If cleaning the barrel was not a good idea, why do benchrest target shooters clean their barrels frequently between shots??
Those fellas can shoot rings around most of the deer hunters on this forum.
They are regularly shooting sub M.O.A. groups from CLEAN barrels.

You got some splaining to do, Lucy!

This has been a free public service announcement from an official THF rifle expert. Thanks for watching.



Y'all could do like me and never clean it until it quits shooting sub MOA. That's every few months.

In the Texas panhandle, 400+ yard shots are common.

Every year I hear stories of hunters missing a deer, and they have no idea why they missed. After talking to them, they had their rifle cleaned spotless and all slicked up with oil on the inside of the barrel after shooting and zeroing their scope. Oil is a great barrel protector, but not on the inside when you are ready for making an accurate and precise shot.

So, how do you clean a rifle and keep the barrel fouled in and zero'd for deer season? Most rifles will shoot around 50 to 300 rounds (or more) before accuracy begins to fall off. Most hunters clean their rifles way before this time. I clean my rifles before I shoot them at the gun range. I run a patch on a jag (pointed metal tip) soaked in Butch's bore shine for about 2-4 patches. I'll run these through the barrel back and forth until I see I have the barrel almost clean. I stop there, and put 2-3 dry patches to get any remaining liquid out. (If you clean the barrel 100% clean, it will usually take 2-7 rounds to get the barreled "fouled" back in, and shooting accurately.) Now, the rifle is ready to shoot and get the barrel fouled in. During cleaning, the solvent's remove copper and powder fouling. "Fouled in" means the barrel has some copper build up from the bullets in the rifling, which will help make a consistent and repeatable shot. Since I didn't clean the barrel to bare metal, I usually only need 1-2 rounds to confirm my zero is dead on and shooting consistent. Once you confirm your zero, don't touch the inside of the barrel again! This is where most hunters make their mistakes. They will clean it again and oil it up inside and out. Outside oil is fine. It will help protect the outside of the rifle. But oil inside the barrel will cause the rounds to go anywhere they want to go, often not where you wanted. A little oil on the bolt and race way is also fine. I put some oil on a patch, and put the patch on the areas I want to oil. If you put drops of oil directly on the parts, it will seep into other areas you may not want oil.

What if the barrel gets wet? Run a dry patch though the barrel and call it good. If you have to clean it, do a light cleaning, like 1 wet patch followed up by a couple dry patch's, but NO oil on the inside.

If you drop it in the mud, push out any debris with a dry patch, then give it a light cleaning, but no oil. Some hunters carry a bore snake. This is good for removing any debris, but does not do much for actually "cleaning" the inside of the rifle.

If I am storing my rifles for a long period, I will put a coat of oil inside the barrel. But before I shoot it, I will clean it, and get any oil out of the inside of the barrel. This is why I clean my rifles at the range before I shoot them.

I hope this helps some of the hunters who over clean their rifles, thinking that's what's needed.

Your method will outshoot the benchrest guys?? Really?? I say B.S.

Your method will outshoot the benchrest guys?? Really?? I say B.S.

Which bore guide to use?