This is about cleaning after shooting
cast bullets, cleaning after shooting jacketed bullets is another story.
If you're shooting along and you start
to see shots going off, not where you called them and out of the group,
then 99% of the time you've got lead in the barrel.
See the streaks on these patches. I've
finally figured out the rule on these streaks. Here it is:
A leaded bore will ALWAYS show these
streaks on patches after about 10 patches through the bore. SOMETIMES,
with SOME RIFLES, I get these streaks no matter how many patches I put
through the bore. If my accuracy goes south and I get these streaks, I
ALWAYS find lead in the bore.
Clean the barrel as little as possible.
Brush the barrel as little as possible. Excessive cleaning will wear or
damage the barrel.
Some shooters seldom or never clean a
rifle shot with cast bullets. Experienced shooters have made reports of
not cleaning for several years or many hundred shots.
I once had a single shot rifle barrel
corrode or something after shooting lead bullets, Darr lube, IMR4227 and
Remington 2 1/2 primers. I didn't clean the barrel after shooting, later
something lumpy grew in the barrel. During cleaning black stuff came out
as usual but more of it and some grainy stuff. After cleaning, the damage
to the bore could be just barely seen.
This didn't hurt the accuracy. Since
then, for the last 25 years or so, I clean all guns at the range after
firing, and again at home.
I can get a clean patch out of any gun
barrel to date, but it often takes hours and dozens to hundreds of
patches-and there's no leading.
Here are some questions about cleaning
rifle barrels after shooting LEAD bullets and some representative answers
from shooters on the internet:
-
1. Do you clean DURING a match or
range session?
-
2. How often, or when, do you clean
the barrel?
-
3. Do you clean until brushing
produces no more black stuff, until you get a clean patch?
1. Yes I clean during matches or shooting
sessions. I find in my two rifles accuracy degrades in one somewhere
around 15 shots and the other around 25 shots. Accuracy degradation is
defined as either the groups open up, or impact location migrates.
2. I clean between groups unless I can hold
the total amount of shots (fouling and score) to less than 15 total.
3. I do not clean until the barrel is clean.
I clean only to manage a certain level of fouling. I find barrels don't
shoot well if they are squeaky clean, nor do they shoot good if really
fouled.
One must determine
the level of fouling that shoots good in a particular rifle and shoot
within those minimum shot/maximum shot parameters.
My .30BR hits its
stride after 2 fouling shots. My 1903 Springfield needs at least 5 fouling
shots and also seems to need a certain level of "warmness" in the barrel.
The .30BR will shoot well in a cold barrel if the fouling level is between
the min/max levels.
I've also found out
the fouling parameters vary based on barrel type and powder type. Some
powders are very dirty and some are very clean. V135, if the barrel is
squeaky clean, requires about 20-25 shots just to get the .30BR barrel
shooting good again. Varget requires much less."
Bill Warner on
CBA
"I clean after
every relay during a match or about every 15 rounds. I too find accuracy
starts to suffer if I don't. My cleaning process involves pushing an
undersize brush wrapped with a patch of one of the lead removal cloths
sold under various names twice through the barrel followed by two patches
of Ed's Red and finish up with a couple of dry patches. For the 30 cal. I
use a 6.5 brush and for the 6.5 I use a 22 cal. brush.
I've examined the
barrel after cleaning with a bore scope and it's nice and clean. I use
HTWW in my match rifles and tend to get a little leading so the lead wipes
really help. As far as getting a perfectly white patch at the end of
cleaning, I've never been able to o it but I don't think it's barrel
material or I'd be shooting a smooth bore by now.
I've tried a bunch
of cleaning methods and haven't found any that do as good a job with as
little work as this one.
.... if you're
going to make a habit of cleaning your rifle a decent bore guide is a
necessary tool if you want the throat to last."
Pat
Iffland on CBA
"I clean when I
arrive home after a range session.
I clean until I get
a patch that is slightly discolored with some kind of gray material. I've
never been able to get a patch thru any rifle barrel that wasn't
discolored with that faintly gray stuff. No, it is not lead, and the bore
is free of jacket metal too. I have begun to suspect that it is barrel
metal itself.
.... I'm not the
only one who gets a faint grey stuff on every patch, no matter HOW clean
the bore has become."
