Not Cleaning The Bore?

Not cleaning the bore will not hunt it...
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That all depends on what you shoot out of it.

Ive shot a couple of M1 Garands that had corrosive shot out of them, and then they were put away uncleaned for who knows how long. The best "groups" either would shoot was 12"-15" at 100 yards.

Ive also have some Egyptian 9mm that is probably the most corrosive ammo Ive ever seen. Letting my MAC go till the next morning after getting home late brought a bright orange rust coating throughout the chamber area and bore.

If youre not one to clean, you had better know what it is youre shooting out of the gun.


If I actually clean one of my guns, I immediately shoot it afterwards to confirm function.

Know what I mean?
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Ive heard this from some others, and never really understood the point. I clean my guns every time I shoot them, and in 50+ years of doing so, they have "always" worked the next time I shot them. The point of cleaning them is to clean them, isnt it?

I also wont carry a "gun thats been fired", for somewhat obvious reasons (besides function). Why cause yourself the possibility of unnecessary grief and explanations, or worse, in the wrong situations?
 
I always thought bore snakes were kind of gimmicky until I tried one. They really work well. Of course, you still have to clean the rest of the gun (other than the bore)
 
I think it depends on what you mean by "clean". I "clean" after every range trip, including .22. But I do a very superficial clean. Couple patches down the bore, field strip and wipedown. Lube and wipedown.

For an average semi-auto handgun this takes less than 5 minutes. Way less. No brushes or scrubbing. No powder solvent. Those things only get done once in a while.
 
The bore of my 10/22 has never been cleaned, that I remember. It shoots 1 1/2 groups at 100 yards with bulk Remingtons and CCI Mini Mags and always has.
 
Quote:
Post #29

shootniron


I clean'em once a year whether they need it or not.

I do that with my bed sheet's.
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Works real good with regards to undies. Gives a whole new meaning to comfy and cozy.:eek:
 
I agree with Krezyhorse
"With modern ammo it shouldn't. But why would you leave a gun uncleaned for several months? To me, cleaning a gun afterwards is a part of shooting."
 
"No powder solvent."

Lawnboy -

This actually is partly the basis for my question.

I have pulled an oiled patch through the bore for short term storage (days or weeks).

Then, I cleaned the gun WITH solvent when I removed it, and the patch was black. The oil-only "cleaning" doesn't seem to remove much residue.

Regarding .22s, it is easy to determine that the chambers of revolvers are becoming dirty by ease of insertion of cartridges and ease of ejection. Sometimes one can feel that the cylinder "binds" ever so slightly, because the cartridges won't seat fully in the chamber due to build-up, so the base of the cartridge rubs against the recoil shield. (This is obviously "dirty" and needs to be cleaned, but it has happened to me occasionally with a newly-cleaned gun on the first trip to the range after firing the better part of a brick of ammo.

Monty
 
I know what you mean, Im just saying, I dont see the point.

Has the gun ever failed to shoot after you cleaned it?

Whats to say it doesnt fail the next time you do, even after you "proved" it?
 
I don't think it will harm anything but accuracy. I was a the range one time and a guys 1911 was shooting everywhere. He asked me to look it over,like I know anything, and the barrel looked like a smooth bore. The rifleing was completely filled in with lead, but it still worked you just couldn't hit the side of a barn with it. After about an hour and a half and bottle of Hoppes 9 he thought he had a new gun.

Moral of the story, it' don't have to be done after every range trip but don't go to long with out a good cleaning. Accuracy and the ability to see if everything is working as it should is worth the time and effort to clean a gun.
 
While not exactly the same I have to admit that when I was a teenager I had a Remington 870 shotgun. I would go shooting with it a few times a month.

Then I moved out of my parents house and forgot about it.

Flash forward about 14 years. My dad pulls the old 870 out of the garage and gives it back to me. He said that the barrel was never cleaned by him and hopes that it will still work. I though about it and had to admit that I never cleaned it either so I was pretty worried.

I stripped it down and it was indeed extremely dirty but after some major cleaning there was nothing wrong with it. I still use that barrel today for plinking. I was happy that the screw in chokes would come out.

Granted My father lives in a very dry Climate so that may have helped a little as well.

I now clean my 870 (and every other gun) after each trip. I think good fire arms can handle a lot of abuse but that does not mean we should of abused it.
 
bossman said:
I don't think it will harm anything but accuracy. I was a the range one time and a guys 1911 was shooting everywhere. He asked me to look it over,like I know anything, and the barrel looked like a smooth bore. The rifleing was completely filled in with lead, but it still worked you just couldn't hit the side of a barn with it. After about an hour and a half and bottle of Hoppes 9 he thought he had a new gun.

Moral of the story, it' don't have to be done after every range trip but don't go to long with out a good cleaning. Accuracy and the ability to see if everything is working as it should is worth the time and effort to clean a gun.
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That pretty well crosses the line from "not cleaning" to "willful neglect".

Even though I don't often clean the bore of my guns, I regularly inspect them and would certainly clean them if neccesary.

The wipedown and lubrication that they get after being used included an inspection for problems and a peek down the barrel. Since I don't shoot lead in anything, all I ever see is a shiny tube with some residue near the chamber end.
 
That pretty well crosses the line from "not cleaning" to "willful neglect".
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I agree with that statement totally. I'm like you with a good wipe down an inspection after a range trip. If anything needs attention it gets it , if not the wipe down is good for me.
 
all too often

I know what you mean, Im just saying, I dont see the point.

Since you don't see the point, I remain forced to assume you actually don't know what I mean.

Has the gun ever failed to shoot after you cleaned it?

Yes. I have also observed this condition occur with other personnel.

Whats to say it doesnt fail the next time you do, even after you "proved" it?

Nothing. Experience continues to suggest it won't.
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Nothing is perfect, but when betting my life on my machinery, I do all I can to ensure reliable function.
Just in case.....
 
Just depends on the load, climate. I rarely clean my .22's. The exception is a target .22 pistol that is rarely fired. It is cleaned within a week of firing. Most of my other guns are cleaned within the month, (always wiped down w/oil the day it's fired. My deer rifle does not have it's bore cleaned all season unless it is rained on.
 
Nothing is perfect, but when betting my life on my machinery, I do all I can to ensure reliable function.
Just in case.....
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I do too, and to me, that means a clean gun thats been function checked.


Your theory is sort of forever ongoing and can never be proved. Whats to say the gun works the next time you shoot it either way? Clean it and leave it, or shoot it and leave it, the next round may, or may not go off, as you said, nothing is perfect, so youre back to square one.

With a clean gun, you have at least not intentionally introduced crap into the gun, starting it on the way to having a problem. As dirty as they get riding around in a holster day in and day out, or carried and exposed to the elements, why give the process a head start?

What do you do in an environment where the gun needs cleaned/maintained daily, or multiple times daily? Shoot it every time its apart? What do you do when you cant?

If youre saying that for you "historically" youve seen more troubles with a clean gun than you have a dirty one, then maybe you need to find a different type or make of gun, and/or better training getting them back together to know that they will work the next time used.

For me "historically", its never been the clean guns that were trouble, and Ive yet to have a clean one not function the next time it was fired, ever. That goes for the guns that get shot every week, and those that get shot a couple of times a year.
 
not boring to clean

I wasn't necessarily referring to myself.
I have a wide array of available gun-owners to enlist, enhance, and add to my personal experience, to include casual owners, dedicated competitors, LE, private-army, and military personnel, both active and not.
Even some gun-owners associated with firearms and ammunition manufacturing.
And stuff.

Common sense vs TANSTAAFL
 
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