Cleaning – The end of a great day of shooting!
Editor’s Note: This is the third and last installment on cleaning from our technical staff. We asked three (3) of the Technicians on our staff to describe the cleaning procedure that they follow. The last installment is presented by Rod Green.
I started varmint shooting close to 50 years ago and just recently got hooked on F-Class competition within the last few years. To me it brings the best of both long range prone varmint hunting and bench rest shooting all into one sport plus you don’t have to wait around in a bean field or the hot prairie for targets to pop up. But whether it’s in the field or on the line, at the end of the day, there’s one last job to do…That’s right, Clean Your Rifle!
Now, with so many products to choose from, and the list is constantly growing, it can get a bit confusing on what to use. Over the years I’ve tried most of them, and I must admit they will all do the job they were designed for; some just work faster than others. And with the advent of borescopes, the shooter can actually track his or her progress and pick the cleaners that are working best in their barrel. In recent times, I have searched for products that are both fast and also barrel and user friendly. Currently, I am very impressed with the Bore Tech line of solvents and have been using Eliminator, exclusively, in all my rifles.
Just prior to the F-Class Nationals, my boss handed me two sample bottles of Bore Tech’s latest cleaners to test out. The first one was C/4 Carbon Remover and the second was Cu+2 Copper Remover. If these two worked anything like the Eliminator, I had a combo of fast and friendly solvents to get the job done and no better place to find out then four days of shooting at Camp Butner, N.C.
Before I get started on my cleaning regiment, let me state that whether I’m at the range, in the field, or on the line, I don’t clean my rifles til the smoke clears, at the end of the day. This can mean that somewhere between 66 and 250+ rounds will exit the muzzle. Also, all my rifles whether they are custom or factory, get cleaned in the same manner. The only difference is the solvent-soak time. Most factory barrels need a little more time to let the cleaner do its thing than do match grade custom barrels.
Cleaning equipment I recommend besides solvent:
1) Cleaning cradle of some sort to hold your rifle securely
2) Bore guide with solvent port (keeps the solvent off you and helps eliminate waste)
3) Stock boot to keep solvent off of stock
4) Splatter Box or MuzzleMate to contain solvent spray if cleaning indoors
5) One piece cleaning rods (Quantity 2), one with a pierce type jag and one with a nylon brush
6) Correct size double napped cotton cleaning patches
7) Sinclair Action Cleaning Tool Kit
8) Any good gun oil (Butch’s, TM, Montana X-Treme, etc.)
My Procedure
STEP 1: Run 3-4 wet patches of Bore Tech Carbon Remover down bore. You might want to stab them off center at first, gradually moving to the middle of patch as the bore gets cleaner. Patches will be black.
STEP 2: Using rod with nylon brush, wet brush with Bore Tech Carbon Remover and brush down and back 10 times or 20 strokes. Re-wet brush and repeat. Let barrel soak for 10-15 min.
STEP 3: Repeat STEPS 1 & 2
STEP 4: Run two wet patches down the bore followed by two dry patches
STEP 5: Switch to Bore Tech Copper Remover and repeat the process in Steps 1&2 and then dry the bore out completely with 2 to 3 dry patches.
STEP 6: After both Carbon and Copper applications are complete, I run 3 wet patches of Bore Tech Eliminator down the bore and let the solvent work for approximately 5 minutes. I then follow with one dry patch. This patch should come out streak free and maybe a faint blue (solvent reaction with jag). If I see any streaking I repeat STEP 2 using Bore Tech Eliminator and alternate wet and dry patches until the streaking is gone. Usually, 3 to 5 patches and we are squeaky clean.
STEP 7: I then run one oil patch down the bore, swab the chamber, and then clean the action and bolt (body, lugs, and face) and I’m good to go again!
In conclusion, I found both the Bore Tech Carbon and Copper Removers to be very effective at doing their intended jobs. Also, like the Eliminator, there is no rank odor and they can be used in the confines of home while watching Monday Night Football with no complaints from the peanut gallery! So, if you are looking for a new product that works and is not harmful to you or your rifle, give the new Bore Tech solvents a try. I know I’ll be getting some more.
Happy Shooting!
Rod Green
Sales Tech Sinclair International
November 18th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
I’ll probably never settle on a cleaning method or product – but right now I am using CLP as a cleaning solvent and Wipe out to get the copper.