John Bischoff on CBA
"I clean at the end
of the day sometimes at the range sometimes at home. I use Bore Tech
rimfire solvent. For 32 caliber rifles I wrap a patch around a .30 cal
brush. I use a wet patch then a dry until the black is gone and all I am
getting is cooked lube. Lastly I run a patch with some lanolin cut with
mineral spirits through the bore."
40 Rod on ASSRA
"Before I started
using Alberta Schuetzen lube I had to clean within 30 shots due to
leading. With the improved lube I clean after the end of the day (usually
100 + shots) and only get fine lead dust on the first cleaning patch. For
peace of mind I always clean prior to each competition event.
A bore scope taught
me that gun cleaning solvents don't handle the carbon build up. Yes there
are very many good products that quickly remove lead and the powder
fouling however you would be surprised how much carbon buildup takes place
over time with even the most stringent cleaning practices.
Then I discovered
JBs cleaning compound. It works great at getting that build up out of
there. Also I lay down a film of Kroil oil before commencing the next
round to prevent the start of lead fouling (before that first lubed bullet
has a chance to lay down some lubricant).
For rimfire I clean
before a competition but make sure I fire at least 50 rounds to stabilize
the groups before the competition.
It is better to
clean at the range as soon as possible after competition.
If the rifle sits a while then that fouling hardens up and is somewhat
more difficult to completely remove.
For chrome moly
barrels leaving the fouling overnight after shooting on one of those cool
days can result in condensation which reacts with the fouling to form
acids that pit out the barrel. I have re-barreled numerous pitted barrels
for guys who put their rifles away without cleaning after hunting on a
cool humid fall day. "
Tommy on ASSRA
"I don't spend a
lot of time cleaning my 2 Douglas 32/40 barrels. They wipe nice with a
couple of patches with whatever I have on hand. Spray of Balistol most
often but sometimes just plain oil. I never wipe them during a Hudson
match as my zeros will change fouled barrel to clean. Of course I don't
have any problems with leading to overcome. I only use 1/25 with SPG at
moderate velocities about 1450 fps.
At home after a
match I brush them out then patch and solvent until it comes out clean
then dry and oil lightly. I have had other rifles that did lead and needed
to be a whole lot more aggressive cleaning, mostly Military rifles and
cast bullets at 1600 fps plus.
lack Powder
Schuetzen is another matter and my Douglas 38/55 Barrel gets wiped after
every shot. One wipe with a wet patch half antifreeze and half water with
a little Balistol in the mix. I also look at the bore after the wet patch
and will wipe it again or use a pistol rod and patch and wipe the chamber
and throat one more time. That 2nd wet patching depends on how long I
waited after the shot to wipe how hot and dry it is or any number of
things. If it does not look clean I stay after it until it is.
Then I dry the
barrel with a 2nd rod and dry patch. What I am looking for is absolutely
clean and dry for every shot. I have shot it in Hudson matches that way
successfully. I think wiped it's just as accurate as my Smokeless loads in
32/40
When I shot the
same barrel fixed in BPCS and used a blow tube it worked OK but was not as
acculturate as Breech seating. I suspect it's a combination of breech
seated bullets and the clean bore. Of course in BPCS you don't have time
for the absolutely clean routine and have to go with what you have."
Boats on ASSRA
"For smokeless
loads I spray Kroil spray lube in the bore after a shooting session, and
then let it soak on the trip home. Cleaning at home is very easy once it's
soaked.
For BP I use a pump
spray bottle with dish soap and water mixture, and spray the bore to soak
it thoroughly. Then clean it in normal BP method when I get home. This
softens the powder residue, and again makes cleaning easy.
Marlinguy ASSRA
I have been
shooting a CPA 32-40 close to five years now using smokeless powder and
the bore has never seen a brush of any kind. Gail Shuttleworth advised me
to just do like you would a baby's butt and wipe it till it’s clean! I
seldom use solvent either. I just run dry patches through it till its
clean and four patches flipped over one time each will usually do it. I
then run a patch through the bore with the lube I use and it is ready for
the next outing."
Schuetzen on ASSRA
"I
usually will shoot at least 100 rounds in both rifle & pistol before I
clean.
My daily range session is NORMALLY 50 pistol & 50 rifle rounds in the
summer.
Sometimes I only clean 1 x a wk. (300 rounds) but Utah is hot & dry. No
problems for over 30 yrs. shooting. Some of the original guns are still w/
me & doing fine."
