Gentlemen,
Next month I am traveling to WY for a 4 day prarie dog shoot. This is my second time shooting them, but the first was kind of informal after a pronghorn hunt with sporter rifles and what ammo I could scrape up. This time I am taking a Cooper 21 in .223 and a Savage SS 93 in .17HMR. My question is how many shots on the average should I shoot before I clean? I can probably tell pretty well with the 17 but don't want to abuse my Cooper. How many shots do you guys normally go between cleanings, and what is the regimen? Thanks.
Doug

There are two ways to determine this. One is when you begin to see accuracy degrade such as missing shots or visable flyers. The second is by a predetermined round count. I held my .22 Hornet to 100 rounds, the .223 to 50 rounds, and the 6 Rem and 6.5/284 to 25, and later 50 rounds. If a rifle got hot, it was allowed to clean and cool sooner, if the shooting was slow then I stayed with the tabled rifle a bit longer. I value the quality barrels, and was not looking to damage or get less then top performance from them. The weather and your personal style, and the guides help will make a difference. Our guide had a young daughter along whose job it was to clean the guns and occasionally spot some of the longer shots.

Do not forget to lube the bolt locking lugs!