Copper in barrel?
- Thread starter StobleCL
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Majorlk
Member
What is on rimfire bullets is a copper wash, not a jacket. Any buildup on a barrel will be essentially cosmetic and normal cleaning will remove it. There's no need for any copper removal solutions.
dullh
Member
Not really. See what Majorlk said above.
You want copper fouling? You should have seen my .300 WSM Browning X-Bolt after the first 20 rounds...copper fouling galore!
In a rifle that uses actual jacketed bullets, it's a problem during (and sometimes after) break-in...on a rimfire rifle it's the least of your concerns...
Rpg
Member
No No No!!!!
Don't worry about your barrel.
Anyone who's shot 22's competitively knows an unfouled barrel is death to accuracy.
Since all 22 lr ammo I know of is effectively self lubing, it tends to preserve the barrel: doesn't adversely impact anything.
If you didn't clean your 22 barrel any time in the rest of your life , you're successor custodian wouldn't know.
You certainly don't need to use any special cleaning compound for a 22 lr.
Don't worry about your barrel.
Anyone who's shot 22's competitively knows an unfouled barrel is death to accuracy.
Since all 22 lr ammo I know of is effectively self lubing, it tends to preserve the barrel: doesn't adversely impact anything.
If you didn't clean your 22 barrel any time in the rest of your life , you're successor custodian wouldn't know.
You certainly don't need to use any special cleaning compound for a 22 lr.
dullh
Member
Steve C
Member
I've seen .22 LR barrels lined with lead. Had a Ruger Super Single Six whose barrel became so leaded that I had to use mallet to drive a cleaning rod through it and pushed out a 3" tube of lead.
One of my team mates in our Bullseye league started getting extremely poor accuracy. I suggested he clean his barrel since he believed all the hogwash about never needing to clean a .22 rimfire barrel. Cleaned his barrel and his accuracy returned. He wasn't shooting cheap ammo either, was always using Federal match.
Rpg
Member
I suspect an oversized barrel for 22lr (22 mag) and a rough, poor barrel respectively.
My high school coach was furious when he discovered I'd cleaned my winchester 52 C in my first year on the team. I did push-ups for weeks to help me 'remember' not to do that.
Sarge may have been wrong, but we went to State every year and did pretty well.
Our rifles were untouched by cleaning brush throughout the years I was there.
Of course, our rifle barrels were top notch: Winchester 52 and Remongton 40.
We shot Remington SV (all military contract stuff): many, many thousands of rounds per season. I shot 6 days a week.
Other folks may have a different experience, but I've followed Sarge's lesson for 48+ years with 22 lr firearms, and never found reason to think he was wrong.
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LittleCooner
Member
The "old school" was to never clean the rim fires. That has changed, just like a lot of other things in life. The wide use of bore scopes helped to change the thinking on cleaning 22's. The serious (an winning) rimfire shooters keep their bore clean, just like centerfire. I clean most of my rimfires every 200-400 rounds. Lead builds up near the mouth of the chamber and destroys accuracy by swaging down the lead bullet and then it is "loose" all the way down the barrel. When you clean, it depends on the gun, but 5-10 rounds down the tube is needed if you are competing before extreme accuracy returns, but even on a regular dirty barrel, that extreme accuracy is not there before you heat up the lube in the barrel with a few rounds down range. If you are of the "non clean" group, shoot a few groups with your dirty gun, then clean with a lead remover and then shoot a few groups with the clean gun and compare, you may be in for a big surprise.
It all depends on the ammo you shoot. If I am shooting a lead bullet, I clean it to remove the lead, if not, I go longer between cleaning. I generally see the groups get smaller without cleaning, depending of course on the gun. The important thing is to keep an eye on any potential leading.
RedNeck Jim
Member
To me, it has less to do with what I'm shooting but more to do with how much I've shot. I thoroughly clean my 15-22 after every 500 rounds or so and that includes running a bore snake down the barrel twice. My barrel stays spotless & I've never had to scrub or use any barrel brushes. My gun shoots the same... be it after 6 rounds or 500 rounds since cleaning.
Majorlk
Member
I make three passes with a BoreSnake every thousand rounds.
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