Fouled bore ?

[Varmint Hunter]

I've been working with a full custom 7WSM. The rifle has a Broughton 5C barrel. Loads that were shooting fairly well are producing noticeably larger groups and nothing seems to shoot as well or consistent as it should. Tight group then fliers seem common.

I suspected bore fouling to be the likely cause and paid more attention to the task. Using BoreTech Eliminator I can get many, many blue patches with no apparent end in sight. I only use a nickle plated jag and occasionally a nylon brush but continue to get blue patches. The bore also seems to have many tight/loose spots as the patch is pushed slowly down the bore.

As an experiment, I tried several patches of Wipe-Out "Accelerator" followed by an hour soak in Wipe-Out foam and didn't even get a trace of blue. Followed that up with Eliminator and get blue patch after blue patch and still a rough bore.

Any idea what may be going on here?

 

[Sully2]

I always thought Broughton barrels were pretty slick inside????

 

[J E Custom]

I've been working with a full custom 7WSM. The rifle has a Broughton 5C barrel. Loads that were shooting fairly well are producing noticeably larger groups and nothing seems to shoot as well or consistent as it should. Tight group then fliers seem common.

I suspected bore fouling to be the likely cause and paid more attention to the task. Using BoreTech Eliminator I can get many, many blue patches with no apparent end in sight. I only use a nickle plated jag and occasionally a nylon brush but continue to get blue patches. The bore also seems to have many tight/loose spots as the patch is pushed slowly down the bore.

As an experiment, I tried several patches of Wipe-Out "Accelerator" followed by an hour soak in Wipe-Out foam and didn't even get a trace of blue. Followed that up with Eliminator and get blue patch after blue patch and still a rough bore.

Any idea what may be going on here?

I have seen this with badly fouled bores and as long as you are not introducing brass/copper to the
bore from brushes and/or jags it stills needs to be cleaned.

I have also seen this with factory barrels that were not very well rifled or heat treated causing those
tight spots in the process.(These barrels were clean).

With a custom barrel, I would be shocked if this was the case.

I would recommend continuing to clean with the Bore Teck or find some Sweets 762 solvent
and trying it (Sweets is very strong and should not be left in the bore for more than 1/2 hour).

The tight spots are the copper fouled areas and copper has more drag on patches . (A clean barrel
feels like it has grease in it and is smooth all the way).

J E CUSTOM

 

[Broz]

I have seen this with badly fouled bores and as long as you are not introducing brass/copper to the
bore from brushes and/or jags it stills needs to be cleaned.

I have also seen this with factory barrels that were not very well rifled or heat treated causing those
tight spots in the process.(These barrels were clean).

With a custom barrel, I would be shocked if this was the case.

I would recommend continuing to clean with the Bore Teck or find some Sweets 762 solvent
and trying it (Sweets is very strong and should not be left in the bore for more than 1/2 hour).

The tight spots are the copper fouled areas and copper has more drag on patches . (A clean barrel
feels like it has grease in it and is smooth all the way).

J E CUSTOM

I agree with J E 's advice almost 100%. The part I would change is I would stick with the BoreTech Eliminator. I have tested Sweets 7.62 and BoreTech Eliminator to see which was getting the most copper. BTE got more blue after Sweets was done and said the barrel was clean.

I would run 3 very wet patches of BTE and wait 10 minutes, then 3 more very wet patches. Repeat this over and over until the bore smooths up and blue lines on the patches are gone. A nylon brush is ok but would limit the strokes to 10. Go slow and stay true to the bore. Always use a good fitting bore-guide.

If this barrel is fouled as bad as it sounds be prepared to take a few evening to get it clean.

I am surprised it has fouled like this.
Was there a break in procedure used?
Are you shooting solid copper bullets?
Have you tested different brand bullets with out cleaning between?

Jeff

 

[Varmint Hunter]

The barrel was " broken in" using the typical 1 shot and clean method even though I have always questioned the value of this practice on a new custom barrel.

No Barnes or other mono-metal bullets in this rifle. I shoot Berger VLD's and Accubonds almost exclusively.

I'll continue with the BT Eliminator and see how it goes.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[TOM H]

I've been working with a full custom 7WSM. The rifle has a Broughton 5C barrel. Loads that were shooting fairly well are producing noticeably larger groups and nothing seems to shoot as well or consistent as it should. Tight group then fliers seem common.

