Howdy,

I recently acquired a winchester model 70 xtr .30-06 from a relative who wasn't a firm believer in proper maintenance. We were at the range and I took a couple shots with it and it's a shooter. The barrel has some serious copper fouling in it. I'm hesitant to scrub the hell out of it for fear that I'll ruin the gun. Also, the bolt mechanism has some rust on it (apparently the guy had it out in the rain and didn't dry it off well nor clean it before putting it away).

Questions:
Will I harm the gun by using some Hoppes & a brush? How do I get the rust out of the bolt mechanism (is this something I'll have to take to a gunsmith?)? What is the regular maintenance interval for this gun? Is it after a certain number of cartridges has passed through it or is after each "day at the range or hunting trip"? Please forgive my ignorance, I've always been a shotgun and bowhunter and have zero experience with rifles. Thanks for any insights.

Best,
Jack

1) You can not harm a gun with Hoppe's, but you need a bore guide and a copper removing formulation to get that fouling out. Hoppes's Benchrest, Shooter's Choice, Butch's Bore Shine all work well on copper fouling. BTW, use a nylon brush with these products or they will dissolve your bore brush (do NOT use a stainless steel brush; that can and will scratch up the bore).
2) If the rust is on the exterior surface of the bolt, you can use Flitz to get it off; if it's more stubborn, use JB Bore Paste or USP. If the rust is on the inside, a split wooden dowel with a patch covered in JB or USP will work well.
3) After shooting, a wipe of the bolt with a cloth bearing a rust preventative is sufficient; clean and oil the bore if you're going to store it for a long period.

George

For cleaning out a dirty bore, Ive found nothing that beats Wipe Out for cleaning, being easy, and being easy on your bore. You can check around and find the e-mail address for manufacturer. Ku-dude

I second the Wipe Out recommendation. I had a 17 Rem that was fouled very badly and this stuff brought the copper out in chunks. You spray it in your barrel and it foams up like shaving cream. You have to leave it in for a minimum of 1 hour, but up to 24 hours. If you have the time, it's worth it. Just spray it the barrel before you go to bed at night, then run patches down it the following evening. Repeat this process until the patches come out clean.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Best regards,
Jack

For serious copper removal, Sweet's 7.62 solvent works best. Follow the directions on the bottle religiously and you will ahve a clean, undamaged barrel.

I just bought some Sweets and it worked amazing. The bllue froth that came out of my barrel was suprising.

If you can find the Wipe out product, I third the above recommendations. Easy and very effective with a minimum of equipment. Sweets works great but be careful to get all of it out of the bore. If the gun has been negelcted for some time, really keep at the cleaning, could take you several days worth of treatments, until the sweets or Wipeout or CR10 or whatever comes out without any blue tint. If its a shooter now with all that copper, when you get that bore shiney, Watch out! Good luck to you.