Thread: Barrel cleaning

Hi, I’m asking for what peoples processes are for cleaning their barrels.
Iv been told a lot of different things and getting a bit lost.
I have Bore Tech Cu+ copper and Eliminator.
After barrel break in should I not be using a brush? just patches? what Chem?

Thanks
Hardy & Truflight barrels. used for 500yrd plus culling on goats and targets.

A friend got a borescope recently so we've had a good look at all the rifles we own. We inspected them thoroughly prior to doing any cleaning then kept rechecking to see what changed.

He used the Boretech Eliminator and it appears to remove carbon fouling very effectively when you follow the instructions (the instructions recommend applying it with a nylon brush, leave for a period then swab out with patches). It also removed moderate copper fouling during that same process. In my rifle barrels I used Collings #90 solvent as a comparison. This also appeared to be effective on the carbon fouling.

One of my friends barrels had a significant area of copper fouling - the Boretech Cu remover was able to remove this after a few applications of the solvent. All of the 'regular' copper we could see in the bore of the other barrels was removed entirely by one application of the Boretech Cu remover - it seems to do exactly what is claims to based on what we saw.

Grabs comfy chair and popcorn

Yep exactly on the money.....cannot clean properly without a borescope. Carbon is very difficult to remove and may need a wire brush to completely remove it.

3rd on the bore scope, great tool to have. teslong ones are good value.

Buy a bore scope, the teslong ones are cheap and save a lot of time. Plus you can send them through second hand rifles and discover "safe queen, only done a packet of ammo" is actually a pitted mess on the inside as it's shot 20 rounds at the range and then never cleaner and stored in a damp safe. However, don't stress too much on what you see with a bore scope, all bores I've looked through have the odd strange machining mark, pit, or other things that you can't see with the naked eye. They don't affect accuracy worth worrying about and I've cleaned up some old military rifle bores that look more like gravel than metal on the inside and they've shot with functional hunting accuracy. With one particularly bad Swedish Mauser still maintaining about 1.5" @ 100m with a bore I would of said is absolutely toast.

For cleaning I use JB bore paste and clean properly about every 100 rounds, maybe 200 on some rifles depending on how they foul. Only using a bore snake with Eezox before and after each use for corrosion protection and to get the odd bit of crud that finds it's way in there.
My experience is the chemical solutions are good at colouring patches but using a bore scope they take way too long and far to many applications to actually remove copper and carbon. I have Boretech eliminator and their coper remover. They'll take hours to do what JB bore paste does in 5 mins.
30 passes with a bronze bore brush with a cloth wrapped around it with JB bore paste and Eezox for lube followed by a couple of patches soaked in isopropyl alcohol then a dry patch takes a grubby barrel down to bright steel on most rifles, maybe a quick back and forward scrub in the first 6" of the barrel the clean the throat up a bit for some. Throw the bore brush away after this, it's now below bore size and useless for further use, buy the brushes in bulk from AliExpress.

Originally Posted by Makros

Buy a bore scope, the teslong ones are cheap and save a lot of time. Plus you can send them through second hand rifles and discover "safe queen, only done a packet of ammo" is actually a pitted mess on the inside as it's shot 20 rounds at the range and then never cleaner and stored in a damp safe. However, don't stress too much on what you see with a bore scope, all bores I've looked through have the odd strange machining mark, pit, or other things that you can't see with the naked eye. They don't affect accuracy worth worrying about and I've cleaned up some old military rifle bores that look more like gravel than metal on the inside and they've shot with functional hunting accuracy. With one particularly bad Swedish Mauser still maintaining about 1.5" @ 100m with a bore I would of said is absolutely toast.

For cleaning I use JB bore paste and clean properly about every 100 rounds, maybe 200 on some rifles depending on how they foul. Only using a bore snake with Eezox before and after each use for corrosion protection and to get the odd bit of crud that finds it's way in there.
My experience is the chemical solutions are good at colouring patches but using a bore scope they take way too long and far to many applications to actually remove copper and carbon. I have Boretech eliminator and their coper remover. They'll take hours to do what JB bore paste does in 5 mins.
30 passes with a bronze bore brush with a cloth wrapped around it with JB bore paste and Eezox for lube followed by a couple of patches soaked in isopropyl alcohol then a dry patch takes a grubby barrel down to bright steel on most rifles, maybe a quick back and forward scrub in the first 6" of the barrel the clean the throat up a bit for some. Throw the bore brush away after this, it's now below bore size and useless for further use, buy the brushes in bulk from AliExpress.

The above system is effective and close to my own cleaning procedure but with different products.
If I start shooting from the point of having a cleaned barrel I'll finish my hunt / session then push two to four dry patches through to remove loose carbon residue then run a patch suturated with CLP through three or four times to thoroughly coat the bore. Then, store the rifle barrel down as CLP will trickle down with gravity. Before shooting again a couple of passes with a dry patch to dry the bore. Then after about 100 or 150 shots I'll run patches through ( as above ) to remove loose residue then patch three or four times with KG1 ( Carbon remover ) and leave overnight. This is followed with a stiff nylon brush saturated with KG1 for 100 passes ( once through the bore and back = 2 passes ). Then patch dry. If it looks good, patch with CLP and put into the safe. If copper is building up and I decide to remove it I run a patch saturated with KG12 ( Copper Remover ) through three or four times and leave overnight. This is followed with the stiff nylon brush saturated with KG12. Copper is usually more stubborn requiring more than 100 passes usually to get it all. Sometime I will wet patch the bore again to leave for a second night before nylon brushing again next day. If this is insufficient to get the most stubborn copper I wet a worn bronze brush ( without any patch on it ) with KG12 ( Copper Remover ) and run this for up to 50 passes. This is very effective getting rid of the most stubborn copper and gets the bore down to clean, shiny metal. I can see this result by using the Teslong Bore Scope which is a great little tool. Then, CLP and into the gun safe.
After KG12 I find the first couple of shots can be off by an inch or two until settling again and shooting as sighted.

