Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Experts, Will Dyna Bore Coat help a late 60's/Early70's Sako or is it too late?

Been reading all the good things on DBC and think this Sako might be a prime candidate for the process. She's a Bofor's steel 338 I first used on an elk hunt this year after picking it up, Cerekoting it and fitting it to a McMillian stock. The rifle is one of the worst fouling barrels I've ever seen!

After a range session this week the barrel was so copper fouled three 24 hour stints with Wipe Out didn't get out all the fouling. A followup session with JB Compound, and two times with Montana Extreme helped a little. One more two hour Wipe Out got it somewhat presentable, but I was still not down to bare metal, which I would need to be for DBC. I could still see streaks of copper at the muzzle!

All I hear is DBC for new barrels, etc....what do you think in this case experts? Thanks in advance for your opinions!

I had a sako forester 243 that fouled soundly. I treated it's bore and did see marked gains. Just took many moons and lots of choice curse words to get the bore down to bare steel.

Keep at it and when you think you're done. Do it all over again.

Any access to a bore scope for reassurance reasons?

Nope no bore scope. Just a strong bore light and reading glasses. I still have a ways to go on the bore before I'm happy though. If I do go with DBC I sure as the devil am not going to shoot it again until I coat the bore...too much work invested so far to clean it up.

It'll work. Might treat it twice on that one if it was mine.

Godogs,

DBC will almost certainly help. The barrel that REALLY convinced me of its worth when I was doing my initial testing is also a Sako .338 barrel that I picked up at a local gun show and had put on an FN Mauser action. It fouled pretty bad at first, so I started using JB Compound to clean it, because solvents took too long.

The fouling grew worse, which I found can be a side-effect of using JB a lot in a bore, because it eventually makes the bore too smooth, resulting in more friction--and my bore-scope showed it to be very smooth.

It finally got to the point where the bore essentially became copper-plated within 20 rounds. Accuracy went from under an inch when clean to over 2 inches within those 20 rounds, and I was seriously considering rebarreling when DBC appeared. That .338 barrel was on the obvious candidates.

It took two applications, but now the barrel goes 75 rounds or so between cleanings. The copper never builds up and accuracy never deteriorates anywhere near the point they did before. Instead I clean when groups aren't consistently under an inch, and cleaning is easy, requiring only an overnight soaking with Montana X-Treme or Wipe-Out.

If you use the directions for barrel-prepping that come with DBC, I guarantee they will get the bore clean. That's because I wrote them, based on the technique to clean my .338's bore, the worst-fouling rifle barrel I've ever owned.

Thanks! Just the information I was hoping to hear. Interesting comments on Sako barrels...love those early rifles...great shooters, but good Lord they have some of the skankiest barrels I have ever seen. Got a pre-64 30/06 almost as bad. Again, everyone's comments are very much appreciated.

What I have heard through various sources, including more than one barrel reborer, is that Sako uses some of the hardest steel in the barrel industry, the reason some reborers won;'t touch 'em. Or at least Sako did in the past. This helps the barrels last longer (I still can see any sign of erosion in my .338 barrel, and bought it used and have shot it a lot) but also makes them harder to machine. This often results in tiny imperfections that can cause fouling.

When you say "applied 2x" do you mean going through the whole process (including "seasoning" by firing rounds down the tube) or do you just wait the four hours following first application and swab the bore w/ UBC a second time, then go out and shoot?

I've got an early-60s custom 03-A3 with a Sako barrel that I'm working on right now.

Thanks a lot for your insights; they've been extraordinarily helpful!

I've been told that Walther barrel steel was very hard, tough on reamers, etc.

DF

efw,

I mean applying once and shooting several rounds, then cleaning with solvents, not JB Compound. Even after only one layer of DBC, even a heavy-fouling bore can be cleaned completely with a good solvent. For this use I usually choose Montana X-Treme Copper Killer, because it works so quickly and thoroughly. (The regular X-Treme will also do the job, as will Wipe-Out, but they work slower than Copper Killer.)

Good luck!

Awesome John thanks again!

I had a PH Mauser that fouled very badly after just a few shots. It took a lot of time and work to get it to bare metal, but after the DBC it would go 10 rounds before it lost any accuracy. It was just a hunting rifle and would get cleaned once a year after a couple of shots so I never recoated the bore.

Try CR-10 to remove copper, but do not leave it to soak too long. Alternating CR-10 and scrubbing with a brush and powder solvent seemed to be quickest for me.

I have a 300 Win Mag that is bad fouler, you could see the copper in the bore after one shot. Took a week to clean the barrel to be able to apply DBC. It cleans easier but you can still see copper after one shot.
I'm going to try the CT Ballistic Silver Tip with the Lubalox coating and see how that runs on the DBC. I think another application of DBC wouldn't hurt either.

I now DBC everything, old barrels, new barrels, factory barrels, premium barrels...

I'm a believer with a Hawkeye borescope...

New barrels, not that big a problem. Getting older barrels really clean without a scope can be a challenge. And clean barrel before application is the secret to DBC working as advertised.

DF

Whats the process for doing a barrel twice?

I too have found CR-10 more effective than Wipe Out.

JB answered that about 5-6 posts back.

He said to clean with copper solvents, not JB bore cleaner. Then clean per the DBC instructions and apply DBC. Scrubbing with JB Bore cleaner will cut into the existing DBC, coopper solvants won't.

DF

The rifles I have done twice I used Wipe Out after curing the first application.

A Sako I owned in 6.5X55 was a terrible fouler as well. Loved the rifle hated to clean it. Never tried DBC, it did not exist when I first had the Sako. The Sako was however accurate and it did not seem to mind a copper fouled barrel. I never let it get really bad but dang that thing was Bit** to clean. I would now try DBC can't see what one has to lose.

Seems the worse a barrel fouls, the better DBC works.

DF