I am interested in hearing about your cleaning method.Do you remove all the copper?

Depends on the barrel itself.

I (for one) used to be meticulous about cleaning my barrels after 3 or 4 shots whether it had embedded copper or not.

A picture then evolved - not all barrels are created equal. Barrels with scratchy grooves and lands and pitting blotches seem to like to be filled in with a couple dozen filler shots. This almost always resulted in tighter groups.
The key was to avoid overheating. skinny barrel, max 3 shots before cool down.

With highly perfected barrels with mirror-like surfaces, groups stayed the same with or without any copper deposits which incidentally were barely even present after several dozen rounds.
Groups fine? No need to mess with it until they open up. Then Wipeout eats copper right up and turns blue on copper to prove it.

I used to stress and labor over copper fouling. Now I use WIPE-OUT. Follow the directions on the can and you will enjoy cleaning your rifles again. I will never be without it, easy and effortless.

Exactly what Custombolt said. Took me awhile to figure this out. Particularly with bullets like Barnes x. JB

If a range session and I am not intending to shoot it again soon, with my double, I clean after the range session with wipe out until I no longer see obvious copper at the muzzle. If I intend to shoot again within the next week or so, it’s like hunting, bore snake to knock out crud and put a light touch of oil on it, wipe with an oily rag and go shoot it.

Hunting, I run a bore snake through at the end of the day, and clean only when I get back in country.

About once a year I clean it until the wipe out patches come non-blue, check with a bore scope, and make sure nothing gets loose.

I have never shot it enough to have fouling build to affect accuracy that I can see, but I’m more worried about rust.

There is a difference in copper Fouling, and a light copper wash; I have never owned a DR with barrels so rough that it actually copper fouled.
Yes they might have a slight copper tint to them; this is not fouling and will not hurt anything. Barrels are like iron frying pans; do not scrub them down to bare steel; you will only have to re season them.
So, no, I never clean them down to shiny steel; clean all the powder fouling out; that's it.
It has worked for for many decades now....

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
There is a difference in copper Fouling, and a light copper wash; I have never owned a DR with barrels so rough that it actually copper fouled.
Yes they might have a slight copper tint to them; this is not fouling and will not hurt anything. Barrels are like iron frying pans; do not scrub them down to bare steel; you will only have to re season them.
So, no, I never clean them down to shiny steel; clean all the powder fouling out; that's it.
It has worked for for many decades now....

Are you saying you never use anything to remove the copper. What about after firing over a couple of hundred rounds?

Copper at 2000 fps is much less than copper from a magnum at 3000 fps. For me, copper comes out with a few passes of a bronze brush.
C

Ready; copper will not build up in a good barrel so it doesn't matter how many rounds you fire. If you are getting copper fouling (not just a copper wash/color, your barrel is rough)
I have never had what you describe.
Ever fired an M240 or M2 machine gun? Copper does not build up even after a thousand rounds. If it did, that would not be good.
Velocity? that does not matter either. Smooth barrels do not build up copper. Rough barrels, do. Double rifles are typically relatively low velocity anyway.
Now, if you really want to clean your barrels down to bare metal every time you shoot; go ahead; you are just accelerating wear for no good reason. It won't make them shoot any better. I see lots of guys over clean barrels because they don't know what copper fouling is.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Ready; copper will not build up in a good barrel so it doesn't matter how many rounds you fire. If you are getting copper fouling (not just a copper wash/color, your barrel is rough)
I have never had what you describe.
Ever fired an M240 or M2 machine gun? Copper does not build up even after a thousand rounds. If it did, that would not be good.
Velocity? that does not matter either. Smooth barrels do not build up copper. Rough barrels, do. Double rifles are typically relatively low velocity anyway.
Now, if you really want to clean your barrels down to bare metal every time you shoot; go ahead; you are just accelerating wear for no good reason. It won't make them shoot any better. I see lots of guys over clean barrels because they don't know what copper fouling is.

