How to cut copper fouling???

[LDHunter]

Could you provide us with the contact info for your gunsmith that will do a rebarrel job for $150? I've rebarreled several rifles over the last few years. I used several different smiths. It looks like they all have grossly overcharged me.

I just got on his website and his prices have gone up post COVID but here they are. This guy is a thousand yard champion and has won many thousand yard matches. He's done a pile of work for me and I may have had better than his normal prices because of that.

Anywhere here's his price list and I suspect you should call and have a list of everything you want done and get a price for it all.

His shop is in Nashville GA (not TN) and it's only a hour and a half from me and I had a hunting lease near there so I would drop off rifles and pick them up on another trip.

Gunsmith - Whidden Gunworks

Rifle Gunsmithing Services Besides building full Custom Rifles for Hunting, Competition or Tactical uses, Whidden Gunworks also offers full-service rifle

www.whiddengunworks.com

You don't need to talk to John Whidden himself. The guys in his shop are all very knowledgeable and their equipment is almost all CNC stuff.

He has literally turned several of my factory rifles into one holers.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I just got on his website and his prices have gone up post COVID but here they are. This guy is a thousand yard champion and has won many thousand yard matches. He's done a pile of work for me and I may have had better than his normal prices because of that.

Anywhere here's his price list and I suspect you should call and have a list of everything you want done and get a price for it all.

His shop is in Nashville GA (not TN) and it's only a hour and a half from me and I had a hunting lease near there so I would drop off rifles and pick them up on another trip.

Gunsmith - Whidden Gunworks

Rifle Gunsmithing Services Besides building full Custom Rifles for Hunting, Competition or Tactical uses, Whidden Gunworks also offers full-service rifle

www.whiddengunworks.com

You don't need to talk to John Whidden himself. The guys in his shop are all very knowledgeable and their equipment is almost all CNC stuff.

He has literally turned several of my factory rifles into one holers.

According to the site he gets $350 just to chamber a barrel with no other work on the barrel. Your claim about $150 for rebarreling wasn't even in the ballpark. But thanks for the info.

 

[VinceMule]

I do not think that the OPs barrel is junk, he is on a learning curve on how to clean properly and the frequency needed for his application.

The learning curve is a real bitch sometimes. He will learn to deal with the copper fairly fast, the carbon fouling is tougher. Notice he was not using bronze bristle brushes only plastic brushes? Use the bronze bristle brushes, buy them by the dozen, The best are good for 50 to 100 strokes for hard carbon removal. Save the used brushes for wrapping a patch around, scrubbing with JB or other.

Tipton has a new bronze bristle brush with 20% more bristles, got some, have not used them yet.

 

[LDHunter]

According to the site he gets $350 just to chamber a barrel with no other work on the barrel. Your claim about $150 for rebarreling wasn't even in the ballpark. But thanks for the info.

Slow down there partner. The price I paid was $450 for barrels and $150 for putting it on the rifle. Chambering was included. So I paid $600 and usually got a bedding job done at the same time so it was usually around $750 including tax. It's possible his prices have gone up post COVID. I'm sure most people's have.

My advice is to call before you just assume. If I've steered you wrong I apologize. There was no intent to.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Slow down there partner. The price I paid was $450 for barrels and $150 for putting it on the rifle. Chambering was included. So I paid $600 and usually got a bedding job done at the same time so it was usually around $750 including tax. It's possible his prices have gone up post COVID. I'm sure most people's have.

My advice is to call before you just assume. If I've steered you wrong I apologize. There was no intent to.

Sorry if my response sounded harsh. The reality is that the prices I put in my original post are fairly standard throughout the industry. You said, "I've never paid more than $150 for a gunsmith to rebarrel." That certainly doesn't reflect the reality today, and that includes using your gunsmith.

No harm, no foul - just a clarification.
Have a good one.

 

[cajun]

The point is you should not have that much copper fouling at 20 rounds unless the barrel is junk. I just ran a 30 shot string for ladder testing and ran some butches. Zero blue on the patch.

 

[VinceMule]

cajun, he maybe stuck with it, has to make the most with what he has.

 

[highdrum]

The point is you should not have that much copper fouling at 20 rounds unless the barrel is junk. I just ran a 30 shot string for ladder testing and ran some butches. Zero blue on the patch.

This! If a barrel fouls out to **** poor accuracy in 20 rounds, it needs replaced, or totally re-lapped. Which could/will change the dimensions if not done properly. I'd call bergara, they may rebarrel for free. I've had a few rock creeks that had a lot of tooling and it took 200+ rounds of heavy cleaning every 20-30 rounds to get it to stop, but it shot lights out prior to it fouling, and after it smoothened out, still shoots great.

 

[LDHunter]

This! If a barrel fouls out to **** poor accuracy in 20 rounds, it needs replaced, or totally re-lapped. Which could/will change the dimensions if not done properly. I'd call bergara, they may rebarrel for free. I've had a few rock creeks that had a lot of tooling and it took 200+ rounds of heavy cleaning every 20-30 rounds to get it to stop, but it shot lights out prior to it fouling, and after it smoothened out, still shoots great.

I just don't understand having the patience or time to shoot 200+ rounds to get a barrel to quit fouling. I'm used to 20-30 round break in at the max and have had a few that simply didn't require any break in. If I'm paying for a custom barrel I expect better.

I've mostly used Bartlein and Lilja... Paying premium money for a barrel and then having to spend a lot of money and time breaking it in just doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe you're using copper mono bullets that are known to foul easily?

 

[highdrum]

I just don't understand having the patience or time to shoot 200+ rounds to get a barrel to quit fouling. I'm used to 20-30 round break in at the max and have had a few that simply didn't require any break in. If I'm paying for a custom barrel I expect better.

I've mostly used Bartlein and Lilja... Paying premium money for a barrel and then having to spend a lot of money and time breaking it in just doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe you're using copper mono bullets that are known to foul easily?

I get what your saying and I agree. I had to strip copper from it 6 times before it quit. But I can usually get 70-80 rounds through it now before I need to clean it. It's just a carbon 6.5prc pushing 140 elites at 2960 with H1K, nothing crazy. My hawkhill 6mm target rifles go 300 rounds between cleanings there is just a lil tiny bit of copper at the muzzle no more than an inch, 2 max.

 

[Frog4aday]

@bdeternv
Plenty of advice on cleaning given.

You have an accurate gun & just want it to foul less so you can shoot more before having to clean.

You can eventually break that barrel in by firing 200 rounds or more, cleaning to bare metal every 20 rounds...or, you can load up some Tubbs Final Finish Bore Lapping System bullets (I'm assuming you are a reloader) and solve your fouling problem in one range session, following the instructions on the packaging.

I vote for Tubbs. It turned my rough as a cob Remington 308 Win barrel (2" gun that fouled quickly) into a sub-MOA gun that can go a long time (50 rds and counting) between cleanings now. Worth the $35.00 to 'fix' a barrel.
Available from Midway as of 9/5/2023:

Tubb Final Finish Bore Lapping System 308 Cal 7.62mm

The Tubb Final Finish Bore Polishing System is composed of a series of 50 bullets that are impregnated with 5 different progressively finer compounds. ...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[johnr]

Sweets 7.62

 

[johnr]

Follow directions carefully for the sweets 7.62