Please educate me!
I grew up hunting deer and cleaned a rifle the way my Dad taught me.
For the last few decades I have almost exclusively hunted with shotguns, but am now back into rifle hunting too. New products and procedures have been developed...
Please give me your steps for cleaning the barrel after a range session (or shooting at game). Also, you might add if and how you clean at the range. I'm talking 308 and 3006, if it matters.
Thanks so much!

munster

I'm no gunwriter or even an "expert". The last few years I've taken the minimalist path.

New to me gun: a shot or two of Wipe Out and a few patches pushed thru with a nylon bush after it sits, sometimes overnight if needed. Repeat until no more evidence of crud/copper.

Range trip: a quick pull thru with a bore snake or similar, usually with a little Tuf-glide stuff on it. Wipe down with a Marine Tuf-cloth.

Accuracy seems to be falling off at the range, a pull on the Bore Snake and if that doesn't fix it, then back to the Wipe Out.

Hunting trip: much the same as Range trip as noted above.

After reading some articles by "experts" and barrel makers/gunsmiths I'm pretty much over the scrubbing with a brass brush and harsh cleaners. Every once in a while I've had to use one on a new to me gun, but even that's been rare. Nylon brushes for "scrubbing" and a smaller diameter one for wrapping patches around for a trip down the barrel. Make my life a lot easier.

Hope that helps some,

Geno

i break it in, and clean the barrel after 300-500rds or whenever accuracy is going away, Wipe the outside of the gun down every time i handle it.

i'm just a hunter. for a new rifle i run a patch thru the barrel soaked with hoppes 9. then a few clean/dry patches. then i shoot enough to get scope dialed in. no more cleaning until after hunting season. post season i run a soaked patch, followed by brass brush, then dry patches until last one comes out clean. last patch thru the barrel is soaked with oil. i've been doing this since 71'. as always, ymmv.

+ one on what valsdad said.

Ed

Get a good cleaning rod
Get a Good Bore guide
Use proper sized patches and jags
Use nylon bristle brushes

I am to the point where I use Kroil, Wipeout or KG gun solvents and nothing else for bore cleaning
Ballistol or Clenzoil for the rest of the finishes and shooters choice bolt grease for the locking lugs..

That's how I've been doing it also. Not quite as long, probably started closer to 79'.

A patch or two soaked with kroil, patch out, foam up with wipe out, let it sit for a few hours, patch out.

DBC. WipeOut. Maybe the odd patch or two with Hoppes #9 just for the smell. Done.

Brushes are for applying DBC, and that's the only time they see the light of day.

My procedure as well, and as seldom as possible . I'll use copper killer sometimes on rough barrels.

For barrels that clean up easily I generally run a few patches with M Pro-7 solvent (odorless and non-toxic) down the barrel and then dry patches until clean. Sometimes I use a nylon brush if there's more powder fouling to clean up. If there's copper in the bore I use Montana Extreme Bore Solvent and let it sit overnight followed by dry patches. Barrels that copper foul get Dyna Bore Coat to reduce the cleaning effort.

Nylon brush with military formula break-free each time I put the rifle up, JB paste occasionally (six months or so) to shift anything in front of chamber...worked for fifteen years roo shooting and none of my barrels tipped over prematurely.

Cleaning is a bit like having a thing for knives in that you can end up chasing your tail for no advantage.

+1 on poster hotsoup's routine, I've been doing it about as long as he has with no problems. No need to make a simple chore anything other than that.

I used to get into all the drama, but am down to wipe out for the bore, then Hornady One Shot (cleaning version of course) for everything else. Little grease on the lugs. Done.

Besides cleaning the bore, I'll occasionally clean the lug recesses with the Dewey tool and cotton swab for that purpose. Fouling tends to collect down in there. And clean/re-grease the bearing surfaces of the lugs.

No one mentioned a bore guide to fit in the action and keep solvent out and keep the cleaning rod centered, I always use one. Or a vise to keep the rifle from moving--if you run a tight-fitting jag and patch down the bore the rifle will move unless you have a way to hold it in place. And a good quality one-piece rod. I use Hoppe's on a plastic brush followed by a couple patches to get out the bulk of carbon, and then let the bore soak overnight with Wipeout sitting horizontally with the muzzle slightly down and the chamber plugged with a big patch. I built a simple wood rack that holds 4 rifles for that.

If there's a lot of copper in the bore, after cleaning I'll run a patch soaked with Hoppe's through and let it sit for 2-3 hours. Then run a clean patch through. If there's any copper left the clean patch will come out blue, and I'll soak it with Wipeout again. That rarely happens though.