I recently aquired a Ruger 77 30-06. The gun is in excellent condition EXCEPT the barrel has not been cleaned in the past 3-4 years. The previous owner told me that the gun had been shot very little, probably less than 50-rounds (hand loads - 165 gr. spitzer BTs), during that period, but he had never cleaned it.

The barrel does not look bad - just dirty. What is the best way to get this barrel clean?

Run a patch soaked in Kroil down the bore and let it sit overnight. This stuff will penetrate and loosen just about any crud you can think of. The next day just clean the rifle the same way you would clean any other one. Kroil is nothing more than a penetrating oil and won't harm metal any in way even if you leave the stuff in the for years.

This will probably start a battle on here but for whatever its worth, overcleaning rifle barrels (especially with bore brushes) does far more damage to them than shooting ever will. Everyone out there has their own "magic" products and methods...and according to them theirs is the "only" way to do it properly.

Rick

I'm curious, on what to you base your opinion that using brushes is damaging ??

this is prolly how most typical deer rifles are maintained, the owner shoots a couple boxes of shells before deer season then hunts and puts the gun away maybe to not fire it again for a few years. I think Sweets is the best and fastested thing to use. I store most of my guns with fouled bores because they take a few shots for the accuaracy to settle back in after cleaning. In utah it is pretty much a non issue as it is so dry here

Get a can of Wipe Out and a bore guide. Follow the instructions. Apply before bedtime. Patch out in the morning. Apply again. Go to work. Come home, eat dinner, watch the NBA finals, whatever. At Bedtime, patch out, repeat cycle until clean. Easy, no brushes, no scrubbers elbow, great results. Just did this with a neglected rifle a friend brought over. Took 4 doses of wipeout to completely clean. Also, don't worry if you forget and the cycle goes to 24 hours. I've done this many a time. At some point, the liquid (what the foam turns into) starts to dry up if you don't get to it in a day or two. A little brushing with some standard solvent along the way probably would speed things up, but it's not necessary if you aren't in a hurry. I haven't used a bronze brush in a year since I discovered wipeout.

It takes a while to get the hang of using it and you'll make a foamy mess at first--you only need a quick "one one thousand, two) count to fill most barrels. Cover your stock for when it blobs out if you overdo it. I still occasionally screw up--no big deal, just wipe up the excess and go have a Tasty Adult Beverage.

R

You are paraphrasing what I actually said.

What I said was that "OVER CLEANING (especially with brushes)" can damage barrels more than shooting.

But to answer your question...I base this on long conversations over the years with military armorers and people who make and sell match quality rifle barrels.

Hey George,

That's a hell of a "buffler" laying there. Reminds me...my alimony check is due!



Rick

Several people have contacted me asking about Kroil so I thought I would post this info for anyone who is interested.

Kroil is made by Kano Labs (www.kanolabs.com) and is a very light penetrating/rust inhibiting oil. This company makes several products that are real handy for gun work and maintenance.

Rick

Shockingly, I still use a cleaning brush and Hoppes#9 (the old stuff with nitrobenzene) and I like it just fine. Otherwise one can use the current favorites like shooters choice, Butch's bore shine, kroil mixed with dexron, or whatever turns you on!
If the barrel is heavily copper fouled this fouling can be removed by either chemical or mechanical means. If you opt for the former you will use one of the powerful ammonia based cleaners like Sweets 7.62 solvent or Hoppes BR. For the latter you may use JB compound or fine steel wool or a combination of the two. It sounds harsh but for an occasional cleaning and properly done it does no harm.
When you remove the copper from the bore you may find some pitting where the copper used to be. This is from corrosion which took place under the copperfouling over time. Regards, Bill.