I was told by someone who gifted me a 2001 Winchester Classic Featherweight Model 70 in 300 WSM that id have to run a rod down the barrel after every few loads while shooting. Is this true? I couldnt put 100 rounds down field and then just clean it after. I have 0 rifle expierence. All mines been handgun expierence.
Model 70, how many rounds before cleaniing?
- Thread starter GAMEOVER
- Start date
I don't think you'll want to shoot to the extent that you barrel is getting hot to the touch. You'd be at risk of damaging it.
As far as when to run a rod through it, I probably would consider it after 20 rounds or so.
You are going to have a sore shoulder after 100 rounds, in my opinion. You'll probably want to have an excuse to stop if you intend to shoot that many.
As far as when to run a rod through it, I probably would consider it after 20 rounds or so.
You are going to have a sore shoulder after 100 rounds, in my opinion. You'll probably want to have an excuse to stop if you intend to shoot that many.
603Country
New member
Opinions on how often a bore should be cleaned vary in the extreme. Some guys say they'll shoot 400 rounds before cleaning and some say they'll shoot 20. And, it depends a lot on the rifle and how hot your loads are and how overbore your caliber is. My 220 Swift needs cleaning after 20 rounds or so (accuracy degrades). The 223 can be shot quite a bit before cleaning, and I'll guess at it and say 50 rounds or so. It shot terrible the other day, so I cleaned it and we were back with the great groups. So...this still doesn't tell you much about your rifle, so you'll just have to shoot and see. And like somebody mentioned, don't shoot it till the barrel glows in the dark. If it is very hot to the touch, let it cool.
This debate never gets old. I've seen guys at the shooting range run a bore snake through the barrel after every shot. I clean my deer rifle once a year. I clean it, then sight in the scope. I don't clean it again until next deer season. Keep in mind though that my gun gets fired 8 times at the most during dear season.
Brotherbadger
New member
Test it out, see how many rounds you can fire before you notice a drop in accuracy. That's that point you start cleaning it. For some it is 20 rounds, for others it might be 50 or more. it all depends on what you deem acceptable. Also, don't fire it until the barrel gets hot. Give it a few minutes to cool down.
No, but after 100 rounds in an afternoon it will be bruised pretty good and might be tender.
GAMEOVER said:
No, but after 100 rounds in an afternoon it will be bruised pretty good and might be tender.
trigger643
New member
As BrotherBadger stated, I also believe a barrel should be cleaned when a perceived decline in accuracy occurs.
Your Win barrel is no different than any other barrel. Personally, I clean it after each shooting session. I do shoot a group before hunting and leave it fouled until after season is over. With my barrel, first shot on a clean bore shoots an inch high and to the right so I hunt with a few rounds through it. When I'm reloading for it and trying something new I load up some cheapy bullets and use my worst brass for fouler shots. I clean after each string just because I'm watching for accuracy and reading velocity. If I'm just having fun I shoot 30 probably and then clean afterwards. I think you could easily shoot 500 rounds between cleanings but why would you want to? The more frequent you clean the easier it is and the quicker it'll go. I doubt anyone is even going to shoot 300 rounds in one sitting....I know my shoulder wouldn't like that unless it was a very small caliber...so might as well clean the bore when done or soon after. Mine is a .30/06. Barrels are tougher than you think, so shoot it and have fun. If something were to degrade it...they're easily replaced.
Art Eatman
Staff in Memoriam
If I plan on more shooting within a day or two, I don't worry about cleaning the bore. I rarely shoot more than a dozen or so rounds through a bolt-action unless I'm testing some new handloads.
If I'm not going to shoot again anytime soon, I'll run a solvent patch through the barrel, then a dry patch and then a patch that's been lightly sprayed with gun oil. Less a worry about "cleaning" than it is about rust prevention.
Heavy duty cleaning? Rarely.
If I'm not going to shoot again anytime soon, I'll run a solvent patch through the barrel, then a dry patch and then a patch that's been lightly sprayed with gun oil. Less a worry about "cleaning" than it is about rust prevention.
Heavy duty cleaning? Rarely.
The barrel is going to wear out no matter if you clean it every few rounds or not. Burning out a barrel is a result of the powder burning and how much of that is in the throat of the barrel. In magnum rifles such as ours we are burning a lot more powder and burning our barrels out is just part of owning a magnum.
