Cleaning revisited

[Jonno]

Hi All,
I recently purchased an Anschütz match rifle (2013) and noticed in the handbook as far as cleaning is concerned they recomend 2 dry patches followed by 1 OILY patch after each session, then thorough cleaning (ie brushes and solvents) after every 5000 rounds. My normal game is 300 mtr fullbore, and as metal fouling is a real accuracy killer i tend to clean properly after each range session. Now this is a question i've put to a lot of experienced smallbore people and got replies that vary from: " every 20 rounds with a lead solvent" from a guy who's one of the country's top 3p fullbore shooters, to " almost never " from a guy who's an ex-european champion. What is the correct cleaning regime for a smallbore match rifle? Also i've heard/read about this "magic" lead ring that forms in front of the chamber of a smallbore barrel. Some of the articles i've read suggest this is an accuracy killer and others say it aids accuracy soo much that it may take 200 or so shots after a thorough cleaning for a smallbore rifle to regain it's accuracy. Any thoughts?

Jonno.

[Richard H]

Hi All,
I recently purchased an Anschütz match rifle (2013) and noticed in the handbook as far as cleaning is concerned they recomend 2 dry patches followed by 1 OILY patch after each session, then thorough cleaning (ie brushes and solvents) after every 5000 rounds. My normal game is 300 mtr fullbore, and as metal fouling is a real accuracy killer i tend to clean properly after each range session. Now this is a question i've put to a lot of experienced smallbore people and got replies that vary from: " every 20 rounds with a lead solvent" from a guy who's one of the country's top 3p fullbore shooters, to " almost never " from a guy who's an ex-european champion. What is the correct cleaning regime for a smallbore match rifle? Also i've heard/read about this "magic" lead ring that forms in front of the chamber of a smallbore barrel. Some of the articles i've read suggest this is an accuracy killer and others say it aids accuracy soo much that it may take 200 or so shots after a thorough cleaning for a smallbore rifle to regain it's accuracy. Any thoughts?

Jonno.

Ask 20 people they'll give you 20 different answers on this subject, But a little common sense will go along way. Do you think you have to clean it every 20 rounds, a match is 60 and I don't see everyone stopping and cleaning every 20 rounds. Put a patch through see how dirty it gets and go from there. It will depend on what ammo you shoot, how often, the conditions you shoot in.

If you haven't you might want to do a search on the forum you'd probably find lots of posts on this subject.

[Guest]

Most shooters will have different cleaning methods, and different ideas about why they clean.

My practise is similar to the Anschutz recommendation. I wipe out the barrel with an oiled patch and then dry, after each session. This removes the gritty residue from the powder and primer. With this I've found that the barrel groups normally without several fouling shots.

This may be why some shooters don't like cleaning; as if they clean infrequently there will be a greater difference between the clean barrel and the "normal" (very dirty barrel), so some foulers may be needed.

Tim S

Exeter UK

[benchrest]

Be sure and use a bore guide and a one piece rod. I find rimfires vary alot, even identical rifles with required cleaning. Also a rifle may vary depending on the brand of ammo used. I would suggest some bench shooting. Start with a clean barrel and first see how many rounds it takes for the barrel to settle down and start grouping well. Then continue to shoot groups until accuracy starts to fade. At this point you will know two importat things, how many round to settle and then how many rounds it will shoot before accuracy suffers. Course depending on your skill level depends on what you might call suffers. A beginner can probably go more rounds. Settling can vary depending on how you clean too. For instance I find Hoppes #9 may take 25 round to settle after leaning and Shooters Choice Lead remover may only take 4 with a given gun. I think with all the variables this is why you hear so many different cleaning methods. If I get a chance to practice the day before a match, I clean the gun after practice, then put 15 rounds through it to lay down a layer of lube. Then run a loose patch through it to remove the grit and its ready to go. Rich