Proper barrel cleaning

[KTP]

Gang,
One item I've never seen discussed here is proper barrel cleaning. Some advertise barrels that have never been touched by ammonia cleaners etc. as a positive. If used properly, many cleaners do a good job. I'm just trying to learn here. How should we clean barrels like a 6.5 x 284 (chrome moly or stainless)? I need to be sure I'm using the proper solvents & oils.

[MrMajestic]

KG Bore Products are the "Holy Grail"

[82boy]

Main thing is to use a bore guide and a 1 piece cleaning rod, as far as the products there are many on the market that work good. I like shooters choice, or butches bore shine. A couple of wet patchs, 10 stockes of the wet bronze brush, let it sit 10 minute, and pacth it dry works the best.

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

After using Wipe Out I never use brushes anymore.
Have heard good things about Patch Out also.

Wipe Out with the accelerator cleans to bare metal usually in one application and no more than two or three patches pushed through the bore. ZERO scrubbing with brushes.

Don't forget to protect the crown as well as the throat from cleaning rod bounce and abrasion.

[Dennis]

Wipe Out with the accelerator cleans to bare metal usually in one application and no more than two or three patches pushed through the bore. ZERO scrubbing with brushes.

Same here, but I still brush and use very few patches

[fgw_in_fla]

I'd like to hear more about those, too. (Patch-Out)

I've been swabbing the inside CAREFULLY with good 'ol Hoppe's #9, let it soak for as long as possible, then clean patch it until they come out clean. I like Hoppe's because I can soak it up & do a few other things while it's soaking. Even though I don't have any high dollar barrels, I do not use any brushes.

Works like a charm & has for a few years.

Even when I go shooting, I bring my range cleaning kit & swab, soak & clean about every 20th shot. I notice accuracy drops off the longer I shoot without a little cleaning.

[KTP]

I agree with 82 in that I like Butches Bore Shine and I use patches only. Works great. When I'm finished I use a light coat of oil, especially when putting the gun away. I still have questions:
1.Are ammonium products tough on barrels or OK?
2. When cleaning during shooting sessions or matches, after patches come out clean do you run a light swab of oil down the barel before shooting again?

[82boy]

1.Are ammonium products tough on barrels or OK?


Some people claim they are, but I have never seen it. I beliveve that the warning of Sweets 7.62 is what has caused all the belief. The lable says not to alow it to sit in the barrel longer than 15 minutes. We have let it sit in barrels overnight and never seen any thing happen. I also use montana extreme, same thing. Butches has ammonium in it, and a large majority of benchrest shooters will only use it, if it would ever hurt a barrel they would not use it.



2. When cleaning during shooting sessions or matches, after patches come out clean do you run a light swab of oil down the barel before shooting again?


Some people patch a light oil through the bore after cleaning during matchs. The only problem with this is the first few shots will go off, so you will have to shoot the oil out of the bore, (called fowlers.) before you shoot sighters, and target shots. I dont use oil, but colidial graphite, I find that it doesn't affect my shots at all, first shot is going where the rest are going.

[GaCop]

KG Bore Products are the "Holy Grail"


+1!

[Tarleton_Texan]

I like the Wipe Out Patch Out, it is quick easy to use. I have let mine sit for twenrty minutes all the way up to twenty for hours and it works the same. The last time I cleaned my .223 it only took seven or eight pathes to clean and it had fifty rounds down the tube. I would recomend trying it.

[Dennis]

Don't forget to protect the crown as well as the throat from cleaning rod bounce and abrasion

What's your procedure for protecting the crown?

[Don - LongRangeSupply]

Don't forget to protect the crown as well as the throat from cleaning rod bounce and abrasion

What's your procedure for protecting the crown?


As noted above I use Wipe Out and patches ONLY, never a brush, and I stop before the jag / patch exits the bore and pull the patch back through the bore to remove it. That way the cleaning rod or the jag itself NEVER touch the bore or the crown area, plus nothing is forced back through the muzzle which definitely can mess things up over time. With the first patch through the bore after soaking in Wipe Out I will sometimes hold a rag on the muzzle to absorb the goo that comes out as the patch hits the end of the travel. That is not necessary with subsequent patches. I may also use some kind of a carbon remover if the throat area is getting loaded with carbon fouling, but again, no brushes, just patches on a jag.

John Krieger uses the same technique. Although I started using this technique on my own and found the quote from Krieger today with a google search, it really did reinforce my decision on the matter to hear it from him. I have a lot of respect for what he says, considering that the most accurate barrels I have ever seen, came from his shop.

This page has an amazingly wide variation on cleaning techniques, some I would never even consider for my own guns, such as using JB's abrasive paste, yet they are used by some top shooters in the country.

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/barrel-cleaning-debate/

Quote from that page by Krieger:

John Krieger, Krieger Barrels
“I’m not a big fan of brushes. I think brushes are more a throwback to the black powder days….We try to minimize their use. On my own guns, even with patches, I’ll try to keep the patch and jag from exiting the muzzle and dragging on the crown. I like to avoid having anything dragging across the crown.”

We had a chance to talk to barrel-maker John Krieger at Show Show. We discussed the use of bronze brushes for barrel cleaning. John observed that he prefers not to use bronze brushes on his barrels. He also feels that it is wise not to draw a bronze brush backwards across the crown. He explained: “The brush is soft, but the stuff it drags with it, primer residues and so on, are not soft, and they can harm the crown.” Also, on his personal guns, when John cleans with a patch, he tries to avoid running the patch and the jag past the muzzle. When cleaning, he places the rifle so the muzzle butts up against a wall. When the tip of the jag hits the wall he draws it back through the bore and removes it from the breech end. John notes that damaged crowns “can make the barrel look like it’s shot out when it’s not.”

[Dennis]

Thanks "too many Savages" for the above detailed post, that't the info I look for in this forum!


For peak accuracy, it is a good idea to re-crown the barrel every 400-500 rounds.

I found the above statement very interesting


Bore-Tech Eliminator, Wipe-Out, Foam cleaner and pre-cleaner

I read the entrire artricle http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/barrel-cleaning-debate/
(http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/barrel-cleaning-debate/) and it's was very interesting, all of it. The two products above came up a lot with several shooters!

All I do can do is advise everyone to read this articles and make their own decesion.

I personally will use patches, good bore guides, and solvents more than brushes in the future as per all the articles!

Again, very interesting read, especially the differences between short and long range shooters!