Stupid question I know as each barrel is different. Im just curious as to how often everyone takes it back down to the wood so to speak.

I know I know when the accuracy falls off. Just curious as to when it happens for everyone. Ive got a near shot out 270 that seems to go a long long time before it's needed. Almost 100 rounds or so!

I once had a 7mm-08 that had to be cleaned every 15 rounds!

I can't even remember the last time I cleaned the barrel on my 243......still shoots great.

I never clean barrels, unless they need it. They should tell ya.

I throughly clean my rifle barrels ( including my bolt action .22 rimfire 😲) EVERY time I shoot them....My centerfire rifles are sighted in to shoot 1" high @100 yds through a clean barrel 👍........Hb

About every 50 rounds. A lot of barrels are ruined by over zealous cleaning. I’m certainly no expert.

A few years back I tried Wipe-out cleaner (from advice i got on this site) it thoroughly cleans and its super easy on your bore, no brushing required and very few patches used... I highly recommend it 👍......Hb

WipeOut is the real deal... I tried it a few years ago on a barrel that I thought was shot out... saved me from having to rebarrel the gun, it worked so well.

Another Wipe Out fan here. Get a piece of fuel hose to make an “extension” and spray the stuff from the chamber. Keeps it out of the action/magbox. Couple patches and your done. It’s great for black powder too.

A bore guide works well too.

Where do you guys get your Wipe-out? The only place I can find it is at Midway. I have tried to get a few of my LGS to stock it but they say they cant get it......Hb

Sportsmans Warehouse...

Brownells carries the full range of wipe-out products and is my go-to versus Midway. Potterfield can eat a whole bag of d!cks.

The ARs get BCGs cleaned after every range trip, and lower receivers get it too if it's been shot suppressed (which is most of my ARs)...that includes pulling the FCG out, but only because I've had a few instances of frozen triggers from crap building up. Mostly CFE BLK in my blackout.

Bolt guns just get shot and put away until accuracy degrades OR if weather was crap. rimfires get cleaned every outing.

AKs get cleaned if they shot corrosive. If I'm shooting wolf, they just get shot and tossed back in the safe.

I thoroughly clean my rifles after each trip to the range. I will normally pass the brush down at a minimum of 50 times. That is what it usually takes to get all of the green out.

Beware that Wipeout leaves a coating if you don't wipe it out. Not a problem except when it foams up into the gas tube on an AR. Good chance you'll eventually have function problems.

For gas guns, I prefer Montana Extreme.

I get it off Amazon prime

I use wipeout,patchout, tactical advantage and the KG suite of products. No more brushes except maybe a nylon brush with stubborn stuff

For my centerfire hunting rifles, not until needed. For my rimfires, never. I don't currently have any target rifles.

That's why you don't use the foaming version in an AR. You use Wipe-Out Tactical Advantage. The foaming stuff is great for bolt guns and AKs.

Sounds pretty neat.
https://shop.windhamweaponry.com/product/cleaner-tacadv/

How does it compare to Simple Green for cutting carbon?

Getting back to the OP, I question whether or not it helps accuracy to be cleaned to bare steel or if it would be better left at almost clean.

I don’t count the rounds....just clean when the impulse hits me. If the rifle gets shot a great deal.....likely, the impulse would hit me more often. If I detect a drop-off in accuracy, a thorough cleaning is my first step to find the reason. Obviously, if I have a rifle that has proven to be sensitive to a fouled bore.....it gets a regular cleaning! memtb

Not very often. When it tells me it needs it by accuracy deteriorating or if I'm going on a long hunt like a safari for instance and I don't want to have trouble along the way. Always fire a few foulers (sighters) before the hunt.

I have been less than impressed with Wipe Out. Even after using it several times on a rifle I've gone back and hit the barrel with some Sweet's 7.62 and carbon fouling still comes out. Even using the Wipe Out Accelerator hasn't helped much.

I like to keep my bores clean, deep cleaned. I've used the 7.62 and nylon brushes until all of the carbon is out. Then a little Barnes CR-10 to work on the copper fouling, especially if it's a rifle that gets TTSX's shot through it.

Like others have said, when the rifle starts to lose accuracy I'll clean.

I rarely take it down to bare metal though.

One of my 25-06's was telling me it was time to clean so I decided to go to bare metal. Removing all of the carbon and crud and copper. I purchased a number of different cleaners well-thought of on here and went to work. This is an old barrel with over 3000 rounds through it and looking with a bore scope, it was coated with crud and copper.
After using 6 or 8 different cleaners, there was STILL copper in the barrel. I ended up using 27% ammonia to get the last of it out. I then went to the range with a full box (50 rounds) of the load that rifle likes to see how many foulers it took to get it back in battery.
Using my normal cleaning routine, I could be back in my accuracy range in about 3-4 shots. This time it took 28 rounds before it started shooting like it should. Lesson I learned on this rifle was "don't clean it to the bare metal".

