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.

 

[Vern400]

That's not a result of not cleaning. It's a result of not oiling. That's ruined more carbon steel barrels than any other cause. My gunsmith says cased, laid under the bed is the surest killer he's seen. All the pits will be on the cold side. I ruined one by thinking setting it by the wood stove after hunting in the rain would dry it. Not with a closed bolt. It went from 1 inch to 1.75. I cleaned it completely and it never came back. Don't have to clean it much, but if you like it, oil the bore. Everything you see - it can rust. Don't matter. My old 700 ADL 308 is a 7-08 with a SS Brux 5R barrel now but it co$$$t me.

 

[SDHNTR]

That's not a result of not cleaning. It's a result of not oiling. That's ruined more carbon steel barrels than any other cause. My gunsmith says cased, laid under the bed is the surest killer he's seen. All the pits will be on the cold side. I ruined one by thinking setting it by the wood stove after hunting in the rain would dry it. Not with a closed bolt. It went from 1 inch to 1.75. I cleaned it completely and it never came back. Don't have to clean it much, but if you like it, oil the bore. Everything you see - it can rust. Don't matter. My old 700 ADL 308 is a 7-08 with a SS Brux 5R barrel now but it co$$$t me.

Meh, semantics. It’s both. When years of hard carbon and copper fouling are caked on, oiling only does so much. Especially if you live in a humid environment. Moisture gets under the coating of fouling, creeps along and creates that worm like pitting. In order to oil and actually protect the steel underneath, you need to remove the fouling first.

 

[Vern400]

Meh, semantics. It’s both. When years of hard carbon and copper fouling are caked on, oiling only does so much. Especially if you live in a humid environment. Moisture gets under the coating of fouling, creeps along and creates that worm like pitting. In order to oil and actually protect the steel underneath, you need to remove the fouling first.

I don't know of any data to support your failure mode statement. But do share if you have some. I don't know if fouling renders oiling the bore useless completely but I rather doubt it. That view would likely be anecdotal because record keeping is awesomely poor on the topic. I have seen quite a few gunsmiths and barrel makers for that matter, that agree that neglecting a bore, as well as poor cleaning practices ruin more barrels than just about anything else. Including a lot of them with very low mileage. My rifle specifically was cleaned properly and oiled immediately following. Only during deer season I would pop a couple of foulers and then not touch it again from mid October to January 10th. That's what ruined mine. L3 Rifles said " yeah you aren't the hundredth guy to do that".

 

[Treelineasassin]

I don't know of any data to support your failure mode statement. But do share if you have some. I don't know if fouling renders oiling the bore useless completely but I rather doubt it. That view would likely be anecdotal because record keeping is awesomely poor on the topic. I have seen quite a few gunsmiths and barrel makers for that matter, that agree that neglecting a bore, as well as poor cleaning practices ruin more barrels than just about anything else. Including a lot of them with very low mileage. My rifle specifically was cleaned properly and oiled immediately following. Only during deer season I would pop a couple of foulers and then not touch it again from mid October to January 10th. That's what ruined mine. L3 Rifles said " yeah you aren't the hundredth guy to do that".

I have 3 match rifles that haven't been cleaned since early 2024. They all have between 700-1100 rounds on them since. I guess I'm neglecting and abusing my barrels.........ironically they still look just fine, and shoot even better.

 

[nuffgun]

Same here, tikka .243 first rounds were fired in march of 2025, currently sitting at 800 rounds down the tube without cleaning. No issues as of yet. Rifle still produces 1 moa 10 shot groups. I pushed a few alcohol patches down the bore when it was brand new to remove any factor oil/grease and that was it.

 

[Q_Sertorius]

That's not a result of not cleaning. It's a result of not oiling. That's ruined more carbon steel barrels than any other cause. My gunsmith says cased, laid under the bed is the surest killer he's seen. All the pits will be on the cold side. I ruined one by thinking setting it by the wood stove after hunting in the rain would dry it. Not with a closed bolt. It went from 1 inch to 1.75. I cleaned it completely and it never came back. Don't have to clean it much, but if you like it, oil the bore. Everything you see - it can rust. Don't matter. My old 700 ADL 308 is a 7-08 with a SS Brux 5R barrel now but it co$$$t me.

Just curious, did this rifle have a wooden stock?

 

[Choupique]

I wouldnt be super concerned about it.

If we consider how a barrel works, ignoring everything else, what really matters is that the barrel is straight, symmetrical, and with homogenous grain structure. Those pits are a micro problem in the entire system, and probably have nothing to do with how well it shoots in practical terms.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Form has mentioned in the past that most of the folks he shoots with do not clean barrels. Some of the .308s they used for testing have over 10k rounds on them without cleaning and still shoot extremely well.

That being said, I don't like to see rust on anything either, and once it starts it seems to be an ongoing battle.

My guns spend a lot of time in my basement near my reloading bench, and I have an old stone foundation. It gets humid as hell in Iowa, and this old house is not tight. As a result, I run two dehumidifiers continuously down there to help control moisture.

 

[Choupique]

don't like to see rust on anything either, and once it starts it seems to be an ongoing battle.

Nobody should like rust on anything. Its cancer, and once its set in good you arent going to beat it without some serious work.

 

[SDHNTR]

Nobody should like rust on anything. Its cancer, and once its set in good you arent going to beat it without some serious work.

This is my take. This is not an accuracy conversation. It’s a corrosion conversation. If I can help it, don’t want corrosion on my tools, vehicles, or anything else important to me.

I only made this post so that folks understand what can happen if they listen to the camp here that emphatically says you never need to clean and oil a rifle bore.

You guys do whatever you want. All I know is, and I’ve seen it enough times to convince me, if you live where I live, you need to periodically remove fouling and oil bores frequently unless you want them looking like the pics above. I don’t.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

This is my take. This is not an accuracy conversation. It’s a corrosion conversation. If I can help it, don’t want corrosion on my tools, vehicles, or anything else important to me.

I only made this post so that folks understand what can happen if they listen to the camp here that emphatically says you never need to clean and oil a rifle bore.

You guys do whatever you want. All I know is, and I’ve seen it enough times to convince me, if you live where I live, you need to periodically remove fouling and oil bores frequently unless you want them looking like the pics above. I don’t.

I always have some 000 steel wool on hand for surface scaling on my guns. I had a muzzleloader burn me one time, and a shotgun that sat in a damp case too long bite me as well. Both of those were blued guns and fortunately some of the nitride, cerakote, and other coatings help out a lot. However, still a good habit to be inspecting your guns, especially if you live/store them in a humid environment. I keep a couple big silica bead packs in my gun case and safe to help with moisture as well. Not sure if they are that effective, but better than nothing.