'A Guide to .22LR Barrel Care for the Precision Rimfire Shooter'

July 14, 2022, 09:15 AM

https://www.thetruthaboutguns....ion-rimfire-shooter/

This is an interesting article about precision rimfire rifle barrel care
The author presents advice on barrel and chamber conditioning and maintenance.
He has specific recommendations on cleaning methods and numbers of rounds for seasoning the bore.

I had previously thought of chamber carbon rings as being only a nuisance to chambering, not as a factor in accuracy. There are lots of photos and good logical explanations in the text, specific numbers of rounds, products and tools, techniques, etc.
It is well worth reading.

'Cliff's Notes': "In the end the solution is simple. Keep the good fouling in the rifling, remove the bad fouling in the chamber. "

A Guide to .22LR Barrel Care for the Precision Rimfire Shooter
By TTAG Contributor -July 13, 2022 By Gregory J. Roman

"My opinions about rimfire rifle cleaning and care are the result of my career in the gun industry and time shooting competitively in various disciplines. Firearms have been my profession and hobby for about 22 years now. About four years ago, I discovered NRL22 and began competing with my old Sako P94S.

It wasn’t long before I also discovered Vudoo Gun Works and promptly ordered a V22. When the V22 arrived, I was officially hooked. One thing led to another over the next several months, and I ended up going to work for Vudoo where I have been for the last three years.

My time at Vudoo has allowed me to gain experience with dozens of high end rimfire rifles while giving me exposure to some great minds in the industry from barrel makers to engineers to top level shooters. The last three years have been nothing but learning every day and have been the most rewarding of my career.

It’s through this exposure that I have developed my method of barrel care that produces excellent results in all my rimfire rifles. I’ve managed to climb the ranks in NRL22 with several NRL22 match wins and high finishes in NRL22X. "

July 14, 2022, 07:13 PM

sigfreund

Thank you.
All that seems to be in line with some other advice I’ve read.

Strangely, though, I’m pretty sure I saw an older video by someone at Vudoo that I believe recommended periodic thorough cleaning of the entire bore. Another guy who posts many videos about precision shooting 22 LR ammunition of various types with different guns mentioned in one video that he had followed someone’s advice to thoroughly clean the bore of one gun and then expressed disappointment in its precision performance afterwards.

What was also interesting was the comment that the shooter fired only SK or Lapua ammunition through his rifle, and no cheap bulk stuff. I had adopted that practice myself, but with only a vague idea why. I’ve watched a lot of videos of people testing various rimfire rifles and ammunition, and the ones who swap ammo types willy-nilly don’t seem to do too well as a rule.

July 16, 2022, 10:42 AM

lyman

old school Smallbore shooters have told me in the past to only clean when you change ammo brands, or when you notice a drop off in accuracy,

but these guys were shooting old Win 75's, 52's etc not sure if that made or makes a difference

July 17, 2022, 01:38 PM

sjtill

Great article, thanks!
I've already purchased some C4 (from Amazon, Brownells is out) and a Teslong borescope, but got the 26 inch long rod version for about $100.

It's going to be fun delving into something completely new--which this whole rimfire precision shooting is for me!

And I guess I am going to stick with Wolf Target Match (made by Eley) for my CZ 457 MTR at least.

July 17, 2022, 02:18 PM

sigfreund

At one time many authorities (or at least people who wrote articles for gun magazines) said that it wasn’t necessary to ever clean the bore of a .22 rimfire rifle. I never thought about cleaning my Winchester model 52 during my small bore competition days. Our targets were only 50 feet (not even yards) away, though, and skill in shooting from unsupported positions was the primary concern. That’s not to say inherent precision was completely unimportant, but if one had a decent rifle and standard velocity ammunition, that was good enough for most of us.

Now, however, like other types of precision rifle shooting, much has changed in using 22 Long Rifle guns for the purpose. Target engagements have stretched farther and farther, even to hundreds of yards. With those demands on accuracy, tiny factors affecting precision have become far more important.

July 18, 2022, 09:22 AM

SIGnified

Funny enough, a marine scout sniper instructor said the same thing about 30 cal. Basically said coppers got to go where coppers got to go. Even when we were shooting 400 rounds a day.

