I have heard alot of different methods of cleaning a barrel...I'm beginning to shoot long range 1k or so and want to make sure I'm using the best cleaning method possible....on hand I have HOPPES NO 9 and some remington oil and stuff.....opinions?
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barrel cleaning methods
- Thread starter bigjake722003
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Re: barrel cleaning methods
Starting to really like "Wipe Out"
http://www.sharpshootr.com/
and Kroil
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?pr...isting-_-137203
Starting to really like "Wipe Out"
http://www.sharpshootr.com/
and Kroil
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?pr...isting-_-137203
Re: barrel cleaning methods
Good Hide Search-
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=010955838166721108978:qcbx5qqy10o&hl=en
Good Hide Search-
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=010955838166721108978:qcbx5qqy10o&hl=en
Re: barrel cleaning methods
Put that rem oil away, it has teflon in it... Bad for the barrel. I use boretech eliminator to get things clean. When I clean I brush, patch, and giver hell to get it done. The more I shoot the less I like cleaning... So I don't. If the rifle shoots good don't clean it. The tipton carbon fiber rods are nice btw.
Put that rem oil away, it has teflon in it... Bad for the barrel. I use boretech eliminator to get things clean. When I clean I brush, patch, and giver hell to get it done. The more I shoot the less I like cleaning... So I don't. If the rifle shoots good don't clean it. The tipton carbon fiber rods are nice btw.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Northern50</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Put that rem oil away, it has teflon in it... Bad for the barrel. I use boretech eliminator to get things clean. When I clean I brush, patch, and giver hell to get it done. The more I shoot the less I like cleaning... So I don't. If the rifle shoots good don't clean it. The tipton carbon fiber rods are nice btw. </div></div>
+1 For Bortech Eliminator. I bought it after getting tired of Hoppe's No. 9 copper solvent. Does great. I also agree with northern though, until you notice a shift in accuracy I wouldn't clean it.
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Northern50</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Put that rem oil away, it has teflon in it... Bad for the barrel. I use boretech eliminator to get things clean. When I clean I brush, patch, and giver hell to get it done. The more I shoot the less I like cleaning... So I don't. If the rifle shoots good don't clean it. The tipton carbon fiber rods are nice btw. </div></div>
+1 For Bortech Eliminator. I bought it after getting tired of Hoppe's No. 9 copper solvent. Does great. I also agree with northern though, until you notice a shift in accuracy I wouldn't clean it.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
I have some Montana Xtreme one piece cleaning rods. They are made out of spring steel so they don't bend if they get pinched in my gun safe or some other place.
I have some Montana Xtreme one piece cleaning rods. They are made out of spring steel so they don't bend if they get pinched in my gun safe or some other place.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
For the people who say they don't clean untill there acuracy drops off, are you running Stainless or Chrome moly barrels?
For the people who say they don't clean untill there acuracy drops off, are you running Stainless or Chrome moly barrels?
Re: barrel cleaning methods
I use a Dewey rod with Kroil and Butche's bore shine. Also I think it's paramount to have a bore-guide. Sinclair international has bore guides for most applications.
I use a Dewey rod with Kroil and Butche's bore shine. Also I think it's paramount to have a bore-guide. Sinclair international has bore guides for most applications.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
Get a quality bore guide, I like the ones that Sinclair's sells. Look here: http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/cid=0/...Ring__Rod_Guide
A high quality rod is also very important. Don’t use a rod that is not coated, and never use an aluminum rod! I like Tipton and Dewey rods as well as Dewey brass jags.
+1 for Wipe-Out and Kroil. I use nylon brushes and I will typically clean after about 600 rounds. I spray a bit of Wipe-Out foaming bore cleaner in the barrel when I'm about to leave the range. I'll let it soak over night and then brush it (20 strokes or so) the next day. Dry patch it clean with several patches to remove the Wipe-Out fouling residue (the number of patches needed may vary depending on the quality of the barrel), and then one patch saturated with Kroil to condition the barrel, and a dry patch to remove the excess Kroil. If I have really stubborn carbon (like on my .260's) I'll use some Kroil and JB bore past on a patch wrapped around a smaller (than bore size) nylon brush and short stroke the barrel just in front of the throat. Beechwood Casey Carbon remover works as well. I just spray some on a few patches and swab out the barrel with them. I’ll let it soak for a few minutes between patches and then nylon brush and finish with dry patches and the Kroil/patch treatment.
