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I never need to clean my barrel -- am I the only one?

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WD40 has come out with a gel version. I like to spray a little into my tins and it will creep over all surfaces and leave a very light film that’s almost unnoticeable. They say it works on chains and is Oring safe. This will likely stop any lead from accumulating in the barrel and provide more consistent velocities. With a FX liner its likely a good thing, on a traditional barrel it could release the seasoning. Pick your poison.
 
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I ran out of my other cleaner..breakfree clp..and i noticed that the local gun store had Ballistol. So i wanted to give it a try.
Many people on the forum have sworn by this stuff as their "go to" for cleaning their barrels.
i really should have bought the small bottle because i would rather smell my sneakers after a day of walking in a swamp then ballistol !
that is a very pungent odor that just gets worse after you take your 1st shot and it gets dispersed.
How did you guys get used to that smell? ...or am i being too sensitive? :unsure:
 
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manabeknives said:
I ran out of my other cleaner..breakfree clp..and i noticed that the local gun store had Ballistol. So i wanted to give it a try.
Many people on the forum have sworn by this stuff as their "go to" for cleaning their barrels.
i really should have bought the small bottle because i would rather smell my sneakers after a day of walking in a swamp then ballistol !
that is a very pungent odor that just gets worse after you take your 1st shot and it gets dispersed.
How did you guys get used to that smell? ...or am i being too sensitive? :unsure:
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I use to think the same … but now I’m use to it.

It’s some sort of pine smell if memory serves

You might be a bit sensi on this smell …. Give it an honest try.
 
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For what it is worth, I shoot the lead free pellets (tin metal), and seem to need to clean the barrels more than most of whom I read, to restore accuracy. The better and more polished barrels seem to need less cleaning. New barrels might need a cleaning in 20 shots, older and more polished ones might go 100 shots before needing a cleaning, and then shoot better after a patch or two. The first patch pulled through typically shows tin flakes (land cuttings from pellets?) and grey residue. It doesn't look like those pellets lay down a layer of metal, but that bits are shaved from the pellets into the breech and grooves. Maybe they let go at once and that causes inaccuracy? Maybe when shooting softer projectiles with more fluid metal, a barrel can go longer between cleanings?
 
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Berserkeley Mike said:
For what it is worth, I shoot the lead free pellets (tin metal), and seem to need to clean the barrels more than most of whom I read, to restore accuracy. The better and more polished barrels seem to need less cleaning. New barrels might need a cleaning in 20 shots, older and more polished ones might go 100 shots before needing a cleaning, and then shoot better after a patch or two. The first patch pulled through typically shows tin flakes (land cuttings from pellets?) and grey residue. It doesn't look like those pellets lay down a layer of metal, but that bits are shaved from the pellets into the breech and grooves. Maybe they let go at once and that causes inaccuracy? Maybe when shooting softer projectiles with more fluid metal, a barrel can go longer between cleanings?
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Yeah, it looks like once you start shooting anything other than nearly pure lead projectiles out of an airgun, then the whole idea of the rifling getting seasoned and self-polished and lubricated by the soft lead goes out the window. Bummer.

stovepipe
 
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I’m in the camp that cleans my barrels. I don’t find any issue with needing to season them, maybe just a shot or two. If your gun is set up to shoot with a clean barrel, amazingly, life is easy.

The ‘waiting for accuracy to fall off’ theory sounds nice but when exactly has accuracy begun to fall off? And what about all of the time, effort, competition points, and pellets that were wasted between that point and when you finally observed accuracy conclusively falling off.
 
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dgeesaman said:
I’m in the camp that cleans my barrels. I don’t find any issue with needing to season them, maybe just a shot or two. If your gun is set up to shoot with a clean barrel, amazingly, life is easy.

The ‘waiting for accuracy to fall off’ theory sounds nice but when exactly has accuracy begun to fall off? And what about all of the time, effort, competition points, and pellets that were wasted between that point and when you finally observed accuracy conclusively falling off.
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Exactly! Why wait till there’s an issue? If it’s so dirty that it’s no longer performing right, then it’s likely causing excess wear getting to that point.
 
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BABz58 said:
Exactly! Why wait till there’s an issue? If it’s so dirty that it’s no longer performing right, then it’s likely causing excess wear getting to that point.
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Yup, perfectly executed shots not going where aimed by exacting dope correction found to be "Ah poop" my barrels dirty is not acceptable.
 
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