Best cleaning method for top accuracy?

[Ricky Cain]

As long as your not cleaning in such a way as to damage the bore, I think a regular and repeatable routine is more important than the how. Lots of good products out there and I have my favs.

 

[rel7mm]

When I got my first accurate rifle, I decided to step up my cleaning game and bought specific rods, jags, brushes and chemicals.

I went with the collection of KG cleaning chemicals and they seem to work very well.

During break in when I saw some roughness in the bore, I also used JB bore paste 2-3 times until it smoothed out.

Accuracy is great by my standards, pretty much 1/2 MOA with good box ammo. Cleaning is easy too.

By benchrest standards, the accuracy isn't so hot, I'm probably part of the problem and box ammo is not helping.

I want to step it up with hand loading, better ballistics and a reevaluation of my cleaning method. I always need to shoot better but that's a different topic.

I've heard a lot of people say they never let a brush touch their bore. They seem to be using foaming bore cleaners.

As a wildcard, I just saw for the first time Remington bore squeegees, a ribbed rubber piece you pull through a bore with a cable. It seems like a novel way to remove cleaning chemicals and maybe I could follow that with a volatile corrosion inhibitor plastic rod during storage. If I tried the squeegee I would use a muzzle guard to protect the crown. Let me know if this is a bad idea.

So what is the best method and gear for cleaning that will maximize barrel life and accuracy?

My barrel is 416 stainless, I might get it nitrided after it is broken in so nitride compatible methods are preferred.

The only 284 specific bore guide I can find off the shelf is a Possum Hollow or maybe a Sinclair that looks very similar. Possum Hollow supposedly makes a 284 bore plug but I can't find it in stock anywhere.

Thanks.

I use about 1/2 a gallon of CLR and just pour it down the barrel and everywhere. Guns never seem to shoot good again, but they sure are clean!

 

[One Eye Pete]

If you want accuracy concentrate on load development and getting the gun in tune.
A clean bore is a nice to have but it doesn't count as much as a well tuned load. Let's face it after the first shot the barrel has carbon in it.
For what it's worth I use good stainless hand lapped barrels and I simply use ballistol on a good bronze brush (preferably when the barrel is still warm) to remove the carbon. Then patch it out. There are pleanty of ways to remove carbon that work. If my borescope shows copper I follow up with bore tech eliminator. About once every 300 rounds I may use an abrasive cleaner if I think the barrel needs it. The only thing that is a must for cleaning is a borescope so you know the condition of the bore. I don't go crazy over cleaning it's just another "rabbit hole" to go down.