[Jeff Higgins]

More guns are damaged from over cleaning than from any other cause. I suppose the admonition to keep them clean is a carry over from first the black powder, then the mercuric primer days. Well, today, that is all behind us. There is simply no need to be as attentive about cleaning as our forefathers. As a matter of fact, it's probably best that we aren't.

My .22's only get cleaned when I change brands of ammo. That could be thousands and thousands of rounds, over many, many years. Then, when they do get cleaned, it takes quite awhile to re-season the bore to the different lube on the new ammo. I own several .22's that are older than me, and were treated this way by the old guys that passed them on to me, that shoot as well as the day they were new and have spotless, shiny bores (when I clean them and take a look).

My handguns get cleaned with about half a dozen wet patches (either #9 or Shooters' Choice) in succession, followed by two or three dry ones to dry them out. That's it, that's all. And again, many are older than me, and have mint-bright bores.

My rifles get the same treatment - half a dozen wet patches followed by enough dry ones to mostly dry it out. I use a bore guide religiously. Even the black powder match rifles get this, although the first cleaning is with water only, then dried, then followed up with #9. The only difference beyond that is they get cleaned the day they are shot, since black powder fouling is mostly salt, and highly corrosive.

Under no circumstances whatsoever will I ever run a copper brush through a bore. This is wholly unnecessary, and probably the very best way to damage a barrel. Every one of old mentors would run that copper brush into a suitable bodily orifice on me if they ever caught me with one...

Visible copper fouling in a handgun barrel is an absolute non-issue. It's perfectly normal and does no harm whatsoever. You will drive yourself nuts trying to get it all out. The only firearms where this can even become an issue are the extremely high velocity, high pressure rifle rounds. For those, we have some pretty potent ammonia based solvents, like Sweet's 7.62, that work wonders to get the copper out. These solvents also ruin a lot of barrels when miss used, or over used.

Anyway, the long and the short of it is not to over clean. There really isn't anything to worry about as far as letting them sit uncleaned anymore. When you do clean them, a cursory few wet patches followed by a few dry ones, and you're good. Use whatever solvent smells best to you...