how often do you guys clean your rifle, i just bought that 264 and was wandering when I am breaking it in how often to clean. How thorough do you guys get bore cleaning. Opinions are so different I just thought I would ask since I want the barrel in mine to last me about thirty years. I am in love with this damn thing.

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it's not the size of the dog in the fight, its the size of fight in the dog.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by razorback:
Hi Razorback,
Go to the Pac-Nor site and look at there barrel break in recomondations. Their site is www.pacnor.com.
470 Mbogo

I think Keith said: "The sun never sets on a dirty gun."

I know I am nuts, but I clean after every shooting. Just a little oil ( or Hoppe�s # 9 ) in the barrel immediately after, cleaned further next days.

After several shots, e.g. sighting in or driven hunt, I clean until free of all copper. I use Hoppe�s # 9 and lots of time. For quick and not so thorough cleaning RIG 44 or Shooter�s choice.

Wipe down blued surfaces with RIG. Keep pistols lubricated with RIG 7 ( doesn�t easily run out ). Break Free is the nearest to all around use. Lead removing agents don�t really work ( SC or PS ).

Hermann

no, I don�t have and feel the need of a Psychiatrist.

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Sometimes I don't clean them at all. I just shot my .300 H&H M-70 again and it did just as well as it always does and it was sighted in also. I had not cleaned it from the last shoot.

I store them in a almost air tight safe with a light bulb inside.

Of course if a rifle is not shooting well then everything is suspect.

But I smile at some of the posts here about cleaning before they leave the range. I know that bench rest shooters clean a lot but I have fired many matches of 120 shots plus sighters. That might be as many as 140 shots and I expected that all the shots went into 0.375 MOA! This is out of a 6mm 40X

Would'nt presume to say it's the right way, however, I rarely ever put a centerfire back in the safe without cleaning. I use a Dewey rod, Dewey Bore Guide, Dewey Brush, Sinclair Cotton Patches, Butch's Bore Shine and gun oil. Follow the instruction from Butch's which seems to get the job done with a minimum of fuss. Rarely ever have to use a brush. I would mention that JB's is of use on a factory tube if you keep it in moderation. I've found that a properly polished bore tends to foul very little. However, I've yet to come across a really bad barrel either. Will note that I always work a good gun oil(Butchs, Tetra, Miltec)into the barrel after cleaning. After several soaked patches are worked back and forth I run one dry patch through to remove any excess. Picked that up from Colonel Chandler's recommendation. Seems to work and it concurs with Pac-Nor's recommendations. FWIW.

Regards, Matt.

Btw, if you don't have a good one piece rod like the Dewey, I would give a good hard look at Bore Tech. Their Bore Stix seem to be the best I've ever come across. They will likely replace my Dewey's as they give up the ghost(if they give up the ghost).

My Rem. 700 .264 likes a bit of fouling and doesn't shoot it's best until it's had 6 - 8 rounds fired through it. I've shot up to 20 rounds without cleaning and did see the groups open a bit but not much to really get worried about. I'm in the process of working up loads for it and I run two patches with JB bore paste every time I switch powders.

If you're shooting factory ammunition, I would go fire it and figure out how many rounds your rifle take before accuracy starts to suffer. Once you've determined that, clean it before you reach that point.

I do clean mine completely after every range session, though. Since you have a factory barrel I wouldn't worry too much about breaking the barrel in, it's going to be pretty rough any way. Burn it out and buy a nice aftermarket barrel, then break that one in!

Depends on the gun and how often I use it, if I am putting it away for a long time, say years, then I try to give it a good cleaning. If I plan on shooting it reasonably soon---months---I often let the barrel go, with no visible ill effects so far. Depending on weather, I sometimes wipe down the outside of it with some oil, or whatever, but luckily I don't have acid hands and can handle a gun(assuming I am not sweating) and put it up and it won't rust for years due to my handling. JMHO but I think most guns are grossly overcleaned. I've got too many to like it, and I sure don't overdo it. Like a shooter above, I've shot hundreds of rounds down .308s in a day, or without cleaning, and they still maintain reasonable accuracy on silhouettes. I'm not saying you should go to that extreme, some rifles handle dirty bores better than others, some foul out quickly and need to be cleaned to maintain accuracy.

If I am trying a new load in a really accurate rifle, or trying to develop one for a new rifle, then I, of course, start with a clean bore to get rid of that variable.

PS; How long your barrel lasts is much more a function of how many and how hot the loads you shoot down it as opposed to cleaning it too seldom. On the other hand, overcleaning it, or cleaning it wrong can shorten the life substantially. For a .264 to last 30 years, you had better plan on shooting less than 50 rounds a year on average IMO, again, depending on how hot you shoot them.

[This message has been edited by Gatogordo (edited 04-19-2002).]