I think there are any number of methods and products that will work for you. However, I would recommend not cleaning the barrel all that frequently, 500+ rounds minimum before you clean, and don’t scrub it to bare metal.
Get a quality bore guide, I like the ones that Sinclair's sells. Look here: http://www.sinclairintl.com/.aspx/cid=0/...Ring__Rod_Guide
A high quality rod is also very important. Don’t use a rod that is not coated, and never use an aluminum rod! I like Tipton and Dewey rods as well as Dewey brass jags.
+1 for Wipe-Out and Kroil. I use nylon brushes and I will typically clean after about 600 rounds. I spray a bit of Wipe-Out foaming bore cleaner in the barrel when I'm about to leave the range. I'll let it soak over night and then brush it (20 strokes or so) the next day. Dry patch it clean with several patches to remove the Wipe-Out fouling residue (the number of patches needed may vary depending on the quality of the barrel), and then one patch saturated with Kroil to condition the barrel, and a dry patch to remove the excess Kroil. If I have really stubborn carbon (like on my .260's) I'll use some Kroil and JB bore past on a patch wrapped around a smaller (than bore size) nylon brush and short stroke the barrel just in front of the throat. Beechwood Casey Carbon remover works as well. I just spray some on a few patches and swab out the barrel with them. I’ll let it soak for a few minutes between patches and then nylon brush and finish with dry patches and the Kroil/patch treatment.
I think there are any number of methods and products that will work for you. However, I would recommend not cleaning the barrel all that frequently, 500+ rounds minimum before you clean, and don’t scrub it to bare metal.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
90% of my rifles have aftermarket barrels in Stainless Steel, and I can't see a major decrease in accuracy even after 600 rounds. I recall I shot a match at Rifles Only last year using a Rem700 in .260 Rem with a Bartlein SS barrel. That barrel had at least 800+ rounds (between cleanings) through it when I shot a "know your limitations stage". At 100 yards the rifle hit a .5 moa target dead to nutz. I'm not buying the whole "clean the shit out of it every 30 rounds" theory! I’m not sure what the difference in how a chro molly barrel shoots when compared to a stainless barrel. I can tell you that I have had cro molly barrels (esp. on Savages) that shot as well as my aftermarket stainless barrels. They didn’t clean worth a $hit but they sure as hell grouped.
The only issue I have seen out my competition rifles (they are both .260Rems with SS barrels) is that I will get a substantial amount of carbon fouling at the neck and throat, and if I chamber a round and then have to eject the unfired round the carbon fouling will snatch the bullet from the case. I have had this happen in the middle of a stage at a match. Not cool! My remedy is to use some carbon remover on a nylon brush and scrub out the carbon after about every 200 to 300 rounds. I’ll run a couple of dry patches down the tube to clean out the carbon remove and some of the fouling residue but it's not an aggressive cleaning, just removing some of that carbon ring at the throat. In this instance I’m cleaning to prevent a malfunction but not to increase accuracy. I’m sure that there are plenty of guys that shoot BR guns for groups, and they can very likely quantify (with group size and aggregate scores) the merits of cleaning every 10 to 20 rounds. However, I’ll bet they buy barrels by the gross and their gunsmiths love them more than their mothers. I just need my rifle to hold under 1 moa at 100 yrds, and to function flawlessly in adverse conditions.
90% of my rifles have aftermarket barrels in Stainless Steel, and I can't see a major decrease in accuracy even after 600 rounds. I recall I shot a match at Rifles Only last year using a Rem700 in .260 Rem with a Bartlein SS barrel. That barrel had at least 800+ rounds (between cleanings) through it when I shot a "know your limitations stage". At 100 yards the rifle hit a .5 moa target dead to nutz. I'm not buying the whole "clean the shit out of it every 30 rounds" theory! I’m not sure what the difference in how a chro molly barrel shoots when compared to a stainless barrel. I can tell you that I have had cro molly barrels (esp. on Savages) that shot as well as my aftermarket stainless barrels. They didn’t clean worth a $hit but they sure as hell grouped.