My .22 long rifles may see a 100 rounds a day, my 5.56s 60, or so. My bolt action center fires might get a box, or two of 20 during a range day and less when hunting, but I give my barrels a decent cleaning after each range day and after a hunting trip. A basic cleaning serves two purposes. The first is obvious. Get the crud out of your rifle. The second is that you have a chance to check the rifle's vitals and see if there is any obvious damage, or any signs of impending failure. JMHO
Go shoot it, and inspect the bore afterwards. If you have heavy copper fouling in less than 20 rounds, then don’t complain: the rifle was a gift. Some rifles copper foul badly, I had one that in less than 20 rounds I would see dark patches in the bore and the point of impact changed. Not much you can do with a barrel that has a propensity to foul, bore lapping will help, but the bore is larger.
Never rapid fire a magnum cartridge. It will be best to shoot one or two rounds and let the barrel cool down. If you shoot it fast enough that the barrel gets hot, be thankful the rifle was free, because the barrel will not be long for this world. Cartridges that push a lot of powder down the barrel at high pressure eat barrel throats. It has been a month, and now I have forgotten the caliber, but a highpower shooter told me that he had around 800 rounds on one of the magnums, and it went from MOA to eight inch groups at 100 yards.
Never rapid fire a magnum cartridge. It will be best to shoot one or two rounds and let the barrel cool down. If you shoot it fast enough that the barrel gets hot, be thankful the rifle was free, because the barrel will not be long for this world. Cartridges that push a lot of powder down the barrel at high pressure eat barrel throats. It has been a month, and now I have forgotten the caliber, but a highpower shooter told me that he had around 800 rounds on one of the magnums, and it went from MOA to eight inch groups at 100 yards.
Slamfire:
7mm Rem Mags as well as 6.5x.284's last about 800 rounds for best accuracy in long range competition. Most of the 30 caliber magnums lasted about 1100 to 1300 rounds in the same disciplines. My .264 Win Mag lasted 640 rounds.
Reasonable rate of fire didn't seem to have any effect. Shot once a minute versus 3 or 4 times a minute, barrel life was the same and such barrels get really hot. In contrast was a military team's .30-.338 Win Mag whose barrel was going to be "broken in" for best accuracy. 'Twas given to some kid who took it to the pistol range and shot 30 to 40 shots about as fast as he could single-round load and shoot them. When a top ranked team member took it to a match, he dubbed it a "yard" gun; one yard is about the size of the groups it shot at 1000 yards.
7mm Rem Mags as well as 6.5x.284's last about 800 rounds for best accuracy in long range competition. Most of the 30 caliber magnums lasted about 1100 to 1300 rounds in the same disciplines. My .264 Win Mag lasted 640 rounds.
Reasonable rate of fire didn't seem to have any effect. Shot once a minute versus 3 or 4 times a minute, barrel life was the same and such barrels get really hot. In contrast was a military team's .30-.338 Win Mag whose barrel was going to be "broken in" for best accuracy. 'Twas given to some kid who took it to the pistol range and shot 30 to 40 shots about as fast as he could single-round load and shoot them. When a top ranked team member took it to a match, he dubbed it a "yard" gun; one yard is about the size of the groups it shot at 1000 yards.
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And then, in the middle of match five, the world changed for the worst? 
green_MTman
New member
i clean my custom cut rifled but based on a savage 110 action 6.5-55 about once a year.
i sight it in for bear season in late august and fire 8 0r 9 rounds.i wont fire again untill game is in the cross hairs.
on a wintery day in december i clean with a heavy copper solvent untill patches dont show blue or green then i run a degreaser to get the excess cleaning solvent out of the nicks and crannies.then i put an lightly oiled patch down the barrel,then a clean patch for the excess oil.i oil some of the working parts the put it away untill next august.
most people dont clean the bore of a rimfire .22 and only clean the action once extraction from the chamber gets a little slow
i sight it in for bear season in late august and fire 8 0r 9 rounds.i wont fire again untill game is in the cross hairs.
on a wintery day in december i clean with a heavy copper solvent untill patches dont show blue or green then i run a degreaser to get the excess cleaning solvent out of the nicks and crannies.then i put an lightly oiled patch down the barrel,then a clean patch for the excess oil.i oil some of the working parts the put it away untill next august.
most people dont clean the bore of a rimfire .22 and only clean the action once extraction from the chamber gets a little slow
Not cleaning your rifle after every few rounds will not wear your barrel out any faster that's just nonsense. Clean it when you get home or when accuracy goes south and enjoy your range visits don't worry. I clean and lightly lube the bore of my rifle after every shooting session which is about 20-30 rounds for my bolt rifles and 50 - 100 in my semi auto rifles and handguns. My gun safe is in my basement so I'm more worried about rust than anything else.
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