Barrels really do make a difference

[Smokinyotes]

I’ve got a Tikka T1X and a 10/22 with a Volquartsen barrel on it. I had never looked in either barrel with a borescope until tonight.
Between the 2 guns they have been fed a diet of SK rifle match. Closing in on 10,000 rounds between the 2 of them (significantly more through the 10/22). I figured it was time to clean them. After looking into the Tikka the barrel was heavily powder and carbon fouled. It looked like the barrel had been painted black on the inside with the odd spot of grey. Took almost an hour to get it clean with iOSSO paste and iosso brush.
Onto the volquartsen barrel, to my surprise the barrel was bright and shiny the entire length with the exception of about an inch right at the throat. What was in the throat cleaned up in a couple minutes.

 

[.22LRGUY]

I would be interested in knowing what factors resulted in that difference between the two? Bore polished on the VQ/smoother finish? VQ barrel carbon steel like the Tikka T1x?

 

[Smokinyotes]

I would be interested in knowing what factors resulted in that difference between the two? Bore polished on the VQ/smoother finish? VQ barrel carbon steel like the Tikka T1x?

Looking with the borescope the VQ does look very smooth with no imperfections. I’m not sure what steel is in it but it is a carbon wrapped barrel.

 

[RRCo.]

I was cleaning one the other night which I'm sure was neglected in the past and after lots of brushing and wiping decided to give it the old kettle full of boiling water down the bore; easy since I have the right funnel.

Made a remarkable difference and I put that down to the thermal expansion and contraction freeing off a lot of the congealed or hardened fouling. Had a lot of roughness and apparently worn rifling up to about a foot ahead of the chamber. The difference afterwards was striking and I put that down to thermal expansion and contraction breaking loose a lot of the hardened deposits.

 

[grauhanen]

The characteristics of the surface of the bore will have a considerable effect on how it accumulates fouling and detritus and how readily it can shed them. A 20 inch barrel will have around 12 square inches of bore surface area, a 16 inch barrel near 10 square inches. The rougher the surface the more it will have fouling stick to it and the more stubbornly it will retain it.