What sort of cleaning routine are you guys using for your rifles?

I understand that cleaning every ten rounds is needed for very best (competition) accuracy. Do you adhere to this for any/all of your shooting or do you do anything different?

What cleaning methods do you use while at the range and for thorough cleaning, if they differ?

Thanks in advance,

Ten rounds is an average day at the range for my 50 so I guess I subscribe to the "every ten rounds" idea by default.

I run a couple wet patches of GM Top Engine Cleaner, wait a few hours then patch it out before filling the tube with Wipe-Out. Let it sit overnight. I'll brush-scrub it conventionally every couple range days.

Redial

On the line at a match the competitors usually use a 24% solution of aqueous ammonia with a little Ivory dish soap added as a wetting agent. This is because of the time restrictions of the match and nothing gets out the heavy fouling of the bronze or brass monolithic solids quicker.

At the range I use Shooter's Choice as needed, usually every 20 rounds, to remove powder fouling. Once home, I 2nd redail on using Wipe Out.

Thank you for your comments, guys.
I use Wipe-Out a LOT in my other rifles, but as I guess you've noted, it doesn't take the powder/carbon out as well as it does copper. I think I need to try the engine-brite or something as a carbon cutter, since that seems to be the bulk of the fouling I'm having difficulty getting out completely.

I shoot a 50BMG in FCSA competition. Most match shooters (including myself) use ammonium hydroxide at 24- 29.4% strength, with a small amount of liquid dish soap added, to clean with during a match. This quickly removes nearly all the copper fouling. There are many other solvents being used to finish the job after the shooting is over. Some of these are, "Butches Bore Shine", "Kroil", a 1/2&1/2 mixture of these, and lately some of us have been using "TM" available from Sinclar International. All seem to work well & I'm sure there are others that work just as well. My current favorite,though always subject to change, is a quick scrubbing with ammonia, followed, after a couple of dry patches, with "TM", let set overnight, then scrub with patches saturated with the Butches & Kroil mix. Each product seems to work a little differently, & all get more fouling out each time. As far as cleaning between strings, I always did,---until last weekend, when, as an experiment, I shot 3 five shot groups plus sighters (25 or so total) between cleanings. I shot better than ever before, with 12 of 15 shots for record in light class, being 10s. At one point had 8 consecutive 10s! So much for cleaning my gun every 10 shots! On the other hand, each barrel is "a law unto itself" & you'll have to find out what works for you. When this barrel was newer, it had to be cleaned much more often.

Hey, jd40h,

Welcome to the forums and thanks for the advice. I generally accept any info that let's me clean less and shoot more, as gospel!

I just bought a 50 (Steyr HS-50) and I'm in the FCSA. Could you start a thread on shooting a match. I'd love to shoot competitively but the advice of someone who's been there and done that is always welcome. If you want to REALLY help, a minimum equipment list would be great too.
(See what happens show up on a list and get put to work)

Collins;
The first,& by far the most important advise for a new shooter for competition is GO !!!!!!!!!!!
Take somewhere between 100 & 125 rounds of the best ammo you have, & your gun. Everything else you might need will be there, & with this crowd, any thing you need will be offered by other shooters for you to borrow for your first match.
After the shooting is over you will have a pretty good idea as to what you will need to be competitive the next time.
When you do go, after it's over,
you'll wonder what took you so long getting there the first time!!
Be forewarned, this sport is extremly addictive, & once exposed you will be infected forever!
By your second shoot you will have, at a minimum, a pair of front & rear rests,(mine are homemade), some sort of a height adjustable shooting stool(homemade also), and a cleaning kit of some sort. Ask several shooters what they use for reloading equipment, & what components they use to load their match ammo. Most are very forthcoming as to what primers, powder, & bullets they use. There are many small things you can do to make your ammo more accurate for your particular rifle, & one of the best things you can do, is get as many back issues of "Very High Power" as you can find. There is a wealth of info there. You should also buy a copy of the FCSA video that was made several years ago. This will give a good idea of what to expect during a match, & what is expected of you.
As an afterthought, when I started loading for the 50BMG, as I"d been reloading for about 40 yrs,thought I knew how to load accurate ammo, NOT!!!!!!!!! I'm doing things now that I'd never HEARD OF before getting into the "50 game"!!!
My final word, GO!!! You'll find that this is by far the finest group of people in the world.