Boom Boom on Cast Boolits
"I'll give you some
views, especially as they are non-conformist.
-
1. Do you clean
DURING a match or range session?
-
I never clean a
rifle during a match or shooting session.
-
2. How often, or
when, do you clean the barrel?
I clean the barrel only after I have fired it with black powder, made some
horrible mistake and leaded it up or when preparing to store the rifle for
an extended period of time.
I clean (at the
times specified above) with the tight-fitting jag until the bore is clean.
Patches will almost never be pristine-clean even after "cleaning" the bore
thoroughly.
It is my firmly
held belief that any rifle used with a good cast bullet load, fired in a
barrel of good condition will virtually never require cleaning just so
long as the rifle sees generally frequent use.
I have rifles that
have not been cleaned in many years and thousands of shots which provide
me the very same excellent performance as they did after first acquiring
their "break-in" rounds during load work-ups. And! These rifles are all
successfully used in cast bullet competitions. ~ Most recently I won the
Montana 1000 Yard Championship with my 50/90. The rifle has not been
cleanedfor at least 1000 rounds (that being the only time I fired it with
black powder).
I think the
cleaning compulsion on the part of shooter is entirely misplaced and
perhaps a form of mind-control on the part of those who make and sell
bore-cleaning products.
Forrest Asmus on CBA
"I clean all
rifles, CF or RF, with a wet patch of Ed’s Red with lanolin and leave them
wet until I am ready to shoot. At that time I wet patch and then dry
patch. The wet patch after shooting will let me know by the patch dragging
if there is any fouling I need to remove after shooting and if necessary I
will use either a brass or stainless brush depending on the bore fouling.
Each bore is different and some will need the occasional stainless brush.
I have used Rem-Clean abrasive on a patch to remove hardened carbon that
will not come out with any other method. I have tried steel wool and it is
not abrasive enough. The copper or steel scouring pads at the grocery
store are effective at cleaning leaded bores. I wrap a piece of the pad on
an undersized brass or plastic brush. Once cleaned, I wet patch and leave
the bore wet."
Bill McGraw
I clean a centerfire rifle each time it
is shot. If you do not clean it you will someday find the combination of
temperature and humidity that will cause the bore to corrode, to rust
under the powder fouling, even with smokeless powder, modern primers and
cast lead bullets. I know from personal experience that this can happen,
and it does not brighten your day.
Bore Guides
Many shooters use a chamber insert/bore
guide/throat protector made from a cartridge case with the primer hole
bored out to cleaning rod diameter. Other bore guides are made of plastic.
The theory is that the cleaning rod bows as it is pushed through the bore,
and the bowed rod wears the throat of the rifle, damaging accuracy. Bore
guides protect the origin of the rifling and the throat, are inexpensive
and are highly recommended.
Cleaning Rods
Cleaning rods come in aluminum, brass,
steel, and plastic coated steel.
Do not ever use an aluminum or brass
cleaning rod, they are offensive. If you have any, throw them away. Throw
them away right now, we'll wait.
Steel cleaning rods are claimed to be
so hard that no bad abrasive stuff gets imbedded into them as it does in
the aluminum or brass (they're gone, I hope) or plastic coated rods. This
abrasive stuff is claimed to ruin chamber, bore and muzzle of rifles
whenever a non-steel rod is used.
Plastic coated steel rods are claimed
to be easier on the barrel than those hard and unfeeling steel rods; and
that bad abrasive stuff can be wiped off the rod. (The bad abrasive stuff
is probably the glass in the primer mixture, but I don't see how that
could accumulate in the barrel. Maybe the bad abrasive stuff is
imaginary.)
I use Dewey coated cleaning rods almost
exclusively.
Cleaning the Rifle
Barrel
Cast bullet rifle bores end up with
lube, powder and primer residue, and (sometimes, but we hope not) lead in
the bore after shooting. The lube and powder and primer residue can be
cleaned out of the bore with about any bore cleaning solvent.
Bore cleaners come in many flavors; any
that I have tried will do the job. The bore cleaners that damage the stock
finish are especially infuriating. I use G.I. bore cleaner sometimes, I
use Hoppes #9 because I like the smell, and I use paint thinner and Marvel
Mystery Oil and Kroil. Anything I've tried works, including kerosene and
home heating oil. Buying and using the more expensive solutions may make
you feel that you've done something nice for your gun, but they don't
clean it any better than paint thinner.
