22LR, To Clean, or Not to Clean

When I first started shooting Bullseye, a seasoned shooter told me a 22 bore never needed cleaning. He only recommended cleaning the breech face and loading ramp with a Q-Tip. He said that a 22 shoots very clean and cleaning would only damage the end of the barrel. Is this true? How about a Bore Snake? Are they damaging? Opinions?

Greg

I only shoot lead in my 22, i occasionally use a bore brush on the chamber only, and occasionally pull a bore snake through the barrel(i remove the bore brush part of the bore snake first)

gjconlon777 wrote:........ Is this true? How about a Bore Snake? Are they damaging? Opinions?

Greg

yes true, more 22lr are damaged by cleaning than anything else.  
Bore snake, remove the brass brush and keep them clean.  If they are dirty then you are bringing that dirt into your bore.

- Dave

I must ask this question.  I have always been told that to only use a brass cleaning brush as it is softer then the steel barrel and would not hurt it.  Also to only clean from the breach which protects the crown of the barrel and also keeps from pushing dirt into the action.  I don't like cleaning and have spent  many hours of my off duty time re cleaning my 1911 and M16 as the Gunny kept finding carbon in places I couldn't even see.  Now I am being told to remove the brush from my bore snakes and I have 8 of them.  Watch the video and tried it on the 22 pistol bore snake.  Never did get that sucker out and just messed up the snake.  So someone explain the brass brush devil thing.  Don

Read some articles built by top smallbore rifle builders and barrel makers. You will see that many believe that over cleaning is the cause of barrel damage.

Chris Miceli wrote:Read some articles built by top smallbore rifle builders and barrel makers. You will see that many believe that over cleaning is the cause of barrel damage.

Many people believe a lot of things I even believed in Santa Claus once.  Proof is what I believe in now.  I know that improper cleaning methods can cause damage and maybe that is why more 22 barrels are damaged then ant other caliber as they are bougth by many shooters that don't have a clue.  Just head down to the local Western Auto store and buy a cheap 22 a box of Super X ammo and hey might as well get one of those niffy cleaning kits they sell also.   As for those buying a Saturday Night Special they probably skipped the cleaning kit.  Don

Let me know if you can pin down a ballistic engineer and get an answer

Chris Miceli wrote:Let me know if you can pin down a ballistic engineer and get an answer

A metallurgist might also have the answer and my son's father in law is one when  I see him I will ask.  I really don't think the brush is needed and and if there is a chance that a brush may do damage then it would be smart not to use one.  My 22s didn't come from Western Auto.   Don

Chris Miceli wrote:Read some articles built by top smallbore rifle builders and barrel makers. You will see that many believe that over cleaning is the cause of barrel damage.

Chris I would change that statement to "over cleaning damage is seen when they bore scope the barrel on the majority of the barrels they replace prematurely" and not just small bore.  

Shooters that clean a rifle without a proper bore guide, or that run the brush out the end of the barrel are just throwing away good money.

Magload
Why remove the brush from a boresnake, because it isn't all brass, and the brass part is what gathers the potential grit that can cause damage.  I would NOT clean my gun with dirty brushless boresnake either.  When I go to a match my boresnakes are clean and kept in an old pill bottle, I rarely use them at a match.

- Dave

I only clean the chamber of my .22 pistols with a bore brush (.25 caliber), not the barrel. I did this on the advice of Larry Carter when I bought my Hammerli 208s. Accuracy has never suffered. I have been known to pull a clean patch through the barrel using a length of weed line trimmer, cut to a point on one end and a melted ball on the other.

Short answer, yes clean them. If you use the same ammo ALL the time, you could possibly get by with less cleaning. but if you change up the brands, I'd clean once a year anyway.

Here's a link to a post of discovery I made in 2011.

http://www.guntalk-online.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3211&highlight=cleaning

Be sure to check out the link to the photo's of the targets. If it hadn't happened to me, I'd call me a truth stretcher (term used to be da^^ liar). 

