How often does one clean a .22?

[catnthehat]

How often do you clean yours?
Interesting story here.
I had one of my old match rifles out today and got into an interesting conversation with another member about how often I clean my .22 rifles.

He asked because I had a cleaning rod with me and the rest of my gear.
I told him I clean the bores after about every 50 rounds, which is basically either one or two match relays for the matches I used to shoot.

He asked why so much when he doesn't have to clean his .22 at all!

I told him to look at our targets and he would maybe see a difference.

I have been told many times that I clean my rifles too much but interestingly enough only once was I told that by a match shooter and that was in 1969 IIRC!
I was a junior then and very inquisitive and always asking questions.

I mentioned it to my older brother whose reply to my question was " yeah, but how often do you see him in the top 5 at a big match??"
Mind you, I do not use the same stuff that I clean my center fire rifles with
as far as copper dissolving chemicals ( I don''t shoot jacketed bullets) but I do use Kroil and Hoppes and a one piece rod and bore guide.
Even when I do get out too shoot ground squirrels the gun gets cleaned as soon as I get back home.
Cat

[fordtruckin]

I doubt I clean mine enough. But then I haven't shot it much of late. Probably only 2 or 3 times last season.... sad ain't it...

[catnthehat]

Originally Posted by fordtruckin

I doubt I clean mine enough. But then I haven't shot it much of late. Probably only 2 or 3 times last season.... sad ain't it...

I know that the .22 I used on the trapline rarely got cleaned , maybe twice a season, and the one I keep at the llake gets cleaned once a season maybe, but they don''t see the use my match rifles did and they were certainly not gillt edged accurate!
Cat

[260 Rem]

I don’t think a person can go wrong by putting a couple of oil patches through the bore and cleaning the action after every outing.

[DiabeticKripple]

I clean when it gets pretty grimy in the receiver (10/22)

Usually around the 400-500 mark.

[6.5 shooter]

When ever accuracy starts to fall off...about twice a year or every 2500 rounds or so,,,BUT if you use dirty ammo in your rifle I would do it more often.

[elkhunter11]

The manual that came with my Anschutz 22lr suggests cleaning after the initial 1000 shots, then every 5000 shots. I probably clean every 500 rounds or so, or in the fall, when I don't intend to shoot the rifle for a while.

[graybeard]

Rounds down the barrel for me; it is about once per brick (400-500) and I don't use dirty ammo. Returning home, I will lightly wipe it down every time, including the bolt.

I am generally in a field shooting gophers and there is always a light breeze, as you can see the dust on your scope and barrel....IMHO

[wcbarker]

After every use

[Nyksta]

Also after every use. All calibers

[BillyT]

After every use and the same day, no exceptions.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by DiabeticKripple

I clean when it gets pretty grimy in the receiver (10/22)

Usually around the 400-500 mark.

Yup, the old girl gets a bath about every 500 rounds or so.

[Scottmisfits]

Barrel, not much. Like others, when I notice accuracy fall. In my 22’s, Remington 597 heavy barrels and one Ruger 10/22, seems to be around the 1500-2000 mark. I normally shoot Automatch and can get between 5 and 6 boxes of range time. Out for gophers it’s a different story as it depends more on the conditions and less on the round count.

Actions, that’s a different story, especially with the 1/22 compared to my 597’s keeping the action clean is pretty important for me now. Making sure that everything opens and closes the way it’s meant to and doesn’t get gummed up is pretty important to me.

[canuck]

I spent a couple hours yesterday on a complete teardown clean of my BIL's Cooey 64
He gave it to me cause "its a POS Jam-o-matic"
Ya, when the bolt no longer moves in the receiver, probably time for a light cleaning

[shooter12]

I used to compete with .22 at 50 m Running Boar in the past.
The 10 point mark is pretty big 60 mm in diameter , so with good quality ammo cleaning was not required for a long time to keep your shoots in the centre .
Very often we were practicing shooting at 50 m on a non moving target and usually all shoots were expected to be in a target about toonie size at 50 m, off hand shooting.
Those were match barrels ,single shot rifles used in Olympic Games as well.

Shooters shooting prone , kneeling and standing position were more concerned about cleaning as a 10 point mark was much smaller then for a running targets and accuracy was way more important. They were cleaning their rifles after every shooting and always put couple of rounds to foil their barrel before the practice..
I don't compete any more and have couple of different CZ rifles that I use for grouse hunting or target practice so accuracy is not so important as a competition rifles.
I clean them every 400-500 rounds.
S12

[TargetRick]

This topic is very interesting, and there's a lot I am learning from it. Thanks, all.

Just for reference, when I lived on the farm, in more than forty years I don't recall anyone EVER cleaning the .22s we used, mostly Cooey. The concept simply never occurred to us. Still, they were good enough to pop sparrows and gophers every year.

I've mentioned this others, and they confirm the story on their farms. Simply never occurred to us to clean .22s!

Here, however the is a very good case for cleaning .22s. I shall read and learn - and clean LOL.