July 18, 2022, 12:22 PM

sigfreund

I would never try to convince someone who wants to believe that fouling has no effect on precision that he’s wrong, but for those who still question who’s right, I refer to a 7 September 2001 Shooting Times article about a test of a P220 pistol that was used to fire 10,000 rounds in one day.

Even though the barrel was cleaned by common methods throughout the test, by the end its accuracy due to accumulated fouling had deteriorated from an out of the box 2.51 inch group at 25 yards to 4.92 inches. After SIG was contacted and a true thorough cleaning with Outers Foul-Out system was conducted (i.e., all the bore fouling was removed) the 25 yard group was 1.92 inches.

Cleaning centerfire barrels is a matter of great variance of opinion. Some authorities talk about “good” copper while others believe in fouling the bore after a thorough cleaning and not cleaning again until a noticeable degradation of precision is noted. I, on the other hand, clean my precision centerfire rifle barrels after every range session. Is it possible that allowing fouling to build up might make them more precise? Yes, but they are precise enough for me when clean and I can be more certain of the results I’ll get than if let things go and risk things going sour in the middle of a session: “Was that me, or do I just need to clean the barrel?”

July 18, 2022, 01:18 PM

SIGnified

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
I would never try to convince someone who wants to believe that fouling has no effect on precision that he’s wrong, but for those who still question who’s right, I refer to a 7 September 2001 Shooting Times article about a test of a P220 pistol that was used to fire 10,000 rounds in one day.

Even though the barrel was cleaned by common methods throughout the test, by the end its accuracy due to accumulated fouling had deteriorated from an out of the box 2.51 inch group at 25 yards to 4.92 inches. After SIG was contacted and a true thorough cleaning with Outers Foul-Out system was conducted (i.e., all the bore fouling was removed) the 25 yard group was 1.92 inches.

Cleaning centerfire barrels is a matter of great variance of opinion. Some authorities talk about “good” copper while others believe in fouling the bore after a thorough cleaning and not cleaning again until a noticeable degradation of precision is noted. I, on the other hand, clean my precision centerfire rifle barrels after every range session. Is it possible that allowing fouling to build up might make them more precise? Yes, but they are precise enough for me when clean and I can be more certain of the results I’ll get than if let things go and risk things going sour in the middle of a session: “Was that me, or do I just need to clean the barrel?”

I do the same thing. They get cleaned after every range trip.

July 19, 2022, 04:30 AM

Hamden106

50 yoars ago I shot NRA Prone outdoor matches. My buddy and I both used Winchester 52 rifles. Between 20 shot relays we both had to run a couple wet patches and a dry patch through the bore. Otherwise our next relay would suck. We used Eley black or red box. We used the string kind of pull through.

July 19, 2022, 11:53 PM

357fuzz

This is pretty much what I do w/ my old military rifles I shoot in cast lead bullet matches. Clean the chamber, the leade area, and the bolt. Leave the bore alone. The rifles I use seem to like it and shoot very well… if I do my job.

July 24, 2022, 09:25 PM

SgtGold

When you clean your barrel you you use a abrasive like a bore paste, or a chemical like Butch's Bore Shine? The reason I ask is going the abrasive route doesn't pull as much fouling out as the chemical method, and as a result generally requires less fouling to bring the barrel back to peak accuracy.

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
I would never try to convince someone who wants to believe that fouling has no effect on precision that he’s wrong, but for those who still question who’s right, I refer to a 7 September 2001 Shooting Times article about a test of a P220 pistol that was used to fire 10,000 rounds in one day.

Even though the barrel was cleaned by common methods throughout the test, by the end its accuracy due to accumulated fouling had deteriorated from an out of the box 2.51 inch group at 25 yards to 4.92 inches. After SIG was contacted and a true thorough cleaning with Outers Foul-Out system was conducted (i.e., all the bore fouling was removed) the 25 yard group was 1.92 inches.

Cleaning centerfire barrels is a matter of great variance of opinion. Some authorities talk about “good” copper while others believe in fouling the bore after a thorough cleaning and not cleaning again until a noticeable degradation of precision is noted. I, on the other hand, clean my precision centerfire rifle barrels after every range session. Is it possible that allowing fouling to build up might make them more precise? Yes, but they are precise enough for me when clean and I can be more certain of the results I’ll get than if let things go and risk things going sour in the middle of a session: “Was that me, or do I just need to clean the barrel?”

