I really believe that if it causes damage most people will never realize it. Maybe if you're a bench shooter you may lose some accuracy, but this would be in the tenths of an inch in group size over many years. Now if you accidentally break off a piece of land at the muzzle yeah it's going to be noticeable but for Joe Sixpack sighting in his rifle on a pie plate once a year, I don't think he's going to know.
.
Still, I use good cleaning practices to clean my rifle barrels because I would like them to potentially be capable of their best performance. I'm the type that whether I buy into barrel breakin or not, I'm going to go through the motions anyway, just on the outset chance it makes a difference. But I'm not going to get on my soap box and tell you your barrel will go to hell and burn there if you don't break it in properly. I do believe a good break in procedure is just good practice, especially on a custom barrel. But I don't think it's going to make or break your hunting rifle.
Yeah, I know this thread ain't about barrel breakin but that goes hand in hand with proper cleaning because that's the main activity in breakin is cleaning.
Daddy, what's an enabler?
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
This is the first time I have ever heard of wearing out a barrel by cleaning it.
I just read Zorba's post, and I really must thank him for setting the rib healing process back by at least a week. THANKS, DUDE!
OTOH, this is a serious reply to your post.
Nope, you won't wear out a barrel by cleaning it. However, you can...
A) Damage the muzzle crown using a back and forth scrubbing technique. I do what Snake does....push the brush completely out of the barrel, remove brush, pull rod back through, reattach brush....repeat.
Damage the muzzle crown by not using a bore guide and not paying close attention to the "feel" of the brush being
centered in the bore.
Wearing out a barrel isn't that easy, but you can screw up a crown in a heartbeat. I love muzzle brakes as much for crown protection as recoil reduction
Mike
"Walking away seems to be a lost art form." N454casull
I just read Zorba's post, and I really must thank him for setting the rib healing process back by at least a week. THANKS, DUDE!
We aim to please...
OTOH, this is a serious reply to your post.
Nope, you won't wear out a barrel by cleaning it. However, you can...
A) Damage the muzzle crown using a back and forth scrubbing technique. I do what Snake does....push the brush completely out of the barrel, remove brush, pull rod back through, reattach brush....repeat.
Damage the muzzle crown by not using a bore guide and not paying close attention to the "feel" of the brush being
centered in the bore.
Wearing out a barrel isn't that easy, but you can screw up a crown in a heartbeat. I love muzzle brakes as much for crown protection as recoil reduction
Mike
This, at the very least, makes far more sense than 99% of the other posts I've read on the subject.
-Zorba, "The Veiled Male"
"If you get it and didn't work for it, someone else worked for it and didn't get it..."
I just read Zorba's post, and I really must thank him for setting the rib healing process back by at least a week. THANKS, DUDE!
OTOH, this is a serious reply to your post.
Nope, you won't wear out a barrel by cleaning it. However, you can...
A) Damage the muzzle crown using a back and forth scrubbing technique. I do what Snake does....push the brush completely out of the barrel, remove brush, pull rod back through, reattach brush....repeat.
Damage the muzzle crown by not using a bore guide and not paying close attention to the "feel" of the brush being
centered in the bore.
Wearing out a barrel isn't that easy, but you can screw up a crown in a heartbeat. I love muzzle brakes as much for crown protection as recoil reduction
Mike
When I was into mil-surp. rifles the evidence of cleaning damage would smack you in the face. The main reason a lot of Mosin's were back bored from the muzzle to get to good rifling.
I think a barrel gets wear from shooting not cleaning.
A barrel will wear from shooting it mostly with really overbore cartridges, or shooting a lot of rounds out of a very hot barrel. Otherwise, for all but the most intricate of shooting disciplines, shooting will take a long time to wear a barrel out. Improper cleaning, wearing out the crown, will kill a barrel. For very precise shooting and overbore cartridges, the barrel might be replaced long before many shooters would even think about it. Not because of improper cleaning, so much as throat erosion.
Replies
I really believe that if it causes damage most people will never realize it. Maybe if you're a bench shooter you may lose some accuracy, but this would be in the tenths of an inch in group size over many years. Now if you accidentally break off a piece of land at the muzzle yeah it's going to be noticeable but for Joe Sixpack sighting in his rifle on a pie plate once a year, I don't think he's going to know.
.
Still, I use good cleaning practices to clean my rifle barrels because I would like them to potentially be capable of their best performance. I'm the type that whether I buy into barrel breakin or not, I'm going to go through the motions anyway, just on the outset chance it makes a difference. But I'm not going to get on my soap box and tell you your barrel will go to hell and burn there if you don't break it in properly. I do believe a good break in procedure is just good practice, especially on a custom barrel. But I don't think it's going to make or break your hunting rifle.
Yeah, I know this thread ain't about barrel breakin but that goes hand in hand with proper cleaning because that's the main activity in breakin is cleaning.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
I just read Zorba's post, and I really must thank him for setting the rib healing process back by at least a week. THANKS, DUDE!
OTOH, this is a serious reply to your post.
Nope, you won't wear out a barrel by cleaning it. However, you can...
A) Damage the muzzle crown using a back and forth scrubbing technique. I do what Snake does....push the brush completely out of the barrel, remove brush, pull rod back through, reattach brush....repeat.
centered in the bore.
Wearing out a barrel isn't that easy, but you can screw up a crown in a heartbeat. I love muzzle brakes as much for crown protection as recoil reduction
Mike
N454casull
This, at the very least, makes far more sense than 99% of the other posts I've read on the subject.
My wife just read your post. She thinks you're great. She also likes Laurie Notaro. I hope you two don't meet.
Mike
N454casull
When I was into mil-surp. rifles the evidence of cleaning damage would smack you in the face. The main reason a lot of Mosin's were back bored from the muzzle to get to good rifling.
A barrel will wear from shooting it mostly with really overbore cartridges, or shooting a lot of rounds out of a very hot barrel. Otherwise, for all but the most intricate of shooting disciplines, shooting will take a long time to wear a barrel out. Improper cleaning, wearing out the crown, will kill a barrel. For very precise shooting and overbore cartridges, the barrel might be replaced long before many shooters would even think about it. Not because of improper cleaning, so much as throat erosion.