257 Weatherby - Barrel/Cleaning issues

[257WHBY13]

I have a mid 90's Mark V Alaskan 257 Weatherby that seems to take forever to clean, Shot it 15 times Friday and it took over 75 patches to clean, I use Tipton Brush & Hoppes # 9. I doubt I have shot it more than 500 times.

The group size has gone from under 1" to 1 1/2"; but I was shooting 15 year old handloads; is the barrel gone? Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Wolf76]

a borescope is your friend. a carbon ring maybe formed and it sounds like your barrel needs some jb bore paste. if it's rough, lapping or polishing could be needed.
may need to find some better cleaning products. shouldn't take 75 patches to clean a gun.

 

[Laguna Freak]

I have done this in similar circumstance: Cap the muzzle with some nitrile glove fingers and a tight rubber band. Clamp it to the bench muzzle down on a folded towel and fill the bore with Hoppes Benchrest 9. Let it soak for the time listed on the label. Drain, brush, mop, oil. Good to go.

 

[Wolf76]

hoppes #9 is about worthless as a gun cleaner. boretech eliminator and wipe out are probably the two best.

 

[Laguna Freak]

hoppes #9 is about worthless as a gun cleaner. boretech eliminator and wipe out are probably the two best.

Right. If you want to stand over your carbon ringed and copper fouled bore for hours and still not be done at bed time. Of course Wipe Out has a soak labeling too. Benchrest 9 does exactly what I said it does. Does it clean any bore quickly? No. But it will clean and not harm your bore. You instant gratification boyz got a lot to learn about "waitin' for it".

Good night...

 

[Dr. Vette]

I'll second the Boretech products.

I haven't used anything else in several years other than occasionally letting a barrel sit overnight with Gunslick foaming bore cleaner if it seems to be taking more effort to clean. Amazing what that does overnight.

 

[Tiny Tim]

Assuming your bore was clean to begin with, Wolf 76 is right, a borescope is your friend. Have you shot over a chronograph, notice anything different? How long since it shot 1 MOA? I am guessing that it didn't go from 1 to 1.5 MOA in 15 shots. Is it possible there is some corrosion in the bore?

 

[Laelkhunter]

If you have been using only Hoppes #9 since you bought it, and have fired it 500 times, it's probably time to clean the copper out. As others have suggested, use a copper solvent such as Boretech Eliminator or Wipe Out. Boretech Eliminator is safe to leave in the barrel for an extended time, and will not hurt anything. Any bore solvent that has ammonia needs to be used with caution as to the length of time you leave it in the barrel. Follow bottle directions closely to prevent any damage.

 

[Wolf76]

Right. If you want to stand over your carbon ringed and copper fouled bore for hours and still not be done at bed time. Of course Wipe Out has a soak labeling too. Benchrest 9 does exactly what I said it does. Does it clean any bore quickly? No. But it will clean and not harm your bore. You instant gratification boyz got a lot to learn about "waitin' for it".

Good night...

Just to be clear, I grew up using good old #9. The smell is kind of like cologne to me. It has worked fine for shotguns.
When I got into rifles, reloading, and long range hunting - things changed. Forums like this one, Rok, Hide and others provide some great knowledge. One thing you'll quickly learn is there are ways of validating or invalidating info posted. Your post is an example of this. With a borescope I can see what is left behind after using #9. It doesn't matter how long you leave it in the barrel, the stuff won't touch copper and is only an average carbon remover. Forget about this stuff even working on a carbon ring. Let me add, there isn't a single solvent that is best - some just get much better results. Wipeout, Boretech Eliminator, CR10, KG12 are the most effective solvents I've used based on borescope observations. If a barrel is in really bad shape - jb bore paste, iosso bore cleaner, or Remington 40 X is your friend.
BTW - I couldn't care less how long the solvents take to work. Only interested in results.

Feel free to PM me, so we don't derail the OPs thread.

 

[Laguna Freak]

Wolf76,

I think we are on the same page. I'm just weary of people stating as fact that Hoppes does not work. I know the Benchrest does work very gently and will not harm the bore. I've applied the method I described and witnessed the results down the tube and to the target.

I do use Sweet's 7.62 for routine cleaning because it is exponentially faster than Hoppes. Except those formulated for overnight soak, in my opinion the latest and greatest bore cleaners are far too harsh to clean a bore that is likely badly fouled after years / decades of use as evidenced by deterioration of shot grouping.

I apologize if my text-tone was less than amiable due to my weariness with the "Hoppes doesn't work" proclamation that is so commonly parroted on shooting forums. Like any tool, it has its limited application.

Best wishes to all those endeavouring
to clean their dirty bore.

 

[Buzzsaw]

Thorough Flush system from Bullet Central. I cant believe more shooters have not found this yet. Its amazingly Effective.

 

[iclick]

Run sweets 762 through it. Then use a quality gun solvent like boretech. That is what the army uses I know this because my son is an MP and in charge of the range. Sweets 762 will soak out carbon, copper fouling and crud. Then run clean patches through. After that use the regular bore cleaner.

 

[Buzzsaw]

Follow directions VERY closely when using those ammonia based cleaners

 

[Dean2]

I have used Hoppes for 50 years and still use it regularly. It does not remove Copper. It does remove carbon, plastic shotgun wad and left over powder quite well. It also leaves a very good coating on the surface that in our dry climate has kept all my guns rust free, and is a good cold weather lubricant on the bolt because it doesn't thicken in the cold. The best copper remover I have ever found, that is also bore safe and can be left to soak, is Wipeout Patchout edition. For carbon rings in 22RF to the big magnums, about the only ting that will cut that is Butch's Bore Shine or automotive carbon cleaner and JB Bore paste for the actual ring.

I am sure there are other products that work well but these are the things I settled on after much trial and error.