Is it just me or can anybody actually get there bore completely clean? I can run KG products....Hoppes....Brake cleaner....run nylon/bronze brushes...whatever through the bore get to the point where the patches are coming out relatively clean....run a patch through with light oil on it put it away and pull it out a couple days later and run a solvent patch through the bore and it comes out dirty! Or run the patches through and run the brush through a few times then go back to patching it out to the point where its pretty clean...then hit it with the brush again and it's just as bad as when i first started! (By the way these are all factory tubes i'm talking about).
Barrel / Bore Cleaning!!!!!!!!!!!
- Thread starter Boattail
- Start date
if you are using a coated rod, it could be coming from that. or it could be residue from a rod guide. i usually let my barrel soak in hoppes overnight before i do any hardcore cleaning. then, after scrubbing and patching, i will let hoppes sit in it for another 4-8 hours, then patch until a somewhat clean patch comes out. its almost next to impossible to get a completely clean patch to come out.
cmillard said:
"DITTO"
With a factory bore you may be better off not scrubbing it to death. I've heard some very experienced shooters claim that the copper jacket material may be smoothing the bore by filling small rough patches in the bore. By removing all of that copper you are just increasing the number of fouling shots you will need to settle the bore back down again.
Right now I have a factory barrel on my rifle. I clean using boretech eliminator and nylon brushes after every 100 rounds or when the groups open up. I usually still have some copper showing on patches when I stop, and don't oil the bore as I shoot the gun weekly. First shot after cleaning is within .5" of my center, the rest are dead nuts on the money.
Right now I have a factory barrel on my rifle. I clean using boretech eliminator and nylon brushes after every 100 rounds or when the groups open up. I usually still have some copper showing on patches when I stop, and don't oil the bore as I shoot the gun weekly. First shot after cleaning is within .5" of my center, the rest are dead nuts on the money.
Forum Boss
Administrator
Octopus said:
On a factory tube (the subject here), they are virtually all going to show some tooling marks. The amount of effort you'd have to use with an abrasive paste to remove the tooling marks would probably open up the dimensions of your bore and you could hurt its accuracy. You should be very careful when using abrasives, particularly in the last quarter of the barrel.
Many barrels shoot best with some degree of fouling. Don't go nuts trying to get a factory barrel clean down to bare metal. You'll be chasing your tail. Let the barrel show you the conditions which it likes to shoot.
Some folks occasionally get lucky with factory barrels. I have a Savage 12F in 6BR that shows minimal tool marks in the borescope. It actually looks like it was lightly lapped although that seems very unlikely. It shoots and cleans well. When I purchased the rifle, I fully intended to replace the barrel with a Shilen Select but it shot well and I kept it.
I soak the bore with Wipe-Out, push through patches until they are not black and repeat. That eliminates most of the carbon. I then alternately use Bore-Tech Eliminator and Butch's Bore Shine until the copper is gone. The last stage is one or two patches with Hoppe's #9 and then dry patches. If it is a CM barrel, a very light coat of oil which I remove with Hoppe's before the next firing.
I soak the bore with Wipe-Out, push through patches until they are not black and repeat. That eliminates most of the carbon. I then alternately use Bore-Tech Eliminator and Butch's Bore Shine until the copper is gone. The last stage is one or two patches with Hoppe's #9 and then dry patches. If it is a CM barrel, a very light coat of oil which I remove with Hoppe's before the next firing.
About a year ago I was where you were. Fanatical about getting my factory barrels totally clean of copper and carbon. Butch's, Hoppes, Hoppes Benchrest Copper cleaner, JB cleaning paste....scrub, scrub, scrub. Blue was my enemy and I was convinced I had to get all of it out.
I had a little chat with my shooting mentor and he suggested I do a little experiment. I shot five groups with the fanatically clean barrel. Then did a so-so cleaning with about ten patches and some brushing with Butch's and shot five more groups at a later time. (Conditions were calm both days.)
There was no significant difference in the groups sizes. I tried this again with another gun and got the same results. I now clean them good enough and spend my time reloading or doing something more enjoyable than cleaning barrels.
