Occasionally I like to soak bbl's overnight in order to remove heavy copper fouling. I have used either Butch's Boreshine or Boretech Benchrest. However, I have not found a really good product for plugging the muzzle. Can anyone recommend one? Thanks...

TMOSS,

I use Butches Boreshine and have been warned repeatedly not to leave it in the bore for more than 10 minutes or so. The guy who I buy this from is a serious benchrest shooter in his own right and runs a range and shop complex not too far from me.

I am not sure about the other product, but I would be very wary of anything that could inadvertently pit your bore through prolonged use,

Regards,

Pete

2 choices
1) get a chamber plug (uses a 'O'-ring for sealing) and leave the rifle muzzle up for the soak.
2) rubber vacuum port plugs (they come in assorted sizes) from your local auto parts store

I use electrical tape over the muzzle.

I have been soaking bores overnight for a dozen years with nary a problem (one time, I tore the o-ring on the chamber plug; the Shooter's Choice leaked out, leaving a puddle on the floor ).

George

I use Butches bore shine all the time and soak buy just running a couple of wet patches through every few hours for a couple of days. There is NO problem leaving Butches in the bore, it's Sweets that you have to watch out with.

For soaking overnight, I like to use Hoppes Benchrest, the dark brown bottle, not the old #9. It doesn't evaporate quickly, and will desolve the copper well. I don't plug the barrel, my cleaning cradle keeps the muzzle down. I use a loose fitting patch to apply it, then the next day run a tight patch. You will see the fouling on the patch. Repeat until it's clean. It may take a few tries.

Sinclairs sells a chamber plug and they recommend electrical tape over the muzzle to prevent evaporation.

However, since I've been using Hunters Extreme Copper Melt,
I do not have the need to leave a barrel soaking overnight.

rcasto How does hunters coppermelt work. I don't know of anyone with firsthand experience with this product. It sounds like a magic potion if you can believe the website of the manufacturer. Would love to know how it works in reality.

I thought the same as you, sales exageration. However, I have found it to be the absolute best in cleaning powder and copper. If you follow the directions by using an undersize brush (no brass in the brush) to hold your patch, your rifle will be clean in no time. I've used just about all the solvents and nothing works like this. I alternate a wet patch with a jag and dry patch and usually only need two and sometimes three wet patches total - with the exception of one rifle which fouls horribly that needs six.
The product may seem costly, but you use so much less than other cleaners I believe it's worth it.