My 2 cents on bore cleaning (with more Teslong pics)

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I use KG 12 and a nylon brush. Gets rid of copper easily without the worry of ammonia based cleaners remaining in the barrel too long. Leave KG 12 in the barrel for about two minutes, scrub with nylon brush a few times(5 or 6 passes) run a few patched thru to clean out the gwadoo and instant shiny barrel....easy peasy. Follow with a bit of oil on a patch for ultra shine and protect against future rust.

That didn't work for me at all. Have you looked at it with a bore scope. I did. Perhaps it depends on the bore and amount of copper you are dealing with.
 
It may be the wrong place to bring this up,buy I've been curious about something that affects the first shot out of a barrel that hasn't been fired in a while,like a uunting rifle that gets shot and put in the safe without cleaning it.I think the powder deposits oxidize and get more abrasive over time.Also,the copper deposits get a dry look to them,and sometimes the copper will turn blue and have a rough look to it.Maybe this has some effect on point of impact when the gun is first shot.I would also think the added friction because of the changes that fouling goes through over time could raise the pressure and cause the first shot to go half an inch or so high,and the same first shot usually chronographs faster than the rest of the shots.After the first shot,the rough deposits get shoved out of the barrel.Anybody have any experience with this?
 
I'd like to know the difference between Wipe Out and Tactical Advantage besides the way they are applied.
 
So I finally broke out the Teslong last night to use on a new-to-me Cooper 52 Classic in 280 AI. The rifle looked to be in pristine condition save some visible-to-the-eye fouling in the barrel. I started with my general routine of Hoppes No.9 until I got clean patches, then filled the bore with Break Free foaming bore cleaner; let it sit 10 minutes then pushed a series of patches through that came out very blue. I went back to the Hoppes, then patched dry, and tried the scope.

Wow. Lots of copper in the grooves starting about eight inches from the chamber for the full length of the bore. After a few more rounds of the Break Free interspersed with Hoppes and a bronze brush, better, but I'm still not done. Significant copper and streaks of carbon are still visible between 12 and 20 inches into the 24-inch barrel. Guess I need to get some Wipe-Out or equivalent.

I'm guessing that most of my barrels, cleaned regularly with Hoppes and Break Free until patches come out clean, are copper gilded to some extent. I'm almost afraid to look.
 
I’m a sucker for latest magic elixir and will try anything that promises to reduce the cleaning chore
Because it is heavier than water and bonds directly to metal, you might want to experiment with QMAXX. (www.qmaxxproducts.com)
It cleaned the lead and fouling out of my old Remington 572 in a single pass. According to what a rep for the co. told me, it breaks the chemical bond between the fouling and the barrel steel without solvent(s) being the active ingredients. Crazy stuff.
 
Nature Boy said:
I also chronographed these shots, 2,300 fps before and 2,290 after. Interesting how the holes are ragged before and clean after.

Finally, here’s how the bore looked before. Note how the radial tool marks transition the lands and grooves

Thanks for sharing your test with us, NB! Very interesting. Good looking barrel in your BLR.

Was pleasantly surprised at the Tubb B/A velocity results; would have expected more difference in the two.

Wondering if the difference in bullet holes could have been support of target face??

Thanks again, for sharing!

I'd like to know the difference between Wipe Out and Tactical Advantage besides the way they are applied.

I suspect the old sayin', "different strokes for different folks" is very applicable in cleaning regimens. What works for me may not be best choice for all. How are you liking TA, Walkalong?

IDK the how's but the TA works on powder fouling (as opposed to hard carbon) better than foams IMO. The foam works well on copper but slow on powder. When I put a rifle away, there is no telling when I will be able to shoot it again, so I clean after every outing no matter round count. Not much experience with hard carbon buildup due to lower round count between cleanings so can't comment much on hard carbon.

Have found that soaking overnight w/TA and additional strokes w/the hard nylon brush to be beneficial in the few instances I have encountered "hard" carbon.

Regards,
hps
 
Working well so far, but I haven't shot a lot then cleaned with it yet.

Wish TA had been available when I was shooting HP competition. Could have given it a real test back then. Now it's usually between one and 25 rounds/outing.

Regards,
hps
 
So I let the Wipe-Out sit over night and it got most of the copper out; another application this morning and it's gone. Which leaves me with this question: What are the black streaks on the lands? Wipe-Out, Break-Free, Hoppes No. 9 with plenty of scrubbing with a bore brush ... nothing seems to make any impression on it. It looks smooth so I'm inclined to call it done at this point, but I'm interested in what y'all think.

WIN_20200125_10_50_44_Pro.jpg
 
Black streaks are carbon. Wipeout works better on copper than it does on carbon IMO.

Regards,
hps
 
Yes, that's what I was thinking. None of my current bore cleaners seem to be touching it. Might have to try some Bore-Tech C4 carbon remover.
 
Yes, that's what I was thinking. None of my current bore cleaners seem to be touching it. Might have to try some Bore-Tech C4 carbon remover.
There may be better solvents but TA is the best combination bore cleaner I've found. Made by same folks that brought us Wipeout. TA works on both carbon and copper, but as I stated, I clean after every outing and nowadays seldom fire more than 20 rounds.
BAR 308 Win. barrel after 6 strokes w/stiff IOSSO nylon brush wet w/Tactical Advantage and allowed to soak for four hours.
48778903202_9aa2b19005_q.jpg 48778361078_40db16a8ff_q.jpg 48778361053_2a7ce2892e_q.jpg 48778361028_258d44b079_q.jpg 48778903042_0b5f79b810_q.jpg 48778903092_f457a5a484_q.jpg
48723594752_e674b9ce86_w.jpg

Regards,
hps
 
A gunsmith named Fermin Garza brought fire lapping to my attention a while ago... something like 5 yrs ago.
I hadn't heard of it before then, and I have yet to try it.
I'll study this more closely tonight after work.

On a revolver F.G. used as a demo in his article, some shots were keyholeing before lapping and after fire lapping - nice tight group
 
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There may be better solvents but TA is the best combination bore cleaner I've found. Made by same folks that brought us Wipeout. TA works on both carbon and copper, but as I stated, I clean after every outing and nowadays seldom fire more than 20 rounds.
I am going to shoot a PRS match on the 21st, so I'll give the Tactical Advantage a good test after that.
 
Getting one of these was a real eye-opener to me. I thought I was doing a pretty good job at cleaning my firearms but after looking at a "clean bore" I realized that my practices could improve. I've got a few high-volume shooters that still had substantial fouling in the first four inches of the bore that my usual routine of Patch-Out hadn't been effectively cleaning. I spent a whole day just cleaning two barrels and evaluating effectiveness of the solvents I have on hand. I learned a few things:

1. Patch-Out does most of the heavy lifting but usually leaves the throat in need of additional cleaning.
2. A dozen or so strokes with a patch wetted with Montana X-Treme Copper Cream at the first 4-6" of barrel does a great job of removing stubborn fouling near the throat.
3. Baked on carbon is damn tough to remove; I'm tempted to say impossible.
4. Most of my barrels look a lot better than I would have thought.

I've got some Slip 2000 Carbon Killer en route to try on a few other barrels. I have a bottle somewhere but since the move, a few of my shooting items have vanished into the void.
 
3. Baked on carbon is damn tough to remove; I'm tempted to say impossible.

Not impossible, but certainly more difficult when it builds up. Short stroking a patch soaked with Kroil or similar penetrating oil with JB or Iosso will get it out.

Once clean it’s much easier to stay on top of it
 
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