How to clean your rifle without impacting zero

[skywalkr]

This is another reason why I am glad I found this place, I just always assumed you needed to clean your rifle on a regular basis because that’s what I had always been told. Guess I won’t be wasting my time with that anymore.

 

[Formidilosus]

Question for you non-cleaners, do you guys follow barrel break in procedures THEN not clean or just don’t clean at all even during the barrel “break in”?

Load bullets, shoot bullets.



“Break in” is the biggest nonsense pushed about rifles.

 

[mt100gr.]

Form, out of curiosity, and since it was mentioned once before in the thread - what say you about the "carbon ring" and hard carbon vs fouling carbon and the carbon deposits from certain powders causing enough resistance to increase chamber pressures?

I have never experienced a carbon ring or been concerned about.

 

[Formidilosus]

Form, out of curiosity, and since it was mentioned once before in the thread - what say you about the "carbon ring" and hard carbon vs fouling carbon and the carbon deposits from certain powders causing enough resistance to increase chamber pressures?

I have never experienced a carbon ring or been concerned about.

Not saying doesn’t happen, but I’ve never seen the ring, and haven’t seen any pressure issues.

Most of of what I see is 5.56, 6.5 Creed, 260Rem, 7.62, 300WM, a bit of 300 Norma and now PRC, and 338L and Norma, but we see enough rounds shot and enough barrels that I feel pretty confident saying if there was an issue- at least with normal rounds- we would see it.

 

[mt100gr.]

Thanks. The cartridges you list are the ones I shoot (swap the 260 for 30-06 on my end) so that all fits well.

I handload for them but nothing crazy. Most of what I have read about it is longer string shooting match guys with dashers and very custom chambers.

Anyone else?

 

[Wrench]

Thanks. The cartridges you list are the ones I shoot (swap the 260 for 30-06 on my end) so that all fits well.

I handload for them but nothing crazy. Most of what I have read about it is longer string shooting match guys with dashers and very custom chambers.

Anyone else?

I have several of each. The only ones I clean regularly after use is my classic winchesters. I just can't stomach the idea of getting any rust in it. There's a piece of me that worries about possibly having a corrosive primer with a deposit layered in the fouling. I doubt it's even possible, but for the little bit I shoot it, it's piece of mind.

I can't recall cleaning some of these rifles (50+).

 

[Blowdowner]

That was incredibly long, so I’m going to snip one part...

That sounds like a ton of fun especially the no cleaning part. I think you have an effective answer to the original post but the guy you were replying to us also correct if you want the gun to last for generations.

 

[plchny]

Not saying doesn’t happen, but I’ve never seen the ring, and haven’t seen any pressure issues.

Most of of what I see is 5.56, 6.5 Creed, 260Rem, 7.62, 300WM, a bit of 300 Norma and now PRC, and 338L and Norma, but we see enough rounds shot and enough barrels that I feel pretty confident saying if there was an issue- at least with normal rounds- we would see it.

Never see carbon ring on the 300nm? That's the only gun I've seen it on. The MRAD had a bad one... A little on the .260

 

[Jxmartinez03]

Come hunting season my rifle is like a ronco home shopping network ad, set it and forget it.

 

[plchny]

I think you just have to choose your religion on gun cleaning. For a few of my guns, work guns in particular, I keep them clean. Because consistency matters. So I always know how they'll shoot. I strip every 300 rounds or so. I try to shoot the first few on paper after cleaning. I've found im never more of .1mil or so off and after about 5rds it's back where it was.

Comp guns, I'll clean when they tell me I need to clean. ie groups or MV opens up.

Hunting only guns, I clean before I put them away for the season.

One thing that may throw off your zero is if you're constantly fiddling with it, particularly when it starts to open up, then you clean it.

Barrel break in isn't real, outside of the fact that you should ease into it before getting it melting hot your first time shooting it. The technology they're using in quality barrels greatly reduces the need to strip after 3-5 RDS or what ever you've read. They lap the barrels, so the burrs and sharp edges aren't what they used to be.