Routine cleaning to prevent barrel damage

[enfieldspares]

Phosphor bronze with Young's 303 then a patch to take out the oil if a shotgun or phosphor bronze brush with Young's 303 and four-by-two if a rifle. When you could get it A J Parker's AC Oil was preferred by me to Young's .303.

 

[BE Precision]

routine cleaning of my own rifles - butch's bore shine
cleaning of customers rifles and/or post proof cleanup - wipeout patchout and accelerator

 

[Smellydog]

Firing one shot produces Corbin dioxide and the moisture in the air will combine with this to make carbonic acid - which will eat steel…after every outing, 1 shot or 100 I spray with a light oil (Legia or Napier light oil with VP90) then run a pull through (bore boss) or if more than 20 rounds it gets scrubbed with boretech eliminator and also I run a chamber brush into the chamber with a light coat of oil.

This has served me well.

Regards,
Gixer

Very interesting reading on carbonic acid.
Thanks.

 

[gixer1]

Very interesting reading on carbonic acid.
Thanks.
View attachment 435458

Here’s a very good example of its effects -

 

[TringSaint]

Clean during the close season for all UK deer species.......

Meanwhile, always dry off and allow to warm up to room temperature before storage.

My regime is pretty much the same, albeit with a quick peek down the barrel (via the breech with bolt removed) to see if there is any real fouling before going out, and if so then it’s a quick pull through with the boresnake and off I go.
Deep clean once the cull is over.

 

[VSS]

Here’s a very good example of its effects -

View attachment 435469

This may be a dumb question, but what are we actually looking at there?

 

[VSS]

Deep clean once the cull is over.

It never is.
Hence my point about "close season": There isn't one!

 

[gixer1]

This may be a dumb question, but what are we actually looking at there?

It’s a chamber that was section cut due to the barrel being written off due to putting from carbonic acid. The rifle was most likely fired and then another round chambered and left like that with moisture running down to the front of the chamber (think - keeper, shoots a fox, reloads, keeps rifle upright with a round chambered)

In this case cleaning made it worse as it cleaned the carbon out of the pits - to the point when a round was fired the brass became stuck as it expanded into the putting and needed a hit with a mallet to open it.

 

[TringSaint]

It never is.
Hence my point about "close season": There isn't one!

I don’t do much stalking between April and October because most of the deer here are cwd and there aren’t many roe and the munties are not too numerous, plus I can’t stand having to deal with tons of flies!!

 

[Stalker-of-the-deer]

Personaly I just shoot it untill the groupings open up then I will strip it out with copper/carbon solvent. Keep it simple.

Few run throughs with a wet patch, leave for a little good scrub with a nylon brush and dry patch out. Rinse and repeat untill clean.

Range day wise or shooting, il just run a dry patch through it afterwards to pull any moisture/crap out of it.

I use boretech cleaner, patches, jags and brush and a pro shot stainless rod. Would recommend to anyone.

Boretech also doesnt create a mess, isnt corrosive and doesnt absolute stink like 303 does haha

 

[The Optimist]

I clean my rifles thoroughly after each time I shoot them. Insert a bore guide and then 45 mins with a barrel filled with Forest Bore foam. Plenty of chamber to muzzle one-way passes with a phosphor bronze brush. Patch out completely. Then the same process again with a patch/s soaked with KG1 - leave, brush out and then patch out. And then with KG12, brush out and then patch dry. The crown gets carefully cleaned and all carbon residue is removed. The bolt and particularly the bolt face is thoroughly cleaned and a very light coating of Break Free CLP applied. Magazine/s (metal on all my rifles) cleaned and the lightest smear of CLP. Chamber inspected and cleaned. Barrel exterior wiped down with CLP. All this takes a while, but keeps the rifles in great condition. Moderators (ASE Utra) are left alone other than stood upright over a radiator. AI mods cleaned of carbon build-up at the thread. Muzzle brakes thoroughly cleaned of carbon.

 

[Nickb]

Never clean any of mine and been fine for last 40 years.

Cleaning is vastly overrated.

 

[HonestJohn]

I rebarrel after each shot, guarantees no corrosion

 

[Riverwye]

I clean mine once every blue moon.

 

[Klenchblaize]

Moisture retention allied to fowling in the bore poses the biggest risk of pitting. Its why I always push a few patches through my 22 hornet after use and finish with one coated in Y303. Lil-Gun powder burns real 'dirty' and leaves a bore full of crud that is the finest moisture magnet known to man.

K

 

[Selous]

Firing one shot produces Corbin dioxide and the moisture in the air will combine with this to make carbonic acid - which will eat steel…after every outing, 1 shot or 100 I spray with a light oil (Legia or Napier light oil with VP90) then run a pull through (bore boss) or if more than 20 rounds it gets scrubbed with boretech eliminator and also I run a chamber brush into the chamber with a light coat of oil.

This has served me well.

Regards,
Gixer

Corbin Dioxide…. Hasn’t he just set up a new political party
I agree with everything you say. Trouble is without bore scoping your barrel regularly you won’t be able to see the pitting develop. I have taken to removing carbon after every outing with light oil patch to finish

 

[shakey jake]

Doesnt the bullet nudge out any serious fouling?
Like the wad in a shot gun cart cleans the bors

 

[bbell]

Having just had to scrap a rifle that’s barrel was really badly pitted, I’m a bit paranoid to avoid doing the same thing to it’s replacement. It was second hand and had a good few miles on it, however, its replacement is a sparkly new 308 S20.

As a recreational stalker, I’d be very happy to fire a shot once a week in the season, and certainly not more than a handful, other than a range session where it could be 20-50. Moderator comes off straight away and rest of the rifle is cleaned down as required.

Previous cleaning regime was a pull through after each outing, and a more thorough clean with solvents/chemicals at the end of the season or after a heavy range day.

Any well read folks out there able to offer their knowledge on cost vs benefits of regular cleaning (chemicals/not) vs. leaving it well alone?! Can’t afford to replace this one any time soon

How much did the groups open up to need being scrapped?

 

[Hook'N'Bullet]

Bore snake after each outing whether shot taken or not. Then scrub it with solvents probably 2 times a year

 

[bluesako]

this is what i use