Originally Posted by blip

Grabs comfy chair and popcorn

I bloody reckon haha.

Definitely have the popcorn ready just in case.
There are many many different ideas on cleaning, and everyone has their own method and their own "expert" they get advise from.

I basically just use patches and Boretech C4 carbon remove with patches only, then run an oily patch through for storage.
My method ended up very similar to what Bartlein barrels recommends. For rimfire barrels I add the step of soaking the chamber area for remove the carbon build up then leave out the oily patch step.
https://www.bartleinbarrels.com/how-to-clean-a-barrel
It'd be interesting to hear what Hardy and TF recommend, see if it differs from Bartlein.

Bartlein barrels have unoffically become the best barrel marker in the USA and therefor arguably the planet.
If you are bored and what to read up on things relating to rifle barrels search for Frank G or Frank Green on a variety of different forums, hes the owner of Bartlein and puts out a lot of information.

Bartlein supply barrels blanks to many high end gun smiths, rifle manufactures, and ammuntion maufacturers.
So as far as expert opinions go they should be fairly reliable.

All I can say from what I've learnt over the years is pay attention to your rifle, It will tell you what it likes. some like to be spotlessly clean and others dont to put it in its simplest form....

The easy way would be to just google any of the barrel manufacturers and follow their suggested procedure.

There is, to be honest, as many cleaning procedures as there are firearms owners - and everyone beliefs his way is the right way. That's also why some members wants get popcorn - because they know, someone will make the mistake of sharing what he/she does(and it most probably works 100% for them) only to get ripped to shreds by some of our own. We've been through it many a time.

The long and the short - as soon as you start shooting & cleaning more often, you'll develop a procedure that works for you. Boretech Eliminator is a great product for carbon and copper removal, get a good oil and a decent one piece cleaning rod for cleaning. (Bore-snakes are great for the bush, but does not replace a cleaning rod, you need a bore-snake in your pack, steer clear of ammonia, wipe your cleaning rods before sticking it down your firearms barrel, get a bore guide - accept that a barrel is a consumable, it will wear and it will need replacement at some stage).

If you know a TR shooter in your area - go visit, you'll learn a lot from them, they clean their barrels more than most, they've learned what to use to clean quickly and effectively - and they really want their barrels to last.

Originally Posted by Jaco Goosen

The easy way would be to just google any of the barrel manufacturers and follow their suggested procedure.

There is, to be honest, as many cleaning procedures as there are firearms owners - and everyone beliefs his way is the right way. That's also why some members wants get popcorn - because they know, someone will make the mistake of sharing what he/she does(and it most probably works 100% for them) only to get ripped to shreds by some of our own. We've been through it many a time.

The long and the short - as soon as you start shooting & cleaning more often, you'll develop a procedure that works for you. Boretech Eliminator is a great product for carbon and copper removal, get a good oil and a decent one piece cleaning rod for cleaning. (Bore-snakes are great for the bush, but does not replace a cleaning rod, you need a bore-snake in your pack, steer clear of ammonia, wipe your cleaning rods before sticking it down your firearms barrel, get a bore guide - accept that a barrel is a consumable, it will wear and it will need replacement at some stage).

If you know a TR shooter in your area - go visit, you'll learn a lot from them, they clean their barrels more than most, they've learned what to use to clean quickly and effectively - and they really want their barrels to last.

If your referring to me, sorry to rain on your parade I couldn't give i shit how you clean your rifle. Its your rifle do whatever you like with it

Simple... IMMEDIATELY after EVERY shoot a basic clean is done with some hoppes, some oil and a few patches, nothing major, just to get the (corrosive) stuff out.

every once in a while a depper clean. For this boretec has shown itself to be very good. Both carbon and copper remover work wonders compared to other products, and clean the barrel down to bare metal.

The by far strongest carbon remover I know about is CLR, not using it on the barrel but it works wonders on the DPT stainless baffle...

I do not use wire brushes or abrasives, no need to.

One thing that always makes me giggle is the amount of people that moan about how much good cleaning gear costs then basically write it off the first time they use it. Aluminium threaded multi-sectioned cleaning rods are great for an emergency use item and if you use them gently, but for tight patches or heavy cleaning they are no good. If you have heavy carbon fouling, it does pay to clean your rod before each pass through the barrel so you don't end up dragging crap into places where it shouldn't be - bore guides are good for helping with this. Having the wrong thing getting into your bedding or trigger group can create a few problems that need a trip to a gun doctor to sort...

Some actions like certain mauser-derived designs have a ejector blade that sticks into the middle of the action and makes short work of your shiny new coated one piece cleaning rod, it pays to check for this as it can be an expensive learning. Bore guides are a must here, and I actually prefer uncoated solid steel rods although they can be dearer. I knew a guy who made his own cleaning rods specific to the caliber and out of stainless. Nice and shiny!

Another is the bronze brushes, they don't actually like going forwards and backwards through the bore. Pick one direction and stick with it, as the bronze bristles are longer than the inside diameter of the barrel so flex to fit through the bore. Flexing them back and forwards just wears them out quicker. The other is using a copper solvent with bronze brushes, you'll never get the bore clean of copper traces doing that haha. Nylon bore brushes are a lot more forgiving and don't seem to mind back and forwards and are recommended for applying copper solvents. Chamber cleaning mops are useful too although most people seem to skip this step.

Nah mate, no issues with you having a good time watching the fun coming. It was directed towards those those that would do the ripping.

And because of this way of getting ripped apart, no one wants to answer a fairly easy question.