Copper solvent: is it really necessary every time?

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Bernie Lomax

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Just cleaned my rifle bore with Break Free and am feeling lazy. I really don't want to screw around with the Butch's now and get the copper out like I usually do because, like I said, I'm feeling lazy and also, I don't want to stink up my apartment with that stuff right now. Also, I really didn't shoot that many rounds.

So is it really necessary to use copper solvent every time, or can you just use a mild CLP most of the time and hit it with copper solvent only occasionally? I would have already made the decision not to use the Butch's this time, except this gun will probably be put away for some months now, so I'm worried about leaving any fouling in there that might attract moisture from the air (although the barrel is chrome-lined.)

Opinions? Suggestions?
 
No need unless copper fouling is affecting accuracy.

I don't clean a gun just because it's getting stored, even for a long period. I just oil it up.
 
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Decades ago I purchased at a Flea Market four gallons of GI bore cleaner. I am down to two gallons and have purchased more in six ounce cans. Great stuff but not a copper cleaner. There is really no need for a copper cleaner if you are not experiencing lumpy copper fouling. I do run a bristle brush down the barrel of my rifles and pistols but that is about it for copper removal most of the time. For real aggressive copper removal I have used JB Bore cleaner and found, big shifts in point of impact (for rifles) till the bore fouled again. Compass Lake told me that eventually JB will have to be used on heavy use barrels, to remove impacted crud in the throat, stuff that would not be dissolved by chemical cleaners. Since Frank has a bore scope and a lot more experience with barrels, I believe him.

The primary purpose of cleaning barrels, in my opinion, is removing powder fouling to prevent rusting. Possibly primer fouling will cause corrosion issues, I have not tested the stuff but it has a bunch of nasty heavy metals. But powder fouling attracts moisture and that causes rust. Shooters should remove powder fouling with solvents, such as Ed's Red, http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm get the surface clean, and apply a protective rust preventing oil layer. That is good enough for 99% of the shooting we do.

Most of our behaviors are advertising induced behaviors. You see ads all the time proclaiming that matches are won with a cleaning rod, or something like that. That is in fact nonsense. Matches are won by shooters with superior shooting skills.
 
It is absolutely not necessary. I use it about once a year on high round count precision rifles that don't have a chrome lined bore. On guns with chome lined bores, I don't use it. You would be much better served to clean your bore with a POWDER solvent like shooter's choice, Hoppes, or MPRO-7, and use that break free as a lubricant.
 
Bernie Lomax said:
So is it really necessary to use copper solvent every time,
Click to expand...

Nope. I use Hoppe's solvent and oil each time I shoot a gun, and use Hoppe's copper solvent maybe once a year on my guns. If I didn't shoot that gun much, I don't even bother to do that.
 
Let me share about the guns I was handed three weeks ago. My friend is NOT a gun guy. He asked me if I would take on a "project". OK...what have you got ? He handed me four guns. A shotgun and three .22 rifles. They had been stored in his attic...for 14 years! They were rusty all over. Looked horrible! My first step was to run patches, bronze brush, and more patches. I figured if the bores were trashed to the "sewer pipe" level...why bother. To my surprise...they looked great!

All of that, (and to get back on topic), to say...maybe just a quick patch or two and a good wipe off they should be fine.

If my friend had just done the oil cloth wipe on his guns once a year his guns would look great right now.

Mark
 
Maybe once in a blue moon.

I used to be fastidious about cleaning my guns. And I still am from the point of view of corrosion protection, and carefully selecting products for particular applications.

These days I just keep them sprayed with Boeshield T-9 for storage, swab out the bores before shooting, and keep some Tetra gun grease inside pistol and rifle barrels (swabbed and buffed) ready for use, exterior pistol barrels/bushings, unlocking cams, locking lugs etc. I don't use brushes anymore because I don't shoot lead bullets in any of my rifles or pistols as a rule.

I think the only people that need, for the most part, copper solvent and brushes are hard core bench rest shooters etc.
 
FL-NC said:
It is absolutely not necessary. I use it about once a year on high round count precision rifles that don't have a chrome lined bore. On guns with chome lined bores, I don't use it. You would be much better served to clean your bore with a POWDER solvent like shooter's choice, Hoppes, or MPRO-7, and use that break free as a lubricant.
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Assuming the Break Free is the CLP version. If it's Break Free Powder Blast you wouldn't want to as that is a solvent only. I use Powder Blast currently, but will be switching to M Pro 7 once it runs out.
 
While I seldom shoot my centerfire rifle when I do Boretech Eliminator is my cleaner of choice. Great stuff though expensive to buy.
 
BigBL87 said:
Assuming the Break Free is the CLP version. If it's Break Free Powder Blast you wouldn't want to as that is a solvent only. I use Powder Blast currently, but will be switching to M Pro 7 once it runs out.
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I'll take your word for it. The only break free product I was aware of is the CLP issued by the military.
 
