I have not cleaned the bores on my .22 rifles & pistols for decades.
I have a rifle .22 Short & Long that had a perfect bore when I got it from Grandpa
who bought it new in the early 50s.

It really hit home when Rick Jameson from Shooting Times wrote an article about
how the Wax bullet coating would protect the steel barrels.

Only time I may call cleaning my .22 bores is when I change brands in order to wipe the old wax & retreat the bore
with the new bullets lube compounds.

all i have is an assortment of semi-automatics and revolvers. but, i clean each gun after each range visit.

it's just "in me" to keep things clean at all times.