How often do you clean your 22 LR rifle ?
I have been told it’s better to clean it only few times a year if one uses wax-coated bullets like Lapua Standard Club ecc. Is this true ? Do I get better accuracy if I don’t clean my 22 often ? Do I only need to clean the 22 LR regularly if I use copper bullets ?

too be honest and i will probally be beaton up on this my marlin 60 i haven't c;eaned but the barrel twice in the 7yrs i've owned it and although don't shoot it often i've probally fired 3,000 rounds through it maybe this weekend i'll tear it down for a good cleaning but my bolt 22 get's cleaned after every session or atleast within a week of last use as far asa wax bullets i don't use so i can't say anything there

My most used 22lr is a Model 5 BRNO made and bought in 1958 and was used for benchrest till 2000. I use it frequently for matches of around 40rounds plus sighters/warmers. It was cleaned after every br session and I clean it every time I use it. WHY? Burnt propellent is carbon and the longer it sits undisturbed the harder it gets. Fifty years of good accurracy will turn into 100 with a little care, at least I'll pass on a rifle nearly as good as new.

gunsmiths however make good money cleaning up 22 auots. the feed ramps, bolt ways etc, geet really gummed up. so like geekay says a bit of cleaning every so often helps before all the residue gets hardened up.

Hey Ingvar, I'm like the rest of these folks, I clean mine whenever they get shot. It bothers me more to have them dirty than it does to clean them, so they get cleaned.

I've heard some old tales about the 22LRs never need to be cleaned(as well as Centerfires), but when I hear it face-to-face, it is typically from someone who I suspect is too lazy to even wash their hands well.

I also hear a lot about "most rifles are damaged by cleaning". And I find these comments generally coming from folks who can destroy an anvil with a rubber hammer.
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I've had a good number of Microgroove Marlins and they all respond just fine to cleaning. The one I currently have is perhaps the most accurate one I've ever owned. It shoots even better than a very $$$High$$$ 22LR that I had years ago. But even if it only has a couple of shots go through it in the Squirrel woods, it still gets cleaned - just as all firearms should.

Best of luck to you.

quote:

Originally posted by geekay:
and I clean it every time I use it.

So what solvent/s do you use, what anti-rust goop do you leave in, and did your accuracy go off for a number of shots after the clean.
Thanks, John L.

For JAL, I push a nylon brush dipped in Ed's Red through the barrel a couple of times to get rid of the loose residue and after swabbing that out just wipe the outside over with Sweet's oil before putting it away. Occassionly give the breech face area and extractor grooves a good clean, when a build-up of bullet wax becomes evident. The face of the bolt gets a brush every time. Of course my two other BRNOs get the same treatment.

Dear friend of mine, retired gunsmith and son of a gunsmith, told me a story. A friend/customer of his bought a "target rifle," probably Marlin or Mossberg--maybe Winchester, but he was going to "show them all" how good he could shoot. Practiced in his basement every day. And cleaned the gun every day... Pretty soon it was shooting nice tight 12 inch groups at 25 yards. Tended to the left of center. He came crying to my friend the gunsmtih.

My buddy examined the muzzle. Then he asked how often he cleaned and with what. Well, he had one of the 3 piece aluminum rods and he cleaned often and vigorously... (Aluminum can be abrasive.) (.22 rimfire barrels are not the toughest steel. They don't need to be.) The rifling on one side of the muzzle was about gone.

The gunsmith said that this model happened to have the front sight well back from the muzzle for whatever reason and he managed to "cure" the problem by cutting off about 1 inch of barrel, recrowning and cold bluing. He advised the man to invest in a high quality coated cleaning rod, clean from the breech, and not over do the "vigor."

GUNK, Shooter's Choice, Carb cleaner, Ed's Red, about anything and a little time will dissolve the residue of firing .22 rimfires... And there isn't much residue left compared to the larger centerfires. From there, a clean patch shoved gently thru the bore should be almost enough. And Ed's Red should leave an oil coating. Otherwise, a shot of WD 40 or other... something to fight rust...

Jack O'Connor did an article decades ago where he mentioned that if you leave the wax/lead in the bore from cheap ammo (Remington Golden bullets cost more), it was a pretty fair rust preventative.

As said, the semi autos that toss crud all around when the action operates... another story. (GUNK will dissolve blue too. Guess how I learned that.) Fun, but messy and need more cleaning, the action especially.

Good bolt? I would clean GENTLY every so often reflecting the guns use and storage. Don't want it jamming from crud or from rust... but use good sense. Don't over do and damage things. HAPPY HOLIDAYS. Happy trails.

quote:

Originally posted by geekay:
For JAL, I push a nylon brush dipped in Ed's Red through the barrel a couple of times .

Yer thanks for that, I have some Ed's Red, so I guess you're counting on that residue for rust prevention?

And your clean barrel doesn't take a while to group well again?

I've only recently started a lot of .22 range shooting and we're all wondering what to do. Most of us are on greasy/oily target ammo, I've been trying different things to clean, can't stand the look of the mess left in the barrel.

I used to just pull a bristle brush through, but last time I tried that with this gooie Lapua, the first shot at 90 Metres was about 4" higher than the rest of the group.

Never had that trouble with HV copper clad stuff. Anyway I have some Hoppies No. 9 in now, and I'll be sure to try Ed's.

Jal ! You probably don’t have this problem but one thing about this greasy/oily ammo...they treat the barrel well and they are usually accurate (laupua especially)....but when temperature goes below zero C° the empty case tend to stuck in the chamber and you only way to get them out again is with al knife or a screwdriver !

I'm going to the range in the morning to shoot 3P, the first shot will be like the last; a scorer. Each 22lr rifle has a preference for certain brands/types of ammo and once I discovered what my rifles like I have not had to "shoot it in" after cleaning. I use the cheapest ammo that they like for regular shoots and the expensive stuff for serious comps like zone/state/nat.

Anschutz, which knows a thing or three about .22 rifles, on one of its target rifles recommends cleaning every 1000 shots for the first 10,000 shots break in and then cleaning every 5000 shots thereafter. Seems about right to me, but might be a bit too much cleaning for us normal everyday shooters.

My experience is that you don't need to clean a 22LR (bolt action rifle, single action revolver) very often. If accuracy starts falling off is usually my signal. I have found that switching bullet types - lead/wax lubed and copper plated - often necessitates a cleaning to restore accuracy.

Never....I have not experienced any decrease in accuracy, nor any pitting, rust, etc., on any of my .22s, and I do not clean them. The bolt face, extractor, yes. But the barrel, not necesary with modern .22 ammunition.