rifle cleaning?

[Baylian]

I took my .270 CZ 550 out for the first time last Sat. It took 2 hours to get the patches clean. I used a bore snake, Hoppe's no. 9, Break Free, and Shooter's Choice Copper Remover. My .270 size jag would not pass through the barrel when it had a patch on it so I had to use the eyelet with a patch.

Any suggestiona to make this faster and easier?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!! TJ :(

[Brithunter]

Hmm I am puzzled :confused: don't you use a Bronze brush?

I always wet a bronze brush with P-H 009 and srub the barrel then let it sit for a few minutes then do it again. This removes the hard glazed powder residue letting the bore cleaner work on any acculmilated copper fouling. Then push clean patches through to remove the bore cleaner. It normally takes about 4 patches but if you scrub the last patch back a forwards in the bore you will make some dirty streaks on it.

As for the .270 jag being tight with your patches :rolleyes: been there myself :o I now used Napier Rifle clean which is a blue coloured fibre on a roll in abox which you cut off to the correct length for each calibre and it works a treat :D . Oh I use Parker-Hale rods and jags/brushes.

[Baylian]

There is a brush in the body of the bore snake that I used 4 times. Chuck Hawks suggested in his Rifle Cleaning article that it only took two passes with a bore snake to get his bore clean.

What am I doing wrong? Should I get a .25 cal jag?

THANKS IN ADVANCE AND FOR THE REPLY BRITHUNTER, TJ :confused:

[Dan in the Delta]

What size patch are you using? It's possible the patch is too large and a portion of it is binding against the bore and rod or bore and base of the jag. A short jag can cause this problem. Cut the patch smaller and try that. I've only run into that problem with the jag I use in my .22's, but cutting the patches into a smaller size worked. BTW, the only patch worth using IMO is the 100% cotton flannel variety. The synthetic types (Hoppes for example) are useless if you ask me. Cotton T-shirt material is fair.

Here are some other thoughts:

Hoppes no. 9 smells great, but is fair at best as a solvent. I like using a mixture of Shooters Choice and Kroil (75/25 ratio) to go after powder fouling. I let it sit in the bore for 15 to 30 minutes and then apply some to a bronze brush and brush the bore 10 or 12 strokes. I then wet patch again and follow that up with 2 or 3 dry patches. I have found that MPro-7 works darn well on powder also.

After I clean for powder fouling I may or may not clean for copper. I usually don't worry about copper unless I notice my groups are opening up. For copper fouling I like Wipeout or Barnes CR-10. Wipeout is a foaming cleaner and I generally leave it in the bore overnight. I've been meaning to buy some Montana Extreme 50BMG copper solvent to try, but haven't gotten around to it yet.

I think Boresnakes are good when you need a quick clean, but for a thorough job I prefer the traditional rods, jags, brushes, etc...

If you want to know what some of the serious benchrest shooters do to clean their bores I suggest you go to www.6mmbr.com and browse around. They've got some good info there on this subject.

[rem 700]

Might start your cleaning with a quick squirt of foaming bore cleaner. Return about 1/2 hour later and you should have a quick cleaning.

[Brithunter]

Hmm well I have a couple of older Norma ammo catalouges and one has an article on bore clening in the back. Norma claim that 1 dozen strokes is the minimum to use and the brush needs to go both ways to do a proper job, their coment is :-

"have you ever tried painting using the brush just going in one direction?"

Norma at this time also had a custom gun shop :D .

rem700 made a good point, if your patch is overlapping the full size diameter of the jag where it screws on it will be tight. Using a smaller patch of course is one soloution, a thinner patch is another, attaching the patch a different way is the third :D . You will get there in the end :p .

[BILLY D.]

brit

where do you purchase that napier cloth? that sounds interesting.

thanks, bill

[Jack]

It should be mentioned, also, that barrels differ.
Some barrels clean very easily- typically high quality barrels, as they are smoother- less tool marks, etc. That's a generalization, of course.
A cheap barrel with lots of tool marks, or one with a few rust pits, etc., can take a whole bunch more time and effort to clean than the smooth one.

