I start with a new barrel by simply shooting several boxes worth of ammo then doing a strip-clean.
That consists of giving the bore a long-term (hours, not minutes) soak with Hoppe's 9 powder solvent (the regular stuff), applied with a nylon brush, which gets it better distributed into the harder to reach parts of the rifling.
I make sure no brass implements enter my bore because I believe the brass reacts with the solvent and gives a false copper indication (blue or green patches). My nylon brushes have aluminum cores.
I don't use metallic brushes, because I'm not trying to remove anything by means of abrasion. I let the solvent do the work, and doing that requires time. That's why I use Hoppe's 9, it's gentler on the bore over longer soaks.
I manage copper deposition by leaving the bore wet with Hoppe's 9 over days worth of time; it will usually need to be removed and resoaked each day during the process.
I own a Teslong Bore Scope, and it can give me some indications of success or failure removing deposits, and help me identify and manage buildups, like carbon rings, and muzzle end copper deposition. As long as there's green on the patch, more soaking is advisable. When it's there, but not very much, stop.
I never fire a projectile in a clean, dry bore. The bore always starts out with a very light coat of oil.
Custom honed bores will allow copper and carbon deposit management to be more easily achieved, and the consistency of bore friction along their lengths makes for more consistent bore transit times, and subsequent accuracy. A lot of the value from honing comes from the way it drives bore diameter consistency along the bore length. That can be as much or more important than bore finish, and is a valid reason why bores that look awful can still shoot great.
One of the most destructive implements is a bent/kinked cleaning rod. If it's metal, it will always acquire a bend/kink eventually.
That's not the case with the Carbon Fiber rods I've been using the past few years. It's been said they can be abrasive, but my guess is it's more like the loose junk the rod picks up in the bore that's providing the abrasion. I wipe the rod down with a soft cotton shop cloth as it exits the bore, each and every time. It's a habit, and once acquired, it keeps the abrasion down to a minimum.
Rod guides are supposed to keep the rod out of contact with the bore. The guide tips are interchangeable, and need to be matched to the rod diameter so there's little or no slop between the two; otherwise it more and more like you're not guiding the road at all.
I clean between shooting trips, most of the time. Two soaks, patch dry, light oil. Inspect the bore when you can.
Manage the bore interior as indicated. Not trying to strip the bore, just keeping the carbon and copper from building up to where they require more major management, but eventually, that will be needed too. Even in the best of situations, I strip clean the bore each year, usually just before putting the rifles up for inter-season storage.
Greg