The only issue I have seen out my competition rifles (they are both .260Rems with SS barrels) is that I will get a substantial amount of carbon fouling at the neck and throat, and if I chamber a round and then have to eject the unfired round the carbon fouling will snatch the bullet from the case. I have had this happen in the middle of a stage at a match. Not cool! My remedy is to use some carbon remover on a nylon brush and scrub out the carbon after about every 200 to 300 rounds. I’ll run a couple of dry patches down the tube to clean out the carbon remove and some of the fouling residue but it's not an aggressive cleaning, just removing some of that carbon ring at the throat. In this instance I’m cleaning to prevent a malfunction but not to increase accuracy. I’m sure that there are plenty of guys that shoot BR guns for groups, and they can very likely quantify (with group size and aggregate scores) the merits of cleaning every 10 to 20 rounds. However, I’ll bet they buy barrels by the gross and their gunsmiths love them more than their mothers. I just need my rifle to hold under 1 moa at 100 yrds, and to function flawlessly in adverse conditions.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
I keep mine simple. Wipeout or Gun Slicks foaming bore cleaner (I think someone has told me they are one in the same) has worked well for me. Usually, it's just one application of the foaming bore cleaner, let it sit for a couple hours and then patch it out. No brushes. I have tried to use other cleaners afterwards and it usually comes out with nothing, including the very aggressive Sweets 762. I finish with a patch of oil down the tube and another dry patch to get the excess oil off and that's it.
I keep mine simple. Wipeout or Gun Slicks foaming bore cleaner (I think someone has told me they are one in the same) has worked well for me. Usually, it's just one application of the foaming bore cleaner, let it sit for a couple hours and then patch it out. No brushes. I have tried to use other cleaners afterwards and it usually comes out with nothing, including the very aggressive Sweets 762. I finish with a patch of oil down the tube and another dry patch to get the excess oil off and that's it.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
.
Well, until very recently I used a cleaning regimen I learned from the very top BR short range shooters in US.
Everytime I finish a range session (in my case about 30 to 60 shots), I cleaned the rifle of carbon and cooper.
I use a Lucas Bore Guide. A very, very good and afordable bore guide. The best of the best is the more expensive TK Nollan Barrel Saver: it is the Rolls Royce of the bore guides.
I dont trust and dont like any other bore guides as they are not really guiding anything because they have a very wide hole. And the only thing they do is keep your action from spilled solvents.
The bore guides I mentioned maintain your cleaning rod straight inside the tube, in the middle, not allowing (in reasonable terms) to contact the inside parts of the barrel.
With a Dewey coated cleaning rod, the Lucas Bore Guide and a few strokes of patch soaked with Bore Tech Carbon Remover, then a few strokes with Bore Tech Cooper remover and after all, a oiled rust preventive patch down the bore. It is the way I was doing...
... until I read and exchanged some posts with Jacob and Frank about cleaning rifles.
They believe (and I think it has some logical) that to much cleaning may be not good at all for the barrel. They told to pass a patch with Iosso (very, very light abrasive cleaner) or Wipe Out to remove mostly the carbon. And it may be a good thing to let some cooper fouling in barrel, as it may smooth the bore and protect it from the firing blast... potentialy increasing barrel life by a large amount.
So, I just started to follow their recomendation and see what I will experience.
PS - From what I have seen on military used rifles (bolt and semi auto without chrome liner), they clean way less (read: cleaning only the carbon) than I and they can maintain the accuracy (even on ISSF/ISU 300m Rifles that demands a high degree of accuracy) and substantialy more barrel life on the .308win target rifles (about 6 to 10 thousand rounds).
So, there may be something true on this...
.
Well, until very recently I used a cleaning regimen I learned from the very top BR short range shooters in US.
Everytime I finish a range session (in my case about 30 to 60 shots), I cleaned the rifle of carbon and cooper.
I use a Lucas Bore Guide. A very, very good and afordable bore guide. The best of the best is the more expensive TK Nollan Barrel Saver: it is the Rolls Royce of the bore guides.
I dont trust and dont like any other bore guides as they are not really guiding anything because they have a very wide hole. And the only thing they do is keep your action from spilled solvents.
The bore guides I mentioned maintain your cleaning rod straight inside the tube, in the middle, not allowing (in reasonable terms) to contact the inside parts of the barrel.
With a Dewey coated cleaning rod, the Lucas Bore Guide and a few strokes of patch soaked with Bore Tech Carbon Remover, then a few strokes with Bore Tech Cooper remover and after all, a oiled rust preventive patch down the bore. It is the way I was doing...
... until I read and exchanged some posts with Jacob and Frank about cleaning rifles.
They believe (and I think it has some logical) that to much cleaning may be not good at all for the barrel. They told to pass a patch with Iosso (very, very light abrasive cleaner) or Wipe Out to remove mostly the carbon. And it may be a good thing to let some cooper fouling in barrel, as it may smooth the bore and protect it from the firing blast... potentialy increasing barrel life by a large amount.
