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.22 Pistol Barrels


kevin c

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I have put about 1000 rounds of lead and moly bullets through my 22/45 Ruger without doing anything except cleaning the breechface and extractor mechanism. The bore (more exactly, what I can see of it with my failing eyes) seems clean, and accuracy hasn't suffered that I can tell.

Is this typical for the gun/caliber? I've heard conflicting stories about whether a pistol barrel should be cleaned, though mostly that was Wil Shuemann talking about jacketed ammo in centerfire pistols. What I've read about 22 barrels seems to be even more contradictory - some say clean away, others talk of ruined accuracy.

Part of why I am asking is that I am thinking to changing to a more reliable/accurate brand of practice ammo, whereas my .22 match ammo (which is as expensive as .40 centerfire ammo per round) is still lead/moly coated stuff, and I've heard that the worst bore buildup comes from mixing the two types without cleaning before switching. Or is that another shooting myth too?

Comments?

TIA,

Kevin C.

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My .22lr semi autos never see a brush in the bore. The chamber gets cleaned and, especially with my Rugers, the breach face gets a good scrubbing along with the rest of the bolt area but the bore I never touch. My daughters Anshcutz target rifles get the bore cleaned every week or two if their coach has his way. He claims accuracy will degrade if this proceedure is not followed. Perhaps he is right. I don't have to have the same level of accuracy out of my 22/45 as the kids do in their guns so I guess both methods work.

-ld

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Never clean a 22 bore unless it gets wet, one dry patch to get the crud, one lightly oiled patch to prevent rust. Dry the bore and shoot.

22's shoot better with a seasoned bore, at least all of mine do.

Keep the breech face and action wet with oil and they will run for thousands and thousands of rounds with no cleaning at all, you just have to keep the fouling soft.

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We used to shoot 22 by the 5000 case.

The fire pin slot and extractor will get caked up after a wille and will have to be cleaned. 1000 rounds not much , but when the extractor blows out you will know it was dirty. make shur it and the fireing pin move freely and you will be OK

Oh and I use just a chamber brush about 1000 to2000 rounds and Rope pull from the breach end. = if you just brush it you may brush crap down the barrel. The ropes are great.

Edited by AlamoShooter
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Mosey on over to www.rimfirecentral.com and hit the benchrest section. Lots of good info there.

My preference is the weedeater method. Take a piece of weedeater line. Cut one end at a sharp angle. Take a lighter to the other end and melt it so that its tight pulling a patch. Starting at the breech, use one patch wet with Hoppes 9. Follow with two dry patches. Done with the barrel. Clean the action every 1000 rounds or so and use oil only for lube, no grease.

The only metal that goes through my barrels is the bullet.

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Well, I went to RFC and just got a bit more confused. The majority of what I read was for patching but not brushing, but it certainly didn't seem like a consensus to me.

The way I shoot, it's probably not critical, but I would like to keep the barrel/rifling/crown in decent shape, even if it isn't anything more than an OEM barrel.

Thanks.

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S&W 41 - 1 Hoppe's soaked and 2 dry patches after every 200 plus rounds using the weedeater tool. Toothpick and a little Hoppe's around the firing pin and extractor, dry thoroughly w compressed air to blow out any missed gunk. Small drop of oil on the rails at the back and by the port. Never a brush down the bore. Stip, clean and lube once per year. Bullseye gun - great accuracy and a gleaming bore.

/Bryan

Edited by Canuck-IL
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My Ruger MKII has never seen more than an oily patch down the bore since I bought it 13 years ago. It's had atleast 10K rounds through it and it still shoots like the day I bought it. Are you happy with the accuracy? If so, why fix something that isn't broken.

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