A barrel seldom cleaned

[SDHNTR]

Buddy said he had cleaned it “a couple times” in the last 10 years, but that he also hasn’t shot more than a few boxes of ammo through it either. It’s also never been exposed to any wet weather he said.

You can draw your own conclusions.

And before anyone asks…. The answer is, like crap! 3 to 4 inch groups at best.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

How did it shoot a decade ago?

Has anyone ruled out other reasons it shoots poorly?

I’ve shot good groups from pitted bores and bad groups from mirror bores. My father has a long Winchester 94 .30-30 from about 1927 that has a bore like a sewer pipe, but it shoots better than any other lever action I’ve encountered. I have watched him kill groundhogs with it at 300 yards using factory ammo.

Anyway, when it comes to cleaning center fire bores, I stick with a general rule that if I am shooting it once per month or more, I don’t clean it. If it’s going to sit for a couple of months unfired, I clean it and oil it. Maybe if I lived in the high desert I would operate differently, but I doubt it. Weapons can and do rust. And it’s easy to prevent them from rusting.

 

[RWT]

This makes me wonder what my AR barrels look like shooting cheap Russian ammo. They get run hard and put up dirty. Sit for months then run again. I shoot them once every 6 months at best now. I’ve focused more on hunting rifles and pistols.

 

[anonymous22]

Yeah pitted bores aren’t really an automatic accuracy killer.

90% of the times bad groups are the shooter, and then everything else.

Not cleaning is a legit practice. Fouled barrels produce the most consistency as well as copper fouling allowing a full equilibrium. You fall in to MV plateaus that allows you to get good dope.

You could just as easily “ruin” a barrel by incorrectly putting things like sweets 762 in, or raming steel cleaning components.

 

[SDHNTR]

Yeah, this thing has other issues too like forend contact that are probably having a far bigger impact on accuracy, but still, it’s not helping and I don’t want that kind of corrosion on anything I own.

And I’m not talking about cleaning or not cleaning for accuracy. I’m talking about cleaning to prevent corrosion.

 

[IrkedCitizen]

Float the barrel and see how it shoots

 

[Treelineasassin]

A hard treatment with iosso will get rid of those barrel worms. I've observed them in a couple barrels I bought used. They didn't completely disappear after heavy abrasive cleaning, but greatly diminished their presence. Barrels shot just fine.

 

[Timberline001]

Buddy said he had cleaned it “a couple times” in the last 10 years, but that he also hasn’t shot more than a few boxes of ammo through it either. It’s also never been exposed to any wet weather he said.

You can draw your own conclusions.

And before anyone asks…. The answer is, like crap! 3 to 4 inch groups at best.

I’ve got a .260 AI with around 1500 rounds through it. Cleaned once at 300 rounds and never again. Been used periodically for 9 years. Still stacked dimes when I pull it out.

I’d bet that rifle never shot well.

 

[CMcCormick1805]

A hard treatment with iosso will get rid of those barrel worms. I've observed them in a couple barrels I bought used. They didn't completely disappear after heavy abrasive cleaning, but greatly diminished their presence. Barrels shot just fine.

I’ve wondered the benefits of Iosso I use the stuff on recommendation of the gunsmith that chambered my rifle. How often are you using it generally? I use it around every 150 rounds or so.