this is for the 22lr croud and the 22 mag. croud

[jonthedogman]

first I would like to say that I'm a nut when it comes to cleaning my weapons. always have been. but the most rim fire folks I talk to say it is best not to clean. something to do with the imperfections in the barrel that lead residue will fill in.
this made no since to me since I own a few Winchester 9422 rifles and some high end savage and marlins. I guess I expect that these guns would not have imperfections.lol
what is your opinion???????
to be honest I did try this with a Stevens model 34 and after a day of shooting I noticed a tighter group.
is this a silly wives tale or does this info hold any merit?
thanks in advance,
the dogman

[Rocky Raab]

Welcome to HuntChat and the rimfire forum, dogman.

There IS some truth to it. But it isn't necessarily an issue of "lead filling in barrel imperfections."

The .22LR shoots very soft lead bullets at a moderate speed. There normally isn't enough velocity or powder heat to cause the leading that's common is something like a .357 Mag.

But there are subtle relationships between the bore, the bullet, the powder and bullet lubes used. The effect is a lot like the way a cast iron skillet gets "seasoned" by foods and oils until it becomes almost stick-free.

Shoot one particular kind of ammo in a gun for a while, and the bore gets seasoned to that load. Accuracy improves and stays good as long as you stick with that load.

But change brands or types of ammo, and things go to pot for a while. Ten, 20 or 50 shots later, and all is back in the groove again - no pun intended.

That's why some competition rimfire shooters refuse to clean their bores - ever! They shoot the exact same ammo (often even the same lot number) exclusively.

Finally, all this doesn't apply as much to the .22 Mag. The WMR uses unlubed jacketed bullets at a bit higher speed. So go ahead and clean your .22 WMR as often as you like!

[Swift]

Welcome to HC!

I own a fair amount of 22LRs and have never passed a patch or pulled a boresnake through a one.

Edit: I have pulled a patch through em when first purchased using my homemade grass trimmer string patch puller. That's it though.

[jonthedogman]

n/m

[gregarat]

The only time I clean my .22lr is when I am swiching ammo.

[Evan03]

the only time i clean my 10/22 is when it gets to the point that it wont cycle ammo consistently. thats usualy 500rds between cleaning.




swift
lets here about your swift over on the reloading forumn


Evan

[jonthedogman]

how do you attach paches to the weed eater line.
i do the same. the only thing i found that works is to smash a 2" segment on one end then with a sharp razor cut a slit.
i put paches in the slit. the tighter slit the better it holds. but a true pain in the but. works better then any bore snake but a big pain.
what do you do?
thanks in advance.
dogman

[Evan03]

i think melt the end into a ball till its snug in the bore. then you just run the the patche(patches) over the other end and drag em through the chamber.

i havent done it but im not positve the ball end would even have to be snug, just big enough to hold a patch or two so they make the tight fit in the chamber.

i think its called patch worm, i think this is product sold somewhere.??

Evan

[jonthedogman]

n/m

[Swift]

dogman I pretty much have done as Evan described. I"ve experimented with making the patch holding end different shapes and have found that the ball type shapes work the best.

[skeet]

Ya know...I really am not too fired up about this but the term weapon kind of bothers me. I know that a firearm can be a weapon...but a weapon is something that is INTENDED to be used against another human or against an animal that is a threat. When we call our firearms "weapons" we are actually injecting a little fear into some of the people we talk to. I know I know...political correctness etc. But still guys and gals..it is a rifle..or shotgun..or firearm. The word weapon is a nasty term to some. Especially when talking to ladies(sometimes referred to as Soccer Moms). I have taken quite a few youngsters out for an afternoon in the shooting fields and I always watch my terms for guns. It is hard enough without calling them weapons. Even in the hunting safety classes...they are never "weapons"...

Rant over...sorry a pet peeve I guess!!

[jonthedogman]

swift, I melted the end of my line both in ball form and also some what flat. both times the patch pulled through. am I making the hole to big in my patch prior or am I using the wrong patches???

I went back to smashing the end with a hammer then using a hobby knife to cut a slit for the patch. the slit will also rip but I find that I get @ least 6-8 good pulls before I need to start all over.

I use the pre cut outers patches. does it matter??
I do see it working very well for my bigger bore rifles (not weapons) since a guy can make a bigger ball on the end.
I was hoping on making one for my 17m2 and the 22 rifles.
thanks for the help.



skeet, point well taken and in today's society it probably makes allot of since to use terminology that sounds kinder to the other side.
I guess weapon comes from how I was introduced to guns, bows,knives and even fishing poles.
I remember as a little kid horsing around with another kid while walking through the woods with a single shot 12 g.
my older friend yelled out nock that stuff off!!! your mind should be on the weapon not how much bubble gum you boys are trying to stuff in your mouth. he then began to explain gun safety. again, and again
guess we just fall back on our foundation.
so my mind set since then was educate the ignorant first.
the ones that you can't are just hopeless no matter what school of thought you enroll them in.
take care,
dogman

[Rocky Raab]

The military calls 'em weapons, and that's totally correct for them to do so. I call 'em guns.
And that STILL gets my Chicago in-laws in a big knicker-twist. They hate 'em.

I finally told my mother-in-law that in respect for her wishes, if we were ever attacked while she was along, I promise to not defend her. Didn't go over well, but hey, you can't have it both ways!

On the string cleaner trick...

I folded the end over and crimped it hard to make a tiny loop, then shaved the short end thin and whip-fnished it in place with my fly-tying thread wrapper. A drop of Superglue on top, and it has never pulled loose.

[skeet]

Rocky...I love that statement!! Golly day...I wish I had thought of that for my former MIL(she's dead). She didn't like guns either. Didn't like me much either...specially after I told her the only reason I married her daughter was to get the farm when she croaked. Soooo... She sold it to us.!

[Lilred]

LOL skeet..well at least ya got somethin out of it...

I aint never cleaned the barrels my 22's either..dern...I reckon I should tho. But Rocky makes a good point about guns "gittin used to" loads...sometimes I think my old guns is just onry and likes a certain brand. I usually stick to a certain brand..even iffin I've found I've run out of em and they dont have em at the store..I'll drive a lil further to get em.