July 24, 2022, 10:26 PM

sigfreund

My current cleaning process for my centerfire bolt action rifles is (depending upon how many rounds were fired since the last cleaning) two or three applications of Gunslick foaming cleaner followed by one or two of TM Solvent. I have Sweet’s 7.62, Butch’s Bore Shine, and other copper removers on the shelf, but it’s been a long time since I’ve used any of them. For my ARs with their gas tubes, I use only TM Solvent. If I’ve fired a lot of rounds since the last cleaning I run a nylon bore brush through a few times as well along with the TM Solvent.

I’m sure there are other equally effective methods and chemicals to use, but they satisfy me.

I use immersion soaking in (original) Hoppe’s #9 for my pistol barrels, and on very rare occasions when that doesn’t remove all the fouling, I use J-B Bore Bright (not the original more abrasive J-B compound) with Kroil on a tight-fitting felt pellet. That’s usually only necessary when I’m cleaning an agency pistol whose barrel wasn’t cleaned in many hundreds of rounds, and only rarely then.

I’ve never used the abrasive cleaners in my rifle barrels as far back as I can remember, but perhaps I should give that method a try. I do have a bore scope and should really see what the various methods do. As I say, though, my methods leave me satisfied, including the level of precision my rifles deliver.

July 25, 2022, 07:07 AM

SgtGold

I used Botch's for years as it took me that long to get through one of their big bottles. I wanted to get away from the ammonia so I went to KG solvents for the copper\powder fouling issues. While some people swear by them, I've never been a fan of the abrasive products. The only time I've had to get overly aggressive with copper removal is on milsurps that haven't been cleaned correctly in years, if not decades.

quote:
Originally posted by sigfreund:
My current cleaning process for my centerfire bolt action rifles is (depending upon how many rounds were fired since the last cleaning) two or three applications of Gunslick foaming cleaner followed by one or two of TM Solvent. I have Sweet’s 7.62, Butch’s Bore Shine, and other copper removers on the shelf, but it’s been a long time since I’ve used any of them. For my ARs with their gas tubes, I use only TM Solvent. If I’ve fired a lot of rounds since the last cleaning I run a nylon bore brush through a few times as well along with the TM Solvent.

I’m sure there are other equally effective methods and chemicals to use, but they satisfy me.

I use immersion soaking in (original) Hoppe’s #9 for my pistol barrels, and on very rare occasions when that doesn’t remove all the fouling, I use J-B Bore Bright (not the original more abrasive J-B compound) with Kroil on a tight-fitting felt pellet. That’s usually only necessary when I’m cleaning an agency pistol whose barrel wasn’t cleaned in many hundreds of rounds, and only rarely then.

I’ve never used the abrasive cleaners in my rifle barrels as far back as I can remember, but perhaps I should give that method a try. I do have a bore scope and should really see what the various methods do. As I say, though, my methods leave me satisfied, including the level of precision my rifles deliver.

July 30, 2022, 02:17 PM

ridewv

Thanks for linking the article, Richard.

FWIW I'll add this response to my question of cleaning that I received from the WVU Rifle team coach probably 7 years ago or so. I'd basically asked Mr Hammond how, and how often they clean their match guns.

Cleaning, yes, often!! Personally every time after I shoot, although it doesn't have to be extensive. Reason being, the newer ammo, Eley, Lapua and other higher end stuff is now made with a rougher compound/primer and the residue is very hard. Thus when you leave you gun after you shoot, even until the next day, this gets really hard. Then whether you fire a shot or clean it, pushing anything down the barrel, this course material definitely wears the bottom of the barrel. I have seen it in barrels many times. So, while the 'dirt' in the barrel is fresh as it were, right after we shot, we will either clean, or even just run some dry patches through to take out this excess. Every week it may need a real clean to get all the lead out but weekly is fine depending on how much you are shooting.

As for how, bore guide definitely, and rod, carbon fiber is better. We only use the pull through on the air rifles as you have too, but they will not clean a .22 anywhere close to a rod. Brushing is fine, brass brush or nylon, but doesnt have to be too often with the brass brush. Mostly everything is done with the patches, and you can make them tighter or looser by the way you wrap or stick them on the rod. As for cleaning, we use hoppes mostly but there is other good stuff out there as well!

Ok hope that helps!
Regards,
Jon

Jon Hammond
Head Rifle Coach
West Virginia University Athletic Dept.