I have read that you can wear out a barrel by cleaning too much! I have a RR 18 inch (stainless)Varminter and it will shoot 1/2 ish inch 5 shot groups. After 20 rounds or so the group starts to open up and needs cleaning. I shoot hundreds of rounds thru my other AR (chrome lined plinker) without a cleaning. Any feedback is helpful.

IMHO this is a myth. If you clean with quality asscessories and are carefull not to jam the rod hard into the barrel you will be fine. I de-carbon, de-lead and de-coppper every shoot. I get the barrel down to bare steel every time and in decades of cleaning the same gun this same way they all group like when they were new.

A clean gun has less fouling to wear against the metal. A clean gun simply wears less then a dirty or half ass cleaned gun will wear. A bullet cutting down the bore with 40,000 psi behind causes more wear then any bore brush could! Have no fear and clean away!!!

I would only worry about it if you were aggressively cleaning with something like JB bore paste.

only if you are using the wrong tools.

"wear out" the barrel -- NO.

What you have read about is people ruining thier barrel by cleaning it.  The accuracy of a high quality barrel (like yours appears probably is) can be ruined by not taking the necessary precautions and not using the proper equipment.  

The accuracy of a barrel can be impacted by even small damage to the muzzle crown or the chamber throat.  There are many products out there to HELP you prevent this from happening.  

Don't every drag anything back against the crown, don't ever "jam" anything through the throat area, and most of all use common sense.

Quoted: only if you are using the wrong tools.

Exactly.  If you are cleaning your gun properly.

If you are doing it improperly, you'd probably be better off never cleaning it at all!

Gundraw

Sounds like your barrel is still rough if it is fouling so fast. Use jb paste if it doesn't start going longer between then look to Tubbs polishing bullets.

Some of the things that to me would damage the barrels.

Cleaning from the muzzle end, and not using any type of guide so that the rod is rubbing against the crown.
Using copper solvents that are ammonia based, and leaving them in too long so it etches the steel.
Using the stainless steel brushes.
Scrubbing the bore with dirty patches.
An oversized rod that is constantly rubbing against the rifling.
Pusing with an undersized, or flimsy rod so that it flexes and rubs against the rifling.

Depends on how its done!

chrome lined barrel should last a very long time!

Quoted: IMHO this is a myth. If you clean with quality asscessories and are carefull not to jam the rod hard into the barrel you will be fine. I de-carbon, de-lead and de-coppper every shoot. I get the barrel down to bare steel every time and in decades of cleaning the same gun this same way they all group like when they were new. A clean gun has less fouling to wear against the metal. A clean gun simply wears less then a dirty or half ass cleaned gun will wear. A bullet cutting down the bore with 40,000 psi behind causes more wear then any bore brush could! Have no fear and clean away!!!

+1

I use to fully clean the barrel on my bench rest guns that were chrome moly (Softer than Chrome Lined) every 20 rounds with a bronze brush and patches. Those barrels all had over 10,000 rounds before I sent them to the trash, and thay all shot ,.5 MOA when they were retired from active matches.

Cleaner is better!

Tack

Tack