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Very Hot Topic (More than 25 Replies) Cleaning Rifles (Read 6468 times)
Chuckster
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Cleaning Rifles
Sep 1st, 2021 at 10:59am
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Love black powder; Couple of soluble oil wet patches, couple of dry, lube and spotless clean.
Different story with smokeless powder; a dozen patches with Kroil and still get black streaks on a dry patch.
Looking for suggestions on how to get a smokeless barrel spotless clean.
Chuck
  
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SSShooter
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #1 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 11:19am
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Have always had good results with Hoppes #9. Run 2 or 3 wet patches and let sit for 30min and then run another couple. Final patch a couple of times with your favorite gun oil. Like our BP barrels, smokeless are not all the same. Some take more or less work than others.
  

Glenn - Stevens 044 1/2, Bartlein SS 5R barrel in 22LR
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GT
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #2 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 11:31am
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Chuck, 
I've taken about a ten year sabbatical from black and now just recently because of a future match I'm having to revert back to black.  I'd forgotten how easy a rifle cleaned up after shooting black... WOW!  The brass is another story but it's still not bad.

In the last ten years of shooting smokeless, I've only recently stumbled on to a solution that seems to give me those same clean results that you get with black - it's been the "Gunzilla" solution.  I'm not on the payroll nor do I have anything to do with them, couldn't really tell you much about it but my son pushed it on me and suggested I give it a go.  He's an experimenter this way and it's been working well for him.  I find it works well for me also... I'll get a grey colored patch out of a barrel if I let it sit and soak overnight.   Clean it well and shove the Teslong scope down the barrel and it really is impressive.  I still find myself using Kroil occasionally because that's been my standard for several years and then the duh moment happens and I dig out the other stuff.
My 2¢
Greg
  

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JLouis
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #3 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 11:32am
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Chuck I have had real good success with using JB Bore Paste over the past 23+ years. 
If you are wanting to have patches come out perfectly white follow it up with some patches using Naphtha. The problem with doing so is it can also remove the prior barrels lube seasoning. Unfortunately it has now been outlawed in Ca. and no longer available here. It was also what Ronson and other Lighter fluids were actually made of. In your area look on the back of a bottle of Lighter Fluid to see if it still contains it if you would like to try it. Used to be I could go to the local hardware store and get a gallon for around 9 dollars. I did not know it was allowed until I went to go get another 1 gallon can when I was just about out. BBQ lighter fluid is also not the same. After the barrel is clean I just use a couple of patches using Ballistol. 

Lighter fluid or lighter fuel may refer to: ... Naphtha, a volatile flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture used in wick-type lighters and burners.
  

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Amoretti
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #4 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 2:31pm
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I think Coleman type lantern and stove fuel is naptha.  It has gotten real expensive though.  I used to use it in my model gas engines but now use av gas or even pump gas.

John
  
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beltfed
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #5 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 2:57pm
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Charcoal lighter fluid is generally "mineral spirits" not naptha
Coleman fuel is "white gas" not naptha
beltfed/arnie
  
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gnoahhh
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #6 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 4:39pm
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I'm a big fan of Ed's Red. Been using it in lieu of Hoppes for quite a few years now.
  
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oneatatime
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #7 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 6:51pm
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+1 for Gunzilla.
  
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bpjack
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #8 - Sep 1st, 2021 at 9:15pm
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I am also a Kroiler.  I don’t clean until I get a white patch, but black streaks as opposed to overall grey patch seems to indicate a presence of lead.  I can get rid of those with more Kroil and a tight patch or three

Jack
  

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40_Rod
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #9 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 10:20am
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For cleaning I am also a fan of Ed's Red. For plain based lead bullets with smokeless I use a patch wrapped bronze brush with Ed's Red 10 strokes and change patches. I usually go through 3 patches and I'm finished I leave the barrel wet.
My attitude is that if your getting your barrel squeaky clean (cleaning down to bare metal) you are over cleaning your barrel. Lead bullet and jacketed bullet barrels are two different animals. jacketed bullets ride down a naked barrel and tear off little bits of metal as they pass through. When cleaning you have to scrub and resolve the copper residue to get accuracy. 
In lead bullet barrels the bullet rides on a thin film of lubricant not bare metal. When you clean back to bear metal you are starting from scratch every time. Clean it until you get the carbon deposits and powder fouling out. Then your patch shows just cooked lube stop. let that lube get ironed into the barrel. This is what's meant by "seasoning" a barrel.
The bottom line is a lead bullet barrel has more in common with a rimfire barrel than it does a jacketed bullet barrel.

40 Rod
  
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JLouis
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #10 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 10:52am
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50/50 Marvels Mystery Oil and Unscented Lamp Oil also makes for a good cleaning Solvent. This is what Barry Darr used.
  

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Sure shot
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #11 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 1:05pm
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CRC Brakleen, automotive brake parts cleaner. Don’t get this on your stock finish, and don’t use it on newer guns with plastic parts.
  
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uscra112
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #12 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 3:44pm
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I'm with 40_ROD, 100%.

And Ed's Red does fine for cast bullet shooting.

Only time I try to clean to bare metal is when de-coppering a barrel to convert it to a cast bullet shooter.
  

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JLouis
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #13 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 5:21pm
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Primers probably leave more abrasives in the barrel than any powder might do. When I clean I do 10 strokes in the first third of the barrel, 5 strokes in the second third and two strokes in the last third. This will eventually create a choke towards the muzzle over time. I also use a Parker Hale wrap Jag and I never let it exit the bore. I also have never used a brush but just wiped it until is clean. My 32-40 barrel as most of you know has over 140,000 bullets down the bore. At over a 100,000 it was still able to set a new ASSRA National 100yd. 5-5 shot Group average record back in 2013. Not at all trying to say this is the best approach by any means but only that it has worked very well for me. Most barrels don't see that many bullets going down their bore. So I just wanted to share my own 23+ years of my own personal cleaning process while using JB. The throat is now pretty much gone so instead of setting it back and re-chambering it I decided to just retire it so it will remain original to the rifle. As the troat continued to wear I just had to continue in seating the bullets abit more deeper.
  

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JLouis
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Re: Cleaning Rifles
Reply #14 - Sep 2nd, 2021 at 5:44pm
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Might also add if anyone one would to keep an accurate track. The easiest way to do so is to just save all of your empty primer boxes of a 100 each. I always shoot at least a 100 of each variety in my own load development process before I decide to move onto trying something else. But typically is allot more unless they show absolutely no promise using my own favorite powder that I have always had great success with. And after having tried them all it is the one that has always worked the best in all of my various breech seating cartridges and rifles.
  

" It Is Better To Now Have Been A Has Been Than A Never Was Or A Wanna Be "
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