Quote:
Originally Posted by BlueSkyJaunte
I don't get it. You guys must love cleaning more than you love shooting.
I post 0.4 MOA groups with my stainless-barreled AR-10 (yes, one of those "inaccurate" semi-auto rifles) on a regular basis--and I am definitely the weakest link in the fire control system.
My barrel cleaning regimen? Squirt some CLP on a BoreSnake(TM) and run it through a couple of times. I do this ever 2-3 range sessions.
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Hmm... I must have missed the part where anyone said "how often" they clean. But now that you bring it up...
Bill nails it - more guns ruined by cleaning than by shooting.
I clean my hunting rifles after the end of the season, if I remember. They stay dirty from the last pre-season sighting in shot, unless something happens (like it gets its muzzle pushed into the mud or snow). Sometimes they only get cleaned before the next season, when I haul them out to work up a new load, verify zero, or whatever. Then I remember I forgot to clean them last year...
Other guns are different. Revolvers get a cursory wipe-down after most range sessions, just because they are too nasty to re-holster. If it will be awhile before they get shot again, they get a few patches wet with #9 down the bore and in the chambers, then dried out, oiled, and put away. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, most of my other guns are treated this way as well. I just don't put a lot of effort into cleaning...
There are exceptions, however. My custom Ruger #1 in .220 Swift (28" long, 1:12" twist Lilja barrel) starts to copper foul after about 50 rounds. It gets cleaned religiously about every 20-30, just because I don't ever want to deal with its fouling issues again. That, and barrels for this caliber are never long for this world anyway, so I'm not too worried about any cleaning damage...