Carbon Fouling?

C

cessna

Guest
I have religiously cleaned the barrel on my light rifle after every match (20 - 40 rounds). The barrel is a Shilen SS barrel chambered for 6.5 X .284. I've kept the copper under control through the frequent cleaning and I have used various cleaning products. I do not us a brush on my match barrels. I have about 1100 rounds through the barrel and accuracy was starting to fall of a bit.

Lately I've been thinking that I may be placing too much emphasis on removing copper and not being concerned enough about carbon. This may have been confirmed by my gunsmith who just fitted two new barrels to the action and set the old one back. He reported that the barrel was heavily carboned the full length even though my cleaning method would result in clean patches.

I am going to focus more attention on carbon removal. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good carbon removal cleaner? Obviously, what I've been using is a little lacking in that department!

Regards,

Steve Cass
Tucson
 
Steve,
A bore scope is a great investment. It really takes the guesswork out of cleaning your barrels. Every barrel is different, and some require a lot more work than others. The price of a good bore scope is high, but you'll never regret getting one. It really helps you find the best cleaning procedure for your particular rifles.

- Innovative
 
You can also rest assured that there was copper layered between the fouling. Buy a bore scope, some brushes, Iosso and you will never worry about carbon again.

The Hawkeye is the best tool I have ever bought as it let's me know when to stop cleaning because just guessing will not help me to win any matches.
 
Ditto

I agree with the advice on buyiny a borescope. But be prepared when you look into a 6.5-284 because in 1100 rounds the throat is going to be BAD.
Clean it good and be ready to call a barrel maker. Don
 
I have been wrong many times in this life, but I don't think you can soak carbon away. You have to use an abrasive, such as a brush. Sort of like cleaning a frying pan. A bronze brush is a good compromise on this -- lots of successful shooters mean a lot of good data.

There are many products that advertise as being good with carbon fouling. Among those I've used & have worked for me are Shooter's Choice Black Powder Gel, and T-M Cleaning Solution. I'm sure there are others.
 
I have a few magnum rifles that will carbon up and become toast if they're not cleaned regularly with an effective procedure (verified with a borescope). I use JB Bore Paste on these rifles (losso is also good). I use a patch soaked with kroil to help move the paste.

Your barrel will last a whole lot longer if you don't let the carbon get started. Carbon (not wear) is the main reason that most rifle barrels lose accuracy. The carbon seems to get started if the copper isn't removed ASAP. Most properly lapped barrels won't copper up unless they're really neglected.

- Innovative
 
Thanks guys. This is interesting. I never thought that a bore scope would be used during cleaning! Duh! That makes it a whole lot easier to justify spending the $$ on the bore scope!

Steve Cass
Tucson
 
Most 6.5-284's accuracy tails off around 1100 rounds. I always commence my cleaning regime with two patches soaked with mixture of 75% GM top cleaner and 25% Marvel Mystery oil; dry patch it out; then another wet patch followed by thorough scrubbing with an Iosso nylon brush. This will remove about 90% of the carbon. Then I attack the remaining carbon and copper fouling with Boretech Eliminator. I find this system to be quick and efficient.
 
Bore scope

I'll second the vote to buy a bore scope; you'll know exactly what is going on.
Chino69
 
I think going after carbon while the barrel is still warm helps alot,seems it really sets into the metal after the barrel cools.
 
Carbon Cleaning

As we all know, carbon removal particulary in large magnum rifles can be very difficult to remove if there is a large build up carbon fouling. You can scrub all day with an abrasives and still not remove everything. So where did I get to with this problem ... well quite simply domestic oven cleaner, the type that cleans burnt on grim from the inside of your cooker. Quite simply it works better than anything I have ever found and you don't have to spend all day going up and down with a bore brush. Will it harm the barrel?? Well I have left the stuff I use on a stainless barrel for a morning with no marks or etching, and if you are going to try the same then this would be a wise thing to do. Oven clear is also much cheaper than a lot of the dedicated gun cleaning products

Kevin (UK)
 
Kevin---never tried the oven cleaner but I can clean even the worst carbon ring in 30 minutes or less with Iosso.
 
KevinPhipps said:
As we all know, carbon removal particulary in large magnum rifles can be very difficult to remove if there is a large build up carbon fouling. You can scrub all day with an abrasives and still not remove everything. So where did I get to with this problem ... well quite simply domestic oven cleaner, the type that cleans burnt on grim from the inside of your cooker. Quite simply it works better than anything I have ever found and you don't have to spend all day going up and down with a bore brush. Will it harm the barrel?? Well I have left the stuff I use on a stainless barrel for a morning with no marks or etching, and if you are going to try the same then this would be a wise thing to do. Oven clear is also much cheaper than a lot of the dedicated gun cleaning products

Kevin (UK)
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I've tried an owen cleaner before with a great result, but I got too scared by the thought, that it is for the owen not a barrel. I may have a second go at this and experiment with some of my old barrels.

Shoot better
Peter
 
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