I suspected bore fouling to be the likely cause and paid more attention to the task. Using BoreTech Eliminator I can get many, many blue patches with no apparent end in sight. I only use a nickle plated jag and occasionally a nylon brush but continue to get blue patches. The bore also seems to have many tight/loose spots as the patch is pushed slowly down the bore.

As an experiment, I tried several patches of Wipe-Out "Accelerator" followed by an hour soak in Wipe-Out foam and didn't even get a trace of blue. Followed that up with Eliminator and get blue patch after blue patch and still a rough bore.

Any idea what may be going on here?

I've got a Broughton 5c on 300WSM and I cleaned after first 5 shots and that was it. I do have two cleaning rods one set up for brush other for patch and jags are from Benchrite.

I use Sweet's and I do let it soak and I tip my barrel down little.

If it was me I'd call Broughton they have a tracking system on each barrel they make by serial #.
Not sure if you ever read this

Since 2003 we have introduced 22RF, .224, .243, .264, 270, .284, .308 and .338 caliber "5C ®" (canted land) barrels. These barrels are showing exceptional clean ability, more velocity, longer barrel life, reduced bolt / breech pressure and extreme accuracy - shooting small groups at short and long ranges. We will expand this 5C ® land formation into other calibers and twist options in the future.

Each barrel is crafted with the highest of quality standards. If a barrel doesn't meet our quality standards, it does not go out the door. From start to finish we track what is being done and the results to each barrel by serial number. An individual tracking record is kept with your file for every barrel. If a customer has a question or concern about their specific barrel or would like a barrel similar as another customer, we can look it up and duplicate or continually improve the process. Our craftsman takes pride in every barrel we ship.

It is our commitment to you to craft the finest rifle barrel your money can buy. Give us a call at (920) 922-4882 to discuss your next barrel purchase. Quality, Accuracy & Customer Satisfaction is #1. We guarantee it!

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Tom H - thanks for the info. I may just give them a call.

Unbelievably, I am still cleaning this barrel. Using several wet Eliminator patches, letting it sit and then following up with more patches or the nylon brush. Blue patches are still coming out.

This morning I used several patches of JB bore paste which was short stroked through the bore. Some improvement was noted but the follow-up Eliminator patches are still light blue and the bore seems rough, better but not smooth.

This is the only custom barrel that I've had a problem with. I have several other Broughton 5c barrels and they all shoot great and clean up easily.

 

[J E Custom]

Tom H - thanks for the info. I may just give them a call.

Unbelievably, I am still cleaning this barrel. Using several wet Eliminator patches, letting it sit and then following up with more patches or the nylon brush. Blue patches are still coming out.

This morning I used several patches of JB bore paste which was short stroked through the bore. Some improvement was noted but the follow-up Eliminator patches are still light blue and the bore seems rough, better but not smooth.

This is the only custom barrel that I've had a problem with. I have several other Broughton 5c barrels and they all shoot great and clean up easily.

Do you have access to a bore scope ? If you do you can have a look and be sure of what you are dealing with.

J E CUSTOM

 

[MontanaRifleman]

Do you have access to a bore scope ? If you do you can have a look and be sure of what you are dealing with.

J E CUSTOM

This would be my recommendation. When you do get all the fouling out, get it scoped by a smith who knows what he's looking for before you call Broughton.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

I'll probably get the bore scoped as soon a s possible. Oddly enough, I'm still getting blue patches. I'm alternating between Eliminator soaks and occasional nylon bore brushing. Tried a little more JB but still get blue patches. Almost like I was introducing copper.

My nylon brush appears to have a brass core but that doesn't touch anything and I haven't used it that much. I would have blamed this on the jag but I'm using a nickle jag.

Hmmmm

 

[MontanaRifleman]

My routine with Bore Tech is I liberally wet patch with Eliminator until the patches start getting light blue. Then I push a nylon brush all the way through and bring it back just inside the muzzle, then stand the rifle up on it's butt and drop a libral amount down the bore, then scrub for a few strokes, maybe 5 or so, then let it soak for 20-40 min, then wet patch out and repeat the cycle until I see no more blue. When I stop seeing signs of carbon, I swith over to CU+2 to finish the process.

Your bass core brush might be introducing a false read. You might want to go out and get a non-brass core brush and see what happens. Does your rod have a brass tip?