how clean is clean?

Help Support Ruger Forum:

J. Yuma

Single-Sixer
Joined
Apr 4, 2024
Messages
291
Location
north carolina
Ok, I've been shooting for about 2 years, learning much, especially here.

I would like to know how clean a patch run through a bore should be.
I suspect that it needn't come out totally white.
what's "acceptable?"

PS- I've chosen Ballistol as my cleaning medium.
 
You're correct. What's acceptable is your decision, no one else's. All you're trying to do is wipe out the powder residue and leave a dry bore unless the gun is going to be stored for long periods (a year or more), then you should leave a very light coat of oil in it, and dry it out with a couple patches before you shoot it again. The more important part of the gun is the stuff in the receiver. You want that cleaned of carbon build up and general grit, particularly small things like the extractor, things that rub together, etc. Most guns can tolerate several hundred to several thousand rounds before things start to complain, so you don't need to get obsessive about it. :)

Take a look at these videos (Parts 37 and subsequent) dealing with bore issues, cleaning, etc. This is aimed at ELR competition shooting, but the basics of it apply across the board. Watch them on YouTube, not on this forum.

 
Last edited:
When I was assigned to an Armory, I always thought the cleaning ritual and routine maint was a bit overkill.

Buy yourself a bore light, hold a white patch under the breech, or you can hold up to a light and you can see your rifling grooves. That will tell you if it's clean enough. I swear some folks scrub the death out of their barrels with a brush as if they want to make it a smoothbore.

As stated, the actions, especially semis, need to be cleaned "often". Gun Scrubber is a good spray t blast and clean. Let it drip out/dry and a light spray/coating of oil is sufficient.

Honestly.....I do wipe my firearms down after a range trip or hunt. But don't breakdown and clean every single time, unless the gun was subjected to inclement weather.
 
Depends on the gun; on the amount of shooting; sometimes on the ammo.
Normally, just enough to make sure nothing is living in there to block your barrel.

IM (very old) HO of course,
Striving for Mediocrity,
J.
 
Last edited:
To me, "how clean" depends on the gun and it's intended use. I was anal about keeping the bore and bolt face scrubbed clean on my M1-Garand match rifle to the point that I'd often scrub the bore between legs of a match.....On the other hand, a pass or two down the bore of my Mini-14 and cleaning it's bolt face every 400-500 rounds or so is about all it ever gets, because unlike other designs, that particular platform doesn't require much maintenance in order to keep doing it's job......By contrast, my EDC 1911-A1 is an entirely different story. It gets cleaned out and wiped off once a week so dust, debris, and rust doesn't have time to accumulate and become a problem....Different guns, different jobs, different levels of maintenance.

DGW
 
For the most part for my SAs, I push down the barrel, a wet tight patch (Hoppes #9) and then a tight dry patch. Check the bore by putting a white patch near the back and eyeing down the barrel. Nothing obvious. Done. Once in a great while I might run a brush if I see something and repeat. I see no reason to 'overdo' the cleaning on the bore and the cylinder holes.
 

Latest posts

Top