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Black stringy stuff in barrel

Horskinator

Member
Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Messages
162
Location
New Hampshire
I am cleaning my 30-06 that is older than I am. It shoots great. Every time I clean it I am getting black stringy looking stuff coming out on the patches. Any idea what it is? It seems like I am never going to get this barrel clean. I know the blue is copper fouling. I did buy this Sako L61R used and I had my gunsmith look it over with a clean bill of health. I am wondering if it was never cleaned and I am just removing decades of carbon and fouling. I use a carbon fiber Tipton rod and bore guide. Any response is appreciated as I have never seen this in decades of cleaning rifles.

IMG_2559.jpeg IMG_2561.jpeg
 
A few decades ago I tried Lymans moly powder/ceramic tumbling kit with cast bullets. They looked like black mirrors but left black "spider webs" in the barrel.
 
35 patches and 100 strokes with the bore brush down the tube so far and still this stuff is coming out. It is definitely shiny black strands and flakes. I wonder if that is what it could be. There is still a fair amount of copper fouling as well. Just about to put another wet patch in and let it soak for another 30 minutes. I have been at this for a couple hours now.
 
Maybe go back to the gunsmith and take a look with a borescope?

Tim

That might have to be on the agenda. I will say this gun shoots really well. Glover leaf at 100 with is better than I usually do. It functions flawlessly but I am just trying to figure out what I am getting out of the barrel as it has me stumped.
 
To deep clean a barrel without risking damage, JB Bore Paste and Kroil from Brownell's is about as good as it gets.

A few years back I was shooting at Camp Perry and had some problems with primers falling out so I went to John Holliger of White Oak Armament, who had a shop there on Commercial Row. He had built my nice Krieger barrel. We talked about a lot of things and with a borescope he showed me the excessive copper and carbon fouling I had in my barrel, mostly right in front of the chamber. He also showed me how to find throat fouling:

With the rifle in a vise or other stable fixture, push a bore brush through the barrel from the chamber end all the way until it pops out the muzzle. Then pull it back through the barrel slowly, paying close attention to the feel of the pull. If you have fouling at the throat, the pull will get noticeably harder when the brush passes through that region. You can clean it out with JB Bore Paste and elbow grease.

John said that fouling in the throat can cause unexpectedly high pressures because the bullet experiences extra drag there, and very likely that was one of the reasons I had primer issues. I also was using a load he considered too hot, and between the fouling and load I was loosening up the primer pockets.

Tim
 
I agree with @Show Me, and have gotten to the point where copper (or even 0000 steel) wool is my go-to for such problems. I haven't yet found a bore which won't give up all its fouling - even mystery fouling - to the process, and so far I have never seen a hint of damage from it.
 
I can highly recommend JB Bore paste to remove impacted crud in the throat, and to remove jacket fouling in the barrel. For a rifle, it is a matter of using copper removing bore cleaner in the bore, and let it soak. (Sweets, Butches, these are aggressive copper removers) Then patch it out. Then JB Bore paste on a patch wrapped around a worn bristle brush. You want a tight fit, and patch away ten, twenty strokes. Loosen that crud with cooper removing bore cleaner, patch it out, and look down the tube. Do this until the jacket fouling is gone. At some point, chemical cleaners will not remove impacted crud and the stuff has to be mechanically removed.

You have never seen real jacket fouling till you have used cupronickel bullets. I have some 303 Iraqi ball with cupronickel bullets, the fouling is lumpy and streaky.

Does your barrel foul excessively each time at the range?. That is, can you see jacket fouling in the bore, even though you did a deep clean of the tube before arriving at the range?
 
I agree with @Show Me, and have gotten to the point where copper (or even 0000 steel) wool is my go-to for such problems. I haven't yet found a bore which won't give up all its fouling - even mystery fouling - to the process, and so far I have never seen a hint of damage from it.
Please note , bronze wool from the hardware store is much softer than steel but tougher than copper and simply terrorizes lead. It's also wonderful if shooting BP sabots for between shots. Way better than chore boy ect.
 
OOC: What kind of rod are you using?
Nylon coated, perhaps?
Tipton 1 pc. Carbon Fiber. I think I figured out the issue... possibly the new bore guide. It is the Tipton universal and it is painted. I am probably wearing the paint off and transferring it as I patch.
 
As an aside, Teslong bore scopes are like $60 from Amazon and worth every penny. Knowing what's going on in there is very useful. You may find that the bore is more carbon fouled in the first few inches near the chamber and more copper fouled closer to the barrel.
 
First I swab the barrel with a mixture of Hoppes #9 and Kroil mixed at 70% Hoppes and 30% Kroil then brush it till I get it clean, then I use Iosso Bore cleaner paste followed by there Bore Brite polish , this procedure was given to me quite a few years ago by a bench rest shooter and it has worked well for me for many years.
 
The powder . List your load data. I would guess near starting load of a to slow powder.

Assuming you're reloading?

Use Hoppe's foam bore cleaner. Let sit 24 hours.

View attachment 1228393
I am a hand loader. I am near max for IMR4064 for the two loads I am running however I am unsure of what the history has been for this gun prior to it becoming mine. It seems as though my question has been answered and it is beleived by many to be fouling, I guess I just have been fortunate to never have it to this extent on any other gun. I appreciate all the advice and input.
 
As an aside, Teslong bore scopes are like $60 from Amazon and worth every penny. Knowing what's going on in there is very useful. You may find that the bore is more carbon fouled in the first few inches near the chamber and more copper fouled closer to the barrel.


Is this what you are referring to? Teslong Rifle Borescope, Bore Camera Gun Cleaning Camera - Fits .20 Caliber & Larger-Hunting Shooting Firearms

Have you used one? How was the image?

I purchased a cheap "digital inspection camera" from Harbor Freight, tried to find a locking nut that fell in a car door channel. The image was so smeary that it was impossible to tell what I was looking at.

Fellow shooters with the expensive Hawkeye bore scopes ($1729 at Brownells!) have looked down two of my rifle tubes and apparently the image was sharp. A Hawkeye is 29 times more costly than the Teslong, which is something to consider.
 
I have owned and/or used both the Teslong and Hawkeye scopes. The image quality is similar but the Teslong has the opportunity to save images at no extra cost. I have the iOS version of the Teslong and it works great with my iPhone and iPad, only takes a minute to link up. Friends who have the scope with dedicated screen don’t have the same image quality I do.
 
Is this what you are referring to? Teslong Rifle Borescope, Bore Camera Gun Cleaning Camera - Fits .20 Caliber & Larger-Hunting Shooting Firearms

Have you used one? How was the image?

I purchased a cheap "digital inspection camera" from Harbor Freight, tried to find a locking nut that fell in a car door channel. The image was so smeary that it was impossible to tell what I was looking at.

Fellow shooters with the expensive Hawkeye bore scopes ($1729 at Brownells!) have looked down two of my rifle tubes and apparently the image was sharp. A Hawkeye is 29 times more costly than the Teslong, which is something to consider.
Yes, that is the one. I have one and if it broke tonight I'd order another one. The image is very clear and can be focused for the bore size. I have the flexible version. The rigid version would also be good and easier to spin in the bore to see all sides. I have attached a typical image.

WIN_20231002_14_17_19_Pro.jpg
 
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