How often should you clean a 223

[tikkamark]

I was just wondering how often are you meant to clean a .223 some people say it takes 15 to 20 rounds for the group sizes to settle down after cleaning would this vary from rifle to rifle or would they all be more or less the same?Also would the t8 surpressor on the end of the barrel aid the build up of crud in the barrel?I would be thankful for any opinions.Mark

[deadeye ive]

I was just wondering how often are you meant to clean a .223 some people say it takes 15 to 20 rounds for the group sizes to settle down after cleaning would this vary from rifle to rifle or would they all be more or less the same?Also would the t8 surpressor on the end of the barrel aid the build up of crud in the barrel?I would be thankful for any opinions.Mark

Alot is said from shooters that have no or very little experience as I can only speak from my own personal experience and that is if a centre fire hunting rifle takes that many shots to settle down then it is of no use and probably unsafe to use on mainy flat land if your not 100& sure where that first shot is going .

 

Two schools of thought here .......

1, Run a clean barrel

2, Run a fouled barrel

Accuracy ;Unless I can group under the size of a 5p coin at 100 yds with 3 shots then I don't consder my set up accurate .Other people consider 3 shots in a 4 " kill zone at 100 yds as being accurate though

 

I have a Tikka 595 with T8 fitted .I have a strict cleaning regime whereby the critical and all imprtant first shot is on the nail and I run a clean barrel .The T8 is removed after zeroing and left completely untouched and stored in a oily sock .

 

So far I have yet to come across a rifle of mine that takes a considerable amount of shots before consistant grouping returns .

[tikkamark]

[

Alot is said from shooters that have no or very little experience as I can only speak from my own personal experience and that is if a centre fire hunting rifle takes that many shots to settle down then it is of no use and probably unsafe to use on mainy flat land if your not 100& sure where that first shot is going .

 

Two schools of thought here .......

1, Run a clean barrel

2, Run a fouled barrel

Accuracy ;Unless I can group under the size of a 5p coin at 100 yds with 3 shots then I don't consder my set up accurate .Other people consider 3 shots in a 4 " kill zone at 100 yds as being accurate though

 

I have a Tikka 595 with T8 fitted .I have a strict cleaning regime whereby the critical and all imprtant first shot is on the nail and I run a clean barrel .The T8 is removed after zeroing and left completely untouched and stored in a oily sock .

 

So far I have yet to come across a rifle of mine that takes a considerable amount of shots before consistant grouping returns .

that is a good tip for storing the surpressor.Do you bother spraying a bit of oil into the baffles at all?What do you mean the first shot is on the nail and you run a clean barrel?

[deadeye ive]

I spray nothing into the baffles and the oily sock is well sprayed with WD 40 .

 

First shot on the nail

 

The rifling is cleaned after every outing using a boreguide ,rod ,jag ,patches and butches bore shine and no bronze brush .IMO the latter really can cause unpredictable grouping with the very first shots .

 

With a newly cleaned barrel I know exactly where first shot goes ;1" high slighty to the right by .25" with the following shots forming a tight group .

 

To put things into context up to now I have put around 1000 rds down this rifle and to date shot less than 20 foxes with it and I have covered just about every notion going concerning Full bore and to clean or not to clean .

[dunganick]

on the other side of the fence my old man never cleans his guns untill they stop shooting straight, and gets much the same results.

 

its a subject very few shooters actually genuinly experiment with, most will just choose one or the other. However one thing is for sure you will never get the two groups of people to agree on the best method.

[rarms]

My .308 I use just one or two oily patches to clean the big crud from the bore. With Federal Power-Shok (My hunting load) it will still group under an inch at 100yrds if I do my bit and it does this with the first shot every time it comes out of the cabinet.

 

My .223 I have only shot once so far but I am carrying out the same cleaning regime with that rifle as the previous owner used, which is: a few patches coated in TM Solvent, ten or so strokes with a plastic bore brush dipped in TM, a clean patch, a methylated spirit patch and then a night upright in the cabinet with Wipeout in the bore, before another clean patch the next morning. Bought a chamber plug, boreguide and special cleaning rod from the US just to keep it up!

 

Seems long winded compared to the .308 however the first time I shot it I had four shots touching at 100yards (probably all within .5") using american eagle factory stuff. Don't really want to risk ********* that kind of accuracy up! And now I have the used brass I can go about loading the previous owners handloads which he reckons are even better

 

I think really use whatever cleaning method works for your gun! If in future use I find that the .223 is as accurate using just a few oily patches then I am not gonna bother doing all the above. However, it will take some time for me to pluck up the courage to test it

[tikkamark]

thanks for the replies lads all i use to clean mine is a hoppes boresnake in the 223 and the hmr and it seems to leave the bore sparkling.I had a bad experience with a cleaning rod in the hmr i was pushing the phosphor bronze through and it jammed halfway up the barrel after a lot of pulling it eventually came out i was fairly lucky after that episode i swore id never use one again.

[ronan nee]

thanks for the replies lads all i use to clean mine is a hoppes boresnake in the 223 and the hmr and it seems to leave the bore sparkling.I had a bad experience with a cleaning rod in the hmr i was pushing the phosphor bronze through and it jammed halfway up the barrel after a lot of pulling it eventually came out i was fairly lucky after that episode i swore id never use one again.

 

you need to watch it with the bore snake as well. make sure you pull it from the barrel straight. not at an angle or after a while you will be looking for a new barrel

 

ronan

[dusk2dawn]

I spray nothing into the baffles and the oily sock is well sprayed with WD 40 .

 

First shot on the nail

 

The rifling is cleaned after every outing using a boreguide ,rod ,jag ,patches and butches bore shine and no bronze brush .IMO the latter really can cause unpredictable grouping with the very first shots .

 

With a newly cleaned barrel I know exactly where first shot goes ;1" high slighty to the right by .25" with the following shots forming a tight group .

 

To put things into context up to now I have put around 1000 rds down this rifle and to date shot less than 20 foxes with it and I have covered just about every notion going concerning Full bore and to clean or not to clean .

 

 

1000 rounds for 20 foxes, where did the other 980 go?? only teasing

 

D2D

[Frank]

Leave a bore too long without cleaning and it will rust.

 

Frank.

[deadeye ive]

1000 rounds for 20 foxes, where did the other 980 go?? only teasing

 

D2D

I will take this in the spirit it is intended so B*&^%$Ks ....................On a serious note I think the rabbits keep tipping the ******* off about my iminent arrival because i don't see that many