[Brithunter]

Hi Billy,

Try here :-

http://www.napierusa.com/

It seems that Napier have a US set up now :D A box has a roll of 14 meters in length. Hope that helps.

[BILLY D.]

t.j.

don't want to sound condescending here but as far as i'm concerned the bore snake is a great contrivance for field cleaning if you slip and fall and get mud, snow in your barrel and need to clean it.

do yourself a favor and purchase a coated one piece cleaning rod or a carbon fiber rod. you can also purchse a complete set of jags from 17>45 caliber for less than $20. you can also purchase caliber specific patches for around $10 per 1k. bristles bore brushes run about $12 per dozen. i buy almost all my cleaning supplies at midway usa. sinclair, natchez, and midsouth and lock, stock and barrel have similar deals. they are all polite and anxious to serve the customer. by the way, you also need a bore guide. saves dinging up the chamber in your rifle.

as far as cleaners go, i like the wipe out and lyman foaming bore cleaners. they are a godsend. put your rifle in a cradle or vise, padded jaws only please, barrel angled slightly down, squirt in the cleaner according to directions, let it set overnite if you want, when time expires run a clean patch through the rifle to push all the crud out and i then run a clean patch with hoppes through it and the cleaning chore is over. you will be amazed at how well it works.

if you have reservations about the foaming bore cleaners then my 2 favorites are sweets and cr-10. follow the destructions. if you use these to clean though i suggest using nylon bristle bore brushes because using brass will cause the bristles to deterioate and also cause a false reading on the presence of copper fouling. they turn blue.

if you need any further assistance, scream. i'm usually around.

good luck.

[BILLY D.]

brit

thanx for the link. went there. lots of goodies. there goes my budget. :D

[Talon]

Originally posted by Baylian
I took my .270 CZ 550 out for the first time last Sat. It took 2 hours to get the patches clean. I used a bore snake, Hoppe's no. 9, Break Free, and Shooter's Choice Copper Remover. My .270 size jag would not pass through the barrel when it had a patch on it so I had to use the eyelet with a patch.

Any suggestiona to make this faster and easier?

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!! TJ :(

Hello Balian,

This is what you need to try, BLUE WONDER gun cleaner. It was recommended to me about two months ago and all I can say is WOW :D It cleans powder, lead, and copper fouling.

Blue Wonder gun cleaner is a Gel, you put it on your bronze bore brush, scrub bore with 7 strokes of the brush. Let sit 10-15 minutes while you clean the rest of the firearm etc.

Then you run a patch or paper towel piece, through the bore its absolutely amazing what comes out with that first patch. run about four more patches through until clean! then follow up with a oil patch to protect bore from rust.

It truly is that simple,

here is there web addy

http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunCleaner.html

check out the video demonstration

FWIW....

Peace
Talon:cool:

[Cal Sibley]

I also like to use a patch wrapped around a bristle brush. On some calibers I have to resort to a smaller brush to get the patched wrapped brush through the bore. I like the feeling of the patched wrapped brush. It's tight and does a good job. Just one mans opinion. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

[Dan in the Delta]

Since my last post on this thread I've had a chance to use Montana Extreme 50 BMG copper solvent. I'd have to say it's my new favorite copper solvent. It's very strong and does a wonderful job, but let me offer a couple of tips. First, like I said it's very strong stuff. Use it in a well ventilated area and whatever you do, don't put your nose over an opened bottle and inhale. BTDT. Second, it's strong enough that using it with brass jags (or even nylon brushes with a brass or bronze wire core) can give you false copper readings (blue color on your patches). I have found that applying it with a loose fitting wool bore mop with a steel core (you can get them at Walmart) is perhaps the best way to go. Then, after letting it sit for 10 minutes or so, push a patch through the bore with the bore mop. That way if you see blue on the patch you'll know it came from copper in the bore and not your brass jag.

Dan

[Baylian]

I just wanted to say thank you for all the good advice. I now have a bore guide, Tipton one piece rod, CR-10, Shooter's choice copper remover, Outers tri-lube, and smaller patches. I haven't been able to find the other stuff yet. I am interested in the foaming bore cleaner. That seems to work well for others.

Good Hunting, TJ