Bore Cleaning

[Wyoming Shooter]

I shoot quite a bit of rifle (.223, 6GT, 6.5 CR, 7PRC, .308) at distances from 600 - 1000 yards. My bore Cleaning regimen has been pretty casual - the occasional patches with Shooters Choice on an irregular schedule. Changing things up, I've just spent a few Wyoming winter weekends scrubbing out the bores with Iossa https://iosso.com/products/bore-cleaner/. As spring sets in, I'll see the results at the range

What have you found most effective? What products work best for you? What sort of cleaning schedule do you maintain? It seems there's not much of a consensus on this topic - certainly not much evidence-based research.

From the Big Empty, ELN.

[Trooper224]

I'm in the camp of, "too much cleaning is counterproductive."

I used to use the harsher cleaners, like Sweet's 7.62 on a regular basis. Now, my bore cleaners are like my lubricants: whatever's on sale. Usually, it's a few patches of Balistol and I call it good. I've stopped being so concerned with copper fouling and bore cleaning tends to be an end of season affair. I haven't seen any difference in performance. I long ago decided obsessive barrel cleaning was as much bullshit as barrel break-in. Regular cleaning was a neccesity with corrosive ammo, as well as needed busy work in the barracks, to keep teenage grunts out of trouble. These days, not so much. .

The write-up on your stuff reminds me of Fireclean. Anyone remember Crisco in a tube?

[Wyoming Shooter]

I'm in the camp of, "too much cleaning is counterproductive."

I used to use the harsher cleaners, like Sweet's 7.62 on a regular basis. Now, my bore cleaners are like my lubricants: whatever's on sale. Usually, it's a few patches of Balistol and I call it good. I've stopped being so concerned with copper fouling and bore cleaning tends to be an end of season affair. I haven't seen any difference in performance. I long ago decided obsessive barrel cleaning was as much bullshit as barrel break-in. Regular cleaning was a neccesity with corrosive ammo, as well as needed busy work in the barracks, to keep teenage grunts out of trouble. These days, not so much. .

The write-up on your stuff reminds me of Fireclean. Anyone remember Crisco in a tube?

Thanks for your note. The Iossa stuff definitely takes the bore back to "bare metal". I'm just not sure it matters, or matters much. Best, ELN.

[JohnO]

I'm in the camp of, "too much cleaning is counterproductive."

I agree. In many cases more barrel wear is produced from aggressive cleaning vs. shooting.

[entropy]

When I shot distance regularly, I first started using WipeOut. It was a 2-part system IIRC. Then on a recommendation of a good friend, went to Butches BoreShine. That’s still what’s on the shelf. I tend to agree that too much of a good thing can actually be a bad thing. I’m curious to see your posted results tho.

[spence]

I’m new in this side of the game, but have friends who do far more of it. What I’ve adopted is shoot until you notice accuracy degrading, then clean well. I “broke in” my Bergara barrel at just over 50 rounds, and cleaned again 300 rounds later before shooting this spring. I’m a little more than 300 rounds in and don’t plan for anything any time soon.

That said, I’ve used Hoppes copper solvent for some time. Just what I have on hand.

[jeep45238]

I shoot quite a bit of rifle (.223, 6GT, 6.5 CR, 7PRC, .308) at distances from 600 - 1000 yards. My bore Cleaning regimen has been pretty casual - the occasional patches with Shooters Choice on an irregular schedule. Changing things up, I've just spent a few Wyoming winter weekends scrubbing out the bores with Iossa https://iosso.com/products/bore-cleaner/. As spring sets in, I'll see the results at the range

What have you found most effective? What products work best for you? What sort of cleaning schedule do you maintain? It seems there's not much of a consensus on this topic - certainly not much evidence-based research.

From the Big Empty, ELN.

Uh.......I haven't cleaned the bore of my 10/22 build since 2005. It still does 1 MOA or better without effort.