Your thoughts: effect of cleaning on accuracy?

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islandguy

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Hi all
Just had a interesting experience at the range today with my recently purchased Model 17-6 K-22. I cleaned the gun thoroughly after shooting it a week ago....a double pass of the brush with Hoppes #9 in the bore, a couple of cotton swabs also soaked with Hoppes #9, then dry patches until they came out clean. I use a wooden BBQ skewer to push the patches through the bore....no metal rod. I used a bronze .22 brush with Hoppes # on the chambers, then dry patches the same as with the bore.
Today, I started by running ~2 dozen rds of Win Dynapoint HP through the gun, and they all went ~2" right and 4" high. I switched to some Fiocchi std vel solids, and they formed a nice group in and around the bullseye. I had a lot more of the Dynapoints with me, so I adjusted the sights until they were all grouping acceptably. After going through ~100 rds of the Dynas, I went back to the Fiocci, expecting them to be low and left. Surprise, they all went in and around the bullseye. I then tried a handful of CCI subsonics with the same result. Later, I spoke with two master shooters at the range who told me that they'd had the same thing happen to them after cleaning their guns too thoroughly. They recommended just a dry patch after a days shooting, with a solvent cleaning only after noticable fouling build-up.
Anyone else have similar experiences?
What's your experience with respect to cleaning vs accuracy?
What do you other K-22 shooters do about cleaning?
Thanks
Islandguy
 
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I clean my 617's chambers before each match, my centerfires too. My 617 has, at minimum, 5,000 rds thru it since the barrel was cleaned or even had a patch run thru it.
 
if it is a shooter, I clean it pretty well, not out doing myself, but with my carry gun I go all out but not to the extreme you did, I brush it down, swab it, lube and oil and reassemble, with my carry gun the cleaning is more for reliability than accuracy
 
I have experienced what you describe and have since cleaned the barrel on an old Model 19 only about four times since 1979 or 1980. The accuracy has not suffered one bit from lack of cleaning.
I do clean the rest of the gun very well, including the cylinder holes, I simply run a single dry patch through the barrel and call it good unless I feel that the accuracy has been jeopardized or there appears to be leading of some sort.
That has not happened for quite some time and I don't plan on changing my cleaning tact anytime soon.
 
A recent NRA magazine the National Rifleman had a article about cleaning guns and how it affects accuracy. The consensus of the author and validated by his testing and experience was that not cleaning the gun had no negative effect on the accuracy and in a few cases cleaning actually had a negative effect on accuracy. Sorry I do not have the date of the article or the author but it was within the last several months.
 
Some believe the lube or coating on rimfire ammo seasons the bore like muzzleloader bullets and reduces the need for cleaning. I do not shoot a lot of rimfire ammo out of handguns but do out of rifles and find dirty rifle bores degrade accuracy. You will seldom find a gunsmith that thinks dirty bores are ok.
 
I do not shoot a lot of rimfire handguns, but do shoot a lot of .22lr rifle. I have found that if I start with a squeeky clean bore it takes up to 4-5 fouling shots for the rifle to come come back to it's point of aim. I have also found that switching brands of ammo often have the same effect. Depending on which rifle I'm shooting I get anywhere from 50-250 shots before accuracy falls off and I have to clean the bore, then foul the bore and the whole dance starts over again.
 
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Although I clean chambers thoroughly, I rarely clean the bore of a handgun, especially a .22, more than a light wipe-out. It's just not needed and, as you note, can cause drastic changes in POI, at least until the bore is re-fouled,
 
I have shot Smallbore Silhouette and conventional smallbore for 30 years,rule of thumb was to clean the bore at the end of the season. We usually fired around 1500/2000 rds in a season.My son shot smallbore in college and also cleaned rather sparingly.YMMV
 
Dave from Pa said:
I have shot Smallbore Silhouette and conventional smallbore for 30 years,rule of thumb was to clean the bore at the end of the season. We usually fired around 1500/2000 rds in a season.My son shot smallbore in college and also cleaned rather sparingly.YMMV
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+1 I spent four years on a college rifle team and we each fired about 5,000+ rounds per year through Winchester 52's and they were NEVER cleaned until they were going to be stored for the summer. Frankly I think most shooters would be better off shooting more and worrying less about cleaning!
 
n4zov said:
+1 I spent four years on a college rifle team and we each fired about 5,000+ rounds per year through Winchester 52's and they were NEVER cleaned until they were going to be stored for the summer. Frankly I think most shooters would be better off shooting more and worrying less about cleaning!
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Pretty much the same here. I was Armorer for my high school ROTC Bn and I coached the girls rifle team for a couple of years. During the match season, we cleaned only if we got sticky extraction. The boys team used 40Xs and some 513Ts, while the girls used 513Ts exclusively.

I clean the chambers of my K-22 every couple of months (read: when the rounds don't want to chamber.). The barrel gets a light cleaning once or twice a year. After each bbl cleaning, six or so fouling shots are necessary to get the POI/POA back together.

This whole cleaning thing is something about which people have rather strong feelings. Take a look at the Boresnake thread in the Lounge. Just do what seems best for your needs.
 
Easy does it

Cleaning if revolver is exposed to elements as dirt sand etc.
Clean cylinders.
Barrels pretty much take care of themselves if using jacketed bullets and no exposure to elements.
 
I found the article I was refering to. It is in the November 2009 NRA American Rifleman and starts on page 66. It is titled A "Clean" Barrel by John Barsness. Outstanding article about cleaning your barrel vs accuracy.
 
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