[c3shooter]

They say you learn something new every day- I did. Cleaning a rifle from the muzzle end puts the rifling at the muzzle at risk of damage from rubbing the rod against the rifling- especially if rod is tilted to one side in the slightest. Unfortunately, many rifles do not lend themselves easily to cleaning from the breech. Just found a great substitute for the store bought muzzle rod guide.

Find a FIRED 12 gauge shotshell. Use a pocketknife to cut the hull, leaving an overall length pf about 1.5 inches. Use a punch to knock the fired primer out. You're done. This will now fit snugly on the muzzle of a heavy barreled 22, with the empty primer pocket neatly centered on the bore. A 22 cal rod fits right thru the #209 primer pocket. Insert rod thru, attach brush or patch holder, slip over muzzle, and clean til your heart is content.

Have not checked yet, but a 16 or 20 gauge MAY fit regular sporter barrels.

[big shrek]

I use Bore Snake cleaners...cloth cleaner w/ a brass brush inside w/ a string tied on it that you insert into the chamber and pull thru the barrel. Best thing to do is Buy Two so you can take the brush out of one for swabbing-only-duty.

The old fashined method used to be to tie a string to a sock (or other cloth that fits) & pull it thru yer gun a few times...still effective

[c3shooter]

Shrek- I have an issue "pull thru" for one of my SMLEs. It is just REAL hard to pull a sock thru one of the .22 target rifles. Similar problems with the boresnake- have to disassemble rifle- cartridge elevator gets in way of breech when bolt is open.

[Gene Langston]

I solved the problem of cleaning .22 rimfire bores...I never clean them. Well, maybe not "never," since I run a brush through them every five years or so.

A clean .22 bore, in my experience, degrades accuracy. Takes a hundred rounds or so to get it back to pre-cleaning accuracy. Jack O'Conner never cleaned the bores of .22 rifles, or so he said. This is where I got the official word that it's OK.

Bore snakes are good, but I don't even use those. The wax on a .22 bullet protects the bore from rust pretty well.

[cpttango30]

I am with Gene on this one. I get about 1 to 2 years out of my rimfires before they need any kind of cleaning.

It is amazing that growning up I cleaned every rifle we owned with a brass rod from the muzzle. Never once affected accuracy. Some of the rifles were shooting .3" groups at 100 yards.

[McNabb11b]

Seriously Activee, STOP POSTING!

[ErikE]

I use a piece of Weed Wacker nylon string. Knot it at the end, string a patch or two, soak with bore cleaner or gun oil, stuff non-knoted end thru the barrel from the breach, and pull when the end sticks out. All ready had the weed waker string so cost is nothing.