How clean is clean enough, and can one over clean a barrel? I have been working on a .375 for 2 days now. I am using Wipe Out. The patches are no longer dark blue. There is a light blue tint after they dry though. I have noticed brand new rifles show evidence of copper I assume from being test fired. Which leads me to ask if a barrel can be "over cleaned"? Understanding that a first shot fouls the bore and subsequent shots are necessary for grouping, how clean does a bore really need to be?

Only what is necessary to shoot at the rifle's best. Sometimes one needs to start over, but it may take a bit of shooting / fouling to get back to best groups. Each rifle is different and YMMV.

This particular 375 shot fantastic right out of the box. I guess my next question is do I continue cleaning until I get no blue whatsoever or stop now and give it a try.

Another question more difficult to answer is exactly how much metal is deposited per shot fired and how much is likely to be removed with a couple hours soaking of WipeOut or any other chemical?

Not to be a smart ass, but how long is a piece of string? It all depends...

I clean ALL my rifles once a year at least...more often if they've been shot and depending on the amount of shooting. I clean them with Wipe-0ut, Patch-out and the accelerator and also use several of the latest and greatest copper and solvent cleaners and paste product, again depending on the shooting circumstances and I have a shelf full of 50 years worth of different cleaning products...some that work well, some that don't.

Varminters get cleaned after every outing and usually at least every 15-50 rounds depending on how the barrel copper fouls and the caliber while in the field...my 17's the most often followed by the 20 and 22 cal and as the cal goes up in size seems like the amount of needed cleaning goes down, but I can go through 100-1000 rounds of the small stuff in one weekend while the larger cals get hardly more than 10-20 rounds in a year.

Besides I would rather be shooting than cleaning and I don't have a cleaning inspector hanging over my shoulder if he wants to stay in one piece.

My larger cals get 3-5 rounds fired before the beginning of the season then they are left as is until the season is over then cleaned again.

The faint blue from the Wipe out is probably some copper from your brush or residue if you don't use a nylon brush with aluminum wire or completely wash the brush with spray or liquid solvent between brushings.

It takes more than one shot usually to uniformly foul the barrel unless you have a factory barrel...I usually shoot 3-5 while checking the sights prior to hunting.

Don't get anal about cleaning...you can screw up a chamber or a crown by cleaning wrong or jacking that rod back and forth like playing a fiddle.

I have a 22 that is old as the hills and it has NEVER been cleaned, but still shoots as well as the ammo will allow.

YOU and your rifle will determine just how clean is clean for YOUR purposes. Where the shots fall and how many shots are required to start grouping and how many shots you can get before the groups start opening up will by YOUR job to find out and that just takes time and shooting.

Luck

Unfortunately it all hangs on the way the barrel was made with any machine marks (or lack of) being relevant to how much fouling will acumulate.

Von Gruff.

I do not use brushes of any kind.

I think it is time for me to head back to the range and burn more powder!

The foundation of accuracy is uniformity--in components, equipment and skills. A completely clean barrel is a unifom starting point for any shooting session be it a BR match or a deer hunting expedition. Anything less leaves you in doubt.

quote:

Originally posted by amamnn:
The foundation of accuracy is uniformity--in components, equipment and skills. A completely clean barrel is a unifom starting point for any shooting session be it a BR match or a deer hunting expedition. Anything less leaves you in doubt.

Good post amamnn!

Boss Hoss,
You mentioned that you found a process where you can clean your barrel to bare metal in about 30 minutes. Would appreciate it if you you can share this information with us.
Thanks

Bet it involves KG stuff. or BoreTech Eliminator followed by CU+2

quote:

Originally posted by Monkeyhunter:
Boss Hoss,
You mentioned that you found a process where you can clean your barrel to bare metal in about 30 minutes. Would appreciate it if you you can share this information with us.
Thanks

Per your request The IOSSO Step is the best way to clean the bore to bare metal and the IOSSO Bruches are important:

Bore Scope verified many times.....

Step 1. Insert Lucas bore guide into receiver and chamber. If you don’t have one stop here and get one, if not, just shoot your rifle and forget trying to take any care of your barrel at all. If you do have one, proceed, and give yourself one “At-A-Boy” for being astute enough to have purchased the proper tools for the job.
Note: One “Aw-Sh*t” wipes out ALL “At-A-Boys”.

Step 2. Run one wet patch of Sweets 7.62 through the bore and let soak for approximately 60 seconds. Do not patch this out.

Step 3. Next, run the brush through the barrel only enough to expose the entire brush. Yes, I know that you still have 12 more inches of cleaning rod you could push out the end of your barrel but we want to protect that new crown. Also, if that rod hangs out that far, you will eventually start wearing down the rifling at the crown from about 4 to 7 o’clock. This is very bad “JU-JU” for accuracy. OK, back to our next step. Once the brush is exposed, saturate it well with Sweets and SLOWLY run the brush through the barrel 10 (or more depending on the fouling amount) complete back and forth passes while keeping the rod as straight as possible. This is when the Lucas bore guide really pays for itself! Remember, the key word is slowly. We are not trying to break any land speed records today. Let this sit a minute or two and proceed to the next step.

Step 4. After you have let the barrel soak for a few moments, saturate a patch with Sweets and pass it through the bore if it is clean good job if not repeat 2 and 3. Follow this with 2 dry patches and then dry the chamber with Brake Cleaner. Next, gently wipe the crown off with a soft cloth and lube your bolt (do not use too much).

D. Final Cleaning Tips -

1. Each time you clean you should follow the last dry patch with a patch soaked with LOCK-EEZ. This is a graphite powder suspended in a quick evaporating carrier that coats the bore slightly before passing that first round through a completely dry bore.

2 The only product I use that really does a good job on powder fouling (will clean everything out including copper), especially on the carbon ring that forms just ahead of where the neck ends in the chamber, is IOSSO Bore Paste. This is used with an IOSSO nylon bristle brush and worked slowly in the neck and throat areas, then slowly down the entire bore for 10 to 20 strokes depending on the fouling level. Follow this up with a few wet patches, then dry the bore as usual, and you’re ready to shoot. The brush will eventually turn black as you pass through the bore repeatedly and use Brake Cleaner or if you have a lot of money Gun Scrubber to clean the brush off (both for this and the Pro Shot phosphor bronze ones) then a blast down the Lucas Bore Guide followed by a patch or two to clean out any remaining IOSSO. Then a patch of Butches Bore Shine followed by 2 dry patches finally followed by a patch of LOCK-EZ.

This is a modified method of what Speedy taught me and it works because --- THE BORE SCOPE DOES NOT LIE
__________________
NRA Life Member And "Low Fencer"

Thank you very much. I printed your response for future reference.

No problem---if you want to discuss it just PM a number to me.