i was in Louisville this weekend and picked up a bottle of Butch's Bore Shine at Bass Pro Shop. It says that patches are all that is needed. Has anyone used this? How does it work?

I have used it for about 10 years. I really like it but I still brush my rifle barrels also. I will say if you push three wet patches through the bore it starts to look clean but I still have brush them.

Dink

Try wipe out, you may never use butches again..

Gave it up years ago. I use Wipe-out or if time doesn't allow I use Bore Tech Eliminator.

MtnHtr

Used Butches for years for the regular cleanings. Patch out with accelerator for down to the metal cleanings. You still need a brush with Butches to get the powder and carbon out but after that wet patches beat down the copper just fine.

I've heard good things about Wipeout but I still use liquids because I've accumulated a pretty good supply. Butches is one of my favorites because it does a nice job on mild copper fouling as well as powder fouling. For heavy copper I still go to the Barnes CR-10 though because it is much quicker (but the powder fouling must still be removed first). I've found that I don't need to use brushes anymore either if I just allow the solvent to work chemically for a few minutes before pushing it out with a fresh patch. Now a bore that hasn't been cleaned in a while is a different story. By the way, I keep a small AAA flashlight on my cleaning bench and periodically check the bore during the cleaning process to see where we are copper wise.
Lots of opinions on cleaning products and methods out there, this is just my $.02.
Brian

I been using it for some years now. No complaints here.

I've used it for quite a few years. I use it with patches only - I don't brush out my rifle barrels. Over the last 5 years, I use it and wipeout. I'll run a couple of wet patches with bbs thru the bore to get the big stuff out, apply wipeout and later on a couple more patches of bbs. Seems to work. I finish with Kroil...

Not to start a fire fight but you guys that don't use brushes at some point when cleaning with Butches have tried using a brush after it looked clean and seen what comes out???

Wipeout specifically says clean powder and fouling out first before using Wipeout. Patchout claims no brushes needed but again it seems to work better if you clean normally first then use Patchout with the accelerator. No doubt the stuff cleans down to the bare metal and it often takes 10 shots to settle the barrel back down.

Been using it for years almost when it first came out, I think in the mid 90's. I use it with Nylon brushes only, then patch out. Testing it and all the others available at the time, and inspecting barrels with a bore scope, it was by far the best and fastest with the least amount of effort. Twenty passes with soaked Nylon brush adding solvent at the muzzle on the tenth pass, then let it sit a few minutes, patch out the gunk, another pass with a damp patch and your done. Never compared it against Wipe Out but when I tried it right after it came out it was just too messy for me. Prefer Butch's.

I used Butches for a couple years then tried Wipe-Out and now use Patch-Out pretty much exclusively on my rifles.
Butches still is my 1st choice for handguns though and I found it works great on carbon and will remove slight copper fouling too. Brushing is needed with Butches IMO though.

I'd use Butch's if nothing else was available.

After using most of the solvents on the market, these days I prefer a mixture of Shooter's Choice and Kroil (about 75/25 SC to Kroil) for powder fouling and Wipeout or Montana Extreme 50BMG for copper.

What amazes me is how someone can use Butches for that many years and think its a good product..I see Butches as about the same as using distilled water! You get clean patches because it doesn't work not because it does!!

I like Wipe Out, Blue Goop that I mix, Barnes CR-10, and Hoppes for powder residue..and profusly oil the bore.

Ray~
If you notice, I DO have a bore scope and I DID compare the cleaning against all available a the time. Butch's quickly became the norm for the benchrest crowd as well but I don't know what they use now. I'll be happy to let you inspect any of my barrels after I clean them. You won't find one speck of copper anywhere and it's virtually effortless. It's not as strong as Montana Extreme, granted, and maybe not quite as good as that Barnes stuff, but it's not as messy as Wipe Out and far better than Shooter's Choice and not as involved and time consuming as Sweet's. Not much to dislike if you would care to do some actual comparisons. I did, head to head. So, you don't know what you're talking about!

I like & use Butch's, but it doesn't really do much for any serious level of copper fouling.

Today, I use Ultra Bore Coat & that makes life a lot easier no matter what solvent you use.

KG-12 is a great copper remover with no odor, FWIW.

MM

Can you leave Butch's to soak for an extended period of time without having your barrel melt away?

Yep. After my initial scrub I'll leave it in there for whatever time it takes to do other chores, such as reloading. I've left it in there for as long as overnight, but too much evaporates over that length of time so about 3 hours is max so that when the first dry patch goes through and comes out soacked. The secret, if any, is to use nylon brushes, the bronze brushes only last a couple of cleanings and they're eaten up by the "distilled water".

BBS is a good bore cleaner. I've used it for years. I've gotta try that Wipe Out stuff though...

Ray, It might amaze you that I think Butch's is good stuff but if you would use it you might change your mind.

You know what amazes me is that someone claims a bunch of huge muledeer are killed every year on the ranches that he books for but can't post a single picture....That amazes me.

Dink

I use Butch's all the time. It works better than any of the other solvents IMHO. I only tried one of the foam cleaners and it was junk.

I use IOSSO Bore Paste on a patch wrapped around a Nylon brush and it gets rid of all copper and the carbon ring in 50 strokes, about 5 minutes. Then I patch out with Butch's. When I have the time, I just let the barrel soak with Butch's.

I tried KG12 and so far, was unimpressed. And it Stinks to high heaven! Not an ammonia stink, just stench! I haven't given up on it just yet though. The borescope doesn't lie. Get some IOSSO.

