What is your procedure? How often (after how many rounds) should a big bore be thoroughly cleaned?

I usually clean with a bronze brush and Kroil ONLY. one cycle for each shot fired. That procedure keeps my .270 clean, but that only fires Molycoated bullets and has a truly great barrel.
My other rifles get Forest bore foam and a bronzebrush 'till they are clean. But since I haven't shot them as much I havent really developed a cleaning procedure (when and how). I particularly want to know how often and what you guys do to clean your big bores.
Thanks in advance.

After vsiiting the range i clean mine. If i am hunting i dont unless it they get wet or dirty. If the type of foaming cleaner is for copper removeable do not use a bronze brush, use the synthetic one instead. Some moly's will buid up in your barrel if you do not remove them regulary. They do help with bore wear but can cause problems of their own if build up occurs. Hope this helps you out. Charlie

I clean it after each session as they may sit for a bit in the safe.

Niels, It depends on the barrel. All barrels need a break-in to some degree, some more than others (though no amount of break-in will turn a bad barrel into a good one). I let the barrel tell me (by inspecting for fouling). If your barrel is copper fouling badly w/in 3-5 shots, you may should continue your break-in process and remove the fouling more often between fewer shots (the more you let the fouling build up the more difficult it is to remove). I prefer the least aggressive methods w/ out a brush as I've seen quite a few barrels damaged by improper aggressive cleaning. B.T.W., I also used Kroil when I was shooting match and service rifle competition w/ moly.

Gary

I just use Wipe out to get rid of the copper fouling and forget about the powder fouling. I use to be very obsessive about cleaning after every range session but think it it is a waste of time to go for "squeaky clean". My PH in Zim had the world's dirtiest 375, rode hard, you could hardly see the rifling. When I asked him how often he cleaned it he looked at me like an errant child and said, "Clean?". Oh well, never mind.

I clean a rifle about every 20 to 50 rounds or when it quits shooting groups its capable of shooting...More guns are ruined by cleaning than by any other means...

During my hunting season I seldom clean a rifle other than an ocassional dry patch if the notion moves me...

At the end of Hunting season, I clean throughly with REM Oil, or whatever, then give it a good Wipe Out cleaning, then oil profusly, then a loose dry patch and I'm done.

I do about what Atkinson does.

If concerned about accuracy best, clean after 20 to 30 rounds.

If hunting long and hard, consider each shot fired to be the cleaning of the gun.

My procedure, the "Seven Step Program":

1. Flush the bore with Gun Scrubber or Flush-Out then dry patch with a nylon bristle brush.

2. Wipe-Out foam for 20 to 30 minute stand.

3. Dry patch x2 with nylon bristle brush.

4. Repeat Wipe-Out if any trace of copper or fouling remains.

5. When bore is clean, Flush-Out or Gun Scrubber flush again, and patch dry.

6. Final patch is soaked with Break Free CLP.

7. Wipe the bore dry before shooting. This is the only thing a Bore Snake is good for in the field, or use the nylon bristle brush covered with a dry patch.

I keep some Hoppe's No.9 around because it smells good. I try to get my wife to wear it as perfume.

I wish I could swap all my bronze and copper brushes in for nylon bore brushes, the only kind I buy anymore, by choice. I use the nylon brushes covered with a patch for all bore wiping. Wipe-Out dissolves the copper and bronze bristles, and you will never come to and end to the blue if you use them in the Wipe-Out foam!!!

I scrub no more since Wipe-Out. I do other things while the gun cleans itself.

quote:

Some moly's will buid up in your barrel if you do not remove them regulary.

Do any of you have any tips on removing Moly from both barrels and from bullets? I used to have some Montana X-treme moly remover, but when recently trying to get some more, it seems that it has gone out of production.

Over to cleaning, I used to use Forrest borefoam, and have now received a batch of Wipe-Out. I can't say that the Wipe-Out is that much more effective then Forrest, but it is at least supposedly safe to leave in a barrel overnight. Which Forrest isn't. Up till now, Wipe-Out's taken a couple of applications to get rid of all the copper fouling. Just like Forrest did when I used that.

I usually push a few patches of Hoppes nr.9 thru first before using the foam to get out the loose powder fouling. But maybe mostly because the smell of it brings back good memories!

My 375 H&H I clean after 60 to 80 rounds if hunting I clean it when I get home. My 416 Mag I clean every time I fire 20 rounds or less.

Some guns do not take well to a clean barrel...I NEVER clean my old 30-06, if I do, it will take 100 or more rounds to get it back to shooting it less that 1/2 inch groups...

It's a strange and wonderful old Ruger 77 that my son gave me for Xmas many moons past...I reshaped and refinished it, recheckered the stock, made it a control feed, with a M-70 safty over the years, mostly worked on it when things got boring around here..Now its white and scarred, but still my old standby..Won a ton of turkeys with it, shooting groups in the deer rifle shoots..

Other than this one rifle, I pretty well follow RIPs procedure of cleaning..