To clean or not to clean

[std7mag]

You can clean the carbon from it after the range. Hoppes #9.
And leave the copper alone.

 

[elkhnter]

You can clean the carbon from it after the range. Hoppes #9.
And leave the copper alone.

I’ve always been told that would cause pressure issues.

 

[std7mag]

Nope.
After all that time & effort getting all the copper out, your "foulers" are just spent putting the copper back in to help seal the bore till accuracy comes back.
Depending on your barrel, it could be 5 rounds, or 50.

 

[ImBillT]

How many shots matters is dependent upon barrel quality and condition, but if you consider the accuracy up to par when you left the range, then I can’t think of a reason to clean it. Run a dry patch through it and put it up. Run a dry pitch through any time it had any chance to get any debris in it between now and the end of the season. After the season you can clean it. If for some you reason you go on multiple hunts and have some bad luck and take quite a few shots, 1-2 patches that were wet with Hoppes 9(NOT BENCHREST) followed by a dry patch can do a LITTLE cleaning without over cleaning. Brushes and faster acting copper solvents will get your barrel too clean.

A clean barrel is great, but for hunting only near perfect barrels(which won’t foul for MANY shots), and terrible barrels(which go to crap in 10-15 shots) should ever go into he field clean. Again, if it was shooting fine at 36 when you left the range, it will be shooting fine at 37-39 while you’re hunting. I check zero after every trip just to make sure nothing terrible happened. Shoot 2-5 shots when you get back from the hunt. If it’s still good, don’t clean it. Only clean it after the season or when things look rough at the range after a hunt. A decent barrel should shoot fine for 50-100 shots. A good barrel will go 200-300 between cleanings.

 

[ImBillT]

I’ve always been told that would cause pressure issues.

Nope

 

[BWALKER77]

I would hunt it as is. My main hunting rifle hasnt been cleaned down to bare metal in several years although it only gets one three shot group to verify zero and a few shots on game every year. I do run a patch lightly piled with Kroil through it after I have fired it for corrosion protection mostly. Attached is a pic of the bore.
I have shot 500 rounds through a prairie dog gun before cleaning and it still shot fine. Although the bore was treated with Dyna Bore Coat.

 

[elkhnter]

You guys are gonna save me a lot of time!

 

[noharleyyet]

Clean mine on a purely instinctive quasi regular schedule...no accuracy issues on game nor paper, but do carry afield fouled.

 

[Panda Bear]

Clean mine on a purely instinctive quasi regular schedule...no accuracy issues on game nor paper, but do carry afield fouled.

This !

 

[44hunter45]

10 4, can you please elaborate? I guess never really thought about. You go to the range, come home and clean.

Thanks for who posted, appreciate the insight.

The exception being if you are in rainy or humid environs.

IMHO-
Moisture and fouling can create corrosive combinations in your bore.
i use bore snakes during the season and clean at year end. I tape my muzzle. Even SS barrels

I store my weapons in a dehumidified safe. If you store in a closet in the PNW or Gulf coast you need to manage fouling.

The first line of defense is electrical tape on the muzzle.

 

[Durango Mike]

The exception being if you are in rainy or humid environs.

IMHO-
Moisture and fouling can create corrosive combinations in your bore.
i use bore snakes during the season and clean at year end. I tape my muzzle. Even SS barrels

I store my weapons in a dehumidified safe. If you store in a closet in the PNW or Gulf coast you need to manage fouling.

The first line of defense is electrical tape on the muzzle.

Agree completely on the environment being the main factor on cleaning, having lived in Colorado for 24 years with 15-20% humidity in a high desert climate I do not clean often.When I lived in a humid and potentially salty environment everything got cleaned on a very regular schedule, and after every shooting session. After shooting bench rest matches for many years poor cleaning (not using a correct bore guide, miss fitting jags, coated cleaning rods that get grit embedded in them) kills accuracy faster than shooting a "dirty" bore. we used to get 2,000 rounds plus without groups opening up past .25, usually set the barrel back and shot another 1,000 plus rounds (6MM PPC). Even my prairie dog rifles (556 Ackley Imp, 6 PPC, 204 Ruger) shoot just fine (1/2 minute) after putting 2-300 rounds thru them in a session, the most susceptible to change is an old .17 wildcat on a 556 case if it gets dirty. I think the new powders like the CFE Rifle with anti fouling characteristics certainly help a lot.

 

[Seamaster]

I am an old benchrest shooter. I think everyone I shoot with follows the procedure of fouling bores before a match and cleaning bores before the next shooting session. The fellows will usually clean barrels the next day following shooting. We do use very high quality barrels that clean easily and do not foul excessively so we do not clean until shooting is over for the day.

For a factory barrel on a hunting rifle I would leave it fouled a bit for the hunt unless there was high humidity or excessive copper was noticed. Clean the barrel if there is any doubt and take a few fouling shots before your hunt. Factory barrels are normally quite a bit rougher than the specialty barrel and fouling build up is much worse. Even though you might hear otherwise on the internet - excessive carbon and/or copper fouling is not a good thing. If done correctly cleaning will not hurt the barrel.

 

[Mako]

Since your final shot at your zero was still sub-MOA, I'd say you're golden. I'd just do a regular/carbon cleaning, leave the copper there.

 

[std7mag]

Not cleaning the carbon ring that forms at the case neck/bullet juncture can raise pressure.
Or so i've been told.
Many a benchrest shooter has mentioned this to me.
But by how much pressure can rise is anyones guess.

 

[Durango Mike]

We would always clean between matches and I clean after a long prairie dog or range session, any material bump in pressure would likely degrade accuracy and be noticed from the bench. I stopped competing 30 years ago, just got bored I guess, with new powders that have de-coppering agents I think they would be cleaner than the H322 I was using In the 6PPC.

 

[BWALKER77]

Not cleaning the carbon ring that forms at the case neck/bullet juncture can raise pressure.
Or so i've been told.
Many a benchrest shooter has mentioned this to me.
But by how much pressure can rise is anyones guess.

I have never seen a carbon ring with ny bore scope, but I also dont use ball powders at all.

 

[Glockster]

most people over clean barrels. You have a much better chance of messing it up with the cleaning rod than you do just shooting it. I have drank for not cleaning Kool-Aid. I am about 250 rounds down my 308 and haven’t touched it. No issues. Accuracy is is unchanged and still great.
This is a much discussed topic over at rokslide, it seems most don’t clean the barrels at all or very very little.

 

[sndmn11]

Lube the bolt and go hunt.

 

[std7mag]

I have never seen a carbon ring with ny bore scope, but I also dont use ball powders at all.

It's a topic that comes up fairly often on the match oriented forums.

 

[morley.tyler]

Put some black tape over the muzzle, hunt it all season and clean it at Xmas.