Copper in Barrel after Bullet change ?

[D-4297]

Like to get some advice from those who have been at this longer than me and are in the "know" about these things . Due to the recent shortages of some Berger Bullets for us F-Class .308 shooters , I purchased several boxes of 190gr Sierras for practice , and to save my Bergers for the SWN .

Now comes the problem . I am seeing a thin line of copper towards the muzzle end after my normal cleaning process that wasn't there with the Bergers . Is it just a slightly softer jacket on the Sierra's causing this issue ? I clean well , but not aggressively , with any type of Bore paste . Any thoughts or suggestions ? Barrel has roughly ,600 rounds on it and still running high 190's .

 

[Gargoyle]

What is your current copper solvent? I soak a patch in copper solvent, wrap it around a bore brush, and let it sit on the troubled spot overnight. It works. Use a wore bronze brush or nylon.

I've seen some copper deposits react better to removal after cleaned with straight alcohol or acetone, then a few dry passes with a bronze bore brush. Reapply copper solvent. I think the alcohol and dry passes opens up that copper that resisted solvents before.

 

[K22]

For what you've posted, the "problem" is visual not performance. Right?

Before I would start subjecting the bore to harsh, abrasive, and aggressive solvents and cleaning, I would let the rifle's performance tell me if there is indeed a "problem".

Assuming your performance has been consistent with your current cleaning regime, I would continue to clean as you have always done until a performance "problem" surfaces. Just make sure that if a performance "problem" does surface that its due to cleaning, not the shooter or some other issue. I would strongly suspect that it would be the latter rather than the former.

In my experience, attempting to remove all the copper / clean a bore to bare metal has produced first shot flyers and a need to fire several shots to "re season" the bore so it will shoot to the same point of impact. However, don't take my word for it, do some testing. You might be surprised at the results.

 

[mgunderson]

I always wonder if the inexpensive bore scopes are an asset or detriment to shooters.

My opinion is to not get worked up about it. Watch, observe, and adjust if the target tells you to. Many people switch back and forth between Sierra and Berger without issue.

 

[Webster]

KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results

KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results, Police, Marksmanship Products

www.coretacsolutions.com

Great article. Many popular bore cleaners are garbage for copper. I use Butches Bore Shine Available in most stores.

 

[Mark W]

KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results

KG-12 Copper Remover Test Results, Police, Marksmanship Products

www.coretacsolutions.com

Great article. Many popular bore cleaners are garbage for copper. I use Butches Bore Shine Available in most stores.

You should at least try KG12 if you haven’t already. It proved itself to me by cleaning a heavily copper fouled factory barrel that I had given up on after trying to clean using Butches and Montana Extreme.

 

[Gargoyle]

You should at least try KG12 if you haven’t already. It proved itself to me by cleaning a heavily copper fouled factory barrel that I had given up on after trying to clean using Butches and Montana Extreme.

Savage?

 

[Mark W]

Savage?

That was actually Remington 700 Sendero chambered in 7mm Ultra Mag. Between the copper fouling and recoil, it didn’t stay with me very long.

 

[David Milisock]

Like to get some advice from those who have been at this longer than me and are in the "know" about these things . Due to the recent shortages of some Berger Bullets for us F-Class .308 shooters , I purchased several boxes of 190gr Sierras for practice , and to save my Bergers for the SWN .

Now comes the problem . I am seeing a thin line of copper towards the muzzle end after my normal cleaning process that wasn't there with the Bergers . Is it just a slightly softer jacket on the Sierra's causing this issue ? I clean well , but not aggressively , with any type of Bore paste . Any thoughts or suggestions ? Barrel has roughly ,600 rounds on it and still running high 190's .

I'm a varmint shooter not a competitor but here was my experience years ago. Using Hornady varmint bullets, I tried 10 rounds with Sierra varmint bulletts as a test without removing any bullet fouling.

Thr Sierra not only shot to a different point of impact it took 5 rounds until the group settled. I duplicated this a few times, however if I removed all fouling first, the Sierra bullets while still shooting to a different point of impact the grouping was immediate.

If I were hunting and using a different bullet for practicing field positions I'd defoul the bore before a hunt and double check zero with my hunting projectile before hunting.

 

[D-4297]

At this time ; The problem is only visual , and I haven't seen any issues with accuracy . BTW : I don't use a Bore-scope . As a retired Tool & Diemaker , I do know what advantages and dis-advantages they would offer , so I don't own one . I do have a 7x Opti-Viser , and several magnifiers . Mostly ; I let the target tell me what's going on . Just mainly wanted to know if this was something to be concerned about , as I had not seen this before .

 

[FNSafari]

The interesting thing about barrels that collect copper or GM is that after thorough cleaning they will begin to copper again starting with the first shot. As mentioned, the key is to see how many times you can fire the rifle without degradation of accuracy for the discipline you are shooting. If for example you need to fire 60 shots without any chance of cleaning and your barrel's accuracy drops off after 30, you have a barrel issue. If you are shooting group or score benchrest and you can clean after every target (10 shots perhaps) then you are ok. It all depends.