In retrospect I have to wonder how much damage I did to these bores by cleaning them within a inch of their life.
I had a little chat with my shooting mentor and he suggested I do a little experiment. I shot five groups with the fanatically clean barrel. Then did a so-so cleaning with about ten patches and some brushing with Butch's and shot five more groups at a later time. (Conditions were calm both days.)
There was no significant difference in the groups sizes. I tried this again with another gun and got the same results. I now clean them good enough and spend my time reloading or doing something more enjoyable than cleaning barrels.
In retrospect I have to wonder how much damage I did to these bores by cleaning them within a inch of their life.
Boattail
Just in case. Whenever you run a bore brush back through your gonna see black. The brush holds filth far greater than the eye can see. Personally I would never bother try cleaning a brush after use good enough to say its not redistributing carbon. just not worth it to me.
Sleepy
Whatever floats the boat as they say. Your cleaning backwards tho. Wipeout is one of the best copper removers I've seen. Hit those bores with a brush and any mild solvent you like. Then use the Wipe Out on the copper and stubborn carbon. You'll like it even more
When your spray cans are gone get the Patch Out with Accelerator. So much more economical and less mess.
Just in case. Whenever you run a bore brush back through your gonna see black. The brush holds filth far greater than the eye can see. Personally I would never bother try cleaning a brush after use good enough to say its not redistributing carbon. just not worth it to me.
Sleepy
Whatever floats the boat as they say. Your cleaning backwards tho. Wipeout is one of the best copper removers I've seen. Hit those bores with a brush and any mild solvent you like. Then use the Wipe Out on the copper and stubborn carbon. You'll like it even more
When your spray cans are gone get the Patch Out with Accelerator. So much more economical and less mess.
Ackman
Gold $$ Contributor
There are some real good bore cleaners on the market now. Used to be it would take Shooter's Choice and a brush to get the powder, then go with Sweet's for copper. Now there are cleaners that get powder and copper at the same time. Butch's and Montana Xtreme are the two that I use. Patches are cheap. Use lots of wet patches until they start coming out just slightly gray. If it takes 10 or 15, use them. Use however many it takes. You might need to leave the barrel soaking a little while. Let the solvent do it's work. You'll develop a feel for each barrel about when to go with the brush. Then a few more wet patches after the brush. Some barrels are tougher than others and factory tubes are a lot more difficult than custom. Do it until the barrel is clean. The two solvents mentioned can be left in a bore overnight or for days and do no harm.....I've tested it. One factory .17 Sako barrel was so coppered it took a whole week of patches and mostly soaking to get clean. I have only a couple factory barrels now. The custom tubes come clean - even the hotrods - with just wet patches and almost never see a brush. With a factory tube I do it the same way, lots of wet patches.
Jo: I do not use Carb-Out spray, only Patch-Out and Accelerator. I have tried them by themselves and do not obtain as good a result. I also use no brushes, no longer finding them necessary. The entire described regimen consumes about 20 patches per rifle and about 15 minutes. The real turning point was using Sinclair O-ring rod guides which allow me to truly soak the patch and thoroughly wet the bore.
I currently have rifles with Hart, Krieger, Shilen, Bartlein, McGowen, Savage and Remington barrels. I have another underway with my first Brux. It has been years since I aggressively cleaned barrels and I shoot long range with both moly and hBN coated bullets. My borescope will show a little fouling in the corners, even after cleaning. Since I can detect no accuracy or longevity difference between a squeaky clean barrel and a pretty clean barrel, mine are pretty clean.
I currently have rifles with Hart, Krieger, Shilen, Bartlein, McGowen, Savage and Remington barrels. I have another underway with my first Brux. It has been years since I aggressively cleaned barrels and I shoot long range with both moly and hBN coated bullets. My borescope will show a little fouling in the corners, even after cleaning. Since I can detect no accuracy or longevity difference between a squeaky clean barrel and a pretty clean barrel, mine are pretty clean.
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