AMMASHOOTA
Gary Gruber
haven't you ever seen dental floss with diamond dust embedded in it? you can get it in most prison commisaries.
haven't you ever seen dental floss with diamond dust embedded in it? you can get it in most prison commisaries.
AMMASHOOTA
Gary Gruber
just how much is 'long enough'
O
Octopus
Guest
After over 40 years of shooting about 10 years ago I spend the money and got a Hawkeye Bore scope.
Now I know how to clean a barrel. If you want to know what is going on in your barrel get a bore scope. Far too many shooters who give directions about bore cleaning have never looked down a barrel. One bore scope inspection will tell you a lot.
My first 6ppc was from Jim Boden. He know a lot more than I do about barrels. Check out his web site. Jim said to clean with Kroil and JB bore paste. I do and my barrel bores are spotless. Shine like a mirror.
I use a coated Dewey rod with a brass jag with the correct size patch for the bore. For detail cleaning I usually do 25 strokes with the bore paste and then clean with Kroil till all is clear. I clean all my barrels after shooting before they go in the case.
For my hunting rifles this is not always practical. So I carry a bore snake in the case. Before the rifle goes back in the case I run the snake down the bore two times. I oil the snake with Kroil and sometimes Marvel Mystery Oil. Before I started using the snakes I lost two barrels to rust pits.
My friend Ken has a Sako custom built, very expensive, hunting rifle. He has hunted it in S. Florida, lots of salt in the air down here, for over 7 years. He uses a bore snake at the end of each day. We JB cleaned his barrel and then I bore scoped his barrel in December 08. It looks new.
Bore snakes work. Especially for hunting rifles in the field. Yes a Dewey rod and JB Bore Paste is better. But the bore snake is handy. Keep the crude out and keep the bore oiled.
An remember a wet oily bore will keep but it will shoot to a different point of aim on the first shot. I carry the second bore snake in a smaller diameter to clean the oil in the early AM.
Now I know how to clean a barrel. If you want to know what is going on in your barrel get a bore scope. Far too many shooters who give directions about bore cleaning have never looked down a barrel. One bore scope inspection will tell you a lot.
My first 6ppc was from Jim Boden. He know a lot more than I do about barrels. Check out his web site. Jim said to clean with Kroil and JB bore paste. I do and my barrel bores are spotless. Shine like a mirror.
I use a coated Dewey rod with a brass jag with the correct size patch for the bore. For detail cleaning I usually do 25 strokes with the bore paste and then clean with Kroil till all is clear. I clean all my barrels after shooting before they go in the case.
For my hunting rifles this is not always practical. So I carry a bore snake in the case. Before the rifle goes back in the case I run the snake down the bore two times. I oil the snake with Kroil and sometimes Marvel Mystery Oil. Before I started using the snakes I lost two barrels to rust pits.
My friend Ken has a Sako custom built, very expensive, hunting rifle. He has hunted it in S. Florida, lots of salt in the air down here, for over 7 years. He uses a bore snake at the end of each day. We JB cleaned his barrel and then I bore scoped his barrel in December 08. It looks new.
Bore snakes work. Especially for hunting rifles in the field. Yes a Dewey rod and JB Bore Paste is better. But the bore snake is handy. Keep the crude out and keep the bore oiled.
An remember a wet oily bore will keep but it will shoot to a different point of aim on the first shot. I carry the second bore snake in a smaller diameter to clean the oil in the early AM.
T
ttuxedo
Guest
Someone mentioned a Patchworm, a great alternative to the boresnake. Best of both worlds, better actually as it cost very little. You can have one for every barrel. I use .080 weed wacker plastic line, melt the end, add a Patchworm caliber specific bushing, point the other end, add a patch, feed the plastic line down the bore, pull on it - it runs straight once you pull, no rubbing/scuffing - watch the crown, wipe string off, change the patch, add some cleaner and do it again. Works great out shooting PD and at the range - more shooting, less fussing. I have the rods and bore guides but at the range, I find it simpler/quicker to use the patch worm than the rods or a boresnake - I don't have to upend the gun to feed the string and weight down the barrel-wife would frown on me dropping this thing, no need to rummage around for the right jag, hoping I didn't forget it, no need to worry about trying to wiping dirt off with a dirty rag. Side benefit: I keep one in a quart baggy along with some patchs in every gun case with the gun. I've retired my 223 boresnake and didn't buy the other calibers. May be downside to this but its working for me.
