Cleaning your .22LR Barrel

[AndyM]

How often do you clean the barrels of your 22 LR rifles? Only when accuracy starts to go or after a set amount of time or rounds?

I recently purchased a pre-64 Winchester 69A match rifle - it is a bolt action in great shape and has the lyman 57 micro target sights. It has proven to be a very good shooter and since I received it - I probably put about 200 to 300 rounds through it. It's accuracy is still good - but was wondering when I should give it a good scrub down.

I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on the subject - I expect to hear alot of different opinions...

[gonzo gunner]

depends. if it's my old hunting rifles i wait till they start to open up the groups. sometimes severals hundred rounds. on my match rifles were you have to be spot on every third target.then it depends on what gun and ammo, but i shoot a few bullets to relube the barrel. with lapua the lube is so thick it will take 3-5 rounds to relube the barrel. if eley it can take several more(normally one for every inch of barrel). there are many other ways people do it, but this works for me. i also use a good bore guide and a one piece cleaning rod.

[Markbo]

I am definitely of the 'a clean gun is a happy gun' crowd. I know guys that NEVER clean their .22s and I can't stand it. I don't know worth a hoot if keeping them clean helps a darn thing, but I do.

I clean all my .22s with a home made patch worm (weed eater line) and patches only. I never need to use a brush so I don't. Like any other rifle I own, after shooting at the range, they are cleaned to clean ... no dirty patches or wipes, then all steel protected with EEZOX or CorrosionX rust protectant. When they go out shooting, 1 dry patch down the tube and 5 or more shots with the ammo it is going to shoot.

Even if hunting I will rapid fire 5 into the ground first to season the barrel to reduce fliers.

[kid]

But the barrel only after about 500 rounds. I also use a Weedeater and patches. If your barrel looks dirty it definitely is, but I have more of an issue with powder fouling than anything. That said, I don't shoot BR-50 or anything like that, but if my guns won't hit bottle caps at 50 yds it's past time to clean.
Paul

[William D Mansfield]

I as well clean the action every time but not the barrel,I can get a couple of hundred rounds before I clean the barrel.I always wipe the steel down every time I am done shooting with a silicone cloth.I have never found the need to use a brush on the bore just use patches until they come out clean.

[DDgofer]

The outside of the gun get cleanded after every shooting session. The bore at the end of gopher season. A season is usually March to July, 2000-3000 rounds. When Accuracy goes in the gopher fields we just keep shooting and accuracy comes back in 10 or 15 rounds.

At the start of the season it takes 50 or more rounds to get a clean bore realy shooting good.

Back in the olden days when I was shooting competitively-not well. We did not clean bore or actions of the .22's until the MGYSGT shooting coach told us to. Then it would be about two weeks before a match. We were shooting 100 rounds a day 6 days a week so by time the match rolled around we had about 1200 round through the guns. The other guys would win matches using this technique, I always placed in the middle.