So, I just started to follow their recomendation and see what I will experience.
PS - From what I have seen on military used rifles (bolt and semi auto without chrome liner), they clean way less (read: cleaning only the carbon) than I and they can maintain the accuracy (even on ISSF/ISU 300m Rifles that demands a high degree of accuracy) and substantialy more barrel life on the .308win target rifles (about 6 to 10 thousand rounds).
So, there may be something true on this...
Re: barrel cleaning methods
Opinions on bore cleaning and belly buttons = everyone's got one!!!
What works for me. I shoot lots of 1000yd. and cleaning can show up in your accuracy. Every barrel is a little different. After a barrels broken in, carbon fowling becomes the bigger problem for accuracy. If your barrel has been lapped and the bore looks like a mirror you may can run a longer string of accurate shots but you will have to do a good cleaning more often to maintain top accuracy. For my best gun with a fine lapped bore I clean between 60 and 100 rounds. I use Carbon Killer to get the carbon out and Butch's to get the copper if needed. Butch's takes longer but is very mild and can be left in for a long time. The main thing I have trouble with is carbon build up on the leading edge of the lands. I run two regimens of 15 min soakings with Carbon Killer followed by some 10 or 15 brush strokes and then clean patch it dry. Take a good flashlight and look in the end of the muzzle. At this point you should have no copper and only the thinnest veil of carbon staining. I stop cleaning here if no copper streaks can be seen. If you have copper streaks use Hoppes, Butch's, Montana. or whatever to get the copper out. I do not try to clean 100% as it takes too long for the barrel to settle down at the next shoot. A squeaky clean barrel is overrated. If I clean as described above, my rifles will begin to group after 4 rounds at a thousand (It will shoot about 6 ft low of aim and come up with each shot). If I clean any more than this it takes nearly 10 rounds or more to begin to form tight groups. About every 300 rounds I pay particular attention to just in front of the throat for signs of excessive carbon build up. I use a mop, wet with Carbon Killer, for about 30 min. will usually do the trick, if not, you have to gently JB it out.
I have found that factory barrels are a little more porous than lapped barrels and are therefore a little more forgiving to carbon fouling but copper foul more and quicker.
If your rifle starts to lose accuracy in less than a 100 rounds, you need to try a different powder and load.
On Kriegers website they have an excellent detailed article about barrel cleaning...a good read.
Always patch out any oil you have in the bore before you shoot as this turns to instant carbon once you fire a round. I use a patch with a dab of rubbing alcohol to remove my "storage in the gun safe oil" from the bore before firing.
This is just my opinion, read as much as you can and form your own regimen for cleaning!!!!!
Opinions on bore cleaning and belly buttons = everyone's got one!!!
What works for me. I shoot lots of 1000yd. and cleaning can show up in your accuracy. Every barrel is a little different. After a barrels broken in, carbon fowling becomes the bigger problem for accuracy. If your barrel has been lapped and the bore looks like a mirror you may can run a longer string of accurate shots but you will have to do a good cleaning more often to maintain top accuracy. For my best gun with a fine lapped bore I clean between 60 and 100 rounds. I use Carbon Killer to get the carbon out and Butch's to get the copper if needed. Butch's takes longer but is very mild and can be left in for a long time. The main thing I have trouble with is carbon build up on the leading edge of the lands. I run two regimens of 15 min soakings with Carbon Killer followed by some 10 or 15 brush strokes and then clean patch it dry. Take a good flashlight and look in the end of the muzzle. At this point you should have no copper and only the thinnest veil of carbon staining. I stop cleaning here if no copper streaks can be seen. If you have copper streaks use Hoppes, Butch's, Montana. or whatever to get the copper out. I do not try to clean 100% as it takes too long for the barrel to settle down at the next shoot. A squeaky clean barrel is overrated. If I clean as described above, my rifles will begin to group after 4 rounds at a thousand (It will shoot about 6 ft low of aim and come up with each shot). If I clean any more than this it takes nearly 10 rounds or more to begin to form tight groups. About every 300 rounds I pay particular attention to just in front of the throat for signs of excessive carbon build up. I use a mop, wet with Carbon Killer, for about 30 min. will usually do the trick, if not, you have to gently JB it out.
I have found that factory barrels are a little more porous than lapped barrels and are therefore a little more forgiving to carbon fouling but copper foul more and quicker.
If your rifle starts to lose accuracy in less than a 100 rounds, you need to try a different powder and load.