PatchWorm
I bought a PatchWorm just to try it. It's a neat solution. A few gripes though....
1. The natural coil in the nylon causes it to deflect to one side as it is pushed through the barrel. As it exits the muzzle, it will get hung up in a muzzle brake. I have had no luck straightening it. I had to engineer a little plastic tube (from a pen...) that catches the PatchWorm as it exists the muzzle and guides it through the muzzle brake.
2. The fit of the caliber-specific PatchWorm bushings to the cord is a little loose. If you don't pay attention, you will accidentally throw away a small caliber bushing along with a patch. Ask me how I know and why I'm digging through garbage
3. I have piles of Sinclair patches that are slightly thicker than the PatchWorm-supplied patches. Problem is that the PatchWorm bushing material isn't elastic and is engineered for the thinner PatchWorm patches, so it takes a significant amount of force to pull patches through. This isn't easy when what you are holding on to is weed whacker line coated in solvent. Nothing like nylon cord cutting into your hand.
I'll probably end up copying ttuxedo's idea of making my own PatchWorms from weed whacker line. I'll make them caliber specific with the bushings epoxied in place and ground down in diameter to accomodate the slightly thicker patches I use. I may also to crimp on a short copper tube to guide the end of the worm through the muzzle brake. I will probably also use a bushing material that has a little more elasticity so that it can push patches tighter into the grooves of the barrel.
I frankly like the BoreSnake better since it cleans faster, but I don't like the gymnastics involved with holding a heavy precision rifle vertical over concrete to drop the weighted string through. If I had a clear path to use cleaning rods with my Volquartsen Evolution, I would do so.
Cheers,
Patrick
I bought a PatchWorm just to try it. It's a neat solution. A few gripes though....
1. The natural coil in the nylon causes it to deflect to one side as it is pushed through the barrel. As it exits the muzzle, it will get hung up in a muzzle brake. I have had no luck straightening it. I had to engineer a little plastic tube (from a pen...) that catches the PatchWorm as it exists the muzzle and guides it through the muzzle brake.
2. The fit of the caliber-specific PatchWorm bushings to the cord is a little loose. If you don't pay attention, you will accidentally throw away a small caliber bushing along with a patch. Ask me how I know and why I'm digging through garbage
3. I have piles of Sinclair patches that are slightly thicker than the PatchWorm-supplied patches. Problem is that the PatchWorm bushing material isn't elastic and is engineered for the thinner PatchWorm patches, so it takes a significant amount of force to pull patches through. This isn't easy when what you are holding on to is weed whacker line coated in solvent. Nothing like nylon cord cutting into your hand
.I'll probably end up copying ttuxedo's idea of making my own PatchWorms from weed whacker line. I'll make them caliber specific with the bushings epoxied in place and ground down in diameter to accomodate the slightly thicker patches I use. I may also to crimp on a short copper tube to guide the end of the worm through the muzzle brake. I will probably also use a bushing material that has a little more elasticity so that it can push patches tighter into the grooves of the barrel.
I frankly like the BoreSnake better since it cleans faster, but I don't like the gymnastics involved with holding a heavy precision rifle vertical over concrete to drop the weighted string through. If I had a clear path to use cleaning rods with my Volquartsen Evolution, I would do so.
Cheers,
Patrick
D
Dew
Guest
Foam
This not the first time the subject of foam cleaners has come up. They do work. But, you must not think that when the patch comes out "clean" that all is well. If you will retreat the bore with the foam and then run a brass brush through you will find that you have still a very dirty bore. Powder residue and such will come out from your clean bore. Try it and you will see what I mean.
Dew
This not the first time the subject of foam cleaners has come up. They do work. But, you must not think that when the patch comes out "clean" that all is well. If you will retreat the bore with the foam and then run a brass brush through you will find that you have still a very dirty bore. Powder residue and such will come out from your clean bore. Try it and you will see what I mean.
Dew
Manage the copper
Hey just how clean do we need a barrel to be? I clean with wipe out and also Butch's bore shine and KG1 and KG12. If the gunk comes out deep blue and then nearly colorless and the groups are tight what the heck! Why waste my time getting every last bit when most barrels require a few fowler's .
Hey just how clean do we need a barrel to be? I clean with wipe out and also Butch's bore shine and KG1 and KG12. If the gunk comes out deep blue and then nearly colorless and the groups are tight what the heck! Why waste my time getting every last bit when most barrels require a few fowler's .