How often should I clean my rifle

I'd say if you like doing and get some satisfaction from doing it, clean it as much as you want.

I don't think anyone has a perfect solution, but I know for sure that it doesn't have to be done religiously after every xxxnumber of rounds.

Wipe off the moving parts and use lube to prevent rust.

I pass a bore snake or a couple patches down the bore but I only scrub a bore when it needs it. For me they shoot more consistently with fouled bores. When I was younger I'd scrub the gun with an OCD like fervor, but I didn't know any better.
 
When accuracy starts to diminish. Before it rusts.
I have a rifle I have to clean every 20 shots. I have a lilja barrel that has over 500 shots on it and has never been cleaned except I cleaned it before it was shot. It keeps grouping better and better. I won't clean it until accuracy heads the other way.
 
I clean my rifle right after I'm finished shooting when the barrels still warm .I don't mind cleaning my guns . Want to start shooting with a clean firearm every time. I only use patches & a good cleaner. Remove all oil from barrel when shooting a center fire round. Hoppes #9 bore solvent has been around for a long time , cleans everything.
 
For me, cleaning is mainly functional. I'm cleaning enough gunk off that I can inspect critical parts for wear and tear and insure reliable function. I also recommend cleaning if it will be more than 2-3 months in storage before you shoot again.
 
I clean CR rifles after every range trip;
Except after sight-in for hunting season.
Barrel stays dirty until season is over.

I clean 22LR after every range trip;
Everything EXCEPT the barrel.
Don't clean barrel unless accuracy falls off.
Use nothing but 22LR lead ammo - no copper platted.
 
I will clean my small bore prone rifles every two days in a four day match. They will have a minimum of 320 rounds. This keeps the chamber clean and I grease up the firing pin cocking cams. I see other shooters cleaning the tube each day at the end of the match. With my Martini BSA rifles, I will stick a worn 22 lr brush in the chamber when I notice the thing is not kicking the cases out. That mechanism has an automatic ejector.

In Bullseye Pistol, I have been surprised to see a National Champ and a couple of other real good shooters, pass a cleaning rod down the barrel before going down range to score. That's ten rounds between pass. These guys are shooting semi auto pistols and what they are doing is keeping the chamber clean so there are no failures to eject with their light loads.

For highpower rifles, basically I would be worried about rust more than anything else. However if you are shooting every day, I would wipe the exterior down, to wipe off powder residue. That collects moisture. Depending on the amount you shoot, wiping out residue in the locking lug recesses of the receiver won't hurt, might not do anything either. You might want to add a drop of lubricant to the firing pin cocking cam and to the bearing surface of the lugs. At some point I would run a chamber brush to break up anything in the chamber. Keeping the chamber clean is very important for positive extraction, be it a pistol or rifle. Does not take much to clean, a push and a couple of twists, and wiping the surface with a patch.

As long as you are not having severe jacket fouling, of lead fouling, you can shoot a rifle barrel a long time without fouling causing any accuracy issues. I know one F class Champion who told me her rifle shoots tighter once the barrel fouls in. I do believe that if accuracy gets worse it is time to clean out the crud in the throat, and that is with JB bore paste. Chemical cleaners won't remove the crud that gets impacted there. I would say around every 300 rounds or so, maybe more.
 
How often should I clean my rifle
Been shooting every day last week, do I clean after every say 50 rounds or am I good for a bit
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I clean mine when it needs cleaned. Seriously, it depends on the rifle, action type and the ammunition being shot in the rifle. You make no mention of any of the above? Gas guns which see several hundred rounds I break down, field strip and scrub the gas system and barrel. Bolt guns I generally punch the bore after a session of about 100 rounds. Semi-auto 22 rifles I wash out with any of the good action cleaners. There is no set rule. It is a matter of you developing good shooting habits including cleaning the guns as required.

Ron
 
I worked up some handloads for a 30 year old Browning BBR the other day, I was impressed with the accuracy and when I returned it to my friend and bragged about the accuracy (1/2-3/4MOA with both 130 and 150gr bullets) he told me that they had not cleaned the bore of that rifle in at leased 20 years. Makes me wounder how much we really need to scrub the bore out.
 
There are people on both ends of the spectrum, but unless you have some very specific needs such as bench rest competition, there is no good reason not to treat it much the way you would a car, tool, or anything else that is expensive, you want to last, and you want to rely upon it working well when you need it. When it gets dirty clean it, do basic maintenance such as lubrication, store it somewhere safe, store it somewhere dry, etc. You also should clean it to the extent it's dirty. You don't need to scrub everything down with bronze brushes every time you shoot a few rounds anymore than you need to strip and wax your car every time you drive through a puddle. If you have just gone to the range and shot a few boxes of ammo through it, then field strip, clean with patches and solvent, lube, and put it away. If you spent a week in the bush, been through the mud, rain, have put hundred of rounds through the barrel, in that case break out brush or bore snake, do a detailed strip, and do a through lubrication. It also depends on your ammo. If you're using cast lead, black powder, corrosive ammo, or etc, you need to follow best practices for cleaning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk (meaning my post is likely full of poor typing and autocorrects using wrong words)
 
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I clean my guns when I clean them. I just changed my clean location from my shop to my basement. The basement is where my guns are kept. So I think my cleaning will be a little more frequent. That being said, if I take a bunch of guns (10 or more)to the desert I clean them while I am out there.
 
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