1. Wet patch with CLP and soak 5 min
2. Jag patch one pass to get the crud out the front end
3. Repeat 1 and 2
4 Wet patch and then bronze brush about 20 strokes
5. patch, wet patch(CLP) and dry patch
6. Inspect bore – fouling should be gone and copper visible.
7. If not much copper I use Pro-shot
8. Lots of copper, Then I use Wipe Out over night
9. Patch out next morning
10. Lube lightly
Works for me and it is (relatively) fast. If CLP gets in the action its no big deal since it won’t gum up or corrode.
November 18th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
I have been using Bore-Tech Eliminator for about a year now. I started using C4 carbon remover about two months ago and it is great stuff. I switched from Wipe-out, Patch-out and their Accelerator because I think B.T. Eliminator works faster. Especially now that they have C4 and when it is used before the Eliminator the Eliminator takes much less time. The only comment I have is im still waiting for some one to make a rod jag that is not brass, so bore solvent wont give the false blue reading on the patch from its reaction with the brass jag. I have talked to the Pro-Shot people about this also. I cannot believe no one has addressed this problem yet. I basically follow the same cleaning procedure that Rod does (common sense) but clean at the range before leaving for the day. I use a bullet coating WS2 (tungsten Disulphide) and IMHO Bore-Tech removes it from the inside of the barrel and prevents build-up in the throat which is also a plus in its favor. Centers
November 18th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Thanks for the info, will come in handy!!
November 19th, 2009 at 11:19 am
everybody ought to try WIPEOUT foam it easily removes carbon and copper, its brilliant, give it a try.
November 19th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
First I want to address the Brass Jags. I have been using the Tipton Ultra Jags which are nickel plated. With these you get absolutely no false traces of blue.
I’ve heard some good things about Bore-Tech elsewhere so I’ll probably give it a shot.
November 21st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
The barrel of my .223 target rifle seems to have sections that are more resistant to a patch being pushed through the bore than others. I’ve tried treating it with JB paste but it doesn’t help. I need to find a cleaning process that will completely eliminate any fouling, powder or copper and restore the smooth interior finish. Do you think the routine you have described will work?
November 25th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Bob Fates, it appears that you need some bore lapping. Try either a professional gunsmith or investigate Tubb’s Final Finish fire lapping treatment.
December 5th, 2009 at 9:31 am
I’ve been using Slip 2000’s Carbon Killer for a couple years, which is also a non-toxic formula with no odor. However, I should try Eliminator to compare the performance.
With Slip2k, the carbon and any lead or plastic in shotgun barrels is gone VERY QUICKLY. For Copper, Slip will take a little out, but I’ve never found anything better than JB & Kroil…which also gets cuts the crud that builds up next to the lands.
I have two “unique” practices, (1) I check the bore cleanliness by sticking a q-tip in the muzzle, and the reflection off the white cotton allows a good view about an inch down into the muzzle to look for carbon & copper that a patch won’t detect. (2) I think the final oil put into the bore for storage is a lot more important than convention wisdom indicates… I think various powders foul more or less depending on which oil was used. For example, if I use Montana Xtreme with RL19 loads, the carbon fouling is horrific. However, if I use Slip2k Lub, the the fouling is reduced significantly.
Just my 2cents..
Thanks
Jeff
December 10th, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Re: the Tipton nickel jag, watch out! I tried the jag and the first time I pulled it back into the muzzle, after removing the patch, the jag caught on the crown! Inspection showed sharp edges on the barrels of the jag that I suspect would wear the crown if used continually. One could remove the jag before removing the cleaning rod or slightly bevel the edges as I did. I still carefully guide the jag back into the barrel and only use the jag to check final copper removal. (I am referring to sharp cut muzzle crowns on competition benchrest barrels.) I am amazed that a company would market a jag that could potentially degrade a barrel crown.
January 21st, 2010 at 8:36 pm
This is a followup to my ealier post… I purchased some Eliminator from Sinclair and tried it on my ’50’s H&R M1 Garand.
It did an excellent job…better than Slip 2k (which is the best I’ve ever used until now). However, I haven’t tried eliminator on a shotgun yet. Plastic is a different animal…
Eliminator took out all the copper, and also most of the carbon build-up next to the lands. Great product (if the carbon and copper versions make Eliminator even easier, I’m not sure I can imagine anything that good…)