I've had smooth barrels stop shooting or shooting poorly after so many rounds without removing the copper.I like what you said about "seasoning".Barrels that are really smooth might require a few rounds to "season" and settle down before they shoot tight groups and shoot to a predictable POI.

Smooth is a relative term; let's just say that a good quality barrel won't build up copper. Actually a barrel with machining striations is ok as long as they are all going the same way. Quality.
Also, double rifles are not bolt actions and do not follow the same rules. I suppose there might be one out there that will stop shooting but I have not seen it.

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Copper at 2000 fps is much less than copper from a magnum at 3000 fps. For me, copper comes out with a few passes of a bronze brush.
C

Cal,how many times do you pass the brush? You can't remove that much copper with just a brush and copper solvent.

Not sure if I am correct but did not some plug and fill the barrels with ammonia for 24 hours?

quote:

Originally posted by Ready Aim Shoot:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Copper at 2000 fps is much less than copper from a magnum at 3000 fps. For me, copper comes out with a few passes of a bronze brush.
C

Cal,how many times do you pass the brush? You can't remove that much copper with just a brush and copper solvent.

10-12, maybe more. I get little copper as 1. velocity is slower, 2. bores are bright and shiny.
Cal

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:

quote:

Originally posted by Ready Aim Shoot:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Copper at 2000 fps is much less than copper from a magnum at 3000 fps. For me, copper comes out with a few passes of a bronze brush.
C

Cal,how many times do you pass the brush? You can't remove that much copper with just a brush and copper solvent.

10-12, maybe more. I get little copper as 1. velocity is slower, 2. bores are bright and shiny.
Cal

Cal,have you ever noticed a drop in accuracy and then had it restored after a cleaning? I was just wondering.

quote:

Originally posted by Ready Aim Shoot:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:

quote:

Originally posted by Ready Aim Shoot:

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Copper at 2000 fps is much less than copper from a magnum at 3000 fps. For me, copper comes out with a few passes of a bronze brush.
C

Cal,how many times do you pass the brush? You can't remove that much copper with just a brush and copper solvent.

10-12, maybe more. I get little copper as 1. velocity is slower, 2. bores are bright and shiny.
Cal

Cal,have you ever noticed a drop in accuracy and then had it restored after a cleaning? I was just wondering.

Only for lead. Never for copper.
cal

quote:

Originally posted by Ready Aim Shoot:
I am interested in hearing about your cleaning method.Do you remove all the copper?

No, I periodically check loads with chronograph, those being the same, and with sight regulation still on tells me the amount of visible copper in the bores is a non-issue, I drag a lightly oiled giant bore snake through them and store muzzles down in safes.

Over the last 25 years I went though a merry go round of cleaning copper fouling.

In rifles like 222Rem, 6.5X55, 280 AI & 7mm08 etc. I found taht copper fouling and carbon fouling can be layered several times if you shoot 4 or 5 sessions of 10 to 40 rounds. I have stopped using JB Paste in these rifles.

I found that using a carbon remover like carburetor cleaner makes life easy as does Wipeout with Accellerator.

470NE is a totally different story. I have to clean it with a lot of effort after 20 shots. Usually 5 rounds of Wipeout including overnight soaking. I sometimes use JB paste. I also find that a scrub with a bronze brush does make it easier to clean.

Never in history has a game animal been killed with a clean barrel!!

Actually I would allow the gun to tell me when to clean, when the groups open up its time to clean out the copper, some guns and I have one that will open up to 4 inches after a cleaning and until a hundred rounds goes thru it, then about that time give or take it will start shooting again to under an inch..Has an old Ruger early bad barrel more or less..I just never clean it, and it keeps shooting pin holes..wish all my guns would do that..I say never I do from time to to time run a dry patch down the bore, and on ocassion depending on weather I might swab a tad of oil down the bore followed by a dry patch..but fire a fouling shot and test for zero before I hunt..that is a must in my book..Each gun is different so getting to know your gun is also a must.

And yes there is a difference in fouling and a copper wash in some guns, others don't seem to foul at all....