My cure for that carbon ring

[PatrickD]

Hi,
I have benn struggling with the dreaded hard carbon ring that forms at the lead right in front of the case neck mouth. As it forms it causes pressure increases which alter your velocity SDs among other stuff.
I have found 2 ways to minimize it.
First, trim brass to .001" under max SAMI length spec. Short brass trimmed to minimum length is the biggest contributor.
The way I get rid of it is twofold.
I start by doing this EVERYTIME I shoot the rifle so it never has a chance to build up layers . When I get home from a range session I take a bore mop and dip it into my gallon can of Berrymans Chemdip carburetor/parts cleaner, and insert it in the chamber so it saturates the area the ring forms. I then walk away and leave overnight. Next morning before I leave for work I take a bore brush and insert it in place of the mopand by hand, twist it about 20 turns. I then repeat the thing with the bore mop. When I get home from work I remove the mop, repeat the brushing and clean the rest of the barrel. The Chemdip really softens the carbon and lets a bore brush clean it out, but is harmless to steel. You can use abrasives like Iosso,but I like letting the chemicals do it. This is the only way after 40 yrs of experimenting with other methods I've found to let me get the throat back to squeaky clean with no hard carbon. Slip2000 carbon remover also works with the bore mop, but it takes longer.

[Robinhood]

Thanks for the tip Pat.

[charlie b]

Do you use Chem Dip for regular bore cleaning? If it dissolves carbon it would seem to be perfect for bores.

[Dave Hoback]

I’ve been doing the same thing for decades Patrick. My professional career was Automotive Technician, and I was a dealership tech. Both GM master Tech & very close to for German cars. (Volkswagen). The shops I worked at we always had drums & spray cans of some of the most Caustic parts cleaner/solvent to be found! And for years & years I’ve been trying to ease the minds of those who think they are going to hurt the bore with solvent. Answer is no! It’s steel. Solvent can be left on the bore surface for 24, 48,,, whatever/how many hours & it’s not going to hurt the steel. Solvent is not Acid! It attacks Carbon/organic matter. Solvent can’t even touch the Carbon in solid Solution of Iron, which is actually an Iron Carbide called Cementite.

I would also use a bore mop or just patches soaked with the stuff, and leave ‘em as long as I felt necessary. And I’ve always been a “clean my firearms after every shooting outing” as well. Never gave the bores the time needed for Carbon, Lead or Copper fouling to become ever become a problem.

[charlie b]

So what do you use for cleaning bores?

[Smokey262]

Looking forward to trying this