Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Rimfires What is your favorite cleaning rod?

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I've been shooting .22 rimfire rifles and pistols for over 60 years and have shot 10s of thousands of .22 rimfire ammo through my .22s, but only RARELY ever clean a rifle or pistol except to wipe off the outside of the firearm with a lightly lubricated lambs-wool pad.

Yet, none of my rimfire firearms (5 of 'em) show any wear, i.e., no pitting and no rust... and all of them shoot as accurately or even more accurately as they did when they were new. This includes my Smith&Wesson K-22 target revolver and my heavy barreled target Ruger Mark II, stainless steel semi-auto pistol as well as my target rifle... a CZ453 heavy barreled rifle with a factory single-set trigger.

Now... before you get all excited and "flame" me, here's why I don't religiously clean .22 rimfire firearms like I clean my centerfire rifles and pistols:

You see, .22 rimfire bullets are OUTSIDE LUBRICATED and so, in fact, every round you send down the barrel "cleans" that barrel. Therefore, the barrels do not need "cleaning" except if & when the front of the chambers get "leaded-up". That happens very rarely since I use ONLY long rifle cartridges. However, if you use longs or shorts in a long rifle chamber, you will get a collection of lead at the front of the chamber which must be cleaned out (with a bronze brush) because it won't allow you to load and shoot long rifle cartridges anymore.

For cleaning, I'd suggest you use a 3-piece aluminum ramrod (which is a MUCH softer metal than the steel of the barrel) together with a bronze brush surrounded by a cotton cleaning patch and Hoppe's #9 or your favorite bore cleaner followed by several "dry" patches to totally clean out the Hoppe's followed by a clean patch with a light coating of a good gun oil.

Any time you handle any blued firearm, you should wipe the outside of the firearm down with a lightly oiled patch or lightly lubricated lambs-wool pad. Other than that, .22 rimfire firearms do not need internal cleaning unless the "crud" collects in the action and inhibits proper functioning which is a very rare occurrence.

Bottom line: All three of the "target" firearms, the Smith&Wesson K-22, the Ruger Mark II and the CZ453 are extremely accurate. Basically, I'm a rifleman... and the CZ453 shooting Wolf Match Target long rifle ammo will put 5 shots almost on top of each other at 50 feet in no-wind or light wind conditions.

Incidentally, just last week, I was shooting the S&W K-22 for the first time in at least 2 years... and haven't shot a handgun in at least 2 years. After "flubbing-up" a couple of 5-shot groups, I used all my concentration and fired two 5-shot groups at 10 meters into the same target. Seven shots were "X's", two shots were "10's" and the one I "blew" was a "9" for a total score of 99 with 7 X's.

Not bad for an "old fart" in his 76th year with a cataract on his "master" eye shooting a 50 year old, iron-sighted, target revolver that hasn't been cleaned in over 10 years, eh?


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

That's the same combo that I use in all of my 452s. Highly recommended.

ANyone use the Otis cable kits?

I use a straightened out coat hanger myself.

Same here.

That is a neat idea!