bore cleaning questions

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farshot

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I have tried most every type of cleaner made. I have found for older milsurp types or even older (like 1940-50) hunting rifles that Birchwood Casey's foaming gel left in overnight or longer is simply amazing for removing old everything. I then clean with a brush and many Hoppes 9 patches, leaving a little Hoppes in the bore for storage.

I noticed for the first time, that a few of my rifles that I left some of the Hoppes in showed some green crystals of copper coming off of the lands (looking like grit) and when i cleaned again, the bore was that much better.

Have any of you noticed this with Hoppes or do you think it is a result of the Birchwood Casey Foaming Gel still working after the subsequent patching and use of Hoppes?

I dont think it is hurting anything -- but it sure startles me when I look into a bore that I thought was clean and put away after a couple of months to see the grainy crystals of copper.
 
It depends what the chemical composition of these solvents is. If it has ammonia then it will affect if left in the bore for longer periods.
I use M-Pro7 for cleaning my firearms. It is amazing and comes in spray as well as gel form.
I would highly recommend it. It is also bio-degradable & doesn't smell.
 
IMHO hoppes is a very good solvent. i've cleaned my own guns plus hundreds and hundreds for my clients and had no complaints. hoppes alone will give you the green gravy from copper fouling as well as anything.now i will admit that i've never used a lot of the new solvents on the market, hence they may be better and may require less passes through the bore, i don't know,but good ole hoppes #9 will do the job. i love the smell as well.it brings back a ton of memories of hunting times ever since i was a kid and that was over 50 years ago.i'm sure others will say other compounds are better and they might well be correct.
 
"...left in overnight..." Not a bad idea for old rifles. You need to give the solvent time to work and that's exactly what you're seeing. Although leaving solvent in the bore won't protect it much. If you're not planning on shooting it a lot, gun grease or oil will be better. Make sure you remember to clean it out before you shoot it though.
 
I leave #9 in my target rifle overnight to remove any residual copper that my normal cleaning routine fails to remove. Works like a charm.
 
justin_j_francis said:
+1

Isn't as hard on the bore as ammonia cleaners either.
Click to expand...

Ammonia cleaners are not hard on the bore... this is a fallacy believed by some. After ammonia is used to clean a bore, the bore requires dry patching and oiling because the ammonia leaves the metal so clean it is susceptible to rusting. Ammonia does not "eat" barrels. An improper cleaning procedure is hard on bores.
 
Bravo to Dennis for stepping up to the plate on this!

I have used janitorial strength (14%) Ammonia to remove copper for years and it works great.

Simply lube it up well with several patches of light oil after using the ammonia, and never had a moments problem.

Ted
 
Plain old household ammonia is cheaper and better than any of the other "special formulations" at removing copper. You don't have to wait for hours on end either. It works within minutes not hours.
 
I've used Hoppes #9, with nitrobenzene, for roughly 45 years. I still have a half gallon or so. It was and is a fine solvent for both powder and copper. It is also a superior rust preventative. It smells good and, with the nitro benzene, might be a bit hard on the liver if ingested!
A fellow I met in Clearwater had a Ruger which was a bit of a fouler. His cleaning technique consisted of sticking the barrel into a jug of ammonia and pumping it through the bore with a patch. Seemed to work well for him. That was a darn good shooting Ruger after he cleaned it. Regards, Bill.
 
Cleaning Old Military Rifle Barrels And WD-40

I have been using Hopps No9 for years, but have put WD-40 through my black powder barrels. I only do that after they were treated with bore butter.

I don't know if WD-40 will work on smokeless barrels, is it a waste of money using it on rifle barrels? What's your opinion of WD-40?

I tried to find Hopps No9 at the local stores but most don't carry it anymore.
In previous years they have had it in 500ml or larger bottles, now nothing on the shelves. I have used gallons of the stuff over the years but need a new source.
 
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