anyone enjoy cleaning a rifle barrel?

[boom]

i cant stand it. while i do strangly enjoy the smell of it all..the labor part sucks.

that's all..

 

[wapitibob]

Get a good barrel and you'll be done in less than 5 minutes.

 

[boom]

Get a good barrel and you'll be done in less than 5 minutes.

really? please elaborate.

i'm a bowhunter..revisiting rifle hunting after a looonggg hiatus.

 

[duchntr]

How often are you cleaning your barel?

 

[rileybassman]

Yup I do... knife sharpening and gun cleaning are two things that are totally relaxing to me

 

[Idaho Sandman]

I only clean mine once the groups start to open up, about every 70- 85 rnds. Don't mind cleaning it either. Get a good gun vise and single piece rod, jag, and a brush. Takes about 5 min or so.

 

[robtattoo]

Couldn't tell you the last time I did it!
I only clean when accuracy takes a nose dive & with my Savages, that hasn't happened yet. Well north of 300 rounds through my little Swede & still haven't felt the need......

 

[Matt Cashell]

I just avoid the labor part.

Spray in some Wipe-Out, leave it overnight, push a patch through ... done.

 

[Phillip Hathaway]

Nope not until accuracy goes out the window


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Muttly]

It,s a love/hate thing..

 

[VernAK]

It can be a bit more rewarding if you can see your results.
If you have access to a bore scope, it's a great way to
evaluate your barrel and cleaning methods.

 

[Stid2677]

A well seasoned barrel is easy to clean,, I make sure to break in, preclean, deburr, whatever term you like, but I make sure my rifling picks up as little fouling as possible. As mentioned a borescope is a great way to inspect both for cleaning, corrosion or damage.

 

[howl]

Sounds like you need to discover Wipe-Out. I don't even use a brush most of the time. I will say that my favorite barrel to clean is my chrome-lined Browning. Easy to clean and easy to tell. We are getting ripped off on barrels on hunting rifles in general. For what they cost we should be get chromed or at least nitrided.

 

[C Bow]

I sure do. If your rifle ever saves you butt and gets you home safe you will enjoy cleaning it for the rest of your LIFE I fix a nice drink of Crown and lap my rifle barrel a min of 200 strokes every now and then even if I have not cleaned it. GREAT THERAPY

 

[wapitibob]

really? please elaborate.

i'm a bowhunter..revisiting rifle hunting after a looonggg hiatus.

Good barrels pick up very little copper.

 

[TwoTikkas]

Yup I do... knife sharpening and gun cleaning are two things that are totally relaxing to me

Me too.

 

[rlmmarine]

I use brake cleaner and a bore snake
A minute after giving it a spray I run a snake through it a few times then spray it down with rem oil. I haven't had any issues to date

 

[Xxtavixx]

Fair warning - I am looney. I enjoy cleaning them, but it does not take long. Less than a few minutes for each barrel. The reason, I clean them every 5 shots. That sounds like it's excessive, but these are mostly hunting rifles. Unless I am working up a load (which I am right now) it could mean they only get cleaned twice a year. I maintain the same pattern while working up a load because I like to replicate the barrel conditions.

I did clean a buddy's Mauser barrel last weekend, and that took over 45 minutes before we even got a remotely clean patch...that was not fun.

 

[boom]

allow me to elaborate. maybe i can get some help here.

257 weatherby mag. the MarkV. fairly low bullet count. always accurate. i was shooting bread/butter norma bullets into a 3/8th group. got home, quick bore snake. waited for my hunting bullets to arrive from MIDWAY. they got to me fast!! back to the range.. 100gr Barnes TTSX. first shot went right where i expected...then things got wild. 2-3" groups. less of a group, more shotgun pattern IMHO .

i took out the norma lead ammo..WOW..also a wild group!! i packed up. range guy thinks my barrel was dirty to begin with ,but the lead ammo is super forgiving. first copper round fouled the barrel bad. that is his theory. he said copper bullets need a clean barrel to start with.

thoughts?

 

[Wapiti1]

His theory could be correct. All copper bullets don't "give" like cup and core bullets do, so they can foul a lot in a fouling constricted barrel and won't shoot worth a hoot. The fouling generates erratic pressure from shot to shot. Most folks don't clean their barrel down to bare steel. You don't have to to get it accurate again. That's why solvents like Hoppes have worked forever. Hoppes won't truly touch copper fouling, but most of the time, it loosens it enough to get it clean enough with patches and brushing.

To really get it clean a copper remover should be used after you get the carbon fouling out with a solvent like Hoppes. Clean with Hoppes, then go to work with a good copper remover. Follow the directions, and don't leave it in the barrel longer than prescribed if it is ammonia based.

Your first patch after copper solvent will probably be very green.

Jeremy