I have had an account for awhile but not really posted so forgive me if this is in the wrong place, but I couldn't find any other threads that would answer my question...so ya here it is... I have a Savage 10 FP-SR with Miculek brake on it so I can see my own shots (or atleast try to) but when I'm done shooting the muzzle is like caked in carbon that is very hard to get off. My question is do I need to remove the brake and clean off the carbon? And if so how often? I just finished breaking this rifle in and it has about 100 rounds through it now and it is shooting good. I shoot about every other day so I will probably not clean until the accuracy degrades, however I am nervous that the muzzle crown will be so buried in carbon that it may never come off. This gun also has a recessed crown, so that makes it that much more of a pain....anyways any advice on if it needs cleaned and or how to do it best is greatly appreciated!
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I have a 243 Ackley with the same problem. I usually don't take the brake off to clean the rifle but I just recently took it off to look and discovered the same problem as you. I say problem, but I don't think it really is. I have not had any degredation of accuracy it's just cosmetic. It's also a stainless steel barrel. I just wipe it of the best I can. If some carbon remains behind, its no big deal. Its important to not be too rough on your crown. Obsessing about cleanliness of the crown can do more harm than good.
Yeah that's kind of the conclusion I came to... It just drives me nuts that it won't come off. I guess i'll just throw the brake back on and go keep shooting. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't a problem because I have seen people take flash hiders off of AR's that have never been cleaned and it looks like a nightmare. Thanks for the reply though! What party of Idaho are you from? Is the wind blowing about a million miles an hour where you are too?
Plastic bag and Kroil. Muzzle down in the bag and fill'r up. Tie it off let is set for a day or two. Light brushing and it will melt right off.
No, I used to be in that part until I retired and moved way up North. The hunting is better down there, sure miss it.. rockchucks, whistlepigs, coyotes, rabbits, birds, dear, elk. It had it all. We just have deer, elk, a smidge of rockchucks and maybe a wandering coyote once in a while.
Thats the nature of brakes, flash suppressors, and cans. I've never really found anything that will just take it right off either. I do know that Carbon Cutter won't touch it, I soaked some suppressor baffles in it for 3 days, oh, it took the black powder fouling off, but that caked, burnt on carbon was still solid as rock!
Dont worry about it, most brakes never get removed the life of the barrel. If it really bothers you pick up some Flitz and just take your time. You can do more harm trying to clean your crown than just leaving it.
Well I have a bit different thought to this problem. I used to just let the crap build up on the muzzle (it dont actually build up on the crown, just around it) then one day my OCD got the better of me and I attempted to clean it. I got most of it but as you have seen it can be stuck on pretty good. I decided to leave it be as it was kinda unevenly built up. The next time to the range my accuracy was way off (nothing else had changed). I decided to stop right then and clean the crap off to see if that was the issue. I had no better tools at the range with me so I used my knife and scraped it all off. I found my accuracy was right back in there just as good as ever. So now I keep it at bay with Butches or TM on a patch and clean it often, as with anything its easy to clean if you stay on top of it. Now one might argue that if I was to not have tried to clean it then I would of never had this problem and that is true. However my way of thinking is when I do clean the bore some of the carbon will see the solvent (usually the bottom of the muzzle) and that will losen it and at some point it may come off eighter when installing or removing the can or when shooting from the blast. I dont want to introduce a chance for a loss of accuracy that i would have to troubleshoot. So I keep it clean. As a side note my shooting partner had this same experience with carbon on the muzzle.
I have a hard time reconciling why the shape/contour/surface finish of a crown is SO IMPORTANT, yet carbon/soot buildup on the crown doesn't matter...?
I clean it off whenever I clean my rifle. I scrape off what I can with a popsicle stick. I'll use a brass pick to get into the corners if I've got a recessed crown. Then I just let gunslick foaming bore cleaner sit on the crown for 30-45 minutes, then use an old toothbrush. This process seems to work well.
I clean it off whenever I clean my rifle. I scrape off what I can with a popsicle stick. I'll use a brass pick to get into the corners if I've got a recessed crown. Then I just let gunslick foaming bore cleaner sit on the crown for 30-45 minutes, then use an old toothbrush. This process seems to work well.
A), it may not seem like much, but let it build up and it will be.
B) Foaming bore cleaner should soak it out, may take a few applications to remove a stubborn buildup.
The best way to remove carbon is by solvent soak action; no mechanical action to cause cleaning damage. After all, we are talking about the crown, which can be vulnerable.
Before there was foam, I used plain old Hoppe's #9 powder solvent
Greg
B) Foaming bore cleaner should soak it out, may take a few applications to remove a stubborn buildup.
The best way to remove carbon is by solvent soak action; no mechanical action to cause cleaning damage. After all, we are talking about the crown, which can be vulnerable.
Before there was foam, I used plain old Hoppe's #9 powder solvent
Greg
I have a Vias. I screw it off each time I clean, typically around 300 rounds. It's dirty as hell and there's some carbon on the crown. I have a small ultrasonic cleaner from Harbor Freight, 50/50 white vinegar & distilled water for about 24 minutes followed by 7 minutes water/Birchwood Casey case cleaner solution, followed by hot water rinse, blow it dry w/ air compressor and looks brand new. I use Butch's BS or Montana Xtreme powder solvent and a q-tip to GENTLY remove the residue from the muzzle. Old BR friend of mine, early on instilled in me that carbon will collect moisture and cause rust. Too old to change now and it seems to work. YEMBD. Good luck.
I would give GM Top Engine cleaner a try. Put it on your bronze brush when you run your cleaning rod through just do not pull the brush back through the muzzle make sure to take the brush off before you pull the cleaning rod back through the bore. Do this a few times and then run some cleaning patches with GM on it through the bore and let it sit for a while. I have been amazed at how much carbon comes out of a barrel when using this method even after I thought the rifle was clean.
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