Some guys clean their .22 every 100 rounds. Others run 1,000 before they even look at a brush. Who’s right—and when is enough really enough?
Rimfire’s like a junkyard dog—runs fine dirty until it doesn’t.
Some clean every 500 rounds, others wait ‘til the bolt sticks shut.
Me? I clean when it starts getting cranky. Jams, light strikes, weak extraction—that’s the gun saying “clean me or eat malfunctions.”
It’s .22, not rocket science. Run it wet, brush the gunk out now and then, and keep shooting.
If you’re cleaning your rimfire after every range trip, we can’t be friends.
.22s are meant to run dirty—let ‘em get crusty.
When it stops running, clean it just enough to bring it back to life. That’s the code.
I think its more based off of feel. Shoot for a little while, get to know your gun and it'll tell you when it needs a clean