21 replies to this topic

[2tay530]

I've been having trouble with my 308 and I'm thinking I haven't been able to get it real clean. I've been trying Sweets 7.62, Hoppes Benchrest solvent, and the Gunslick Foaming bore cleaner(my least favorite).

What are y'all's solvents of choice and methods of cleaning? I'm considering selling this gun but I want to give it another chance cuz I know it's got more potential.

[2tay530]

Found a thread in the reloading section on this. Any more comments would be appreciated.

[bones44]

I was gonna say I just saw a thread brought back up. you're not saying what the problem is. Poor accuracy I would imagine. I've been reading lately about how the copper fouling can really screw things up in a barrel. There's a really good article in the April Shooting Times magazine about this too. Pretty interesting. I've been using Gunzilla in all mine but I don't shoot enough to tell the difference yet.

[2tay530]

Yeah bones por accuracy. I've been told by a gunsmith that I've you shoot a few shots quickly and let the barrel cool, then shoot a few shots quick again, that it really packs the dirt in the barrel and makes it shoot like it'd been shot 20 times instead of 6. A family member of mine had it happen to one of his custom rifles and it whent haywire one day an thought he'd have to get it rebarreled again. He took it to the gunsmith and he looked at it with the borescope and told him it looked like he hadn't cleaned it at all. The smith soaked it for 3 hours to get it clean. I think he used Wipe-out foaming bore cleaner.

[prairiewolf]

I have used the outers cop out and lead out. (The electronic cleaning system) I wouldnt suggest it for normal cleaning because it takes all copper out or lead which ever solvent you use. You have to treat as brand new barrel after using them, but it will remove it ALL.

[dwtrees]

I have been using Super Quick Clean and have not had a leading or coper problem since I switched to it. Had to clean the gun real good first and then run some wet patches of the Super Clean down the barrel and let it soak in good. Repeated for a couple days and then run some dry patches down the barrel.

Here is the link for the Super Quick Clean site, http://www.superquic....com/index.html

[fr3db3ar]

You guys clean your guns? I've run hundreds of rounds though my 2 AR's (223 and 308) and my Stevens 223. The most I do is run a dry patch through. They all shoot MOA or better.

I wonder what they could do if I clean them

[bones44]

I hate to say it but years ago it was kind of unheard of but I guess with all the new materials and propellants it's necessary. My brother has an old Montgomery Wards 30-30 that has hundreds if not thousands of shots through it and has never cleaned since he got it 25 years ago. Still operates and shoots flawlessly. Same with his old Marlin .22lr.

[youngdon]

I use Birchwood casey and lots of patches...put it on and soak it . Is this a new gun....are you the original owner ?

[knapper]

I was told about Hoppi's Elite Copper Terminator and it is better than sweets. It is not rough on your hands and will remove copper fouling with the best of them. They also make a Hopp's Elite that is for general cleaning and powder fouling as well. I have been impressed by this product. It may seem like all that is left in the barrel is copper and nothing else but you will come to the end of the copper and then you are done.

[2tay530]

This is a used gun. I cleaned it before I took it out the first time. I've since took it and shot it some more and cleaned it and it seems better when I clean it now. Haven't done much accuracy testing but got it out and shot it.

[singlesix]

I had a 308 that would copper foul real bad, you could still see it in the barrel after cleaning with hoppes 9. I started using butches and sweets , and that did the trick, just follow the directions and it will work. You may have to keep doing it a few cycles before it will get most of it out. Then after I clean the guns I soak a patch with Kano kroil and leave it in the barrel. This loosens up any metal left in the barrel, this works really good for me. That kroil is good stuff, i had a case head seperate in my 308 last year, that upper shell case was jammed up in my barrel so good, i thought it was gonna be impossible to get out. I poured a good amout of kroil in thier and left over night. The next morning that shell came right out with one easy push.

[knapper]

I use it on rusty nuts and bolts, on of the guys from work got it for the plant and we have it around in spray cans. I have not used it for cleaning a barrel but it should work good for that too. To protect the metal parts of the rifle I use spray food grade silicon and let it dry, you get good lube and water proofing. It will not collect dist and dirt either.

[Hortontoter]

Not saying I'm right, but I always thought that cleaning a rifle barrel did more for the gun owner than for the rifle. In other words it is a mental thing. I have had several rifles that I owned for years and never cleaned the bore of any of them. I own a Remington 700 in .243 that I bought in 1976 and have shot thousands of rounds through it, mostly reloads. This gun never failed to shoot MOA at 100 yards once I had my hunting load worked up. I believe shooting the Sierra 85 gr boat tailed hollow point had a lot to do with the accuracy. I am a hunter not a paper puncher though. So maybe in hunting situations a clean or dirty bore is not so critical.

[singlesix]

I wish that were the case for me, I had a savage that fouled out so bad it would build pressure and blow primers. Thats how I learned about sweets, I put that stuff in the barrel , and gobs of copper would come out of the barrel. I think I had a defective barrel for sure. I think its important to clean the barrels especially if you live some where humid. I have seen some corroded barrels in the pawn shops of Florida. Maybe over time copper reacts with the metals in the barrel, dissimilar metals. Just a hunch. I know for my .22 mag the barrel never needs cleaning, I mean i can blast off 500 rounds (of .22long out of it) and the barrels wont have hardly a trace of any build up.

[singlesix]

I use it on rusty nuts and bolts, on of the guys from work got it for the plant and we have it around in spray cans. I have not used it for cleaning a barrel but it should work good for that too. To protect the metal parts of the rifle I use spray food grade silicon and let it dry, you get good lube and water proofing. It will not collect dist and dirt either.

I dont use it to clean the barrel either, just as a preservative, and to condition the barrel if you will.

[knapper]

I have not really used it on any fire arms and always wondered why they sell it in some gun shops and on line, it sounds like a good use for it though.

[youngdon]

I think most guns don't require that we clean them as often as we do, however some guns do require us to be diligent to the task. My 204 starts to go from sub 1/2" groups to nearly 3/4" after about 35-40 rnds it's a gradual thing and a quick swipe with a dry boresnake resolves the problem. Using just a dry boresnake leads me to the conclusion that it's powder fouling alone causing the issue. I haven't gone more that a few hundred rounds with out cleaning any gun that I own though so if and when copper fouling may become an issue is just a guess..

[knapper]

I read many years ago that the 17 Rem. was a real problem gun that had to be cleaned in less than 20 rounds.

[prairiewolf]

IMO the speed and type of ammunition is the major factor in cleaning a barrel.