Barrel cleaning?


Ethan Givan

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I was wondering how often you guys clean the barrels on your rifles? I have a .308 win that I have put about 8 boxes of ammo through, and I thought that I should probably clean the barrel after a couple more boxes. Is this a good idea or should I leave it alone? Im getting a little better than 1.5 inch groups out of it right now.

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Ok I had always heard that some copper fouling in the barrel actually increased accuracy. If this is correct then it makes sense to me that if my rifle is still shooting well, not to remove the copper fouling. Am I wrong?

Most fouling attracts moisture and can damage the barrel. That's why you'll see green in some barrels that go uncleaned for long periods of time. I clean mine after each shooting session or if I'm shooting prarie dogs I clean it a couple of times a day or whenever I stop hitting them. When i hunt I run a Boresnake through it daily to get any moisture or dirt out of it.

Mark

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Guess I am the odd man out here, unless I am not planning on shooting it for a long long time and it's going into storage I'll clean when the accuracy drops off or degrades. It's amazing how many rounds that can go a good barrel without cleaning. There's an old saying that more barrels are harmed by overcleaning(improper technique).

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I also clean my barrels after each shooting session. I like to get all of the fouling out and put a thin film of gun oil in the bore. Some rifles do shoot better with a fouled barrel than a completely clean one. Some people fire a fouling shot before hunting season. A barrel that has had a couple of rounds fired through it has no oil in the bore. Therefore there is no corrosion protection. I would rather have the protection from the oil so my bore don't rust. Once a rifle bore has been broken in or seasoned, it will usually shoot better clean.

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I clean mine after every outing if I'm going to leave it more than a couple days. However, if I'm out with it all weekend I just clean it at the end of the weekend when I'm done. I always use a bore guide and 1-piece solid coated rod with my bolt action guns. I have a semi-auto that I use a snake and brush through it.

My dad has a Remington 7600 pump in 30-06 that is ridiculously accurate and I can count how many times he's cleaned it on one hand. It befuddles me how that works out. He shoots a handful of shells through it each year.

Edited by dbHunterNY
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Deer Rifle,I clean it beginning of the season and again at the end of the season. Varmint Rifle, Maybe twice a year.

I think you should clean a rifle about every 50 rounds. My Ground Hog gun sees maybe 50 rounds a year. I clean my .22's more than anything that is some filthy ammo. I try to go through the safe at the end of hunting season and clean everything and apply a light coat of new oil.

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