how often to clean a 10 22?

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seansean1444

New member
hey guys i have a ruger 10-22 and put 500 rounds through it this week. i ran a bore snake through it multiple times and is clean but should i take out the bolt assembly and such and clean that now also? im going 2 be shooting again friday anyways
 
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Slamfire

New member
I think the greatest problem is the accumulation of wax mixed with gunpowder residue. This will gum up the mechanism, just how much to get there, heck if I know.

I clean my rimfires before they are put back in the safe. I do not believe in trying to find out how long I can postpone maintenance before I start having malfunctions.

I also regularly change the oil in my trucks, perform periodic maintenance. Others I know just wait till the wheels fall off before they do anything.
 
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Beretta686

New member
No. You're wasting your time unless you just like cleaning guns.

I don't have a 10/22 (though I think they're great guns) but I shoot at least a 500 round brick of .22 through various pistols & rifles every time I go to the range and I go about once a week. So my guns get shot. And get shot a lot. So much so I actually had Tactical Solutions send me a whole new 1911 .22 kit because I literally shot my old one out.

I rarely ever properly "clean" them, rather when they get too gum'd up, I'll spray them with lube, wipe off the big chunks of grit then spray them down again and away I shoot. I rarely have reliability problems and have never noticed a degradation in accuracy.

Some people enjoy cleaning their guns and keeping them in military-grade cleanness which I think is great. On the other hand I like to shoot and find it a huge waste of time. As long as it goes "BANG" I don't care if it's clean or not.
 
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Metal god

New member
I'm big on cleaning my guns . They get cleaned after every range trip . Like Beretta said I love cleaning my guns . It's a way to make sure everything is working properly and just good therapy . How ever if i was to be going back out in a couple days i think I'd just bore snake it and clean what I could with some Q-tips then a coulpe drops of CLP . Maybe not even that with my 22lr , but at least that with any of my other guns .

I do recomend a thorough cleaning with a final wet patch down the bore if your going to put the gun up for a while .

I've got a story for ya about how I take care of my guns . A long time a go I pawned my beretta 92G. :( when I was at the pawn shop I told them the gun had about 1,500 to 2,000 round thruogh it . They told me there was no way that gun had been shot that much cus it was in like new condition . I'd say yes at least that much and the guy would argue with me no way maybe 200 .Anyways I thought that was funny and a bit of a pat on the back for how well I took care of it .
 
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scottycoyote

New member
i grew up from the school of always clean your gun every time you shoot it, but after some research and just general observation i think thats a waste, and possibly even damaging if you arent careful, when it comes to rimfires. My automatics i will lube the action, maybe take a toothbrush to the bolt face, etc but rarely clean the barrels, only if the accuracy begins to drop off.
 
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amd6547

New member
The last time I shot my 10/22, I checked that the barrel clamp screws were tight, then reassembled the action to the stock, tightening the screws.
I sighted in a 4x scope, and proceeded to fire dime sized ten shot groups at fifty yards which obliterated the X on the bullseye.
Now, I am afraid to touch a screw on the rifle. I'll probably keep shooting until the action gets sluggish.
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
Clean it when it quits working or loses accuracy. A few drops of CLP or whatever oil is your choice every few hundred shots is usually all that's required or even prudent.
 
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darestie

New member
I always clean all my guns after firing. It may be excessive but I've never wasted $10 at the range trying to shoot a gun that won't fire right. It helps to enjoy cleaning guns.
 
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Metal god

New member
Generally 22 ammo is very dirty especialy the bulk stuff . I'm of the belief that not cleaning semi auto 22lr creates a slurry of grit and grime inside the action . This slurry can not be good for moving parts . I believe as the metals rub against each other in this slurry over time the parts will wear more . I plan on having and shooting my guns for a very long time . Buy keeping them clean I hope to have them operate and shoot just as well at year 30 or even year 60 as they get handed down as they did at year one . :)
 
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publius

New member
On my semi auto .22's I occasionally spray out the action with carb cleaner then give it a little shot of oil. Rarely clean the barrel.
 
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m16tackdriver

New member
Cleaning your weapons

Frankly I am shocked at some of the answers to this question on how long people go before they clean their rifles, but maybe that is just me. When it comes to my weapons I am an OCD neat freak.

This is a topic of great debate and if you ask 50 people you would probably get 50 different answers. So here is mine. I clean my rifles, handguns and shotguns after each time I finish firing them. I do not allow a weapon to go uncleaned over night after it has been fired. I guess you can just call me anal when it comes to that. In all my tours in Iraq and Afghanistan I NEVER ONCE had a single stoppage. And you can rest assured no soldier of mine hit the sack before his weapon was cleaned, whether he fired it or not. And woe be to them if I took their rifle, ran my pinky in the chamber and came out with a dirty pinky.

After 500 rounds with a brand new rifle I would say you are WAY overdue. It has been my experience that .22 ammunition as a general rule uses "dirtier" powder than high power rifles. A patch run through a bore of a .22 after 10 rounds will definitely be dirtier than a patch run through a bore of a .30-06 after the same number of rounds.

Some people will say that cleaning a rifle every time it is fired accelerates barrel wear. To that I say it depends on what kind of cleaning rods you use. I use soft aluminum cleaning rods instead of steel ones and I only use brass jags. If anything is going to wear, it will be the rods and really, who cares? Rods are cheap compared to a new barrel, that is for sure
 
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HawkeyeNRAlifer

New member
I've three 10/22's, a couple bolt actions and a mess of handguns and they all get their actions cleaned after shooting. But unlike my centerfires, I seldom clean the bores.
 
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Pahoo

New member
Listen to the gun

how often to clean a 10 22?
Click to expand...
Staying on point, on the Ruger 10/22, I'd let it indicate to me when to clean and how deep. In your round count, I would clean it, including the bolt, spring and reciever. However, these little guys will still function just fine, on higher counts. I did a trigger job on a five year old gun and I could not work on it until I cleaned it. Asked the owner how often he cleaned and he told me that he had never cleaned it. If you prefer cleaning after each range-time, you might do more harm than good. .... ;)


Be Safe !!!
 
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jmortimer

Moderator
I had a 10-22 for years and never cleaned it and it never failed. Have two Marlin 795s and never clean them. I will wipe them down and some lubrication. I just don't fall into the clean my gun every time I shoot it camp. Self-defense guns do get periodic attention. There are potential downsides to cleaning/disassembling firearms as I read here all the time. I tend to like revolvers and pump actions. To each his own.
 
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Belve

New member
i try and clean mine after every time shooting however i have friends that never clean there and they shoot fime
 
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