barrel wear, or carbon marks?

marlin60

marlin60

CGN Regular
Rating - 100%
6   0   0
Location
East Coast
I have a six month old Beretta Pintail (ES100) that only has a couple of hundred rounds through it.

I have cleaned and lubed it, but don't maintain it to the same level as my rifles and pistols. I don't think a shotgun bore needs to as clean as other types of firearms.

Today I decided to try out Breakfree CLP for the first time and gave the shotgun a good cleaning. I didn't brush it..just used felt 'plugs' on a pull through. The barrel is pretty shiny, but it seems like there are slight striations inside the barrel.

They look like pellet marks/trails, but I am wondering if maybe they are marks in the carbon fouling vs. the barrel.

What do you think they are?

Do you clean your shotgun bores to a mirror sheen?

Thanks.
 
yeah I have the same thing in mine... I always thought that it was residue from the plastic wad in the shell...
 
Agreement...gotta love it. We'll call it plastic then.

Is it THAT important to get it back to mirror clean?

Maybe I'll save that for the off season. I enjoy cleaning my firearms, but I just don't see the need for a shiney shotgun bore........
 
I have a variety of cleaners at home...just stocked up.

Can you recommend a good plastic cutter, to get that type of fouling out. One of mine includes that in its list (copper, lead, plastic etc.), but I can't recall which one off hand.

I'm sure some are better than others, despite what they claim.
 
I used 7.62 Sweets with little success. Hoppes didn't help much. Breakfree CLP was useless. No 10 Copper cutter was also useless. It took a lot of scrubbing with a bronze brush to get it out. One might try 0000 steel wool on a wooden mandrel in a hand drill. Cycle the drill on and off, on and off as you work it back and forth in the bore. Should make the job a bit easier. Granted, I had a large accumulation of plactis residue in my bore. Had both pump shotguns so that you could not touch the barrel when firing, they were that hot....
 
More bores have been damaged by overzealous cleaning than through normal wear. A few streaks of lead or plastic won't hurt anything. After a session of shooting, I give the barrel a few swipes with a bronze brush dipped in bore cleaner, then a dry patch and then a patch covered with a light coat of oil. Always some residue is left in the bore, but I know that I got most of it.
 
Carburetor cleaner or F/I throttle body cleaner works well.

These are available in aerosol cans at any auto parts store. I use the NAPA brand.

I spray a small amount on a patch & it does a great job of removing the plastic wad residue.

Be very careful & don't get any on the stock or painted surfaces.


Rod.:)
 
Barf..I'm with you...

I tend to clean after most, if not all range sessions (depending on round count and firearm), but I don't bother with trying to get all of the carbon rings in my revovler chambers, or the black on the cylinder face off, for example.

I can be a ham fist..so I'm going to take it easy. Clean to 80% +, and lube sparingly as needed. If the accuracy or functioning gets bad, I'll look harder at it then.

I'll keep the carburetor cleaner tip in mind though, for the post season cleaning.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom