Do you clean your 22LR guns?

[Dr_O]

I have always gone the Full Monty on cleaning even my .22s; wet patch, brush, dry patches, oiled patch.

Now, on the interweb I am reading that maybe you should not clean a .22 other than just a dry patch to remove loose crud.
The theory is that since the bullet is only traveling at 1640 fps max and that the bullet is not copper coated then copper fouling is not an issue.
Further, the bullets are coated with a wax lube. This lube lines the barrel improving accuracy and provides enough moisture protection that bore cleaning followed by oil is not necessary.
The non-cleaning camp says that if you do clean a .22 you are just going to have to shoot several rounds through the barrel to get it 'seasoned' again.

Of course, there are differing opinions on this.

What do you folks that shoot a lot of .22 rounds think?

 

[msquared]

I use a bore snake and lube the action between matches / shooting sessions. If the action is getting gritty or before a big match I will strip it and do a good cleaning of the action.

I think people tend to overclean guns. I keep mine clean enough to function reliably and protect them from the elements.

 

[Regionnus Rattis]

Sheesh...you're supposed to clean your 10/22? The only thing I've ever done is wipe down the exterior with oil on a rag to keep off any rust.

 

[IndyGunSafety]

Twenty-two LR rounds come in various forms from various makers. Some burn fairly clean while others do not. We have put thousands of rounds a year through our .22 pistols and I can tell you they MUST be cleaned at least every 250 rounds or they don't function well. This is compounded with cheap (read dirty) ammo. I've gotten my GSG 1911 so dirty the slide would no longer go into battery, and the P22's start to have extract and feed malfunctions. These malfunctions are coming from powder residue, NOT lead or copper.

I think you will find your guns will last a lot longer if you take care of them. It is a ton of effort though. That's why we switched to 9mm for all of our courses... I can run them several classes without cleaning and they are MUCH easier to clean. I have to add: The NRA says clean your guns after EVERY use.

 

[8th SPS USAF]

cleaning 22 rifles

I do what you do. Spray with either Breakfree or Gunsola in the bore,
let it set over night, run a patch and check the bore and use a brush if needed and then a dry patch. Re-oil and put it away.

 

[Indy_Guy_77]

If your .22 runs dirty... Then let it run dirty.

If your .22 doesn't run when dirty...then clean it.

-J-

 

[Principal Skinr]

I clean mine after every trip to the range or the field. However, I just use a Bore Snake with CLP. Occasionally, I'll take the bolt out and spray it down with CLP and wipe it clean, along with the chamber.

That's how I clean all of my guns, including my AR-15's.

 

[JetGirl]

<---her method;

Shoot it = clean it. /

 

[22rssix]

I used to clean my 22 pistols after each trip to the range. Since I shoot them just about every weekend I stopped that. My buckmark pistol & rifle along with the Ruger MKIII can run from 500 to a 1000 rounds without cleaning. On the buckMark pistol I have just added oil and kept going. I don't get many jams or other non ammo related issues.

When I do clean them I pull the bolt(MKIII) and slides and toss them in a jar with old hoppes and let them soak. The barrels get a patch soaked in hoppes and everything else gets hoppes to breakup the powder/grime.

After the soak I wipe off most of the grime and spray them gun scrubber. then dry and oil.

I stoppped using bore brushed in the chamber and stick with bamboo squers and trimmer line to wipe the barrels.

I sometimes take a bore brush bent at 90 degrees to scrub the chamber. That I have only done a few times the guns never really needed it.

 

[Plinker]

I clean my Marlin 925 everytime I shoot it. I must be using dirty ammo because after a couple hundred rounds or so it is FILTHY (at least to me it is). Doesn't take but 20 minutes or so to do a bang up job cleaning it, so why not?

 

[shibumiseeker]

I clean my Buckmark that I shoot daily when I start getting problems. That's 1-2k rounds. I can't remember when I cleaned my .22 rifles. Once in a while.

 

[Slow Hand]

Most of my .22 suooting these days is suppressed and with a semi-auto, they get really dirty. My ruger MKII gets cleaned whenever it starts to jam. Same with the Kel Tec SU-22. Basically, I'm cleaning the action, not teh barrel. My Savage MKII Boltgun still shoots near an inch at 100 yards, so why mess with it? My normal cleaning regimine for the Ruger is to take the grips off and spray it down with brake or carb cleaner (the cheapest stuff I can find at AutoZone) until it runs out clear. Blast it woth the air compressor to dry out then spray some oil in there and blast with air again to distribute. I usualy will pull a boresnake though the barrel just to wipe out any crud.

Doug K

 

[LeeStreet]

I shoot in a league, & cleaned my S&W 22A before the last match. . What a mistake, my score dropped 38 points. It only had about 300 rounds through it before the clean job. It's going to be way dirty before it gets cleaned again.

 

[DWS]

I grew up being taught to take care of your gear.....

If I shoot it - I clean it.

 

[Colt556]

I use a Bore Snake and CLP and then wipe down the outside with a lambs wool cloth.

 

[Specialized]

Okay, another related question: I've heard that if you're shooting lead bullets to stick with lead, or if shooting jacketed bullets stick with jacketed, but don't mix the two. Is this true, and how (if at all) does it affect accuracy and cleaning? Just bought my first Buckmark pistol and want to get this right.

Specialized

 

[bstewrat3]

Bore Snake 1x - Brush the front of the bolt and around the barrel stub and put one drop of oil on the guide rod of my 10/22 and 22/45. The trigger groups get cleaned once a year.

 

[Gunfever1986]

I 2 marlin 795 that i picked up last for 99$ each(sweet!) and they are great little guns i really dont thing you can beat the microgroove barrels and i clean them at least a little after each outing. and when the end of the barrel is gray and i can feel the grit when i pull the bolt back i strip it and clean it good. but there is paint inside the receiver that has not all came off yet.

 

[Shoots4Fun]

I grew up being taught to take care of your gear.....

If I shoot it - I clean it.

I clean my stuff after I shoot it too...

 

[Yeah]

Only if accuracy falls off, or stoppages appear.

Same with centerfires.