For your rifle(s) YMMV.

If you are using an ammonia based cleaner try KG12 instead.

Not very often.

I’ve been blasting away with all manner of guns for the last 60 years or so and cleaning of my center fire rifles and shotguns consists of running a patch or two with Hoppe’s No. 9 thru the barrel followed by another patch with a touch of Break-Free CLP and finally a good wipe down. 22’s just get a good exterior wipe-down. If any of my guns have suffered condition or accuracy issues, I’m blissfully unaware.

Does Wipe-out remove plastic from rifled slug sabots?

Not that I am aware of , I used Shooters Choice MC#7 and it would melt it bigly.

Knowing what Wipe-Out is intended to be primarily used for tends to eliminate frustration like that.

(hint)

I clean my big game rifles once a year, at seasons end. For .22 cal squirrel rifles, maybe every 5 years.

Did not Col. Townsend Whelen say a nice copper wash on the bore was OK, even good? I've always used that as an excuse to myself for not going nuclear on my lands and grooves. I think I'm a calmer, better person because of that.

LOL!

Fuggin' A!

Firearms get cleaned ever time they get shot. Oiled down as well. Now do I get to bare steel? If I see cooper or a dirty patch then I keep going. Works for me.

I will only clean when accuracy starts to drop. I know that If I do a good cleaning, the first shot or two will be 2" high, so I will not clean hunting rifles until after hunting season.
Cleaning the bore is not exactly harmless to the barrel so I try not to do it too often.

Depends on the barrel quality. My hunting barrels may get cleaned twice in their life span. For me, one of those two is prior to its first load development. I patch clean only. Never use a wire brush.

Started using wipe out years ago. A couple years ago, I ran out and picked up another foaming bore cleaner (Gunslick). It seems to work just as well and I could pick it up at my local gun shop.

I use Gunslick and really like it. I was looking for Wipeout and could not find it locally, but did the Gunslick.l’ve been happy with it for the last 4 years or so.

Yep, I used Gunslick foam for several years before I tried Wipe-out. Gunslick does a good job but Wipe-out works better for Me at dissolving copper fouling from by beloved Barnes bullets ♥️........Hb

Thanks. I have enough bore cleaner/solvents already to last a lifetime. Wipe-out sounds great but I've been plagued with plastic fowling in my 20ga slug gun. I'll get some Shooters Choice

Why you shootin chickens thru your slug gun?

Many qualified people say that. However, many well qualified people* have said otherwise.

*Dan Lilja, Billy Stevens, Clay Spencer, Dwight Scott for examples

I used to have this problem and found leaving excess stuff at the range with a note that says “free” makes it all go away...

Lmao! 👍......Hb

Thanks for the advice! Most of the stuff I inherited from my father in law who always had 3 of everything

How often - never anymore since I tested leaving a barrel alone .
I do what I call cleaning maintenance , clean out some carbon - wet patch the copper 2-3 strokes - pass plastic brush 2-3 times- patch dry done . I could get ten more blue copper patches - but don't -- just a little maintenance . Doesn't change poi that my accuracy can tell .
Brushes don't hurt barrels - pulling brushes into the barrel from the crown doesn't hurt the crown . Fast rough work of brushes might hurt something but I don't handle them like that

Works with random ammo for guns that went up the river too. I know I had Hoppes #9 from high school....30+ years ago.

I had a pile of random shotgun ammo that I decided to “shoot through” on the 5 stand range. Ooof.....a 7/8 target load followed by 1-1/4 pheasant load will wake you up a little.

Once a year in the middle of winter I'll give my rifles a thorough cleaning. The rest of the year all they get is cleaned with Patch Out when groups open up a little.

The only firearms I have really scrubbed have been milsurp and corrosive ammo.

That right there.

Last time I took mine down to bare steel was when I applied ultra bore coat.

Hint.

I keep a can of compressed air "Duster" and just give a shot of air down the gas tube after I run first patch down bore. Probably cleans out gas tube also. Never had a problem, use Wipeout all the time in my ARs.

I clean mine first with Montana Extreme bore solvent with eight or ten soaked patches, two or three dry patches, then Wipe Out foam left for at least 6 hrs. (sometimes eight or ten). Then dry patches until it is dry. At this point, the bore is usually down to bare metal or as close as it needs to be. How often? The rifle tells me!

I’m not discounting yours or theirs opinion. My Lilja barrel is my favorite. I would never run a wire brush thru it. Those custom barrels have mirror polished bores. They don’t get that way from a wire brush.

I see some references to "wire brushes" what is meant by that? A steel brush or a brass brush? Do folks really think a brass brush will hurt barrel steel? I would bet ammonia cleaners will cause more issues than a brass brush.