On Kriegers website they have an excellent detailed article about barrel cleaning...a good read.
Always patch out any oil you have in the bore before you shoot as this turns to instant carbon once you fire a round. I use a patch with a dab of rubbing alcohol to remove my "storage in the gun safe oil" from the bore before firing.
This is just my opinion, read as much as you can and form your own regimen for cleaning!!!!!
Re: barrel cleaning methods
Simple.
Use Butches Bore Shine or Wipeout if your in a hurry, or Forrest Bore Foam if your a lazy sod. Repeat application as per bottle instructions until patches come out clean. On a .308 with around 250 rds through it, it should take approximatley 8 - 10 wet patches of butches or wipeout. Stick a few dry patches through to dry up any excess then a kroil patch if the gun is gonna be stored.
I found Hoppes to be rubbish, smells great but useless for copper removal. Use the above kit and you are sorted.
Simple.
Use Butches Bore Shine or Wipeout if your in a hurry, or Forrest Bore Foam if your a lazy sod. Repeat application as per bottle instructions until patches come out clean. On a .308 with around 250 rds through it, it should take approximatley 8 - 10 wet patches of butches or wipeout. Stick a few dry patches through to dry up any excess then a kroil patch if the gun is gonna be stored.
I found Hoppes to be rubbish, smells great but useless for copper removal. Use the above kit and you are sorted.
Re: barrel cleaning methods
I was told the coated rod was not the best route to go due to the coating holding grit from your barrel that does not wipe off easily and scratches your barrel like sand paper, a rod made of spring steel was better(but the guy who made them died), i use a bore guide and a steel single piece rod (steel rods can be wiped clean easy) , i have a chromoly and steel barrels (both match grade so they look like mirrors on the inside), i see no difference but i also clean my rifles every 80 to 100 shots. I have mixed opinions on cleaning. you are more likely to mess up your barrel by cleaning it too much, but at the same time its less of a bitch to clean it many times then to have a bunch of build up in your barrel that takes forever to get out one time,
I was told the coated rod was not the best route to go due to the coating holding grit from your barrel that does not wipe off easily and scratches your barrel like sand paper, a rod made of spring steel was better(but the guy who made them died), i use a bore guide and a steel single piece rod (steel rods can be wiped clean easy) , i have a chromoly and steel barrels (both match grade so they look like mirrors on the inside), i see no difference but i also clean my rifles every 80 to 100 shots. I have mixed opinions on cleaning. you are more likely to mess up your barrel by cleaning it too much, but at the same time its less of a bitch to clean it many times then to have a bunch of build up in your barrel that takes forever to get out one time,
Re: barrel cleaning methods
I run a bore-snake through my bore before each range session with my 308s. This seems to get rid of any leftover powder fuzz, and it puts my in the habit of ENSURING THE BORE IS CLEAR, every time I am about to use my rifles.
I will use some Hoppes #9 occassionally, when I think of it, to clean my chamber. I fire about 200 rounds/month or so (spring/summer/fall), and we're talking a chamber cleaning once a month. Every couple months when I feel like it, I will run a wet patch of Hoppes 9, let sit for 10 minutes or so, run two dry patches through, then I fill the bore with GunSlick Foaming Bore Cleaner, tip the rifle so the barrel is slightly muzzle-down, and wait a couple hours. Two or three patches (using a bore guide OF COURSE), and the bore is squeaky clean.
My opinion is that GunSlick Foam does a fantastic job on Copper, but not so much on powder residue. That is why I use the Hoppes 9 first for the powder, then the Gunslick for the copper.
I run a bore-snake through my bore before each range session with my 308s. This seems to get rid of any leftover powder fuzz, and it puts my in the habit of ENSURING THE BORE IS CLEAR, every time I am about to use my rifles.
I will use some Hoppes #9 occassionally, when I think of it, to clean my chamber. I fire about 200 rounds/month or so (spring/summer/fall), and we're talking a chamber cleaning once a month. Every couple months when I feel like it, I will run a wet patch of Hoppes 9, let sit for 10 minutes or so, run two dry patches through, then I fill the bore with GunSlick Foaming Bore Cleaner, tip the rifle so the barrel is slightly muzzle-down, and wait a couple hours. Two or three patches (using a bore guide OF COURSE), and the bore is squeaky clean.
My opinion is that GunSlick Foam does a fantastic job on Copper, but not so much on powder residue. That is why I use the Hoppes 9 first for the powder, then the Gunslick for the copper.
