Quote from: Xcal1ber on January 18, 2013, 03:09:19 PM
How many times would the average shooter need to deep clean the barrel? After everytime you shoot? After you shoot a lot? Once a year?
I deep clean every new gun before I shoot it. Then it really depends on the gun. I will either dry brush just to remove debris or use a patch wet with Hoppe's followed by a dry patch for routine cleaning only when patterns degrade. That applies to guns I shoot both in competition and in the field.
The deep cleaning process removes the gunk so it's much easier to keep the bore clean and routine cleaning is all that's really needed for the most part. A little Hoppe's on a patch followed by a dry patch will normally keep everything in shape. If however you have a rough bore you may need to use a brush and then Hoppe's.
I shoot pretty much all year and use many or most of my guns all that time. If I was through with a gun until the next season, I'd go ahead and deep clean it again, lubricate the bore (and all other necessary parts) and store it.
You can't hurt anything by using the deep cleaning process. It just removes the gunk that's present in most new gun barrels and that builds up over time in guns that we shoot. It's kind of like the patterning that we do, it's part of the fun of owning and enjoying our guns.
Thanks,
Clark