Bronze brushes are harmless.
I've even been known to use 0000 steel wool.

Only once per rifle and that when new...in order to lay moly down.

Hint.......................

I use kroil and and jb ore paste when I go down to the bare steel and verify results with a bore scope. Jb is the only thing I’ve found that works every time quickly.

Thanks for the opinions guys. I’m in the let barrel decide camp as well

JB/Kroil is the move,to establish a PRISTINE bore and all that I use anymore....................

Kroil/GMTEC 50/50. Brush two passes. 3 wet patches and maybe one of JB, Patch it out. Takes 4-5 minutes
Shoot mainly moly in great barrels so copper is not a concern

Barrel makers love people that are obsessed with keeping the copper scrubbed out of a barrel. Run a few patches to clean the carbon at the end of the season if you want, but there is no reason to scrub the copper out of a barrel very often. The bullet essentially rides on a layer of copper, thus slowing the damage to a barrel. My barrels get a couple patches of Amsoil MP and then a dry patch or two at the end of the season, just for protection, but unless I think that I am having issues with excess copper, I do not mess with it.

A friend of mine is a police sniper. He brought out a new rifle to break in here on my range. I was laughing at him with his stupid break in routine. I told him to just shoot the damn thing! He did not believe me and called a guy he knew that worked at Rock Creek(?) barrels. He told him the same thing. He has never done that again.. LOL

Sid, I was kinda hoping that you were a “clean freak”! I was gonna say, next time your here, I’ll have a pile of rifles and handguns that haven’t been cleaned in years! Give me a week or so advanced notice of your visit....I’ll need to look for my cleaning stuff! memtb

If I am going to do that, there had better be a bottle of whiskey in the process.

Sid, We usually don’t keep any in stock, but for you....consider it a “done deal”! memtb

Certain weapons require different treatments, 1917 Browning air cooled, 1918 BAR, 1919 Browning air cooled, Vickers water cooled, Maxim etc. respond well to Boar Tech Eliminator. Seldom do we clean to bare steel, carbon being most prevalent, a few inches forward of the throat, usually baked on at very high temps particularly in air cooled guns. A good copper wash with a light glaze of carbon is ideal, recovered bullets in snow, showing the least jacket damage or roughness where the lands engage. Maybe this isn't germane to sporting arms.

Mr Lilja himself tells owners of his barrels to use a bronze brush.
http://riflebarrels.com/support/centerfire-maintenance/



Why does one need the supposed 'advantage' of a layer of copper stuck to the bore surface when you have copper jacket bullets?

Are you seriously suggesting a copper bullet passing through a 'copper free bore' damages a barrel faster?

Agree...that’s ridiculous

Usually it is phosphor bronze. Harder than copper/gilding metal, not as hard as barrel steel. The brush is useful for shifting powder fouling, which is not very soluble in nitro solvent.

Ammonia dissolves copper. It will dissolve metal fouling, and it will dissolve a bronze brush if you let the two come into contact. The ammonia itself won't harm barrel steel, so long as you follow the instructions: don't leave it sit in the barrel too long, clean it out and then oil. The reason for that is not because ammonia attacks the steel, but because the solvent is water-based, and so if you leave it too long it can promote rusting.

I've used Sweets 7.62 for decades, and find it very effective on metal fouling, especially when fresh, and even more especially if you work it vigorously enough to work up a bit of a froth. I've never had an issue with it harming a barrel.

When its fresh is key. If its been in the barrel too long sweets won't touch it. Nor will any of the chem treatments. I have a theory and it could be totally bunk but here goes...


when the copper oxidizes the chemical makeup changes enough that the solvents stop working. Ive seen copper that nothing would touch.

Except JB bore paste. That always works...every time.

Actually I was referring to the Sweets 7.62 being fresh. When it is, the fumes will just about lift your scalp off, and it works really well. With age it loses a bit of its effectiveness.

As for fouling, I guess it is at least possible that the copper could develop a bit of patina, which is somewhat protective, if you got your bore fouled and then let it sit for a long while. I've never noticed it being harder to shift metal fouling after it has been left to sit for a while though.

Try this experiment: take some bullets that have been allowed to develop a patina. Put some Sweets on a swab and try to shine them up. I think you'll fine that it takes the patina off straight away.

BTW, Sweets and other ammonia sources should be kept well away from your brass cases and loaded ammo. Ammonia will attack those just like it attacks metal fouling, and can cause intergranular corrosion/season cracking.

Take this test...get a few copper pennies(if they are still around) or a bullet you want to sacrifice and put a drop of sweets on it and then a drop of KG12.

It may be harder to clean out after it has layers of fouling deposited on top but I doubt that copper oxide is the culprit. The blue and green colors that come out on cleaning patches with solvent are from copper oxide, the solvents oxidize the copper.