Use an undersize brass brush or a jag
to hold the patches while cleaning. Those slotted rod tips are dead
useless. I use a jag to hold patches for bores under 30 caliber, and used
.22 caliber brushes to hold patches for .30 and .32 caliber rifles. Used
30 caliber brushes will hold patches for the larger bores.
First, push a patch with bore cleaner
on it through the barrel and then take the patch off the brush; you want
to push all the bad stuff out of the barrel with that first patch. Then
push more tight patches with bore cleaner through the barrel; work them
back and forth if you want. After six to ten patches you should get a
clean patch out of the barrel.
After ten patches, if the next patch
comes out of the barrel with black or grey stains, there may be lead in
the barrel.
Slight bore leading.
Kroil
I went to the match in Palm Bay FL on 9
April, 2005; where I leaded the barrels on my Martini 30/30 bench gun and
Maynard Model 16 in 32/35.
I tried to figure out why my guns were
leading. I have a set of rifles that work well without leading-or did.
Along with the two mentioned above, there are a M54 Winchester in 30/30
and a C. Sharps Model 1875 45/70 that have been very reliable until
lately. Leading is caused by bullets that are too small; I believed this
and tested this theorem for many years. The bullets for these rifles were
of the correct sizes; something else had gone wrong.
I had just about decided that the alloy
was at fault, wheel eights, but I’ve been using wheel eights forever.
Then, I thought about the Kroil. I’d
seen Kroil advertised in old gun magazines, but never seen Kroil itself
until recently. I bought a can about a year ago and liked it. It cleaned
well, and later I found that a tight Kroiled patch, tight enough to squeak
when it was pushed through the barrel, would remove lead slivers. I have
been using this method to remove lead for months, and wondering why the
lead? Cleaning every 2-3 sighters and 10 record shots was mandatory.
I thought that perhaps the Kroil was at
fault.
At home I cleaned these four rifles
with Marvel Mystery Oil-what I used to use for cleaning-and patched a
little lithium grease into the barrels.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005, I shot each
rifle 25 or more rounds and then cleaned. There was no lead in any barrel.
The 30/30’s, with bullets lubricated with NRA Alox lube, took the normal
8-10 patches to get a clean patch. The Sharps and Maynard showed clean
patches after four-Darr lube has always worked like this in the past.
Groups were fine in the strong wind, with a 45/70 group at 1.3”, some
30/30 groups under 1”, and 27 shots through the Maynard in 3.45” wide X
2.5” high.
I’m convinced that it’s the Kroil, that
the Kroil cleans the barrel TOO clean, causing the barrel to lead.
Following the Kroil with Marvel Mystery Oil and lithium grease solves the
problem. The first shot needs to go through a lubricated barrel.
Severe bore leading
Severe bore leading at lower (below
1400-1600 fps) velocities is caused by shooting a bullet too small for the
bore of the rifle.
If, after eight to ten patches the next
tight patch shows much black or grey color, the bore is probably leaded.
Lead can be easily taken out of the
barrel with "Lead Away" patches made by "Kleen Bore" Inc., or with 000
steel wool on an undersize brush. (We all have used steel wool in the
past, before "Lead Away" patches, we just don't admit it.)
Some shooters report that strands from
a "Chore Boy" pan-cleaning pad, wrapped on a brush, will easily remove
lead. The "Chore Boy" pad is kind of a brass Brillo pad.
A brush will never remove lead from a
rifle barrel, but will remove lead from revolver barrels. I wonder why?
No bore cleaner that I have used will
take the lead out of a rifle barrel by dissolving it.
After
the lead is out, tight patches will come out of the bore CLEAN, just like
they looked when they went in. Now push a dry patch through the barrel,
followed by an oiled patch.
If you then push a bronze brush with
Kroil or Marvel Mystery Oil or paint thinner through the barrel, followed
with a patch, then there will be black stuff on the patch. Continued
brushing and patching, ten strokes of the brush followed by a clean patch,
will produce black stuff on the patch for five or six patches before a
clean patch results. This gets some stuff out of the barrel, but this step
is not necessary to protect the barrel and maintain accuracy most of the
time. I don't know what this black stuff is, and I don't worry about it.
