TargetTalk

I am currently using a club rifle (until I get my own) and it never gets cleaned. Now unlike some other ammo types I am aware of the wax/lubricant on .22 ammo that keeps the barrel lubricated but I am curious if this practice of not cleaning the barrel is common elsewhere?

As a kid my Dad always impressed the importance of cleaning a firearm after use to get rid of fowling and prevent pitting/corrosion etc. Having used this rifle for 9 months I cannot say that the accuracy has suffered at all and that surprises me but there is still part of me that want's to pull a bronze phosphor brush dripping with solvent through the rifling.

Sventsa,

yes there is a long-standing view that cleaning a .22 barrel somehow degrades accuracy, or even harms the barrel. Personally I don't believe this, and see enough successful shooters cleaning their barrel after use (not to mention what I see from my own frequently-cleaned barrel), to think that regular cleaning is important for accuracy.

Partly the no-clean mentality came about in the 1950s. Until then ammunition was corrosive (mercury in the primer and/or black gunpowder in the propellant). You either cleaned your barrel after use, or it went rusty. Then lead-primers and all-smokeless loads became the norm, so cleaning was no longer strictly necessary. Using modern ammunition, rifles will function for many hundreds, or even thousands of rounds, without a clean.

However I don't believe that not cleaning is good, and furthermore think it does have a detrimental effect on accuracy both short term and long term. Anschutz, Walther, Bleiker, and Eley all recommend frequent cleaning. In the short term the powder residue and bullet grease will cake up the bore, eventually there will be enough to distort the bullet or prevent the rifling getting a proper grip. If there are any rough spots in the bore (whether machining marks, or rust pitting), lead can collect, and will gather more lead until the accretion is blasted free. In the long term, firing residue is abrasive and will erode the bore at the throat, prematurely shortening the accurate life of the barrel.

I firmly believe that careful cleaning will enhance and prolong accuracy. You may not need to scrub the barrel after every shoot, but I think at the very least you should patch the bore to remove the abrasive primer debris before it hardens. Then brush whenever you need to.

By the way, NEVER, NEVER pull a brush or anything else through the barrel. Clean from the breech end only, as the muzzle is easy to damage, but critical to accuracy. PUSH patches/brushes though the barrel on a good quality single-piece steel rod; cheap aluminium or brass multi-piece rods are rarely straight and are more likely to rub the bore, also the material is too soft and carries grit. Using a cleaning rod guide in the breech is a very wise thing, as it helps to centre the rod, and also keeps solvent away from the trigger and bedding (your brush does not need to be dripping wet).

Tim

p.s. Fowling would be a real problem, but then why was there a chicken up the barrel in the first place?