Too much cleaning reduces accuracy?

[mancheechee]

Have you heard that it's not good to clean the bore too much on .22lr???
From Kidd Barrel website.

"Your barrel is ready to shoot, just run two magazines through it before you really start looking at group size. Do this each time you change brands of ammunition as well. Keep the chamber clean, but don't clean the bore too much as you will decrease accuracy. Depending on the ammo, clean the bore around every 500 rounds."

 

[Yoshi]

I just saw in the Magpul Precision Rifle DVD that removing the carbon can greatly reduce the accuracy of a rifle. However, shooting will restore the carbon and return the rig back to it's original accuracy.

 

[EL1227]

Have you heard that it's not good to clean the bore too much on .22lr???
From Kidd Barrel website.

"Your barrel is ready to shoot, just run two magazines through it before you really start looking at group size. Do this each time you change brands of ammunition as well. Keep the chamber clean, but don't clean the bore too much as you will decrease accuracy. Depending on the ammo, clean the bore around every 500 rounds."

I'd need a better definition of "too much".

I guess if you're constantly scrubbing it down with a wire brush, or using harsh cleaning agents, you could induce premature wear, but I wouldn't think that running a boresnake through it after a plinking session isn't going to mess it up. .22lr is generally a dirty round, so I would think that NOT cleaning would decrease accuracy ... that's just counter-intuitive.

 

[dist1646]

The key is proper cleaning. My grandfathers .22 was not shooting as well as I remembered. I was thinking it was pretty much toast but I decided to clean it thoroughly and give it one last try. Bingo! It started shooting those tight little knots again. This rifle has been in the family for generations and was handed down to me. Everyone in the family has shot it. It has had many, many thousands of rounds thru it over the decades. A good quality barrel will shoot. A poor quality barrel may need to be fouled before it will shoot better but it will never shoot as well.

 

[Semper Noctem]

Wipe out saves my from scrubbing and cleans better than any brush can.

 

[mancheechee]

I never use brass brushes (except the bore snake because it gives in a little). I use patch with sweets solvent let it seat in for 5 minutes; run 10 clean patches through the bore, then use patch with CLP; run 5 clean patches through it (until it is clean); then finish it up with boresnake three or four times....so I better stop this nonsense and just run the boresnake a few times...

 

[mancheechee]

But with my high caliber rifles, I use same method every time I shoot. Overkill? Yes, but I know i've broken in my barrel correctly and know my rifle will be preserved well for it's life as long as I own it. All my rifles get this treatment.

 

[ma_deuce]

I never use brass brushes (except the bore snake because it gives in a little). I use patch with sweets solvent let it seat in for 5 minutes; run 10 clean patches through the bore, then use patch with CLP; run 5 clean patches through it (until it is clean); then finish it up with boresnake three or four times....so I better stop this nonsense and just run the boresnake a few times...

No offense, but that sounds a bit compulsive to me.

 

[mikec]

I'd need a better definition of "too much".

I guess if you're constantly scrubbing it down with a wire brush, or using harsh cleaning agents, you could induce premature wear, but I wouldn't think that running a boresnake through it after a plinking session isn't going to mess it up. .22lr is generally a dirty round, so I would think that NOT cleaning would decrease accuracy ... that's just counter-intuitive.

Who on the forum said that improper use of a bore snake can damage the crown?

 

[Bob A]

No offense, but that sounds a bit compulsive to me.

Eliminate as many variables as possible. Doing the same thing every time is not a bad idea under the circumstances, seems to me.

 

[krashmania]

Who on the forum said that improper use of a bore snake can damage the crown?

I would think maybe if you did end of the barrel back to the receiver, but isn't it the same as if you used a brush that way?

 

[mancheechee]

Not sure if I ever heard of bore snakes being bad.

That's why I don't use brass brush because one has to bring it back...unless it is unscrewed at the muzzle.

 

[smokey]

Who on the forum said that improper use of a bore snake can damage the crown?

improper use: letting it load up with carbon and pulling it out to the side. It would egg out the crown and effect accuracy. If you're using one in a rifle, it's a good idea to use a guide to ensure it's drawn straight through.

bore guide + wipe out + quality 1 piece rod + patches on a good jag + time= best way to clean.

 

[mancheechee]

improper use: letting it load up with carbon and pulling it out to the side. It would egg out the crown and effect accuracy. If you're using one in a rifle, it's a good idea to use a guide to ensure it's drawn straight through.

bore guide + wipe out + quality 1 piece rod + patches on a good jag + time= best way to clean.

Agreed.
I have Dewey Rod (caliber specific) for my rifles...
.17 dewey rod for my .22lr (only because the way savage are made, scratches the coating on my .22 dewey rod)
.22 dewey rod for my 22-250
.30 dewey rod for my .308

I never use a metal brush.
Any recommendation for bore guide? I bought the tipton universal, but it gets annoying using it...

 

[w69dy]

Not sure about rimfire .22's but in the .308/sniper world we shot 2-3 rounds thru the gun before putting it up. It's called fouling the rifle.

 

[HT4]

SMOOTH-KOTE... and never worry about this "do I have enough carbon" BS.

 

[Mooseman]

My .22's are the guns that I don't go crazy with the cleaning on. The .22's are the guns I am taking to the range most of the time, so if I cleaned them after every range visit I would go nuts. My other guns, I clean after every trip to the range.

 

[Mark75H]

.22's need more breech/load/ejector/ejector port cleaning than barrel cleaning.

 

[Jimbob2.0]

I never use brass brushes (except the bore snake because it gives in a little). I use patch with sweets solvent let it seat in for 5 minutes; run 10 clean patches through the bore, then use patch with CLP; run 5 clean patches through it (until it is clean); then finish it up with boresnake three or four times....so I better stop this nonsense and just run the boresnake a few times...

I agree with the products on the market a brush is hardly needed for the bore, unless it is really cruder up or you need to restore a neglected and possibly rusted bore

 

[rico903]

PatchWorm is a much safer system than a BoreSnake, and made in Westminster. They make kits for handguns and rifles $10 each. Each kit has several calibers in it.