Less brushing is better, less cleaning is better, so I avoid this step. My
goal is a clean tight patch through the bore.
I get good results with a Nynex =
plastic brush.
Avoid bronze brushing with patent bore
cleaners
Patent bore cleaners are formulated to
remove bullet jacket metal from rifle bores. Using a brass brush and
brushing the bore of a lead bullet rifle with, for instance, Hoppes #9,
and then pushing a patch through the bore, will get you a patch with black
stuff on it. Push a few more patches through until clean patches come out.
Brush again with Hoppes, push a patch through, and you get black stuff on
the patch. The Hoppes #9, or any of the patent bore cleaners, eats the
bronze brush, making the black stuff. This always happens, and it happens
forever, as long as you repeat the process. To prove to yourself that the
patent bore cleaner is eating the brass brush and making the black stuff,
brush and patch the bore with paint thinner and you'll shortly get clean
patches.
Cleaning From The
Muzzle
Cleaning from the muzzle is easily done
using a conical brass rod guide as used by the muzzleloaders. Some guns
must be cleaned from the muzzle: Trap Door Springfields, lever action
rifles, revolvers and some Martinis and Wrndls, for example. Just use that
rod guide and everything will be OK. (Years ago an instructor at a High
Power clinic suggested that all rifles should be cleaned from the muzzle,
since it is easier to re-crown than re-chamber the barrel. This made too
much sense to us, so we ignored him.)
Cleaning
Rimfires
I don't know how often to clean a .22
rimfire rifle. I have asked expert rimfire shooters, some say they never
clean and others say they always clean. I clean .22 rifles about once a
year because I feel guilty. The cleaning only reduces accuracy for ten to
a hundred rounds.
Cleaning Revolvers
I have no problem cleaning revolvers
with Marvel Mystery Oil and patches. Barrel leading can be removed with a
brush. Since revolver barrels are cleaned from the muzzle, use one of
those conical brass bore guides that the muzzle loaders use to protect the
crown on the barrel.
Electrical barrel cleaners
There are some cleaning devices on the
market that electroplate the metal fouling in the barrel, copper or lead,
onto a cleaning rod. The bore is blocked up at one end, some electrolyte
(liquid) is poured in, a metal rod with o-rings to hold it centered is put
down the barrel and the juice is turned on. The plan is to have a
perfectly clean bore. Reports of results are mixed. However, it is an
impressive piece of kit that will interest the bystanders at the range;
and it is very scientific. Perhaps it is an example of a solution in
search of a problem.
Windex and Black
Powder
There are many reports that Windex does
a very good job of cleaning black powder guns.
Cleaning Guns With
Paper Towels
I've been reading about cleaning guns
with paper towels-Bounty is recommended. Yesterday, 8/23/06, at the range
I cleaned two rifles with paper towels; ripped off a strip and wound it
around an undersized brush as I do with cotton patches. Dipped it in
solvent and pushed it through the bore. No problems.
But.
I have been told by several/many
machinists that paper is hard to cut, very abrasive.
I'm not sure
that paper has much more abrasive stuff in it than cotton.
At the end of 2006 I'm still using the paper towels and they're working
fine for all the center fire guns and particularly for the muzzle loading
rifles.
"I use the blue
shop type paper towels found at Wal Mart. I have used them for some time
to clean the fouling when shooting black powder, both in cartridge
and muzzle loader firearms. Final patch material in cartridge firearms is
cotton, if there is some minor lead present. I have shot my rifles for a
number of years and thousands of rounds. I should be so lucky as to wear
one out."
38-55 on the ASSRA Forum
"When I first
adopted the paper towel and Parker-Hale jag method in the 1970s, I did it
because it was cheaper than boughten patches. We are all familiar with how
the price of a commodity escalates the minute someone tacks a shooting
label onto a product. It also worked well, an added bonus.
It was, and still
is, popular in the benchrest crowd, so it can't be too tough on barrels. I
use it to this day because it still works well. All one needs to do is to
fool around and figure out how wide the strip of paper needs to be and
then take a 39 cent roll of paper towel down to the local public library
where they have a big paper cutter. One can cut enough long strips in just
a few minutes to last for months.
The side-wound
method is better, overall. The "tooth" of the paper towel is an added
bonus in cleaning, like the texture in the weave of an ordinary patch."
Geo.
B. Carpenter
