Will my M44 Barrel ever be clean?

[jamz]

I got the M44 a little while ago, armory refinished, bore in nice shape, non matching serial numbers, but it was advertised as "new" in the local gun shop, (trusworthy guys) as in not used in battle. No scrathces anywhere on it, no cosmoline, etc.

Anyway, I gave the barell a normal cleaning, and shot it with milsurp ammo. Cleaned it again, until the patch ame through "more or less" clean. (I've used windex after each shooting to get the corrosive stuff out before using the normal cleaning stuff.)

A couple of weeks ago, after getting it "more or less clean", I decided to clean it again with my son. After the hoppes, a patch, and the brush, the next patch came out BLACK, like I had just put 50 rounds through it. So I cleaned it again.

The next day, I did the same thing. Hoppes/patch, brush, patch again, BLACK. cleaned it again. A few days later, same procedure, same result. I even started using the cleaning rod with it, scrubbing away like a maid on the thing, but every time I use the brush, it's like I never cleaned it.

So what's going on here?

-James

 

[clubsoda22]

It means that you really weren't getting it clean. A patch saturated with hoppes is not a lot of surface area. You'll have to run through a lot of patches to get it really clean.

Just a thought, try a bore cleaner a little more advanced than hoppes. Spray in some break-free or gun scrubber and let if sit for 10 minutes. Then go at it like mad. If you get it really clean this time, it will take less to clean next time.

 

[WyrTwister]

M44 barrel

I suggest Shooters choice copper remover . As an added plus, the ammonia kills the corrosive salts .

This ia a very agressive cleaner . Much more so than Hoppies # 9 . I do not let it set in the bore more than about 15 min .

When I get through cleaning for the day , I use a couple of patches with Hoppies # 9 to kill the ammonia & let the barrel ser , wet with Hoppies , over night .

Repeat the next day . Not uncommon to do this all week long . That means you get it clean by the next weekend , then it is time to go & shoot it again .


God bless
Wyr

 

[iamkris]

If your M44 is anything like mine, the lands are nice and shiny but the grooves are like a sewer pipe. Lots of crevices to have little nasties hide in.

 

[Preacherman]

Two suggestions:

1. After getting it as clean as possible, try fire-lapping the barrel to smooth it out.

2. After (1) above, try prepping the barrel with Microlon Gun Juice. This is one product that really, really works as advertised. It will increase MV and make cleaning a heck of a lot easier. I use it on all my rifles. For details, see here.

 

[jamz]

Thanks for the suggestions. Looks like more virulent chemicals and elbow grease are the answer.

Preacherman, what is "fire-lapping"? (For that matter, what's "MV"?)

-James

 

[Cyberdyne systems]

use HOT SOAPY WATER

I think you should clean it with hot soapy water before you use the gun cleanining solvents, I usually put a small funnel in my chamber and pour a one gallon jug full of warm soapy water [dishwashing liquid soap & hot water] through my bore then run a bronze brush through it several times then flush it out with plain hot water, then use the bore solvent and a light coat of oil before storage

works everytime!

 

[Red_SC]

Firelapping is shooting bullets with a mild, non-imbedding abrasive on them. Check out the Final Finish system. I think Brownells carries it. MV is muzzle velocity.

 

[Cosmoline]

STOP CLEANING IT! If you clean it all the way the lands will vanish and it will become a .410 gauge smoothbore.

 

[DMK]

I agree with Cosmoline. Stop and think a minute. What are you trying to accomplish here? Are you looking to improve accuracy? Even if you could come up with a magical cleaning potion to clean your barrel spotless, how much accuracy improvement would you expect to see?

IMO, this is a surplus battle rifle, it's probably not going to shoot MOA no matter what you do. By using harsh chemicals and abrasives, you are increasing the wear on your barrel. I think that it's a counterproductive excercise. I say, shoot it, give it a best effort general cleaning, make sure to properly clean up any corrosive salts if using surplus ammo, oil it regularly to prevent further degration, and enjoy the rifle for what it is: an interesting and fun piece of history.

 

[albanian]

I clean my milsurplus gun with hot soapy water also. It gets out most of the crud from the dirty surplus ammo and then you can move on to the Hoppes. Hoppes is expensive and if I only used it to clean my guns, I would go through about a gallon of it a month!

 

[jamz]

OK, the count stands at 4 calls for clean it harder, and 2 calls for not cleaning it at all. The clean harder guys are winning.

-James
fully expecting to get absolutely contradictory advice from internet bulletin boards

 

[JohnKSa]

You can ALWAYS get a dark patch by brushing a barrel and then pushing a patch through it--even if the bore is spotless and mirror bright.

Try it with one of your other guns if you don't believe me.

 

[Cyberdyne systems]

old hot soapy water routine...

I have been cleaning my M44 & Mausers with hot soapy water since 1990 and the bores are still shiney after 14 years of use!