Give Me a Lesson on Gun Cleaning

[slowr1der]

For years I've been cleaning my guns with Wipe Out liquid brushless bore cleaner. I'll run a wet patch through it, let it soak for a few minutes, then run a dry patch through it. I repeat this process over and over. If I leave it soaking overnight it loosens up even more that seems to come out the next day. Then I'll go through this for a bit the next day and let it soak again which seems to loosen up even more crud. Once the patches stop showing blue, I still have streaks of carbon (or what appears to be carbon) that just keep coming out on the patches. It literally takes me hours and hours over several days to get a barrel clean. I probably go through 100-200 patches at least on each gun, and the amount of time it takes is just insane. As I find myself working more, cleaning my guns just gets put to the side and I've ended up neglecting them.

I'm to the point where there has to be a better way to do this. I can't continue to spend 4-5 hours on each gun after I shoot 50 rounds through it. Is there a better cleaning solvent? I've also tried running a brush through the bore, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Where am I going wrong? I know not everyone can spend this much time on them. Are you just still getting carbon coming out on the patches and leaving it, or is there a much better process?

 

[cowboy77845]

I spray Wipeout from the muzzle down the blocked bbl. With the bbl horizontal, let it stand over night. Run a dry patch thru in AM. Spray some G96 down the bbl and run a few patches thru. Its bright and shiney, then wet a patch with G96 run it thru and store until next time. I think also you should run some bore cleaner and a few dry patches thru for 3 days in a row if you are going to store for an extended period. The bore cleaner has to have time to soak in. No way you need 200 patches. You are putting more wear on the bbl cleaning than you are shooting. I'm have been using G96, Wipeout ,Balistoil and Inhibitor V80 for years. Never a problem with any of these. with non corrosive primers, I think you do not have to be as obsessive as when mercuric primers were in use. You do not mention the bullets you are using. Lead does require a little more work. So do shot guns with plastic wads. You need brushes for that.

 

[berettaprofessor]

100-200 patches? 4-5 hours?

I run a Bore Snake with a little CLP on it through each rifle or pistol a couple of times every outing. Once a year or so, I use some Hoppes #9 on a wet patch or two and then run maybe 3 dry patches and an oil patch and another dry patch through. There is such a thing as over-cleaning.

 

[Bama59]

Gunblue490 a retired Ruger armorist has an excellent rifle cleaning video on You Tube

 

[BigBore45]

Well solvent and a brush first. Get the carbon out. Then attack copper fouling. Pretty simple.

 

[ColoradoMinuteMan]

Well solvent and a brush first. Get the carbon out. Then attack copper fouling. Pretty simple.

Under normal conditions you shouldn't get copper fouling and really the focus should be on removing carbon and powder residue. A couple passes with a bronze brush then simple mineral solvents like Hoppe's or Outers on a patch with a jag, a few times down the barrel until patches come out clean. That's all you should really need for your bore. If you have heavy carbon or a bit of fouling a couple of passes with a bronze brush should remove it. Using copper removing solvents is not necessary and maybe even detrimnetal. A toothbrush and some solvent, q-tips and some patches using oil or the same solvent will clean the rest. Don't overthink it or overwork it, do it regularly and it's quick and easy. I can't explain why you would have to run so many patches through except perhaps the solvent is reacting with the inside of your barrel.

 

[MEHavey]

1, Slop a wet* patch up and down the bore/let set for a few minutes.
2. Dry patch it out (3-4 Patches max)
3. Slop another wet patch up and down the bore/let set a few more minutes.
4. Dry patch it out (3-4 Patches max)
4a&b. If heavy copper, repeat #3&4 w/ copper remover** (but regardless of cleaning lore, this is rarely req'd )
5. Slop an oil patch up and down the bore.

...walk away





* KG-1
** KG-12

 

[Homerboy]

Why aren’t you using a bronze brush? Simply using patches isn’t gonna do it. I send a wet patch down the barrel a few times and let it sit while I do the rest of he gun. The. A bronze brush dipped in solvent 10-12 times. Follow up with a few wet ones (the first one will come out black from all the stuff the brush has dislodged from the rifling). 3-4 of those and the patches come out clean. Follow with a dry one and I’m done.

 

[Sav .250]

Talk about over kill........ But if that`s how you do it.

If you haven`t already, try YouTube for an answer. Should be a tutorial on the subject. Audio/visual.

 

[ms6852]

Why aren’t you using a bronze brush? Simply using patches isn’t gonna do it. I send a wet patch down the barrel a few times and let it sit while I do the rest of he gun. The. A bronze brush dipped in solvent 10-12 times. Follow up with a few wet ones (the first one will come out black from all the stuff the brush has dislodged from the rifling). 3-4 of those and the patches come out clean. Follow with a dry one and I’m done.

This ^^^^

 

[taliv]

i think you seriously need to reevaluate what you're trying to accomplish.

what is the point?

my goals are :
consistent performance (accuracy, velocity)
rust and corrosion prevention

my goals are met by a short break in cleaning (typically 3-5 rounds and 20 patches or so) when i get a new barrel, and then cleaning (another 20 patches or so) every 400-600 rounds

i can't imagine why you'd want to get every last bit of carbon out of the gun. a) it's not hurting anything, b) the next round will put it all right back in, c) it's practically impossible to remove all of it

 

[entropy]

There's these little brass/bronze things they sell by the patches. They are called bore brushes. Try one sometime, in the correct size for your bore-you'll find they cut your cleaning time way down. Also this;

i can't imagine why you'd want to get every last bit of carbon out of the gun. a) it's not hurting anything, b) the next round will put it all right back in, c) it's practically impossible to remove all of it

You could run CLP down the bore and keep pulling stuff out forever.

 

[shootstraight57]

For years I've been cleaning my guns with Wipe Out liquid brushless bore cleaner. I'll run a wet patch through it, let it soak for a few minutes, then run a dry patch through it. I repeat this process over and over. If I leave it soaking overnight it loosens up even more that seems to come out the next day. Then I'll go through this for a bit the next day and let it soak again which seems to loosen up even more crud. Once the patches stop showing blue, I still have streaks of carbon (or what appears to be carbon) that just keep coming out on the patches. It literally takes me hours and hours over several days to get a barrel clean. I probably go through 100-200 patches at least on each gun, and the amount of time it takes is just insane. As I find myself working more, cleaning my guns just gets put to the side and I've ended up neglecting them.

I'm to the point where there has to be a better way to do this. I can't continue to spend 4-5 hours on each gun after I shoot 50 rounds through it. Is there a better cleaning solvent? I've also tried running a brush through the bore, but it doesn't seem to make much of a difference. Where am I going wrong? I know not everyone can spend this much time on them. Are you just still getting carbon coming out on the patches and leaving it, or is there a much better process?

If you spend that much time cleaning your gun you are taking the fun out of shooting it!
Keep it simple but efficient. Hopps on a patch, run it thru the barrel, brush, then run a patch thru barrel till clean and the lube.

 

[Armored farmer]

Patch with hoppes over my bronze brush.
Scrub
Dry patch on my brush.
Wipe.
Repeat if necessary.
With black powder, it will be necessary.

 

[P5 Guy]

Patch soaked in Kano Labs Kroil, a couple of passes with a nylon bore brush. A couple of dry patches. Repeat the soak while cleaning the next firearm. Maybe twenty minutes per gun.

 

[Danoobie]

1, Slop a wet* patch up and down the bore/let set for a few minutes.
2. Dry patch it out (3-4 Patches max)
3. Slop another wet patch up and down the bore/let set a few more minutes.
4. Dry patch it out (3-4 Patches max)
4a&b. If heavy copper, repeat #3&4 w/ copper remover** (but regardless of cleaning lore, this is rarely req'd )
5. Slop an oil patch up and down the bore.

...walk away

Variations on a theme, somewhere in there, before oiling, I like to run some Dawn & water, to flush out the solvents. With
the needed dry patches, before oiling, of course.

 

[briansmithwins]

And I thought I was bad...

My normal routine is to run a plastic brush wet with solvent down the barrel a couple times immediately after shooting, along with a drop or two of solvent on the gas piston (if the gun has one) and on the bolt face or anywhere else that fouling accumulates. That gives the solvent time to work while I drive home and if I don’t get get around to cleaning the same day.

Wipe the loosened crud out of the bore with a patch or three, brush the loosened fouling away, lube and done.

Once a year or every 1000 rounds I’ll use a copper solvent.

Corrosive ammo gets different treatment, naturally.

BSW

 

[Hokkmike]

I have heard it said that you can "over clean" guns. Frankly, I don't believe it. What do you all think?As for me, I run a wet patch two or three times - then a brush two or three times unless I did not fire the gun (when hunting but with no game seen) followed by one more wet patch then two or three dry ones. A light oiled patch is the final application. I have, from time to time, let some CLP soak in the barrel and on the bolt. My handgun stripped components get a bath in the stuff. I do try to do all brushing from the breech end. I favor cables over rods. I pull rather than push.

 

[briansmithwins]

I have heard it said that you can "over clean" guns.

Brush and patches wearing the bore vs incandescent gas and burning powder moving into the throat of the bore. I know which I think is going to cause real damage the will limit the life of a rifle bore.

Rifle barrels can be damaged in cleaning, if you run a rod from the front and damage the crown or saw away at the crown with a dirty pullthru.

BSW

 

[MidRoad]

I have heard it said that you can "over clean" guns. Frankly, I don't believe it. What do you all think?As for me, I run a wet patch two or three times - then a brush two or three times unless I did not fire the gun (when hunting but with no game seen) followed by one more wet patch then two or three dry ones. A light oiled patch is the final application. I have, from time to time, let some CLP soak in the barrel and on the bolt. My handgun stripped components get a bath in the stuff. I do try to do all brushing from the breech end. I favor cables over rods. I pull rather than push.

I do pretty much the same thing for my rifles . But I use a coated pistol rod for my handguns. They get more rounds through them and lots of time cheap stuff. My rifles get hunting rounds through them at low volume so they don't require as much effort .I use weapon shield clp ,good stuff.

 

[ontarget]

You might be picking up the nonstop carbon on your patches from the chamber and/or action if you aren't cleaning them also. It may not be in the bore.

 

[herrwalther]

Depending on how many rounds I shoot in a session, I may run a bronze brush down the barrel. If I only shoot a handful of rounds, I'll skip the brush and use patches. To start, I spray solvent down the barrel. Either G96, RemOil, CLP, or Hoppes Elite. Again, depending on my shots fired volume. I use Winchester bulk cotton patches. Otis are much more expensive for the same thing and less in a bag. I will run dry patches down the barrel until they come out dry. Then I will spray each patch with a touch of solvent. Run those down the bore until I don't see any carbon on the patches. Then I will run dry patches down the barrel to clean up the excess solvent. At the end of each dry patch, I will touch the patch to see how much solvent is left in the barrel. I leave a little bit to prevent rust buildup. At the very most, I will spend an hour cleaning the barrel this way if I fired quite a few rounds. If not, this process is over in 15-20 minutes.

 

[Armored farmer]

I go through lots of patches with my bp rifle shooting fetish. I have a large plastic pickle jar full of patches that i cut from old t-shirts. I will sit and cut 1.5 inch squares while watching tv. Waffle knit long johns make the best cleaning patches.
There are 3-4 cleaning rods ready at my bench. Hoppes products are my go-to.