Copper removal ?

[soundwaves]

how important is it for the rifle and its accuracy to remove copper from the barrel useing copper removal products ? does basic gun oil and a brush get most of it off ?

as l know alot of people that have not used copper removal oils and sprays at all in there rifles for 10s of years. some people l know use nothing but basic gun oil and a brush or just a bore snake. so the question is : say you have used a rifle for 10 years and didnt use any special copper removal porduct in it then decided to use a copper removal product to cleen the rifle, would it make a significant difference in accuracy at the end of the day ?

whats your take on the subject

 

[ShtrRdy]

Generally it is believed that there needs to be some copper in the bore to provide consistent accuracy.

If you clean out all of the copper then you will likely have to fire a few shots to get the barrel shooting consistently again.

 

[Rick Richard]

With a good quality barrel, you will get some copper fouling but rarely to a point where it will significantly affect accuracy.

Copper is also needed to fill in those micro imperfections in the surface. I do a copper clean when I get a few hundred rounds down the tube just to make me feel better, however not because accuracy has fallen off.

I do focus more and monitor carbon buildup since it can significantly affect accuracy and pressure due to carbon rings or areas that might build up with carbon.

 

[Rich Coyle]

How do you see the cabon and how do you get the carbon out?

 

[L.Sherm]

Bore scope tells the story.
Depends on how baked on the carbon is, the ring at the beginning of the leade can be a PITA if it's been there awhile.
C4, carb out are a couple good ones

 

[L.Sherm]

I dont like build up in my barrels whether it's copper or carbon.

 

[Rick Richard]

How do you see the cabon and how do you get the carbon out?

I use a Bore scope every so often to look at the condition of my barrel. I use Boartech (sp)products with a lot of soaking and scrubbing.

 

[hesse]

It all depends on the barrel I prefer to clean mine pretty regularly will a product that removes both carbon and copper. Shumburo it doesn't matter I've had a couple of barrels that if you didn't keep it relatively clean the pattern that open up after about 30 rounds

 

[milo-2]

how important is it for the rifle and its accuracy to remove copper from the barrel useing copper removal products ? does basic gun oil and a brush get most of it off ?

as l know alot of people that have not used copper removal oils and sprays at all in there rifles for 10s of years. some people l know use nothing but basic gun oil and a brush or just a bore snake. so the question is : say you have used a rifle for 10 years and didnt use any special copper removal porduct in it then decided to use a copper removal product to cleen the rifle, would it make a significant difference in accuracy at the end of the day ?

whats your take on the subject

Cleaning solutions today are far more efficient than in the past. I myself can't see gun oils and a brush accomplishing much.
If someone has not cleaned a barrel in 10 yrs and strips it clean, going to need a few fouling shots to bring it back in.
After cleaning barrels and muzzle brakes, I feel it is almost impossible not to have copper fouling if you have carbon fouling, or vise versa. Though I also think some carbon remover products, if let to soak some, get under a fair share of copper and it gets pushed out, and that may be all that is needed to keep the rifle shooting within it's expectations.
I know we all differ on barrel break in, but I find if I keep copper in the barrel to a minimum before a barrel speeds up, I clean it less down the road.
With the cost of that new Teslong borescope, and it's capabilities, not calling anyone a fool here, but it to me would be foolish not to own one if one is concerned about a barrels condition, and how it performs in differing states of fouling. Some powders foul the first part of barrel, others the muzzle end.
EDIT: If you are not getting a complete burn of your powder in the barrel and the muzzle end carbon fouls. over time, there is going to be copper in that mix too. One only needs to fire it long enough to get false pressure indicators, and with a drop in velocity and accuracy.

 

[JTB]

I cleaned copper from a factory barrel that had lost accuracy and had never been cleaned with a copper reactive cleaner. It had well over 1000 rounds through it when I cleaned it. After allowing a copper cleaner to soak for a while the brush pushed out long spiral rings of copper that had built up over time. The owner had only used a lubricant over the years to clean the barrel. This gave me an entirely new perspective on copper build-up. I would say you need to occasionally remove the copper to prevent buildup over time but granted, most quality barrels seem less prone to excessive copper fouling.

 

[DJ Fergus]

With a good quality barrel, you will get some copper fouling but rarely to a point where it will significantly affect accuracy.

Copper is also needed to fill in those micro imperfections in the surface. I do a copper clean when I get a few hundred rounds down the tube just to make me feel better, however not because accuracy has fallen off.

I do focus more and monitor carbon buildup since it can significantly affect accuracy and pressure due to carbon rings or areas that might build up with carbon.

My thoughts exactly on the carbon. I'm less concerned with copper than carbon. Of the rifles I have one builds carbon quickly and will get out of hand if not thoroughly cleaned. I'm going to a little faster burning power to try and help the situation, may end up rebarreling & going 2" longer for an attempt at a cleaner powder burn.

 

[Rick Richard]

Cleaning solutions today are far more efficient than in the past. I myself can't see gun oils and a brush accomplishing much.
If someone has not cleaned a barrel in 10 yrs and strips it clean, going to need a few fouling shots to bring it back in.
After cleaning barrels and muzzle brakes, I feel it is almost impossible not to have copper fouling if you have carbon fouling, or vise versa. Though I also think some carbon remover products, if let to soak some, get under a fair share of copper and it gets pushed out, and that may be all that is needed to keep the rifle shooting within it's expectations.
I know we all differ on barrel break in, but I find if I keep copper in the barrel to a minimum before a barrel speeds up, I clean it less down the road.
With the cost of that new Teslong borescope, and it's capabilities, not calling anyone a fool here, but it to me would be foolish not to own one if one is concerned about a barrels condition, and how it performs in differing states of fouling. Some powders foul the first part of barrel, others the muzzle end.
EDIT: If you are not getting a complete burn of your powder in the barrel and the muzzle end carbon fouls. over time, there is going to be copper in that mix too. One only needs to fire it long enough to get false pressure indicators, and with a drop in velocity and accuracy.

+ one on the Teslong. Great product for the price point.

 

[soundwaves]

I cleaned copper from a factory barrel that had lost accuracy and had never been cleaned with a copper reactive cleaner. It had well over 1000 rounds through it when I cleaned it. After allowing a copper cleaner to soak for a while the brush pushed out long spiral rings of copper that had built up over time. The owner had only used a lubricant over the years to clean the barrel. This gave me an entirely new perspective on copper build-up. I would say you need to occasionally remove the copper to prevent buildup over time but granted, most quality barrels seem less prone to excessive copper fouling.

did the gun regain some lost accuracy after all that copper was removed ?

 

[mountainman56]

Had a friend bring a 1903 Springfield over one time to get it re-crowned because it was shooting poorly. Decided to run a couple patches through it then check it with my borescope. I've never seen worse, took me all afternoon and a 6 pack of beer to clean all the copper out . Crown looked pretty bad so I redid that too. Groups went from 4" to 1 1/2"