Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Barrel Cleaning

ruger891022
Hello everyone again, I don't think i posted this here before or not, well anyways my question was, i have a sporterized 03-A3 Springfield, rechambered for 6mm remington, before i got the gun i don't think it was cleaned on a regular basis, i took bore solvent on a patch and put it through the barrel a bunch, then i pull a dry patch through, i have done this dozens of times, at first the patches were turning blueish green, i think this was from copper fowling, the barrel looks super shiny when i hold it up to light, and now the patches are coming out cleaner, it doesn't appear to have any fouling residue on it, only residue from the gun oil, is this mean its clean enough? How can i remove the resudue quicker in the future? If you leave the gun dirty will it harm it? besides reducing accuray?

10/22 stainless carbine
Custom O3-A3
savage 24
stevens 67h
winchester x-150 .50
winchester 88 .308
0

Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • ruger891022
    How often should I clean my rifle barrel?
    0
  • BigBarn
    ruger891022;
    it sounds like you have gotten all of the copper fouling out of your barrel, and that is a good thing. Copped fouling is one of the worst barrel contaminants there is. If left for long periods of time, it is almost impossible to remove. One of the best products there is for removing it, is Butch;s Bore Shine. It will remove even the toughest fouling, and that will greatly improve your accuracy. But make sure you use it exactly as the directions say to use it. If you don't, you can ruin your barrel! It is very corrosive!
    The best way to remove the copper fouling quicker, is to keep your barrel clean , every time you use it. Make sure you clean the entire gun, when ever you come in from shooting. It only takes a couple of minutes, and that will extend the life of your rifle ten fold!
    Good luck, and good shooting!

    BigBarn[:o)]

    "Respect the land, and it will respect you"
    0
  • ruger891022
    is there any potential for it ruining the gun if it was left in? how do i know when it is clean enough?...i think i got her done, i just don't want it to be ruined or n e thing...thanks


    10/22 stainless carbine
    Custom O3-A3
    savage 24
    stevens 67h
    winchester x-150 .50
    winchester 88 .308
    0
  • Kdub
    You won't "ruin" your barrel leaving some of the copper wash in the bore. There is quite a controversy over scrubbing bores down to the bare metal and just knocking enough of the fouling out to let the bullet pass. The folks that shoot moly prepped bores and bullets leave the cleaning alone until accuracy tends to drift off.

    Personally, I like a clean bore. You can't really clean one by just using patches and solvent alone. A good bronze bristle brush that fits the bore is also needed. Once you knock the powder fouling out, a copper solvent is needed. There are lots on the market with about equal results when following mfg's recommendations. I don't like to use the high ammonia content cleaners because of the possible harm to the metal if left too long.

    After getting the carbon fouling out and just the copper (gilding) is left, I use Wipe-Out, a foaming cleaner just for copper removal. This can be left in the bore for a period of time without harm (even up to 24 hours, according to the supplier). The cleaner is dry patched out and new cleaner used until the patches come out clean (no blue stain). I'll treat the bore with Hoppe's Copper solvent overnight just to see if any more stain shows, then patch dry and lightly oil the bore until the next shooting.

    Keep off the Ridgeline
    0
  • jonk
    Household ammonia will remove the copper... plug the bore, fill it, let it sit NO LONGER THAN AN HOUR, and dump it out.... I once let the residue dry and there was literally a tenth of an inch of copper residue left in the jar! There are also electric bore cleaners that do a bang up job, and occasional use of a steel brush helps.

    Personally, I shoot mainly corrosive surplus ammo so I HAVE to clean each time, but have been getting lazier and lazier; if I DON'T shoot corrosive, I put one patch down wet, make one or two passes with a brush, one more wet, one dry, and then a little oil, even if the bore is still giving up some residue, I figure, most of it is gone and so far no trouble.

    "...hit your enemy in the belly, and kick him when he is down, and boil his prisoners in oil- if you take any- and torture his women and children. Then people will keep clear of you..." -Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher, speaking at the Hague Peace Conf
    0
  • HKman
    Check out HOPPES.COM they have some great new products called hoppes elite. This stuff works great. I use it to remove stubborn cup scuffs in my shotgun if that tells you anything. To clean out the grooves you can remove the T-handle on the cleaning rod and connect it to a drill (clockwise of course). Be carfull not to damage the lands in the barrel. Give the hoppes stuff a try I was impressed & surprised.



    in three words I can sum up everything I have ever learned about life, it goes on. -Robert Frost- (1884-1963)

    AC Tactical
    0
  • dennisjohnson
    like HK said, i've had great results useing a cordless drill with my cleaning rod attached.easy&fast.

    dennis
    0
  • JustC
    wipeout foam will remove all powder fouling and copper fouling with almost no effort on your part. I clean even my competition guns with it and it is superb. I almost never use a brush anymore. I really only use a brush for breaking in barrels now. Wipeout is awesome stuff.

    If your barrel is badly fouled and stubborn,..a few treatments of sweets 7.62 solvent will remove most of the crap very quickly. It is highly reactive,..so take care to not leave it in too long and never mix it with other solvents. chrome-moly barrels will be affected much faster than stainless barrels,..so keep that in mind as well.

    If you have the time,...soaking the bore in hoppes over 2-3 days is also a very effective cleaning method. I do this during the week when I have less time. Hoppes will not harm the bore,..and when left wet for several days,..can even remove YEARS of fouling.

    clean barrels shoot better and last longer.

    why chase the game when the bullet can get em from here?....
    Got Balistics?
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity