The UK's Finest Independent Forum for Shooters and Gun Owners. Est 2010.

I'm with 1066 and TG. I also shoot competitively (badly now ), and like 1066's, my old Annie 54 likes a clean bore. It gets an oiled patch followed by a couple of dry patches after every outing, and I use the Teslong borescope on it quite regularly to see if there's any sign of a black ring in the chamber, or any nasties in the bore.

The rest of my .22's get a similar treatment. Does it really make much difference? Well, I think it does, and that's all that counts!

Comp gun gets a strip, and bolt assy cleaned, firing pin checked and reassembled.

Barrel just gets a pull through and the trigger group gets a drop of oil on springs only.

Dont bother if its just for training

The singular message from these posts is that one of the keys to accuracy is a consistent bore condition from shot to shot.

I have been shooting lead loads in my many guns for nigh on 5 decades and what I have found in relation to bore accuracy is that with lead there is no fouling build up so once the barrel gets dirtied to its "normal" state then it will not get any dirtier, this can take anything between 50-500 rounds in a .22.

Once this accuracy state is reached then you want it to stay like that. A clean bore can be just as accurate but it must be a clean bore for every shot. In the real world this could be a few dozen shots depending on the fouling build up.

So you have two apparently conflicting approaches but they are really just two ways of getting the same thing a consistent bore state for consistent accuracy from shot to shot.

When I shoot black powder I always pass a moist patch down and up the bore after the powder in dropped, I am not attempting to clean the barrel just trying to get a consistent barrel condition 'tween each shot as black powder shooting is just like jacketed bullet shooting both of which have cumulative fouling.

Fortunately black fouling is far easier to remove that those filthy jacketed bullets copper fouling which is why I will not use them in any of my guns which are mostly well over 75 years old.

The way I see it is similar to servicing a car...do you need the oil and filter changed at regular intervals to keep the car working even though the manufactures say you should ?. The same with my top end rifles, I would go with what the manufactures say ...in my case about every 50 rounds a good clean.

That is a bit apples and oranges.

Whilst putting sound oil in your car engine is an absolute necessity, in firearms it is not the case.

I run my guns dry and only clean when the target tells me I need to or when they have had rough usage on the hill in bad weather. Oil in the action can hold grit and be come an abrasive compound. Oil in the barrel is an absolute no no and any needs removing afore shooting.

Manufacturers recommendations are usually written by bean counters and risk averse lawyers, and are usually a trap to void warranty.

Mind you new USA guns are warranty void when you buy them as it usually says that warranty is only applicable to factory ammunition not handloads. All imported fire arms have to go through proof which involves a handloaded deliberately over pressure round. Warranty void.

If you are using condom bullets then you absolutely need to clean as the copper fouling does indeed build up and needs removing regularly.

More firearms are ruined due to over and inappropriate cleaning than anything else.

Its one of the plusses with .22lr rifles for me, clean the action after every shoot but just give the barrel a pull through with with a bore snake to get the big bits out

I am with 1066 and TattooedGun, in that I clean all my rifles irrespective of calibre after shooting.

I had the opportunity to visit the ELEY test range a few years ago - the guy who ran it (he's since passed) was the armourer for the British Olympic Shooting Team at one stage.

Just the man to ask about cleaning. The Team clean after every match - just as you would with a fullbore rifle, was his reply.

Most of us don't clean our rimfires so often because we just plink with em but, I've just started shooting 100 yd benchrest competition - I clean more often now.

Got a S&W in because it wont cycle 2000 rounds of American Eagle and it looks like a coal mine in the chamber ,apparently been sitting in the cupboard for 4 months with the moderator left on (seized solid) . Could be an expensive mistake oops

I used to shoot prone smallbore at the Witton range when Eley were based there. As a member of both City of Birmingham and Kynoch clubs I had access to free Tenex straight from the test range which was bought in by manager Roy Williams or sometimes the late Ernie Spirti who was one of the people who helped develop Tenex.
We had a great inside knowledge of the inside workings of the Eley workplace due to stories told by Ernie. On one visit to the production line we were invited into the offices to talk with the then MD Keith Irvine who took us into their own test range to show us batches of ammo being tested. They had four rifles at the time which were replaced every million rounds. He said that they were never cleaned and after one "administrative error" one of the rifles had been mixed up and had gone on to shoot over two million rounds before anyone cottoned on.
I bought my Anschutz 1913 in 1988 and clean it once every couple of thousand rounds, although that is by choice and not because anything is going wrong.
Gun pimp, I think that the man you are referring to is Burt Brookes, who used to bring us our ammo before he passed.
When the Anschutz rep's used to come over to Bisley to sort out people's rifle problems, they wouldn't look at your rifle if you hadn't cleaned it. They then seemed to hand over the job to Frank Dyke and his "Gunsmith".
I had damaged the bolt saddle on my rifle (don't ask) and, had Anschutz attended Bisley that year, they would have simply thrown the damaged one away, head-spaced the rifle and replaced it with a new one.
Frank Dyke charged me £50