Barrel cleaning

[Adam Moore]

what is your cleaning process? Products you use and when do you stop the process that day? I notice very little Copper fouling when cleaning, but get lots of blue/black residue when cleaning and don't ever seem to get a white patch out.

When discussing cleaning the throat.....how do you ensure your getting the "throat" clean to reduce erosion there?

 

[aushunter1]

been asked many many many times before mate.
The search tab is a great resource!
https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/rifle-cleaning.224403/#post-1687557

 

[Adam Moore]

Most of what I see in that discussion is "When" to clean......I am interested in techniques and products that people are using.

Also for the ones using brushes do you pass the brush all the way through the end of the muzzle and reverse the direction back through, or do you unscrew at the muzzle and only brush from chamber towards the muzzle?

 

[Dosh]

Adam, the first thing you need is a bore guide to protect the lands. You'll find as large a variety of suggested products as members responding.

 

[Laelkhunter]

I use Bore Tech Eliminator solvent, and they recommend nylon bore brushes. I think they are safe to pull back through the bore, but make sure you push it all the way through first. Don't try to reverse the brush half-way through the barrel.

 

[YZ-80]

I use Bore Tech Eliminator solvent, and they recommend nylon bore brushes. I think they are safe to pull back through the bore, but make sure you push it all the way through first. Don't try to reverse the brush half-way through the barrel.

Yes. Also make sure you have a good Dewey or Tipton rod along with that boreguide mentioned above. Ok to pull back through but I always end on a forward stroke and unscrew the brush on the muzzle side. Please take care of the crown and make sure the shank of the brush isn't bent so as to alleviate any undue pressure on either side of the crown.

 

[jjmp]

Adam Buy yourself some good cooper cleaner barnes CR10 ,Sweets 7.62 ,loads of others, if your barrel is new it needs brake in ,search the forums here your Q is a good but I'm sure it's been asked n answered ,just saying no flame , most don't clean proper,or not often enough , some say they don't clean for hundreds of rounds , that ain't happening on my watch , Cheers!!!

 

[Okanogan]

Opinions vary widely on which cleaners and solvents to use. If you want basics on barrel cleaning methodology, I suggest looking up some videos online from reputable firms (e.g, Gunwerks). If you are checking out videos from people who make quality firearms and not trying to sell you specific cleaning brands then hopefully the video focus will be on proper care of the firearm.
The advice earlier about nylon brushes, and bore guides is consistent with my practices but I have no qualms about reversing the brush in the throat area.

If you are continuing to see blue when using a copper solvent, it means there is still copper somewhere. I make sure I do not use brushes or cleaning rods with any bronze/ brass as this makes it difficult to avoid getting a blue patch even when your barrel is clean. Also most of my rifles have muzzle breaks. Solvent and residue in the ports can also give me a blue indication so I clean these out carefully when I am nearing completion so I don't get false positive copper indications.

 

[TheLongRanger83702]

It was explained to me to NOT pull a dirty brush back through the barrel. It's NOT the brush that is abrasive that will damage the crown. Its all the crap you're removing from the barrel you're dragging back across the crown and back through the barrel.

 

[jrock]

For a global concept, I primarily use Hoppe's #9 and Sweets. Clean out the carbon and then the copper. I do like the foaming all-in-one compounds as well. Spray them in, let them soak for 15 min, and then brush/patch them out.

I'll soak a bore sized brush and push it through to loosen up the carbon. Then a brush that is one size under with a patch wrapped around for the proper bore fit. I dunk the patch in Hoppe's and slowly bush it through the barrel to finish the carbon off. I clean the carbon out before using Sweets to get the copper. I find the bronze bushes do a better job of cleaning the carbon vs. the nylon because the bristles are smaller diameter and there are more of them. Can't use them for cleaning copper though. For Sweets, I soak a patch and scrub the bore with it back and forth without letting it get out of the barrel. I soak the patch a number of times to make sure there is plenty of solvent in the bore. Then let sit for 10 or 15 min and clean out. Once I started to break in barrels, this cleaning procedure got them clean very quickly. I only clean every 50+ rounds. I also clean the chamber and make sure there is no cleaning residue in the breach.

 

[Okanogan]

My own practice is to run patches with solvent through to get most of the gunk out of the bore before I start working with a brush.
If running the brush through creates a completely fouled brush when it comes out the muzzle, taking it off and reinserting it into the throat wouldn't seem to be a large improvement if the concern was a fouled brush caused undue abrasion. There maybe folks who remove and clean their brush after every stroke through the bore but it isn't a practice I adhere to.

 

[jrock]

OK, good point. I do not repeated run a dirty brush through. Just once at the beginning. I try to let the solvents do as much of the work as possible. Don't need to waist elbow grease.

 

[MOOSE39465]

I'm constantly cleaning my barrel until no more copper is present looking down muzzle of Barrel. I use a Dewey bore guide and I have some pros hot cleaning rods. First I run multiple patches down the barrel with Hoppe's 9. I try to push out as much fouling as I can. Then I will dip a bore brush in Hoppe's 9 going back and forth multiple times until I know fouling is removed. Then I will run a few dry patches down the the barrel. I always spray a cheap shotgun cleaner on a patch to clean out the Hoppe's 9 out. I don't want to contaminate my copper remover. I use KG-12 and CR-10. Start with CR-10 running patches down until the blue color is removed. Most of the time I still see copper in the lands. I switch to KG-12 and use a bore brush to run back and forth until copper is removed. I clean kg-12 out by running shotgun cleaner on a patch. Then I take kg-4 and run down using patches. Run 3 clean patch to remove excessive kg-4 out of the barrel. My cold bore shots always shoots within a group if I do that method.

 

[Buzzsaw]

carbon is your real enemy