Do you hunt clean or dirty?

[jaredg]

Dirty. A couple of winters ago, I got ambitious and cleaned about 30 of my daily go-to rifles. Was real proud of myself. Put them up in the safe all clean. Took a couple varmint rifles out in early spring. .5MOA rifles went to 3MOA rifles.

Now I had to go back and find EVERY rifle that I had "deep cleaned" to re-sight in and "re-dirty" or foul the barrels.

Last rifle barrels I cleaned, those were. I clean bolts religiously, firing pins, etc. Gas guns get bolts disassembled and run through sonic cleaner and re-oiled. I don't clean barrels any more.

 

[Mikido]

Dirty. A couple of winters ago, I got ambitious and cleaned about 30 of my daily go-to rifles. Was real proud of myself. Put them up in the safe all clean. Took a couple varmint rifles out in early spring. .5MOA rifles went to 3MOA rifles.

Now I had to go back and find EVERY rifle that I had "deep cleaned" to re-sight in and "re-dirty" or foul the barrels.

Last rifle barrels I cleaned, those were. I clean bolts religiously, firing pins, etc. Gas guns get bolts disassembled and run through sonic cleaner and re-oiled. I don't clean barrels any more.

Lol 30 of the daily? How many rifles do you have?

Have you ever took a flashlight into your barrels? No rust at all?

 

[Shraggs]

Since getting my tikka 223 and 77s I’m nearly 700 rounds in practice. Never cleaned and my groups and hits are getting better. Dirty barrels are accurate, no way more shooting helps

Years ago I was doing the new barrel break in, ie shoot clean repeat thing. A real nice professional on leave practicing for a shoot noticed my frustration when suddenly accuracy tanked for a few rounds…. He shared his protocol, which was shoot for I think 2500 rounds without ever cleaning and replace barrel. Or something close to that.

I haven’t cleaned a center fire since then, unless there’s a reason as most have said.

That mud in Alabama is pretty thick slick stuff, as I recall from “my cousin vinny “ movie

 

[Zappaman]

I think there is a big difference between running a patch each year before hunting, and scrubbing with a wire brush. I NEVER use a brush, just one wet patch, then one or two to dry the barrel- once ever few hundred rounds OR after a very wet or dirty (dusty) hunt.

But after 50 rounds on a new barrel, I'll run some overnight copper remover (mild stuff) to SEASON the barrel- once. What I'm after (my theory anyway) is a nice carbon layer that stays IN the barrel but isn't allowed to build up too badly (I do work the throat area some to reduce a "carbon ring" though).

 

[Brewski]

Cleanish for me. I run a light oiled boresnake through a couple times, sight in and shoot a box, tape the barrel with small square of electrical tape, hunt all season, replace tape after hunting shots, then at the end of season boresnake a couple times, oil bolt and action, wash boresnake, and store hunt gear away for fishing season. Repeat yearly. So far so good.

 

[C.payne]

Dirty! I will clean once or twice during the off season but defiantly want at least a half dozen rounds down the barrel before season.

 

[Trap]

Same as Rob5589, I only clean if accuracy falls off.

Times three. I never clean a gun after the initial break in unless I start to lose accuracy

 

[Trap]

For the guys that go dirty until accuracy degrades….you don’t see any rust at all during the off season? Or are you shooting year round?

I have not had rust issues. Will run dry patch through if excessive wet. I have guns that haven’t been cleaned in years. We hunt a lot so they have lots of rounds through them.

 

[Lelder]

There is some science to dirty barrels shooting better. Most barrels are not perfect inside when viewed under a microscope (high and low spots in rifling lands and grooves) so the copper fouling from the bullet jackets will fill in the imperfections and eventually smooth out the barrel. On a new rifle I do shoot then clean, and repeat this but after initial break in of 20 rounds or so I don’t touch the barrel.

 

[(NOP)]

I only hunt dirty with at least 20 rounds (whatever it takes to get accuracy back) after I strip a bore. If it's just oiled I'll pump 5 rounds into a birm before the hunt.

Oiled/clean for me is a couple of patches of oil to keep the bore from rusting. Usually at the end of season or after bad weather

Stripping I use harsh chemicals to thoroughly strip copper and carbon fowling after maybe 200-400 rounds or accuracy falls off.