I am quite certain that drill sergeant Creasy will appear behind me and commence with the disassembly of my useless cranium should I choose to not ensure my firearm is clean, dry and serviceable. So, I will continue to methodically clean every weapon every time and police my brass. Maybe the process which taught me to religiously clean my firearm is also why I shoot methodically and accurately. I also do not tug on superman’s cape or spit into the wind.

I'll clean my hunting rifles once a year - after the season. I'll start shooting them again in the summer as I prepare for deer season, but I prefer having the fouled barrel going into the hunting season.

I'll clean rifles more regularly when I'm working on load development - but that is a function of the higher number of shots taken and my desire to cut down on variables such as clean barrel versus heavily fouled barrel.

Clean rifles do not put bullets in the same hole as dirty ones. That much I do know. My first shot with any recently cleaned rifle is never where the gun has been sighted in. In fact I go so far as to shoot a muzzleloader with just Pyrodex in it before I hunt. It does not go BOOM because there is no pressure but it dirties the bore and makes it shoot where I want it to. Muzzleloaders are the only rifles I clean after every shooting foray.

Dale, apparently it snows and rains in WA., unlike here in the Great Midwestern Desert. Keeps the wet out of the bore, and blows off or open before the bullet gets there.

I've heard tell of the use of Pro-pal-lactics instead of tape in Southeast Asia and the like, but WAM blushes at the thought...

I think the good old .22 is the exception to the rule to a diligent cleaning schedule...with the exception of the semi-auto to witch my Savage needs a good cleaning at least once a month(depending on the amount of shooting)and even twice so the action doesn't get sloppy and functions properly.I mean a GOOD BREAK DOWN CLEANING by the way.
Personally, I keep my guns clean.Period.Oh, if I sight in the day before a hunt, no barrel cleaning just an exterior wipe down. This system works for me, and like WA, I usually hit what I'm aimin` at..

Amflyer,

Aw, shucks.....

same with air rifles, esp with the shallow rifling they have, and the lack of heat/powder in the equation

I've experienced both... with .22's and larger calibers. Some guns shoot great dirty, others shoot like hell. I tailor the regimen to the gun. Hey, some you win, some you loose. Do it before season to find out which ones you have to worry about that's my recommendation for anybody who cares.

Since we are on the subject, anyone use Barnes TSX bullets as a matter of course? I have been working up loads in a rifle and this is my first experience with them. My best load has the bullet 0.05" off the lands, and (to stay on subject)prints the best groups immediately following an intensive cleaning and de-coppering. Do you find your best results come from a pristine bore? How many rounds of TSX can you fire before your accuracy drops? Any other tips?

Amflyer,
I successfully use Barnes TSX in a wide variety of calibers, big and small using pretty much the same techniques as WAM. Just before leaving on a hunting trip they are cleaned, then a fouling shot I feel is very important.

After a range session I always clean my rifles whether they have been fired once or several times. I even keep a cleaning record, if I have not used a piece for a long time, just glance at the log. I have a lot of firearms, the log helps my feeble old mind. On a long trip the weather and use pretty much sets the cleaning schedule. Have spent a month in Africa without cleaning the rifle, just a wipe down in the evening. In the vehicle I try to keep them in a silicon impregnated soft case. Hunting the jungle is a different issue requiring more cleaning care. WAM's electrician tape also helps prevent insects from laying eggs in your barrel.

My apologies, but wanted to reemphasize an item of African rifle care, the daily wipe down. Your staff and hunting vehicle are daily exposed to bulk salt being used or moved back and forth for all kinds of reasons like protecting your trophies. Attempting to be helpful the staff may pass your rifle through several hand in the blink of an eye. Additionally, in some parts of Africa a staple part of their diet is something similar to manioc, . This is highly acidic and in their system, mixed with sweat and salt can quickly raise hob with rifle bluing. Decades ago, a well meaning pygmy spotted a bit of "hanger rash" on my rifle barrel he rubbed in spit and tobacco ash to darken the area on the barrel. I went to bed without wiping and checking, by morning the spot was pitted. Kindest Regards

Del,
Good to here from you. Thank you for the tip, I'll give it a good try. The instructions include a warning that it makes the metal very slippery, which in addition to preventing rust gives me an excuse when I screw up. All the best.

