Cleaning a .22

[Ohio Rifleman]

I am very meticulous about cleaning my guns. I clean them after every trip to the range. My cleaning routine is roughly as follows, aside from the obvious safety "make sure the gun is unloaded" stuff:

1. Dip old toothbrush in Hoppes #9. Scrub out action
2. Dip appropriate brush attached to appropriate cleaning rod in Hoppes #9. Run through bore a few times.
2. Run dry patch through bore.
3. Repeat steps 2-3 as necessary
4. Put very light coating of Hoppes lubriating oil in action and bore.

I don't oil the action of my SKS so much anymore, since it tended to get gummed up and interfere with extraction, but that's another matter.

I have heard that you should only clean a rimfire after every 1000 rounds or so, and that cleaning it more often than that damages the bore? Is this true? Keep in mind all the ammo I'm using is solid lead non-jacketed stuff like the Remington Thunderbolt and some kind of Federal ammo too.

 

[GD]

There is no reason you have to clean a .22 after a range session. I used to clean mine after each session only because I got used to doing this with corrosive ammo in my surplus centerfires. You are more likely to more damage by cleaning a .22 than you are to get any benefit from cleaning it. I don't notice any change in accuracy after not cleaning a .22 for over 1000 rounds. You may have to clean more often if you shoot dirty .22 ammo in a semiautomatic - it may gum up the action.

 

[DWARREN123]

For 22 lr you do nt have to full clean everytime. Depending on action you may not need to clean for quite a few rounds. The action should be brushed out and the chamber swabbed out and unless there is some type of problem the bore is usually not cleaned.
Clean it as often as you feel good with, it's yours.

 

[Feanaro]

I clean the chamber and action after I shoot my Marlin 981. I've cleaned the barrel once. Probably won't clean it again unless it starts to look like a radioactive sewer hole.

 

[Gunbabe]

Hey Ohio Rifleman. I too have a .22 and I too clean it after every range trip. For me it isn't a matter of having to clean it each time but wanting to clean it. I spend a lot of money on my guns and figure why not take care of them? I would hate to show someone my guns and have them be dirty.

 

[rcmodel]

.22's do not need the bore cleaned very often, if at all.

As has been noted, constant cleaning may actually do more damage then good.
Unlike centerfire rifles, .22 barrels are made out of mild steel.
Cleaning rod wear will takes it toll on them if over-used.

I clean .22 actions religiously to keep powder fouling at bay. And I may run a wet patch through the bore when I get done to get the splatters out.
But no heavy brush scrubbing with a rod is ever done, or needed on a good .22 barrel.


rcmodel

 

[Ohio Rifleman]

That's kinda my line of thinking, Gunbabe. And, you never know when you'll need your gun to save a life, and it would suck to have it malfunction on you because it's dirty.

I failed to mention that my .22 is a semi-auto, a Ruger 10/22. But if I'm actually harming the bore by cleaning it every time, I want to know.

Though, to be honest, I think it would take a LOT to "wear out" a modern barrel by cleaning it too much.

 

[rcmodel]

If you just have to clean your 10/22 that much, use a bore-snake from the rear.

Muzzle wear is the culprit, and it doesn't take long to do some damage with a dirty cleaning rod.


rcmodel

 

[Ohio Rifleman]

Hey, I'm open-minded.

If cleaning my 10/22 that much is harming it, I'll knock it off. From now on, I'll probably scrub the action and chamber, and just run some patches through the bore.

 

[Mk VII]

We've got a communal 10/22 at the club that gets hundreds through it every week and never gets cleaned. Still seems to work OK.
I've let mine alone for some months and it seems more reliable that way.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Clean the action as needed. If you get failures to extract, light firing pin strikes and so on, it's usually a dirty action and breech face (where the extractor engages the rim.) Cleaning the bore is not necessary -- modern .22 ammo protects the bore.

 

[MarinePride]

The best thing you can buy for a .22 LR is a Hoppes Bore Snake. It won't hurt the barrel and it's what I use for my Rugers after every range session.

 

[W.E.G.]

Just a pull-through to keep some rust-preventative in the bore so it won't rust during storage.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Modern .22 ammo provides all the rust protection you need -- why mess with a seasoned, protected bore?

 

[mljdeckard]

While agreeing with pretty much everyone else here, I will also add, I only use Hoppe's in the bore, nowhere else in the gun. It's a solvent, and will eat anything that is ...vulnerable to being eaten.

My dad has an ethic which is something to the effect of; "Clean your guns once after each war." One of the victims of this policy is a 10/22 that (in his words) has been fired about 50,00 times and even cleaned once or twice. I took it apart when I was a teenager and someone else told me that guns aren't literally maintenence free, and about a thousand little crescent shaped shavings fell out of it, from the chambering of all these rounds. If this rifle has ever failed to feed, fire, or eject, I am not aware of it. (I try to help my dad's victims at least once a year when I have time.)

Now on the other hand, if I had a 10/22 that is custom tuned for tack driving, with a custom heavy stainless barrel, Volquartsen trigger group, etc, I would put more effort into it, gunscrubber/toothbrush/wipe the action, two wet brushes, three wet patches, three dry patches, one slightly moistened with break free patch, done. See, this is why I shoot .22 and SKS. I have a few weapons that are well, better, and I put a lot of effort into cleaning them. Sometimes, especially when I'm trying to keep my boys interested in the sport, I want to be able to spend all of the day shooting, and if we run out of daylight before we are able to clean, it's not a big deal.

 

[KI.W.]

Mr Vern Humphrey, You must to have very,very modern ammo. Never heard aboat them. I use only Lapua, Federal and CCi. I always clean all my guns.

 

[KI.W.]

Mr V. Humphrey, You have very, very modern ammo. Never heard. I use only Lapua , Federal and CCI ammo. I always clean all my guns. May by You belive me, because it is now two times in here

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Mr Vern Humphrey, You must to have very,very modern ammo. Never heard aboat them. I use only Lapua, Federal and CCi. I always clean all my guns.

Cleaning actions is one thing, especially on semi-autos. But you don't need to clean the bores.

 

[KI.W.]

May I clean bores too,please, because there is alwas black shi...meaning dirt. Kauko.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Do what you like -- it's your rifle. But there's no NEED to clean the bore, and, depending on how you do it, some risk of damage or wear.

 

[KI.W.]

Mister, one time more please. I am not stupid and unskilled. My first gun 22LR in1955. It is in exelent condition.

 

[NC-Mike]

Every rusted, pitted or frosted bore has a "no need to clean the bore" practitioner behind it.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

Every rusted, pitted, gouged or worn .22 bore was over-cleaned.

 

[thebaldguy]

Clean after each use, but you don't have to scrub the rifling out of the bore. A few careful passes through the bore is ok. A few dollars spent on a good cleaning rod is worth it.

 

[JohnBT]

For those who clean, I suggest not dipping the dirty brush in the bottle. Use a dropper, pour some in the lid, etc.

John