Cleaning my new baby flcp .223

[300ultramag]

Good day all: So excited,my Brand new Savage FLCP .223 arrived in the mail yesterday,very impressed with the fit/finish, i spent over an hour cleaning the bore!!! WOW was this this hard to get clean, i must have ran 40 patches through it starting with Butches bore shine,followed by JB bore paste then FP10, couldn't get a White patch after many patches,just BLACK fowling,no evidence of copper though,has anyone else experienced this?? i gave a close examination of the bore and it still looks very rough i hope this will clean up,kinda getting worried and i have not shot it yet as i am waiting on my EGW 20 moa base to arrive after which i am mounting a SIII 8-32.

[bootsmcguire]

Savage bores are often a bit on the rough side, however they normally shoot very well. Something to keep in mind is not to over-clean it. Let it copper up and only clean it once your groups start opening up. Savages shoot best with a lil copper in them. You may get as many as 250 rounds through it before you need to clean it again depending on chambering and your specific bore.

Once my group opens noticeably, I will clean it and them fire 3 to 5 shots to foul it back up, and then go back at it.

[BillPa]

i must have ran 40 patches through it starting with Butches bore shine,followed by JB bore paste then FP10, couldn't get a White patch after many patches,just BLACK fowling.

Skip the JB, you'll have black patches even if the bore is cleaner than clean.

BTW, Savage barrels are test fired at the factory but not cleaned so you get a dirty barrel as a bogus...errr bonus.

Rough bore? Instead of standing knee deep in blue patches use WipeOut foaming cleaner.

If it helps, I clean my barrels in two steps, clean out the powder residue first then attack the copper. For powder I use a 50-50 mix of Acetone and ATF. It works as well if not a bit better then Kroil but is cheaper, smells and tastes better!

As boots said, many alligator hide bores will shoot better with some copper in them, why we call the first few rounds the fouling shots.

Bill

[missed]

Same as said above I don't worry too much about it being pristine my post shooting trips are followed with a soaked patch a dry patch and one with a few drops on it. I only thoroughly clean on accuracy issues.

[bootsmcguire]

For powder I use a 50-50 mix of Acetone and ATF.
Bill

BillPa, I hadn't heard of that one, I'll have to give it a try. Do you prefer Dex III or Type F? J/K I had too ask.

Seriously though I am going to try that one.

I only thoroughly clean on accuracy issues.

Same here. I only thoroughly clean when accuracy falls or if I know the gun is going to be put up for several months, like my favorite deer rig that only comes out for about 3 weeks. Although this year it may not come out at all, got some new ones to try out.

[stangfish]

smells and tastes better!

The Best!

[BillPa]

BillPa, I hadn't heard of that one, I'll have to give it a try. Do you prefer Dex III or Type F? J/K I had too ask.

The III although I can't say for sure if it matters. The two don't mix well and will separate setting around so you have to shake the bottle to mix them before using it.

Give it a shot and see what you think.

Bill

[300ultramag]

Thanks guys for the insight,while i am waiting for my base to arrive,am going to put together a couple of recipes one using 69Gr smk's/h4895 and the second with 50 gr nosler BT's/benchmark.

[JCalhoun]

The Savage .223's tend to love the 69gr SMK. The 69gr Nosler BTHP is a very good option also.

[44magleo]

The Acetone and ATF mix is also about the best penetrating fluid you can use. It penetrates fast, cuts through the rust and frees up the parts better than most anything.
If the bores of a rifle are a bit rough use Tubb's fire lapping system. These are abrasive coated bullets. The kits come with several grits, start with the course then work you way down to the finest grit. Removes the rough spots.
Leo

[psharon97]

Everyone has their different opinion of what to use to break in a barrel. I've never been too concerned about it. I use Hoppes to clean some of the fouling out. I want the copper in there.