[Nyksta]

Otis cleaning cables make cleaning a heck of a lot quicker and less fussy compared to trying to perfectly push a cleaning rod down your chamber and bore. I pull straight out so that the cable doesnt rub the crown of the barrel. And otis cables are way easier to store vs a long cleaning rod. I dont bother with overpriced otis patches. Just use the same patches that you do if you had a push rod. Find what works with your caliber cause you dont want to or need to pull too tight down your bore. I use butch triple twill patches.

[Groundhogger]

Well, I'm of 2 minds about cleaning 22s. Part of me wants to follow what I hear about it (only clean when accuracy drops off) and the other 1/2 wants to follow what Brad @ Nordic Marksman suggested. When I bought my most recent rifle from him (Anschutz 64 MP R 'Tactical Trainer') he forwarded me a .pdf document all about rimfire cleaning. Pros/cons TO frequent cleaning, best tools for the job and why, etc. If I knew how to share that in this forum post I would, but I have it on my home computer if anyone would like me to email them a copy. Just PM me your email address.

Anyhow, if my memory isn't failing me today...the "thrust" of that extensive article on the subject is that enough crud gets deposited in the bore shooting 22 that it can hold/trap moisture, which isn't gun/bore friendly of course. To what degree? There are lots of photos/details to back-up the claim..so it's bound to have anyone re-thinking their cleaning regime. Also strongly pushed the idea of a rod (bore) guide. For my purposes, I did a whole lot of shopping to make sure my new rifle was getting the TLC I think it deserves..but it didn't change my normal routine on the "lesser" rifles much. What is that?

20/20 Concepts sells a kit called the "Patchworm". This has been my go-to cleaning solution for some time, and for most calibers. If you check out their site, they sell something called "super intensive felts". Basically, a felt plug with fine brass fibers woven into it. THOSE with solvent, a few patches to dry, then a lightly oiled patch have proven MORE than effective in my experience unless I was running (for example) my .204 and let it get hot. I might use some copper solvent first, then that process as described. For 22, that kit alone + the felts? Very compact, very quick, very easy..and good for semis too where proper rod use isn't easy.

Even if I don't have much time, the very least I'll do with the 22s is a few swipes with a patchworm using solvent only, a dry patch, then a lightly oiled one.

[Big Sky]

It seems that I clean my rimfires way more than most.

If I'm shooting at the range I clean after every trip. Generally that means 50-100rounds. I clean the bore with wet and dry patches. The bolt gets a quick brushing with a toothbrush and wipedown with g96. I also pay attention to the area just ahead of the chamber, which can accumulate lead.

If I'm shooting gophers on a busy day, I'll clean the rifle in the field, every couple hundred rounds. Two wet patches, two dry, give the bolt a quick swipe, wash hands, grab a bite to eat, get back to work. The guns get a more thorough cleaning when I get home.

Bolt disassembly/cleaning and trigger maintenance happen at least once a year on each gun.

[EZM]

I think we ran a Remington nylon 66 for 20 years without running a patch through it when I was a kid.

I clean all my guns regularly, but the 22's don't get the same attention, maybe once per brick I'd say.

[fordtruckin]

An old girlfriend of mine had a 10/22 that must of had several thousand rounds out through without cleaning. Accuracy didn’t suffer and we finally broke down to clean it when the mags started to fail because they were so dirty. If I recall we actually bought new mags instead of cleaning the ones she had. I doubt she’s cleaned it since but haven’t seen her in 13ish years.lol

[DRE75]

Funny this is mentioned, because I don't really clean any of the family's 22's, yet I clean all my other firearms regularly.

[260 Rem]

There is no “mystique” related to .22 RF bores. They are made from the same steel, drilled, hammer forged/rifled like centerfires. They can still rust, but lead acts like a “natural lubricant” which makes frequent cleaning less critical.

[covey ridge]

Most of my 22s get cleaned every time I use them. My favorite which is a 55 year old Belgium Browning auto, very seldom gets cleaned. I think it has been about 4 years now

It is my go to for pests as well as gophers. Every time I feel guilty that I have neglected it for too long I clean it and it takes about 30 shots to get the accuracy back.

[Fordevr]

I have a 10/22 Ruger I got for my 3rd anniversary...haven’t cleaned it yet. That was 22yrs ago. Still works great. Might be time. 😂

[Smokinyotes]

I bought a new 10/22 in 1993. I shot over 1400 gophers that summer. Towards fall it was getting gummed up and needed a good cleaning.

[shiz]

I clean mine at the beginning and end of the season. That being said, I usually only put two bricks maximum through my 10/22 a season.

[Chewbacca]

I cleaned mine after every outing. Found I would have put around twenty rounds through it to get it shooting tight again. Often wondered why it took so many so I quit cleaning it so much. I figured if it wasn’t accurate when I shot it when it was clean it isn’t much good to me when there is a fox in the hen house.
It is a match barrel on a Contender.

[Bush Critter]

I run a borenake a couple times through my .22’s and centre fire guns every outing. Do a more thorough cleaning as needed, eg: when there is substantial carbon buildup or when copper starts to show on the rifling.

[Fish along]

I generally clean mine after use but many more times I'll use it and not,always accurate though.i have an old single shot Cooey that I don't think has ever been cleaned, which was probably the norm back in the day for most people.