Oh and BTW if your rifle likes it "dirty" LOL, one may always fire a fouling shot or two before going for the groups.

Just like all the other vet's out there have said...NO, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A WEAPON THAT IS TOO CLEAN!

Except for .22s, where it does seem that they shoot at least as well without regular cleaning, I don't believe that a rifle can be too clean, although some--but not all--need a fouling shot or two before they put their shots in the same place. As far as the Barnes TSX goes, I've got three rifles--a Weatherby Accumark in .257, another Accumark in .340 and a Remington 700 in .300--that print substantially better groups with the TSX, and thus shoot them exclusively. They all respond differently with respect to fouling. The .340 can shoot 20--sometimes 30--225 gr. TSXs over the course of a day, and yet show little or no sign of copper fouling, with the patch showing little other than the grey-black that comes from burnt powder. The .257, after the same number of rounds with the 115 gr. TSX, will show a fair, but not excessive, amount of blue on the patch. The Remington, on the other hand, shows heavy copper fouling after only a few 180 gr. TSX pass through the bore. I tend to clean the rifles with Wipeout after most sessions, but then forego the Wipeout and instead do a very thorough cleaning with Barnes CR-10 every third or fourth time; the results are essentially the same with either solvent (and the times when I wanted to test the adequacy of the Wipeout by doing further cleaning with CR-10, the CR-10 did not remove much, if any, additional filing, despite vigorous application of a brush and multiple passes with a patch)

Dave, I agree... (remember fellows we are talking "rimfire" here) My old Glenfield Model 60 still shoots as good now as when my dad bought it used for me when I was too young to drive and I am 45 now. It is the only rifle I own that I will allow to stay a little dirty. Everything else I own is spotless.. however my Model 60 seems to like a little dirt here and there. After all these years, and untold number of rounds of .22rounds down the barrel. Its still ready to stop an invading army of tin cans or kill a squirrel for the pot.

As a competition .22lr shooter, I can tell you that they are definitely a different breed than centerfire rifles. A lot depends on if you are using the "cheap" Remington/Federal/Etc .22 ammo that are copper/metal, or if you are using good lubricated lead bullets.

It you are using the cheap ammo, you will probably have to clean them on occasion to prevent copper fouling. If you are shooting lubricated lead ammo, you rarely clean the bore. The action (especially on a 10/22 style) will need to be kept clean. But rimfires are very "sensitive" to the lubricant on lead bullets. If you change ammo to one with a different lube, especially if going from wax (like Eley) to a more oily lubricant (Lapua/SK/Wolf), you will need to fire 15-20 shots to re-season the barrel.

Some of the top competition shooters will clean their rifle a week or two before a match, but don't consider it ready for the match until they put at least 100 rounds thru it.

My 17 HMR shoots better dirty than clean. The only thing I like dirty other than my 17 are martinis

Whoa never would have guessed that..hopefully this makes my 10/22 more accurate lol

For .22s you are right on DEP. I shot .22s competitively for a while and cleaning was a risky venture. I would surely never attempt a match with a clean barrel. The centerfires though need to be cleaned periodically to remove strange contaminants. To shoot best, a few fouling shots are necessary to return the barrel to its best accuracy. Most of my rifles shoot best after three to five fouling shots. I have one that took up to 15 fouling shots before the bullets started going through the same hole at 100 yards. Most competitive benchrest shooters won't step to the line with a completely clean barrel. For hunting, you are better off waiting until the end of season to clean your barrel unless you have encountered unusual circumstances.