Problems from not cleaning?

[krashmania]

I'm just curious, are there any serious long term negatives that could happen from not cleaning a 22 rifle for long periods of time? I dont mean throwing it sound in the mud and leaving it, just not bothering with all the carbon buildup.

A little loss of accuracy doesn't bother me if it's the name of science, I.e. seeing how many rounds you can shoot before the gun gets effected by the gunk. So far, I'm up to about 2500 rounds through my sig 522, almost all cci blaser, without a cleaning, and, dead serious, not a single hiccup.

If it's seriously damaging the gun, I will forgo my experiment, and take care of her. But I've noticed almost zero drop in accuracy either. I'm absolutely blown away so far.

 

[Semper Noctem]

My FIL doesnt bother cleaning his ss 10/22. I always offer to clean it after we go shooting, but he's a stubborn bastard and never lets me.

Damn thing runs like a top though.

 

[-Z/28-]

I've been told that .22s are like cast iron cookware; you want them well seasoned.

 

[Mooseman]

I don't clean my Ruger Mark II pistol until I get a couple of FTFs. No damage is done. It is just such a PIA to reassemble, I clean it as little as possible.

 

[engineerbrian]

its been a few years since i've cleaned my 10/22. its due though, i have to bang on the side of the receiver to get the mag to drop out from all of the fowling

 

[BradMacc82]

My Marlin Model 60 sat for the better part of 15 years before it got cleaned, my dad never bothered to clean it - it passed down to me, and finally got cleaned (thoroughly). Only malfunctions I ever recall (before cleaning) was a handful of misfires, fired on the second hit. Fed and ejected cleanly though even with all the crap that was caked inside.

 

[smokey]

depends on the ammo you're shooting. The lube on cheap stuff may run out in a rifle barrel and lead the last few inches pretty bad. It's not going to do any real harm other than degrade accuracy. If you're shooting eley, wolf match, or other good .22...they shouldn't really lead things up and the fouling would mostly just be carbon.

FTF's and such may happen from a gunked up action, but it just depends on the gun. Many .22's will run for what seems like ever between cleanings with no problem.

Soooo, depending on the barrel and the ammo..eventually it should reach a point where accuracy suffers...you clean it and groups shrink back down.

 

[mopar92]

its been a few years since i've cleaned my 10/22. its due though, i have to bang on the side of the receiver to get the mag to drop out from all of the fowling

Post pics. I want to see the 10/22 that can hold a bird inside the receiver.

 

[Ganegrei]

My Browning Buck Mark doesn't get cleaned until I run about 2k rounds through it. Never had a malfunction that wasn't caused by using cheap ammo, which is a no no for BuckMarks.

 

[krashmania]

Post pics. I want to see the 10/22 that can hold a bird inside the receiver.

heh... Heh heh heh heh... Fowling...

 

[WeaponsCollector]

I must be using some dirty ammo because my 10/22 starts jamming after only about 500-750 rounds and must be cleaned.
I've noticed adding some gun oil to the bolt helps reduce jamming when it's really dirty.

 

[engineerbrian]

Post pics. I want to see the 10/22 that can hold a bird inside the receiver.

heh... Heh heh heh heh... Fowling...

 

[rj1974]

Not a 22 but ...

A guy at work recently gave me a mini14 that he could not get the bolt to cycle on . Upon smacking the op rod handle with a dead blow hammer I found the the gas tube had rusted and seized itself to the hole it goes into in the op rod . He had never cleaned or oiled it .

Moral .

Clean and oil your guns , even if it's a mini14.

 

[rico903]

Go over to rimfirecentral.com and do a search for this. Most serious shooters don't clean their .22s until accuracy starts to drop off. Of course there are also those who clean after every outing. It's been said many times, more .22s are ruined by improper over cleaning than anything. One other thing, NEVER use the 3 piece cleaning rods. They are the kiss of death to a barrel.

 

[wlc]

My Browning Buck Mark doesn't get cleaned until I run about 2k rounds through it. Never had a malfunction that wasn't caused by using cheap ammo, which is a no no for BuckMarks.

I have always used the cheapest ammo possible in my BuckMark & never had a problem

 

[Glockman]

I have always used the cheapest ammo possible in my BuckMark & never had a problem

Never have a problem as long as it is jacketed ammo. Winchester white bulk box works great.

 

[krashmania]

This is all very promising. I'm getting a 22/45 soon, and I don't plan to clean it any more than I have to.

 

[Ganegrei]

I have always used the cheapest ammo possible in my BuckMark & never had a problem

Thats weird. I shoot BuckMark with 3 other people and all four of us have bad failure to eject problems when using cheap ammo. About 1 in 5 rounds will stovepipe when using winchester white box. Federal bulk works fine though.