Accelerated Carbon Ring w/ RL25

[jpretle]

Has anyone experienced accelerated carbon ring formation, using RL25 powder???

 

[JLT]

I'm assuming you've noticed something. For one, I have not noticed anything out of the ordinary with this powder.

What are the details regarding your question/observation? I'm interested, as I'm running RL26 in my .243 AI and 6.5-284 Norma.

Round count? Components? Cleaning regimen?

 

[jpretle]

JLT, I have corrected my OP. I intended the quiry to be regarding RL25.

 

[savagedasher]

RL has always been dirty . And shooting it not near max pressure doesn't help . Larry

 

[germanlongbow]

Yes. I shot out a 243 AI barrel last year shooting RL 25 over 105 bergers. It was worth it. Crazy accurate, low ES, and high velocities. JB borecleaner helped extend the life of my barrel. Still shoot RL now with a new 1x7.5 and the DTAC 115's. Still builds the carbon . Scott

 

[jpretle]

How many rounds are you talking, Scott??
Care to share your bbl cleaning procedure and did you make special effort
to reduce/remove the carbon ring?
Thanks,

 

[AckleymanII]

I shoot R#25 with win mag primers in a 7 Mag, unreal velocities with 150-154g bullets, super accurate, very low ES.

I clean with Montana Extreme plastic brush and their Copper cream which similar to JB but is suspended in oil.

 

[germanlongbow]

Barrel started showing issues at 700 rounds. Blown primers and eventually a broken extractor. Clean everything with good old shooters choice. Never tried anything else all these years of shooting. When cleaning first patch I would have to drop to a 22 rod and patch to get through the carbon build up. Several bronze brushings later it would open up enough to use a regular 243 jag and patch. The JB bore cleaner would have to be used every 30 rounds or so to keep it from building up residue. I shoot everything suppressed so I have noticed a lot of extra fouling from the blow back. Not sure if this in addition to the rl 25 is the issue. At 1200 rounds I took off barrel and rechambered to 6x284 after cutting off two inches. Still shoots great. I have a new bartlein 1x7.5 that i shoot 115 dtacs over rl 25 at 3010 fps. Accurate and consistent with low es. I have 900 rounds through it without any issues. Its a 5r barrel instead of the Krieger 4 groove 0.236 that it replaced. Not sure if this helps but the 5r certainly cleans up better. That being said I just bought a Krieger 1x8 for a 6.5 saum build. The 243 ai with 105 bergers shot consistent 3200 fps. The problem was it would throw 3400 + velocity's at the end of the barrel life with as little as 10 rounds through a clean barrel. Be careful with max loads. A little is good. A little more can get scary quick. Scott

 

[jpretle]

I am a long way from 700 rds, but noticed drastic reduction in accuracy as the rounds added up, w/o cleaning. A good scrubbing brings back the accuracy, but accuracy is reduced much more quickly than i have experienced w/ other powders.
I hope this won't be the case w/ the use of RL26, which will be used on another project.