BigBL87 said:
Assuming the Break Free is the CLP version. If it's Break Free Powder Blast you wouldn't want to as that is a solvent only. I use Powder Blast currently, but will be switching to M Pro 7 once it runs out.
Click to expand...
I switched to MPRO 7 several years ago from Shooter's Choice. Actually, the unit I was in made the switch for sniper rifles, and I followed suit. The MPRO 7 is cheaper yet just as effective as Shooter's Choice (at least by the gallon through Brownells) and its nearly odorless.
 
Not necessary to use the ammonia stuff on every cleaning. I use Hoppe's until patch comes out clean. I'm a big believer in 100% silicon. I AWAYS run a soaked silicon patch through the bore as a final step. The outside of the gun metal gets a thin wipe of silicon too. At least in my environment, no rust ever inside or out. I usually shoot a fouler or two before a shooting session, but with the silicon'd bore that seems unnecessary. All POI seem to be right where I left 'em.

FWIW-YMMV...
 
Most of my gun cleaning is done with a bronze bristle bore brush dipped in Kroil.
Scrub with a couple of patches and dry. For longer storage a little oil on the metal works for me.
 
ive used that two times. once on a 357 at 5000 rounds, and an AR at 600. neither has fouled since, 357 is at 10,000, AR at over 14,000. Some barrels smooth out, and stay clean. I know a CZ with 31,000 documented rounds never more than oil in the bore, and looks unfired. My springfield GI barrel looks copper plated after ten rounds, but outshoots just about every thing. I leave the copper, but do clean lead foulup. Just a few examples. That AR BTW went from 2" to 4.5" in those 600 rounds. Good cleaning (Sweets) got it to 1.5" and its stayed around it since. Wear takes town the machine marks, and eventually you dont need to clean much.
 
I am in the no group, I believe to much cleaning with strong cleaners will do more harm then good, I like mpro-7 too, have also used weapon shield good stuff too , IMHO but everyone has their favorite and routine they do,
 
Bernie Lomax said:
So is it really necessary to use copper solvent every time, or can you just use a mild CLP most of the time and hit it with copper solvent only occasionally? ...
Click to expand...
My approach: Clean longguns occasionally (unless you are firing ammunition with chlorate primers) and use copper solvent rarely. Pistols I clean more often (unless chlorate) but still only rarely chase the copper.

My standard bore-cleaning regimen involves: Phosphor-bronze brushes, patches, one-piece cleaning rods, low-odor mineral spirits, Hoppes#9 and I finish with Eezox. :)
 
GBExpat said:
My approach: Clean longguns occasionally (unless you are firing ammunition with chlorate primers) and use copper solvent rarely. Pistols I clean more often (unless chlorate) but still only rarely chase the copper.
Click to expand...

Clean guns occasionally! The horrors!, the horrors!.

I have a friend who does not do preventive maintenance on his vehicles, and they last longer than my vehicles. I hate him. :mad:

I am one of those who clean and oil their firearms after every use. No firearm gets put in the safe unless all surfaces have wiped with a powder solvent, then the powder solvent is wiped off. I will re grease cocking cams, clean off re oil firing pins, always clean the bolt face under the extractor hook, relube and regrease where needed. Handguns get oiled with a good rust preventive and then bagged before they get put in the box. Exxon and Mobil out to send me frequently oiler miles.

The only time I don't clean a rifle is if I am participating in Smallbore Regionals. I don't clean the first day of a 3200, I do clean after the second day if I am shooting a 6400. My Anschutz gets carefully cleaned before it is cased for the long trip home.

Maybe it is OCD but I never want to see a rust spot, externally, or internally on any firearm I own.
 
Slamfire said:
... Maybe it is OCD but I never want to see a rust spot, externally, or internally on any firearm I own.
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For many years I would clean my firearms right after usage ... until I realized that it was not necessary, especially with my setup/environment(s)..

When I am done, I will wipe off the "soot", wipe down the piece with my Eezox rag and put it back in its gunsafe.

Following acquisition, none of my firearms develop any rust ...

... but I understand the OCD impulse to clean them immediately. I have been working for years to dial-down my OCD ... ;)
 
Absolutely not. That copper remover can damage your bore if you leave it in too long. I use CLP or Hoppies and only use copper remover if I see buildup, and that's only to keep a thick layer from building up, not to necessarily remove every trace of copper. Gale McMillan's posts have taught me to go easy on cleaning a bore. JMHO.
 
And Schuemann suggests not cleaning barrels - http://www.schuemann.com/Portals/0/Documentation/Webfile_Barrel_Cleaning.pdf

Since H&R category moderator Walkalong posted the pdf, I have pondered and currently not cleaning my 9mm carbine barrels. I usually run copper bore brush through the barrels and use patches to remove the fouling.

Hoppes #9 is used only when excessive fouling is built up.
 
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