Barrel won’t come clean.

[Bullmark]

So I have an interesting situation.....my son inherited a a really old octagonal barrel, pump action .22short. The production date is somewhere around 1915, and it's in pretty good shape considering it was definitely used.
We decided to give it a good cleaning. I started running some wet patches through and they were very dirty as I expected. I then ran a brush through and the patches were even dirtier. It was clear that the rifle had not been cleaned in a long time....maybe never.
I'll skip ahead to today, which is about 10 days after my first cleaning attempt. Every single night I've taken at least 25 patches through, some of them front and back. I will use a brush, then patches.....the patches right after the brush are black/dark brown, then they lighten up but are still very dirty.
Ive spent at least 30 min each night brushing, multiple patches, then repeating. I've used a couple different kinds of solvent as well.....they all produce the same results.
When I look through the barrel, I can see very faint rifling, but it looks more like a shotgun.
Ive bought 5 or 6 new brushes and went through an entire bag of patches......the first night I worked on it for almost 2 hours.
What should I do? I'd like it to be clean, but it's wearing me out. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Hunterjones]

I have an '03 Springfield from 1930 that is similar. It is amazingly accurate even though it appears as though it looks like someone has used 100 grit sandpaper to clean it from day one. I doubt this is due to having corrosive ammo residue left in barrel years ago. I've used every cleaner under the sun to remove copper and other fouling and it just seems like the fouling "oozes" from the metal
Get it as clean as you can, then just shoot it if it's safe to do so!!

 

[BigDon]

I have an '03 Springfield from 1930 that is similar. It is amazingly accurate even though it appears as though it looks like someone has used 100 grit sandpaper to clean it from day one. I doubt this is due to having corrosive ammo residue left in barrel years ago. I've used every cleaner under the sun to remove copper and other fouling and it just seems like the fouling "oozes" from the metal
Get it as clean as you can, then just shoot it if it's safe to do so!!

Have you tried CLR yet?

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

If it's a 22 then it has probably only had lead bullets through it. I have talked with old timers and they would not clean the 22s because there would be a build up of lead in all the imperfection in the lands & groves. They said that barrels would shoot better the older they got. The only thing you should have in the barrel is lead and powder residue. Did you try shooting it before cleaning it and how did it group? Now since you cleaned it how does it shoot?

 

[MagnumManiac]

One piece of advice when cleaning a 22 barrel.
Warm it up using boiling water pumped from the muzzle up with a tight patch with the barrel down in steel kettle.
Every few passes with a brush/patch combo, hit it with more hot water.

I shot competitive 22 for a number of years, we never cleaned the barrels. We would only swab out the chamber, they get very dirty with powder residue.
I am only giving you the above advice because you have already started cleaning it.

Cheers.

 

[Veteran]

Yes, I would put some earplugs in the end of the barrel, turn it upside down, barrel to the floor and fill from the breach full of
CLR carbon cleaner. I would let it sit 15-20 min, but don't let it sit more than that if its not a stainless steel bbl. which it is not.

Then try cleaning it again, and see what happens? If you know someone who has a bore scope that will fit a .22, then maybe you should take a look inside that way to further determine what is exactly going on there? Sounds like it has been handed down
3-4 generations and NEVER cleaned EVER.

It might take 2 soakings of CLR 15-20 min. followed by patching out. If the barrel is that old and is worn out, by the time you get it stripped clean, it may not shoot worth a **** until it gets some re-fouling, and even then may not.

 

[Bullmark]

Thanks for the advice. We did shoot it but just a few times messing around. I think I'll see how it groups and leave it alone if it groups.

 

[65WSM]

I have to catch the "CLR" mistake. I have a minor in Chemistry. Not enough knowledge to be an authority but enough to be afraid. CLR is a blend of acids. It will attack copper before chrome and iron, but this is a risky proposition. Where the stainless steel is lacking a copper or carbon blanket, it will go after the barrel. CLR is certainly not for unprotected carbon steels. I would favor an abrasive to remove the lead rather than acid. I like the wool felt pellets from Brownells with a metal polish like Fritz.

 

[Bobby-Long]

To clean lands of smeared lead that happens when cast bullet shooting, wrapping a copper brush with some copper wool strands from a copper wool pad removes chunks of lead at a time. No amount of cleaning with a copper brush would come close to removing caked on lead as fast.

This process literally will get large deposits of lead out in a few strokes. If the barrel is really bad, re wrapping again is required to expose more of the sharp edges of the strands. You only need a little bit, and wrap it tight so you maintain the diameter of the brush as close as possible. If the brush won't push through after wrapping take some wraps off.

I strongly suggest you try this, it will not damage your barrel. Examine the brush for chunks of lead each time you run the brush through.

If this does not work to expose the rifling underneath, I would think the rifling might be worn away, or very shallow to begin with.

 

[Tatergunner]

Try patching with Kroil. Soak the Kroil into the lands and grooves via wet patches and let sit overnight. Kroil really does creep into everything, as they advertise. I recommend standing the gun muzzle down on a towel in a corner. Then brush and patch with your favorite non-destructive bore cleaner. Worked for me to clean up the bore of an old (1907) Win Model 94 in caliber 32 Win Special. When I got the gun it came with a box of really bad hand loads that I dared not shoot, Loaded with undersize .308 lead slugs into 30-30 brass that looked to have been crimped with a deep well socket, as the crimp was hex shaped. The bore looked like it had been slicked out black from shooting with undersized lead projectiles and the consequential bypass powder burn. After the Kroil soak, the bore fouling came out in chunks. BTW, after the bore clean up, my 32 Win Spec loads with 165 grain Hornady FTX projectiles print good groups at 100 yards with iron sights.

 

[jbob223]

The old way of cleaning a severely fouled/leaded barrel was to cork one end, stand it vertical, and fill with liquid mercury.
The lead & residue were attracted to the mercury, and drawn out .
Today however, can't recommend that....EPA & health dept. would go into spasms , not to mention the problems if the stuff got away.

 

[65WSM]

Kroil is an excellent product for carbon fouling. It has less than no effect on lead fouling. Weigh a lead bullet. fishing bullet or shotgun shot on your scale. Put the lead in a cup of Kroil. Let me know when it dissolves.

 

[Carlos88]

One piece of advice when cleaning a 22 barrel.
Warm it up using boiling water pumped from the muzzle up with a tight patch with the barrel down in steel kettle.
Every few passes with a brush/patch combo, hit it with more hot water.

I shot competitive 22 for a number of years, we never cleaned the barrels. We would only swab out the chamber, they get very dirty with powder residue.
I am only giving you the above advice because you have already started cleaning it.

Cheers.

I don't clean them either.

 

[Tatergunner]

Thanks for the good info. Worked for me. I got chunky stuff out. Guess I'm just a lucky guy.