Barrel cleaning

[Hoekight]

Since I started shooting F Class cleaning my rifles had been a pain. I clean them back to bare metal, checking with a bore scope until it’s clean. Everyone has their own secret witches brew and I had what worked best for me too. But. I watched f class John’s review of thorough clean and figured I had wasted money on worse stuff. I wasn’t ready for what happened. I followed instructions on the package with the exception of using a 30 cal brush instead of the 7mm bore size. In 15 minutes my barrel was clean. No waiting no soaking. No 27 steps. Figured I would put this out there if you fought cleaning like I do. Here is before and after pictures of my PRC W barrel. The carbon ring was also removed without any extra effort.

 

[Fuj]

Tried a 30 cal brush, but by accident. Could not push it thru, and sure
was not going to pull it out. Unscrewed the rod then used a solid brass
rod to beat it thru. Some 30 cal brushes are larger and stiffer then others.
Mine were all surplus G.I. and hard to get thru a 300 savage barrel I wanted
them for. I have new 7mm bronze brush's that can be a bear to push.

 

[ShtrRdy]

When you clean down to bare metal, how many shots does it take for the barrel to shoot good?

 

[6.5 forever]

Since I started shooting F Class cleaning my rifles had been a pain. I clean them back to bare metal, checking with a bore scope until it’s clean. Everyone has their own secret witches brew and I had what worked best for me too. But. I watched f class John’s review of thorough clean and figured I had wasted money on worse stuff. I wasn’t ready for what happened. I followed instructions on the package with the exception of using a 30 cal brush instead of the 7mm bore size. In 15 minutes my barrel was clean. No waiting no soaking. No 27 steps. Figured I would put this out there if you fought cleaning like I do. Here is before and after pictures of my PRC W barrel. The carbon ring was also removed without any extra effort.

Good deal, but how does it shoot now?

 

[Raydee]

It definitely works, I have it but I am not sure using an abrasive all the time is good or not.

 

[JFrank]

As a less aggressive but extremely efficient approach, I wrap a patch around a soft yet appropriate size bore brush soaked in TC.

Mine take about three shots to get back on the X

When you clean down to bare metal, how many shots does it take for the barrel to shoot good?

 

[Hoekight]

When you clean down to bare metal, how many shots does it take for the barrel to shoot good?

Took 3 yesterday. They are always low right in my rifle.

 

[Hoekight]

Tried a 30 cal brush, but by accident. Could not push it thru, and sure
was not going to pull it out. Unscrewed the rod then used a solid brass
rod to beat it thru. Some 30 cal brushes are larger and stiffer then others.
Mine were all surplus G.I. and hard to get thru a 300 savage barrel I wanted
them for. I have new 7mm bronze brush's that can be a bear to push.

I had some iosso brand brushes on hand and that’s what I used. Worked fine for me.

 

[Hoekight]

Good deal, but how does it shoot now?

Great like it always does. I clean it back to bare metal every time I shoot it. I just didn’t take as long with the TC.

 

[Hoekight]

It definitely works, I have it but I am not sure using an abrasive all the time is good or not.

I used iosso abrasive every time I cleaned already. Opinions differ concerning abrasives. I get it. I use it every time I clean and I also bore scope ever time I clean. I haven’t seen any unnecessary ware on mu barrel. I want it returned to bare metal every time I start shooting. If that causes 100 less rounds on my barrel…. I can live with that.

 

[Rat Rifle]

At this point in shooting history, cleaning a rifle barrel is no big deal. Getting down to bare metal quickly is easier than ever. I think I have convinced Myself I need to clean after every relay. Thorro Clean has made all this possible. But, if match accuracy seams to fall off at 1,000 rounds, is it because of shooting or cleaning ?

 

[jelenko]

If that causes 100 less rounds on my barrel…. I can live with that

exactly

 

[jelenko]

FYI. A fellow forum member did a test on the outside of a stainless steel barrel.

First wiped the outside of the barrel with scotchbrite - causing those very shallow scratches that scotchbrite leaves behind.
Loaded 20 patches each with Iosso and JB and 5 patches with 400 grit lapping compound; spun each patch for 10 seconds at 700 rpm.

Results:

JB: no change in appearance or diameter.​

IOSSO: noticeably shinier, scotchbrite marks still present, no change in diameter.​

400 grit lapping compound, which has a similar feel by touch, 5 passes, instead of 20: Machine and scotchbrite marks removed, diameter reduced by .0002”. If I’d done 20 passes, it would’ve continued to shrink in diameter.​

Conclusions: JB is probably very close to harmless. IOSSO is a bit more abrasive, might cause measurable wear with continuous use, but I can’t say that for certain. Don’t use lapping compound.​

 

[Rick300]

I called Iosso a while back about their thorroclean. They said it was safe to use for regular cleaning. It does have a soft abrasive that breaks down very quickly. I wouldn't use Iosso paste every time but I have no worries about thorroclean. I trust Iosso as they have never steered me wrong. Best stuff I have ever used

 

[TheCZKid]

More recently I've used Patch-Out 2 part cleaner, and let it soak for a while, then start to clean. But, also really like Iosso for getting down to the metal, and my normal Bore Tech carbon remover. It's amazing the different perspective I've had after getting my borescope. I thought a bunch of barrels were clean, then the borescope showed me the real-deal, and everything changed as for my cleaning regimen. That's when Iosso became crucial to remove all that copper fouling I didn't know was there.

I still can't see into my 17 caliber rifles, and I don't want to go nuts with Iosso on those, as they're suppose to have shallow lands and grooves.

 

[BoydAllen]

I have used Torroclean and Thorroflush. They work as described above. As is usual for me, I did some experimenting with different ways to use the Thorroclean. What works the best for me, for a 6mm barrel, is to wrap an 1 1/4" square patch around a black nylon 6mm brush. I apply the Thorroclean to the patch out of the bottle, and even out the coating with my finger tip. The softer brush gives just the feel that I want, including being able to reverse it (with patch) in the bore. There are also some tricks for the Thorroflush. One advantage of having a borescope is that I can use it to figure out how much cleaning is required to get a barrel with particular powder's fouling at a given number of shots clean. When using any abrasive I like to figure out what is just enough. I also want to know how many shots I can shoot before accuracy is affected.

 

[Hoekight]

At this point in shooting history, cleaning a rifle barrel is no big deal. Getting down to bare metal quickly is easier than ever. I think I have convinced Myself I need to clean after every relay. Thorro Clean has made all this possible. But, if match accuracy seams to fall off at 1,000 rounds, is it because of shooting or cleaning ?

If I could clean between relays I would. This is my first 7mm barrel so we’ll see where the accuracy diminishes.

 

[JFrank]

I also want to know how many shots I can shoot before accuracy is affected.

Exactly’ and without giving away any secrets, I’ve learned to do the same thing. I went all weekend at the nationals without cleaning and my last groups were as good as my first groups.

 

[jelenko]

Of course, it also depends on the level of accuracy you need.

 

[BoydAllen]

Exactly’ and without giving away any secrets, I’ve learned to do the same thing. I went all weekend at the nationals without cleaning and my last groups were as good as my first groups.

Interesting. What kind of match?