Gauging Interest - New Barrel Cleaning Method

[D-4297]

After reading "ALL" of the comments here ; I've come to a very simple conclusion .

"IF YOU WANT A GAURENTEE OF A PERFECTLY CLEAN BARREL" ?
BUY A REFRIGERATOR !
We all know from our years of shooting experience that clean barrels don't shoot worth a crap ! That's why we do "FOULING SHOTS" !

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Innovation is good. Open mindedness, not being stuck in one’s ways. Maybe you will discover something.

It all sounds way above my level. Maybe I have an issue (barrel cleaning) and don’t know? It would be a tough sell for me personally, sounds like a solution to a problem that I don’t have, anymore.

But I’ll still read your results.

 

[DShortt]

After reading "ALL" of the comments here ; I've come to a very simple conclusion .

"IF YOU WANT A GAURENTEE OF A PERFECTLY CLEAN BARREL" ?
BUY A REFRIGERATOR !
We all know from our years of shooting experience that clean barrels don't shoot worth a crap ! That's why we do "FOULING SHOTS" !

This is difficult, at best, to dispute.

It would be great if copper and carbon deposits didn’t result in corrosion. Unfortunately, that's the situation we face.

Could be like Boyer and swap barrels like underwear if you've the $$$ I suppose.

So. Pick your poison.

 

[old_heli_logger]

I was able to reduce brushing by over 70% and extend barrel life by two simple things.

1. At the range, while barrel was still warm after a match, I ran 5-6 wet patches through the bore.

2. I next applied Wipe-Out Foam into the barrel, applying from chamber to muzzle. I let it sit about 15-20 minutes, then applied it a second time (filling the barrel). Then I plugged the chamber and muzzle, put the rifle in an AirGlide case and drove home. After 3-5 hours I patched out the barrel, sometimes after just a few brush strokes.

The process described above prevented hard carbon from setting up in the barrel. Some of my club buddies started doing this (instead of 20-30 back/forth aggressive wire brush strokes). They said their barrels retained accuracy noticeably longer (presumably because of less wear, particularly to the muzzle).

For me the huge advantage was less labor and also fewer "fouling" rounds were required after cleaning.
NOTE: To each his own. I understand that very successful shooters have had success with aggressive brushing. But you may be surprised at how much less brushing you can do if you foam the bore soon after shooting.

Thank you! I've read where quite a few folks do this... cleaning applied while still warm.

Has anyone tried warming up your barrel at home with a heater of some sort before cleaning?
Thank you!

 

[D-4297]

The point I was trying to make is that there is no "Magic Bullet" to cleaning a barrel to everyone's satisfaction , across the board . There are times when I will purposely shoot two strings on a Practice Day , and only "Wet Patch" my barrel a couple of times before a Club Match several days later . And there are times when I will completely clean my barrel ruinously before a Major Match , knowing that I will have lengthy and multiple strings of fire before being able to clean again .
We all follow different regimes , based on the type of shooting , methods devised , and products we use . There just is no one single way to do it , and no magic elixir , or process to suit everyone .

 

[Thud]

Pop Corn ordered. Double batch

 

[wkdickinson]

Thank you! I've read where quite a few folks do this... cleaning applied while still warm.

Has anyone tried warming up your barrel at home with a heater of some sort before cleaning?
Thank you!

I think the point he was making, is not a warm barrel being the key. Rather that soaking the barrel/carbon with sovent while still soft (and warm) makes the difference.

 

[wkdickinson]

IMHO this sounds like a solution looking for a problem. Someone earlier made the point that we shoot "fowlers" because most thoroughly clean barrels don't shoot in the same place they do after x number of shots. So why would we strive for perfection in cleaning?

 

[Charlie-NY]

It's a 3 hr drive home from my club. I was always under the impression that soaking a warm bore immediately after use was helpful. My rifles are in quality soft cases. Once I'm finished firing a rifle, I run 3-4 wet patches of BTE down the bore. Then I wrap an old hand towel around the muzzle and put the rifle in the case. Generally, I try to keep the muzzles lower than the receivers for the ride home. Once I'm home, the rifles are all mounted in Tiptons and wet patches are run through the bore.

Once that is done, I feel that nothing is a hurry. I may finish cleaning or, more likely, I just run a wet patch down the bore every couple of hours until I get the job finished. Everyone has a method, that's mine.

 

[Multiracer]

I was able to reduce brushing by over 70% and extend barrel life by two simple things.

1. At the range, while barrel was still warm after a match, I ran 5-6 wet patches through the bore.

2. I next applied Wipe-Out Foam into the barrel, applying from chamber to muzzle. I let it sit about 15-20 minutes, then applied it a second time (filling the barrel). Then I plugged the chamber and muzzle, put the rifle in an AirGlide case and drove home. After 3-5 hours I patched out the barrel, sometimes after just a few brush strokes.

The process described above prevented hard carbon from setting up in the barrel. Some of my club buddies started doing this (instead of 20-30 back/forth aggressive wire brush strokes). They said their barrels retained accuracy noticeably longer (presumably because of less wear, particularly to the muzzle).

For me the huge advantage was less labor and also fewer "fouling" rounds were required after cleaning.
NOTE: To each his own. I understand that very successful shooters have had success with aggressive brushing. But you may be surprised at how much less brushing you can do if you foam the bore soon after shooting.

What did you use for "plugs " Or did you remove the barrel ?

 

[old_heli_logger]

I think the point he was making, is not a warm barrel being the key. Rather that soaking the barrel/carbon with sovent while still soft (and warm) makes the difference.

Thank you for the reply. I'm just wondering if warming the barrel up would give the same good results
Thanks again!

 

[charlie b]

I read an Army paper on the development of a cleaner to replace the old RBC for cleaning bores. They evaluated each product at how well it could remove powder and copper deposits They were also restricted by two other criteria, it had to be safe to use with bare hands and it could not have a strong odor.

The carbon test samples were simply steel plates that they poured a certain amount of powder on and lit it off. I was surprised at how many products, including Hoppes, could not remove the residue without mechanical scrubbing.

So, if a person needed a large volume of consistent carbon deposits to test they could start with the steel plates. Then, once some products are chosen a barrel or two could be shot and tested. At that point some samples could be sent to a few people willing to participate in the tests.

 

[Leo_B]

You're supposed to clean them?

 

[Shooter13]

I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish here but as you've seen there are a world of doubt here. The one thing I can guarantee here is just because you have a clean patch coming out the muzzle doesn't mean you have a clean barrel! I have a few barrels that are heavily fouled, (not from me but "trades") you could work with. Just let me know.

 

[AGSHOOTER]

Erik Cortina is working on a new cleaning product You may want to look into it

 

[old_heli_logger]

I ordered some of these 36-inch long "pipe cleaners".
I'm going to soak them in Bore Tech Copper remover and see how they do overnight...

Amazon.com

 

[charlie b]

Copper removal is easy. KG12 is very fast (minutes, use gloves). ProShot IV is close (an hour). If leaving overnight then I prefer WipeOut foam.

Carbon is different, especially that last layer.

 

[Hohn]

Let’s say you develop something like a gun-tuned millipore test kit similar to what’s already out there for this purpose:

https://www.sigmaaldrich.com/US/en/search/test-patch-kit?focus=products&page=1&perpage=30&sort=relevance&term=Test%20patch%20kit&type=product

The problem will be where you set the threshold of “clean” and how it relates to precision and barrel life.

You could spend a million bucks collecting data and still be left with nothing more scientific than “It’s super clean and it shoots well,”