I don't know if it's true or not but I've always felt it was a little easier to clean my rifles at the range while the barrels were still warm (not hot). I ususally give them a dose of Sweet's while I'm putting other gear in the car and then patch it out before I leave.....kind of a head start on the final cleaning before I put them away.

A comment on wanting your .264 to last for 30 years....if you figure a barrel life of 3000 rounds which is probably high for a .264 you are looking at 100 shots a year.

Have you all tried Wipe-Out? http://www.sharpshootr.com/wipeout.htm
I have just ordered some because I have read alot of great things about it in the reloading Forum. Apparently no scrubbing, just spray in, let sit, wipe out with a patch. That's it. Guy's over in the reloading forum talk about giving away their Sweets, CR-10, etc. and only using this. Sounds really good. By the way, I am really anal about cleaning. I clean my guns thoroughly after each outing, before going in the safe.

I know I may be nuts but my brother and I love the smell of Hoppes Number 9 and gunpowder, nothing like it. Sometimes when we get bored around the house we just grab a couple rifles and take them apart, clean them, put them back together, even though we clean them after every shooting and they may not need it. Somebody told me that overcleaning a gun can be as dangerous for it as not cleaning it but I can't help it... I'M ADDICTED!!

I clean mine one time after every shooting.

I clean centerfires after using them. The only time they do not get cleaned starigh away is on pig hunting trips. No cleaning time just use them and do them when we return from the trip. Some of them might get a couple of hundred rounds put through them without a clean.

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There are many more barrel "scrubbed out" with a cleaning rod than are shot out. As far as making your rifle last a long time, remember heat is your enemy. Fire your rifle three or four times in rapid succession and the barrel will be too hot to touch. And throat erosion is happening. While you may find a hunting situation that requires two or three shots in rapid succession, when you are target shooting, practice a bit of self discipline. Allow 1 minute (by a watch) between shots and your barrel will be around for quite a while.

Hey SHARKBAIT,I tried the Wipe-Out,and I have been converted.Really impressed with the results.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by duck223:
Hi guys,
You should check out the Wipe-Out posts on both the Big Bore and African Hunting portions of the forum. I think you will find the results that people have seen with this product well worth the read. It's a brushless way to clean your rifle that really works.
Take care
470 Mbogo

I really try to clean bores and chambers after every range session. Usually on the same day, sometimes the next day. I pull the bolts apart when they start to look in need of it, depending on how often they get shot. Probably once a year.

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From my cold, dead hands!
Thanks Chuck!

I would rather do the dishes in the sink right after eating, instead of the next day when they are not as cooperative. I also try to apply that practice to my rifles and shotguns. It just seems to make life a bit smoother for me.

I'm a wipe-out convert as well.

I just got back from the range a couple of hours ago. As soon as I got back, I used Hoppe's #9 and a brush to get the powder fouling out. I then ran a couple of dry patches through them, and now each gun is sitting in the garage with a barrel full of Wipe Out foam. I will probably wait a couple of hours, then clean out the Wipe Out, and those barrels will be spotless. This stuff is amazing when it comes to getting the copper out of barrels.

Tim

Take care of your rifle, and your rifle will take care of you... Clean it after each outing in the field, or the range. Clean it each evening if on an extended hunt.
You ain't gonna wear anything out if you use common sense and care while cleaning.
CDW

Every time it's fired.

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Andr�

If I am just plinking, I clean it after I am through. When I confirm the sight alignment before hunting season, I won't clean it again until season is over, unless something bad happens to it, like falling in a creek, etc. Right or wrong, that the way I operate.

Good luck and good shooting

Eterry, what if the hunting season is May to end of December?

Hermann

If the season was that long, my wife would leave me, I would lose my job. and I would have to rethink not cleaning during the hunting season.

Good luck and good shooting

i clean mine before hunting season and fire a fouling shot..then i clean the bores 3 months later when hunting season ends..i do clean after a lots of plinking or shooting at the range in off season though..

I havnt used any of my brushes since I discovered "wipe out". I have found a 10min soak at the range, in between different rifle sessions, will clean a barrel for more shooting, then any scrubbing ever did. When Im done shooting I give the barrel one last zap with WO, case it for the trip home, and an hour later I give it a few last patch thru's and have a spotlessly clean barrel for storage.

Im useing this crap for every type of firearms I own. I absolutely hate to clean firearms. Hate the chemicals, the stink, the time lost, everything!

I have no interest in this WO company. The stuff just plain works........J

I do not have the time to spend cleaning after each shooting session. I clean my hunting rifles after 25 shots and my 22-250 after every 40 rounds. I wipe with oil every thimne thery are handled. I use sweets 7.62.
I do a thorough cleaning after each hunting season.

BR

I give rifles a good cleaning before and after hunting seasons. The rest of the year I simply run a bore snake through them after shooting. I always put a light coat of oil or sheild on the external metal whenever I handle them.

Jeff