Cleaning question
- Thread starter DShortt
- Start date
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
is this a gun youre thinking of buying?
Worst case scenario -
If so just factor in the price of a new barrel, chambering etc and see if the price is right then compared to starting from scratch
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
ELR LVR
Silver $$ Contributor
Something I've done, since if the barrel is considered toast anyway, wont hurt and may help
Use some 600 grit / 30 Micron diamond jeweler compound
Poor a lead lap in your muzzle
and lap it, 20 to maybe 100 strokes max
------------
Warm the barrel with a propane torch to allow the lead to poor into the muzzle as opposed to it pooling at the entrance (the cool barrel will cause surface tension, think soldering, it flows toward the heat)
The barrel dont need to be HOT, just warm enough to be maybe 100-120F
------------
I use a worn bore brush, approx 1- 2 inches in from the muzzle
then poor
screw on cleaning rod
push out
mark / clock the grooves so you line the lap back up with the same grooves
little syringes of this compound are like 10 buck on Ebay
Cheap experimental fun
What I found is it puts a new fresh surface on the bore similar to custom lapped barrels and smooths out any weird inclusions, copper grabbers etc,, (smoothing their edges)
I liken it to a glazed clutch or glazed brakes vs a new one
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Jerry Wick
Silver $$ Contributor
My opinion when buying a used bench rifle - assume it will need a new barrel right from the start.
Murray Brook
Silver $$ Contributor
If you have any Fritz ( the green stuff) give it a try. Worked better for me than JB.
DShortt
Gold $$ Contributor
So I'm learning.
rjs1230
Silver $$ Contributor
The flitz bore cleaner green stuff does a great job
I swore I would never read or chime in on another cleaning post. But I've weakened. However, my intentions are to help, not criticize.
I do not see where the OP mentioned how the rifle shoots or what discipline it will be used for. Just because it looks "bad" doesn't mean it won't shoot depending on one's requirements.
I've seen Savages, 6.5 Creedmoor's, with uglier than sin bores that shoot sub 1 moa all day long in the hands of an experienced shooter. The were cleaned with nothing more than a simple solvent such as Shooter's Choice / Hoppe's 9 and a bronze brush.
I get it, championship benchrest shooters clean to bare metal or so I've been told. Their rifles are tuned to that condition. But is that necessary for other disciplines?
When I hunted varmints which requires a fair level of precision due to the small vital area, I simply cleaned my precision varmint rifles with a simple solvent and bronze brush every 50 to 60 rounds and I never had any precision issues, including clean barrel and cold barrel shots. These rifles had several thousand rounds through them, and I have no idea what they looked like under a bore scope since I never owned one. All I know is they shot well and met my requirements.
I see guys going through a tedious process of so called "barrel break" and over cleaning their rifles to the extent that they have to fire several "fouling" shot before the rifle will settle into the desire POI. That should tell them something.
Well, I'll shut up. I promise to exercise more control in the future and not respond to cleaning threads.
I do not see where the OP mentioned how the rifle shoots or what discipline it will be used for. Just because it looks "bad" doesn't mean it won't shoot depending on one's requirements.
I've seen Savages, 6.5 Creedmoor's, with uglier than sin bores that shoot sub 1 moa all day long in the hands of an experienced shooter. The were cleaned with nothing more than a simple solvent such as Shooter's Choice / Hoppe's 9 and a bronze brush.
I get it, championship benchrest shooters clean to bare metal or so I've been told. Their rifles are tuned to that condition. But is that necessary for other disciplines?
When I hunted varmints which requires a fair level of precision due to the small vital area, I simply cleaned my precision varmint rifles with a simple solvent and bronze brush every 50 to 60 rounds and I never had any precision issues, including clean barrel and cold barrel shots. These rifles had several thousand rounds through them, and I have no idea what they looked like under a bore scope since I never owned one. All I know is they shot well and met my requirements.
I see guys going through a tedious process of so called "barrel break" and over cleaning their rifles to the extent that they have to fire several "fouling" shot before the rifle will settle into the desire POI. That should tell them something.
Well, I'll shut up. I promise to exercise more control in the future and not respond to cleaning threads.
Coyotefurharvester
Silver $$ Contributor
I guess some bench rest shooters don't clean to bare rifle bore, learn something each day.
Shooter13
Gold $$ Contributor
No, now shoot it even though you don't have a base line (should have shot before cleaning) and let us know.
6.5 forever
Silver $$ Contributor
This picture looks to bare steel, to where post #8 still looked like carbon.
Not sure what that pic looks like to me...maybe some fire cracking in the grooves and some (well-burnished) tool chatter on the lands. As for corrosion damage
1. I hear people talk about legacy copper fouling causing corrosion, but here's the thing: Galvanic corrosion requires an electrolyte (water with enough "something ionic" dissolved in it to make it electrically conductive -- seawater works great but pure water is not an electrolyte) and yeah, copper is strongly reactive in such situations, but unless both dissimilar metals are immersed in an electrolyte, there can be no galvanic corrosion.
You can shmear a stripe of copper (strongly cathodic) or graphite (extremely cathodic) onto a sheet of aluminum (strongly anodic) and in seawater, the graphite or copper will eat the aluminum practically overnight. But if they remain dry minus an electolyte -- like out in space or isolated from dew with a barrier film of wax or oil -- you could wait until the heat death of the Universe and there would be no galvanic corrosion. So I wouldn't sweat it too much yet, especially since
2. You apparently haven't even shot it yet (what I'm reading between the lines). Before you order a barrel or write this gun off, I'd shoot it and see what you've got. Didn't you say it was "reported to shoot well"? I've seen some fugly barrels shoot great. You can't judge a book by its cover and all that...
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I agree. Best case is need a barrel in short order.
AlNyhus
Silver $$ Contributor
Other than the small amount of pitting, it looks pretty good. It's doubtful that the pitting will cause any accuracy issues. I've had barrels on BR guns that looked herkier than that, yet still shot at a competitive level and won in registered NBRSA and IBS tournaments.
Not every BR competitor cleans the barrel to bare steel. Many clean just enough to maintain the accuracy and keep a stable tune. The one downside to that method is that occasionally, it should be cleaned to bare so that pitting doesn't develop due to corrosion. It's possible that's the scenario with your barrel. By not shooting it in as-received condition, a valuable learning opportunity was missed. But assuming it's a well built gun, the barrel will tell you what it wants.
Not every BR competitor cleans the barrel to bare steel. Many clean just enough to maintain the accuracy and keep a stable tune. The one downside to that method is that occasionally, it should be cleaned to bare so that pitting doesn't develop due to corrosion. It's possible that's the scenario with your barrel. By not shooting it in as-received condition, a valuable learning opportunity was missed. But assuming it's a well built gun, the barrel will tell you what it wants.
SSchnd
Silver $$ Contributor
My 6BRAi looks like a lava flow in the area forward but I shot a midrange match this weekend, when I did my part it put them in the X right on call. At 1000 yds I felt I had some way off call shots (sling shooter).
Its probably 3000+ rounds on it. MR it shot great, LR I think it is opening up but hey I am the loose nut behind the rig.
Scrubbed mine after LR match to the metal and firecracking. Ran to my local club fired 26 rounds to lay down some new copper for the MR match, DOPE seemed spot on elevation wise and I was fireforming Lapua BR to BRAi brass with SMK 107.
I am about to change that barrel out given the condition inside and the rounds count though for next year. YMMV.
The target always tells the story best IMHO.
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