Barrel cleaning for bench rest shooting

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RödW

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Some folks clean their barrel after every shoot, others never clean the barrel unless there is a problem.

My HFT500 is pellet on pellet accurate and I use it regularly in a bench rest league getting decent results.

Never cleaned the barrel and I've put nearly 3000 pellets through it. Only time it's ever thrown flyers was during pellet testing. Once I stuck to a brand, (H&N Barracuda FTs in 4.51) it's been spot on ever since. Minor variations during hot weather which I can test/correct on the day in minor scope adjustments.

Curious to know people's thoughts on cleaning, when or when not to, and how often?

... This should be interesting :cool:
 
I find that my springers need a clean, especially when changing pellet brand.
My PCPs rarely get a clean and when they do it takes about 50 shots before they behave properly again.

But then again, I'm such a crap shot it proably makes no difference..
 
I only clean mine when the POI starts shifting and all I do at the moment is BR.

If you’re getting the accuracy you’ve stated, leave well alone.
 
RödW said:
Some folks clean their barrel after every shoot, others never clean the barrel unless there is a problem.

My HFT500 is pellet on pellet accurate and I use it regularly in a bench rest league getting decent results.

Never cleaned the barrel and I've put nearly 3000 pellets through it. Only time it's ever thrown flyers was during pellet testing. Once I stuck to a brand, (H&N Barracuda FTs in 4.51) it's been spot on ever since. Minor variations during hot weather which I can test/correct on the day in minor scope adjustments.

Curious to know people's thoughts on cleaning, when or when not to, and how often?

... This should be interesting :cool:
Click to expand...
There will be so many different answers because there are so many different barrels and people have different ideas about accuracy. But the vast majority of top bench rest shooters clean there barrels regularly. At the end of the day it’s only a bit of fun do what makes you happy.
 
I have never "cleaned" a barrel, I'll put half a dozen shots through of a new pellet before meaningful test groups and if I suspect any fouling issues, I just put a pellet in backwards (as advised when i was a nipper and confirmed to work by a well known and respected gunsmith/tuner) 🤷🏼‍♂️
 
Mine are cleaned after every session at the club. . A session can be several hours and several hundred shots.
It's amazing how grubby the cleaning patches come out, but it only takes a couple of patches before they come out clear and clean.
The accuracy is maintained... there is no having to shoot lots of shots before the accuracy comes back. Never a problem.

Everybody is different. Just do whatever works for you.
 
I have found that the first 50-100 shots post cleaning group significantly worse than the next 3-5000 shots. There comes a point where accuracy falls off again and I then reset with a clean.

In other words, I clean when I absolutely have to and no more frequently than that!
 
Martin T said:
There will be so many different answers because there are so many different barrels and people have different ideas about accuracy. But the vast majority of top bench rest shooters clean there barrels regularly. At the end of the day it’s only a bit of fun do what makes you happy.
Click to expand...
Agree on the fun bit, but I'm also competing which is fun too, but requires consistency and marginal gains can make a difference. Just looking for some tips and also a bit of curiosity. Right now, the performance is spot on, but if it deteriorates, I'll give it a clean.
 
Wing Commander said:
Mine are cleaned after every session at the club. . A session can be several hours and several hundred shots.
It's amazing how grubby the cleaning patches come out, but it only takes a couple of patches before they come out clear and clean.
The accuracy is maintained... there is no having to shoot lots of shots before the accuracy comes back. Never a problem.

Everybody is different. Just do whatever works for you.
Click to expand...
Good point, and definitely a valid approach.
 
I am notoriously lazy and rarely clean barrels - however last weekend at the range, 3 of my rifles were cleaned as I was getting peer pressure to do so. We did...and to be fair they were all really dirty.....and accuracy improved afterwards.

I will clean when accuracy drops off.
 
Andy from Sandy said:
My HW100 lets me know when it's time for a clean as the pellets just start going all over the place, with respect to a 2mm bullseye.

My HFT 500 doesn't seem fussy about needing a clean. I haven't discerned any drop off in accuracy.

Those Steyr guys apparently are always barrel cleaning!
Click to expand...
I'm aiming for the same 2mm bullseye and my HFT500 sounds like yours. Heard about the Steyr guys too :-) I started out with an HW100, but it was .22 and used to get occasional unexplained flyers. Never cleaned it, maybe I should have. :-)
 
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