Copper Fouling

P

pro160

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Hi I am looking for some advise on copper fouling in barrels? I recently read an article on it in a magazine and I never heard about it. So I inspected my Savage model 10 FP 223 looking at it from the muzzle end and I could see
copper in the rifling. I bought the gun used and I don't know how it was maintained. I seems to shoot very accurate. I can punch a hole in a dime or a penny at 100 yds. So I cleaned it with Hoppes copper solvent and a new brass brush and got a lot of dirty patches compared to using the regular Hoppes # 9 regular solvent. How do you know if you need to replace a barrel due to copper fouling? Even after cleaning it, I can still look down the muzzle end an see the copper in the rifling. However when I remove the bolt and shine a high intensity LED from the rear of the gun and I carefully inspect the rifling from the muzzle end, the rifling looks good not worn out or filled with copper. It looks like a uniform channel in the steel. Also, I cannot see the copper in the rifling when the light is shining from the opposite end. The inside of the barrel looks shiny. Any comments greatly appreciated

Steve
 
Steve,

wet a patch with the solvent, run it through the bore and leave it soak over night. The next day, dry patch the bore and inspect. If you still see copper, wet the bronze brush with solvent and do 10 strokes back and forth thru the bore, pushing and pulling the brush all the way thru at each end. Do not reverse direction in the bore. Leave the bore wet over night and repeat until no copper is found. After each brushing, rinse the brush under hot water to remove the solvent or it will attack the bristles as well.
 
Get some BoreTech Eliminator. Follow the instructions on the container. It will get rid of the copper and you won't have to use a bronze brush either. A nylon brush will work.

Let the solvent sit in the barrel over night if you can. It takes time for the chemicals to work.

Trust me on this, BoreTech eliminator will get rid of the copper.

Fitch
 
It is hard to tell about copper without a borescope. Normally, there can be a little copper wash at the muzzle. If you look at it with an (45-degree angle attachment) borescope like a Hawkeye, this copper wash is so thin you can sort of look through it. This is not a problem, and doesn't *need* to be cleaned out. A heavier buildup of copper looks different, and should be removed.

Copper fouling can be hard to remove, but generally doesn't permanently harm a barrel. Removing it *can* cause harm.

Worse, from the barrel-ruining perspective, is a too heavy carbon buildup. Carbon too can be removed, and again, a lot of damage can be done in that process.

It has been said many times, but use a bore guide and a single-piece rod. The chemicals used vary, and each has its pluses and minuses. Follow manufacturer's directions. And for goodness sake, don't mix bore cleaners. If you want to -- like a cleaner that specializes in copper and a different one for carbon, you can usually patch the first out & use alcohol to clean & dry the barrel before the second. When you quit cleaning, either because it is done or because you just can't stand any more work, be sure to use a light oil. Many of us prefer a penetrating oil such as Kroil, but I doubt anyone could prove its superiority.

For what it is worth, I use any of several ammonia based solvents for copper. I don't let it sit in the bore for over 10-15 minutes, and I patch it out thoroughly with alcohol. I use "Blackpowder Gel" for carbon.

Other cleaning agents have their advocates, if any were really the *best*, we'd all use it. Just pay attention to the old adage that more barrels are ruined by poor cleaning techniques than by fouling.

Good luck with it.
 
There is a new product on the market called Gunzilla. They also market Copperzilla. Topduck products is the outfit that makes it. It is all organic with no smell. The Gunzilla cleans very well, but will not remove all the Copper. The Copperzilla will get the remaining Copper. I have tested this in the shop and like it better than any other product I have used. It cleans the barrel using fewer patch's and brush strokes than any other product I have tested. This includes Montana Extreme and the Foam Cleaners. They can be left in the Bore overnight with no ill effects.So far I have only tried it in .30 Cal. .416, and .470. I have checked the Bores with a Borescope and all traces of fouling have been removed. Takes about 24 hours to remove all traces of Copper, but a normal cleaning which removes the majority of the fouling can be done in less than an hour.
 
Clark said:
KG 12 testing on line looks like it makes Ammonia based Copper solvents obsolete.

That has been replicated:

http://www.cleenboreusa.com/kg/kg12testresults.asp


http://www.snipershide.com/forum/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1021318&page=1
Click to expand...


Clark: It seems folks don't really care to look at the results of these test. If they would actually try KG these questions and theories would come to a halt.

I have cases of quart bottles of all the leading (also ran solvents), I give out to fellow shooters, why cause they don't work like KG 12.

Hey if cleaning barrels and spending a long time to get the job done, is your hobby, who am I to say they are wrong.

KG 9, works wonders, but only if you want to get all the crap out of the bore. In record time I might add.
 
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