best way to clean a .22 lr

[Wis]

Hi All;
I am the proud new owner of a Browning Buckmark 22lr semiauto.

With most of my firearms, I field strip them and give them a good cleaning with BF CLP. I've been told that field stripping a .22 lr auto is not a good idea. My questions are:

• How do you clean your .22 lr
• What cleaner/lube do you prefer
  
  Thanks for your help.

 

[bsmithwins]

I've always stripped firearms, including .22s for cleaning. The Ruger MkII I shot at yesterdays match is setting at home with gun oil in the bore and in the action, softening the fouling. I expect to be able to take a patch and wipe the weapon clean in a couple days, when I get around to it.

I would be hesitant to take multiple passes with bore brushes to a .22 bore every time it was shot. In my experience they normally don't need it as a tight patch will get most the fouling anyway.

Right now I'm using Simple Green Extreme Aircraft cleaner as a general cleaner and Aeroshell Fluid 18 as a lubricant. BSW

 

[chevrofreak]

Field stripping isn't a problem, unless it causes extra wear. Getting all that powder residue out is often necessary to keep them running well.

Deep cleaning of the bore will often result in a temporary loss of accuracy. I pull a piece of small diameter rope (the camouflage stuff found in the camping section at Walmart) that has about a dozen knots tied into it through my bore, lubricated with some Super Lube spray (has solvents in it hat help clean, then evaporate, and it'll leave a PTFE coating behind when it dries). I do that a few times and call it good.

I suggest not using a brush at all on .22LR's. They tend to have shallow rifling that is easily damaged.

 

[Shannow]

I usually use a patch wet with Purple Problem Solver, a dry patch, and then another PPS...about it.

Onother trick is to use weed whacker cord, heat up one end to form a "blob" of plastic, and use it as a pull through with a patch around teh blob.

 

[Durango]

Originally Posted By: Wis
Hi All;
I am the proud new owner of a Browning Buckmark 22lr semiauto.

With most of my firearms, I field strip them and give them a good cleaning with BF CLP. I've been told that field stripping a .22 lr auto is not a good idea. My questions are:

• How do you clean your .22 lr
• What cleaner/lube do you prefer
  
  Thanks for your help.
  
  
  
  Wis,
  
  I clean my Browning pistol every time it's shot. To skip the cleaning process warrants jams. Make sure you clean the bore only when the accuracy falls off but you still must clean the chamber. In addition go to your local Browning service center and get extra buffers. They go bad after 500 rounds and will fall off during firing and cause a jam.
  
  What do I use??? I use Prolix to clean everything except for the barrel. I use Hoppe's to clean the bore twice per year when my favorite load/brand starts to go sour. Breakfree to lube
  
  One very important thing...... NEVER DRY FIRE YOUR PISTOL. THE PIN WILL CAUSE A BUR ON THE EDGE OF THE CHAMBER CHANGING THE DIMENSION SLIGHTLY.
  
  Durango

 

[Wis]

Thanks guys. I took my Buckmark to the range for the first time today and it was an absolute pleasure to shoot. Accurate right out of the box and a great trigger.

 

[Durango]

Wis,

Your always welcome. Twenty two in general are an entirly different animal compared to center fire pistols. When you do clean your bore just make sure you don't ding the crown so push the rod from the breech end instead of the bore end. In addition consider a pull through device for 22's and it'll keep the bore clean without damaging the bore.

Later,

Durango

 

[CITYSLICKER]

Bore snake works pretty well on the residue left by the copper plated 22's , has a brush built in and seems to get the chamber clean enough . I usually use mine with no solvent .

I don't shoot plain lead very often just because it's messier.

The Aguila copper plated hyper velocity is pretty good stuff in my gun .

 

[Maritime Storm]

I clean my rimfires once a year(end of hunting season). I use Hoppes9, run a brush through wet once, one wet patch, dry patches until clear, then one patch soaked in ATF. Clean the action, grease the hinge, oil the hammer or bolt depending on which rifle, and put them away until it's time to visit the range.

 

[Fatboymoe]

I clean my .22 target pistols after every use( S&W 41 & HS Citation). I clean the barrels with Shooter's Choice and clean the action with Q-Tips and CLP. They really don't get very dirty because I use RWS R-50 Subsonic ammo in them and it is really clean.
In my new Kimber .22 conversion kit, I tried some of the new Remington-Ely .22 match ammo with pretty good results. It's much cheaper than the RWS stuff I use in my target pistols. The Kimber conversion kit is set up for standard velocity 40gr ammo and the Rem-Ely fit the bill pretty well. The Rem-Ely ammo was also very clean. I did try some Aguila .22 ammo and it shot O.K., but the gun was really dirty after 100 rds.