And remember, when telling tall tales, the first liar doesn't stand a chance.
Stork

i clean the barrel with kroil,Q-tips and finally bore snake without brush,because i remove it.

I cleaned it today using a bore brush on the breech and of the barrel, then a patchworm until it ran clean. Should be fine.

Saw a guy at league this week drop his bore snake on the ground, pick it up and run it through his gun.  Made a mental note not to loan this guy my gun.

Scott

Ask your metallurgist what he thinks of rubbing abrasive particles on the interior surface of a precision cylinder with a tight fitting brush of softer material using bristles that have spring to them. 

Will an occasional careful cleaning hurt your 22, no. But I would take the thoughts of Olympic shooters over metallurgists, anyway. Then again, I won't fire a round that had touched the ground out of my competition guns and I know guys who proudly say that they make it a point to use ammo picked up off the ground in their match barreled 22s.

jmdavis wrote:Ask your metallurgist what he thinks of rubbing abrasive particles on the interior surface of a precision cylinder with a tight fitting brush of softer material using bristles that have spring to them. 

Will an occasional careful cleaning hurt your 22, no. But I would take the thoughts of Olympic shooters over metallurgists, anyway. Then again, I won't fire a round that had touched the ground out of my competition guns and I know guys who proudly say that they make it a point to use ammo picked up off the ground in their match barreled 22s.

Hey don't get me wrong I see your point.  I should be removing to brushes from my snakes.  They really should sell they with out brushes.  They do mention washing them on the package.  Don

Here's a tip if you ever put them in the dryer, put the brass weighted end inside the snake so it won't bang around inside the dryer, it works pretty good.  I do manually wash them.  

My wife about killed me when I had 5 snakes in the dryer and she went in to see what was making noise and she was about to open the door I was right behind her and she turned to ask me whats in there, of course I said snakes.  Well I thought it was funny, Kaye not so much she hates snakes!   
- Dave

Interesting article:

http://www.rrdvegas.com/rimfire-cleaning.html

JayhawkNavy02 wrote:Interesting article:

http://www.rrdvegas.com/rimfire-cleaning.html

Great article, thanks!

I've heard from several High Masters to cleans the chamber with a .25 cal brush bent to the length of the chamber and leave the bore alone. Thats what I do. My centerfire guns I do between indoor and outdoor seasons. Revolver chambers I keep clean too...This is for dedicated bullseye guns. Carry guns and "fun" guns stay clean.... it was tough getting used to the idea of putting a gun away dirty. I was definitely NOT raised that way...

gjconlon777 wrote:

JayhawkNavy02 wrote:Interesting article:

http://www.rrdvegas.com/rimfire-cleaning.html

Great article, thanks!

Thanks for posting the link.  Now I know what and where the abrasive component is coming from.  I am not into the actual cleaning part of the article.  Don

If you wish to use a "bore snake" type cleaner with no brush fibers, you might want to try the Anschutz cleaner which uses fiber "wicks."  I first got this to use in my air pistol.  You can vary the number of wicks to fill the bore to your satisfaction.  I got mine from Champion's Choice, here is a link

http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=A507

No need to try pulling out brushes.

rfmiller wrote:If you wish to use a "bore snake" type cleaner with no brush fibers, you might want to try the Anschutz cleaner which uses fiber "wicks."  I first got this to use in my air pistol.  You can vary the number of wicks to fill the bore to your satisfaction.  I got mine from Champion's Choice, here is a link

http://www.champchoice.com/store/Main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=A507

No need to try pulling out brushes.

Thanks.  I never got the brushes out of my 22 snake.   Don

I can make those I think.  I use to make wind on trolling leaders for offshore fishing and still have the 130lb mono and the braid to cover it with.  Looks like a new cotton mop head like we used in the Navy all to often will work for the wicks.  Don

I think getting the right size "mop" would be the only issue.  But I know mine works well!  Good luck