Cleaning benchrest barrels

[TRECustom]

I asked this question on another website quite a while back, but have been thinking about the answers and decided I would like to know specifically how benchrest shooters clean their barrels.

All information will be appreciated.

Thanks, Tom

 

[artbosco]

Here's what I do:

Step 1 - Insert bore guide into receiver and chamber.

Step 2 - Run a patch or two of Sweets through the bore. Soak 30 seconds. Don’t patch out.

Step 3 - Push brush through barrel far enough to expose entire brush.

Step 4 - Saturate with Butch's Bore Shine.

Step 5 - SLOWLY run it through the bore 10 complete back and forth passes.

Step 6 - Let sit 2 minutes.

Step 7 - Saturate patch with Butch's Bore Shine and pass through bore.

Step 8 - Follow with 2 dry patches.

Step 9 - Push LOCK-EEZ soaked patch through barrel.

Step 10 - Dry chamber,not barrel) with patch of lighter fluid

Step 11 - Wipe crown with soft cloth.

Step 12 - Lube bolt.

The product that does a great job removing powder fouling: JB Bore Paste.

Use with a cotton patch. Work 3 to 5 patches slowly in the neck and throat areas, then down the bore. Follow with a few wet patches, and then dry the bore as usual.

Products required:
Bore Guide, Sweets 7.62, Butch’s Bore Shine, Lighter Fluid, LOCK-EEZ, JB Bore Paste, Nylon Bore Brush, and Cotton Patches.

For a complete discussion on the subject go here: http://www.6mmbr.com/borecleaning.html

 

[Forum Boss]

Note, I am NOT a short-range benchrester, but here is an alternative method that has worked with a 6PPC we've been working with that has exhibited outstanding accuracy,mid-ones agging capability), holds that accuracy for 50 rounds without cleaning, and has shown virtually zero throat wear in 380 rounds. Borescope shows no signs of carbon ring.

1. Squirt Butches' down the bore with a wash bottle.

2. Run two or three patches wet with Butches down the bore.

3. Follow with two or three one-way strokes,breech to muzzle) with a wet nylon brush. Remove brush at end of each stroke and clean brush with solvent.

4. Dry-patch solvent out.

5. Follow with Wipe-Out, soaking for 3-4 hours. Reapply Wipe-Out after 45 minutes before dry-patching out.

6. Dry chamber with fresh, dry mop or old brush with patches wrapped around it.

Using this routine, the accuracy comes in after a couple of foulers and holds for 50 rounds, meaning the thing is still shooting in the ones after 50 rounds. Accelerator can be used to reduce dwell time if necessary.


CAVEAT: All barrels are different--to get best accuracy in YOUR barrel you may have to use a completely different method. Many hall of fame shooters prefer to clean with bronze brushes every 10-15 rounds. But our testing has shown that some good barrels can hold best accuracy with 45+ rounds through them between cleaning. Likewise we've seen that over-aggressive cleaning can be counter-productive, by necessitating a large number of foulers to restore peak accuracy.

I would suggest minimizing the use of JB or ANY abrasives in a fine, hand-lapped barrel. I personally consider JB a "last resort" and haven't put it in my barrels in years.

 

[Eddie Harren]

After every other match, at an IBS score match, I patch through with a 2 to 1 mixture of Shooter's Choice and Kroil. I then brush with the same mixture. Follow that with 2 dry patches, 1 wet patch, then dry patches until dry. I then remove the bore guide, swab out the chamber and "wipe his nose".
You may have well asked for "barrel break-in procedure" because you're going to get just as many opinions.

 

[artbosco]

More comments on JB Paste and abrasives by two well known sources:

"I personally believe in the use of JB Bore Cleaner... I use it after every yardage. 3 to 5 tight fitting patches with JB will get the powder fouling out... I do a full cleaning before I use JB and also after I use JB to make certain I've got all the JB out of the barrel. ... Tony Boyer"

Source: The Benchrest Shooting Primer, ON THE TOPIC OF BARRELS, by Tony Boyer, Page 349, upper left.
-----------------------------------
Krieger Barrels Inc,: Q&A

Q: Will a paste-type bore cleaner such as J.B. hurt a barrel during cleaning?

A: No. There is nothing that we can find that shows that it will harm the barrel provided you use a rod guide and refrain from exiting the muzzle.
--------------------------------------

Instructions received from Krieger a few days ago with my Krieger barrel: Break-In and Cleaning, Under Cleaning:

"Abrasive cleaners work well. They do not damage the bore, they clean all types of fouling,copper, powder, lead, plastic), and they have the added advantage of of polishing the throat both in 'break in' and later on when the throat begins to roughen again from the rounds fired. One national champion we know polishes the throats on his rifles every several hundred rounds or so with diamond paste to extend their accuracy life."

 

[TRECustom]

After every other match, at an IBS score match, I patch through with a 2 to 1 mixture of Shooter's Choice and Kroil. I then brush with the same mixture. Follow that with 2 dry patches, 1 wet patch, then dry patches until dry. I then remove the bore guide, swab out the chamber and "wipe his nose".
You may have well asked for "barrel break-in procedure" because you're going to get just as many opinions.

Doc, as you said, I expected a lot of different procedures, but I picked on this group because of the consistent accuracy of the rifles and the knowledge of the benchrest shooters.

You clean per your procedure after every other match, but what do you do between the matches? Also, I don't know how many rounds are fired at a benchrest match.

Thanks very much to all who took the time to post. When I get on line, this is the first website I check on.

Anyone else who wants to should jump in.

Thanks again, Tom

 

[artbosco]

Tom: Most tried and true brenchrest shooters clean after every relay, with five relays considered a match at each yardage. In Group shooting that's at 100 and 200 yards. In Hunter that's at 100, 200 and 300 yards. Each relay is composed of 5 shots for record and as many sighters as deemed necessary. I personally clean after every fifteen to twenty rounds but know plenty of fellas who clean after every seven to ten rounds, that is, after each relay. Brenchrest shooting has often been described as a little time dedicated to shooting with a whole bunch of time allotted to cleaning.