When to clean your barrel?

[mickeyelk]

This pandemic is starting me to think of reloading. One question that comes to mind is, how often do you clean your barrel after you work up a load and shoot it? After every 3-5 shot string or after your finished with your load test? (30 plus shots). I've always cleaned my gun after every 6 or so shoot normally. I read that people shoot for months on a dirty gun barrel and its accuracy remains.

 

[Homer]

...years

 

[AZGuy]

Only when I’m noticing accuracy issues

 

[tailchasers]

One barrel copper fouls bad so I clean ever 15-20 rounds fired. The others goes several seasons.

 

[Cahunter805]

Like stated above clean your barrel when accuracy starts to fall off. Also IMO most factory barrels tend to settle in after 6-10 rounds at least.
More damage is done by over cleaning a barrel than not cleaning it. Always use a bore guide.

 

[Chesterwyo]

I Use Dyna Bore Kote. So pretty much never. And if I didn’t use DBK, it would be almost never.

 

[mickeyelk]

Wow. I clean mine allot. Maybe I'll rethink it.

 

[Lhedrick1]

Sam at Panhandle Precision has a ton of great videos on reloading and long range shooting. At one time he had two rifles that went over 600 rounds with ought cleaning and still held well under MOA.

 

[easyelk13]

Almost never clean the bore......

 

[hawkbill]

20 to 30 rounds

 

[mickeyelk]

I'll look into Panhandle and DBH cleaner

 

[Millsworks]

New barrels I clean after 10-20 rounds. They foul up with stuff till the tool marks smooth out.
After 60-100 rounds that should be good to go and way less copper build up.
After that I clean once at the end of the season, or after an outing where things got wet.

 

[Homer]

New barrels I clean after 10-20 rounds. They foul up with stuff till the tool marks smooth out.
After 60-100 rounds that should be good to go and way less copper build up.
After that I clean once at the end of the season, or after an outing where things got wet.

wet is a different issue....for sure