Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Your opinion on copper fouling.

I have a 7 rem mag that I broke the barrel in (burnished the bore) by never letting it get copper fouled. I would completely clean the bore of copper every shooting outing. It now takes on less copper that when it was new but requires several shots to get it back on. Also have a 7 RUM I have more of less done the same thing with.

I have came to the conclusion that I am probibly wasting my time removing the copper completely every shooting session. The last couple of years I have just used powder solvent but left the copper in the bores. Only takes one or two shots to get the guns back to their 300 yard zeros. I figure I will just leave the copper fouling alone until it starts effecting accuracy.

What is your best guess at which round count I will start loosing accuracy in the 7 rem?

How about the 7 ultra?

I shoot the Winchester factory loaded 160 grain XP3 in the Ruger M77 Mk2 7 rem mag.

I shoot the Remington factory loaded Swift Sciroco 2 150 grain load in the Remington Sendero SF 7 RUM.

i've gone close to 400 rounds without cleaning my Sendero II in .264 WM and it still shot itty bitty groups. that was easily the best factory barrel i've owned. i've also had barrels that fouled very badly in 20 rounds. it will depend more on the individual barrel than anything else.

i think JB posted somewhere that the Swift Sirocco II bullets have a copper jacket. that may make a difference. some of my barrels foul faster with copper monos than guilding metal jacketed bullets.

i've had to use JB Bore Brite bore paste in heavy fouling barrels with some sucess, and the Ultra Bore Coat may be worth trying...

If you are going to leave some of the copper in the barrel, how do you determine when to stop cleaning so that the right amount is still in there?

Clean sterile,gun moly...give the cleaning rod to a needy home..........

Hoppes #9 and other powder solvents really do not touch the copper, just cuts the powder fouling. You need a strong copper solvent to touch the copper fouling. You can clean the bore with powder solvent till the patches come clean then look down the end of the barrel with a flashlight and see the copper colored fouling on the lands.

Hoppe's is for Dance Night,a little behind each ear as an attractant...or in one's coffee,to start the morning..........

might have to try that.

food for thought


these are bench rest shooters

http://www.6mmbr.com/borebrushing.html

That's exactly how I've thought of Hoppe's since I first smelled it at 6 years of age - a wondrously beguiling scent.

I knew I had a keeper for sure, when my girlfriend said, "I just love the way your safe smells!". She's now my wife.

FC

Good taste is tough to slight................

Thanks for the replies.

Here's what I do: I don't use the harsh ammonia type copper solvents unless I have shot an unusually large number of rounds in one day. I'm talking 80 to 100. Under normal conditions I take the bolt out of my rifle and soak the bore 1 time with #9. The a dry patch after about 10 minutes. I soak it again with #9, stuff a paper towel in the chamber area (to catch all the run off), and stand it in the corner overnight. (butt down) The next day I run a clean patch, then a bronze brush soaked in #9. I only brush the bore 5 or so times. People wear out bores with brushes. Lastly, I swab the bore clean again and put a light coating of #9 or oil in it depending on how long it is going to be stored.

If I have serious fouling, which I never do, I use the ammonia at 25% with #9 but I don't leave it in the bore overnight.

Hoppes may not cut copper, but after sitting overnight, there sure is a lot of green and blue residue on the first clean patch through. Besides, Hoppes #9 is better the Viagra for me.

The gun will tell you when you hit the number you are looking for. I've found that generally, it is a lot higher than you would imagine.

Here's what I do.

1) Shoot a few thousand rounds
2) If/when accuracy slips,punch bore with jag wearing Kroil and dry patch out.

Shoot another few thousand rounds...repeat...........

Many many tactical shooters, of which I'm one of, never clean their barrels until they see their accurate start to deteriorate. Then it might take several to dozens + of shots to the barrel back to where they need it.

I'd like it akin to wiping your azz,prior to taking a schitt.............

There is no std answer. The one barrel may go 200 rds, the next may go only ten.

Never seen a moly tube,not gun far longer strings than a nekked tube,when talking about holding tidy Agg's.

Never.....................