Used too. But the newest Bore Tech stuff has it beat hands down. None of that bad smell your wife complains about and does a better job.

Folks can screw around, chasing copper with various magic cleaners.

Or they can cut the chase and settle on two bore cleaners and save some $$.

Bore Tech Eliminator

Foaming Bore Cleaner Vs Wipeout Thread

Neither cleaner stinks either.



MtnHtr

Butch's didn't seem to remove copper fowling much at all. I used one bottle then didn't replace it. Hoppe's #9 actualy removed copper better than Butch's. For copper removal I now use Patchout mostly.

Butch's often, Shooter Choice regular and brass brushes routinely.

I gave up on Butch's for copper, though it's okay for powder fouling. The copper get the Montana Extreme 50 BMG. That works fast, but the ammonia odor is quite strong.

Used Butch's Bore Shine for years and always with copper brushes. It worked ok ...... used Shooters Choice w/ Kroil at the standard 75/25 mix and that worked ok too. Heck I used Sweet's 7.62 carefully for years and it was the schiznit!

Barnes CR-10 works great imo and I still have some and use it. And I've used WipeOut in the past and still like it.

But something inside me just feels the need to use a copper brush ........ can't figure it out. Might be old age & senility setting in early ...........

The Montana Exreme Bore Cleaner is fantastic and my current favorite. Haven't tried their Copper Cream but heard it is also fantastic from a local rifle loonie buddy of mine.

I've always been a big believer in bore paste ocassionaly and J-B Bore paste is probably my favorite, although there is nothing wrong with Issoso either. A little elbow work, but it sure makes a big difference in a factory barrel IMO.

And I keep some J-B Bore Brite in the cleaning box for an initial cleaning on that newly aquired pre-owned rifle too. It really gets everything out and leaves a final polish that makes regular cleaning much easier from that point forward.

Different flavors for different palates.

After any cleaning I always finish with 1 wet patch using Microil, then 1 dry patch and repeat. Just a stupid ritual from another rifle loonie.

Heard great things about Butch's Bore Shine, wasn't impressed.
Gone back to a couple of goes with Hoppes, dry patch out, couple of patches of Sweets 7.62, dry patch out and then oil for storage.

I prefer Blue Wonder gel cleaner. It doesn't stink up the place like most of the other cleaners I've used, and it leaves the bore looking like a mirror.

I've also used Wipe Out. Works great, but it has an ammonia smell to it and it's very easy to waste the stuff. A little goes a very long way, and you'll get crud out of your bore that you never dreamed even existed before hand.

Dink and Bobski,
Just my opine..I have had a big bottle of Butches for several years now, just never had good luck with it removing copper, and not much on powder residue IMO...Much prefer the Wipe Out...Amonia is what removes copper, nothing else seems to work..

My concoction of Bluegoop is without a doubt the best copper remover of all, one pass and 10 minutes and its all out as a rule, but you must be carefull to get it ALL out of the barrel as it will get a barrel so surgically clean that it will rust in a few hours...I follow with a scalding hot water rinse and patches until totally dry, then oil profusly.

+1 on the nylon brushes.

A tip for using Wipe-Out, take the goofy cone off the nozzle and wrap some trimmed electrical tape around the nozzle so it fits snug in the bore. Give it a light squirt and wait a few seconds for the foam to reach your bore guide. I've wasted little since going to this method, never could get a tight seal using the cone.

MtnHtr

Yea,works great.Follow the instructions,SHAKE WELL,DON'T USE BRONZ/COPPER BRUSH,it will eat them away.Heavy copper fouling,plug barrel,let sit,clean with patch.Better yet,if your barrel fouls bad,have it lapped,or buy a Sako;)

If you like Butch's, you will simply be head over heals with the Montana Extreme products that are all oil based.

In my experience, Butches worked about as well as Kerosene.

My custom barrels are not bad about copper fouling, so all I use is Butch's. It works just fine on carbon and what little copper fouling I get.

On factory barrels, I use Hoppe's #9 for carbon, and Sweet's 7.62 for copper.

Butch's Bore Shine is really good stuff. It work's fine but I don't think it's as aggressive as some of the really strong ammonia solvents. I like it. Thanks to you guys, I bought some Wipe Out from Midway and it gets the bores sparkling clean with very little effort. Thanks for the tip Mountain Hunter. I've used it twice now and filled up my action each time and had it drip out the end of the barrel on the floor. It's like that foam insulation / sealer stuff in a can that you buy at Lowes. A little squirt goes a long way!

I use butches when I've not shot alot of rounds or on guns with smooth barrels that don't foul. Like others have posted if you leave it sit a while (say an hour) and run another batch you will get copper out. Sometimes I use it before wipeout in heavily fouled barrels....and I still like the ez of wipeout when alot of cleaning needs to be done.
As a side note I came accross a box of bullets the other day that had been stored for 3 years. I had a note on the box of bullets that I had removed tarnish from the bullets with boreshine on a rag. Over 3 years of storage the tarnish didn't come back at all. So I'd have to think there is something pretty good in BB to keep corrosion from happening if you don't get it all out.

I should mention if it's a boltgun you should leave a bore guide in place so no foam enters the mag well or lug recesses. I shine a flashlite inside the bore guide to check how far the foam has traveled.

MtnHtr

Butches is a perfectly good bore cleaner, it is just not as aggressive as some of the newer stuff. I have 10 different ones on the shelf and play with them frequently. COPPER removers that work good (and I use them AFTER I have pushed the black crud out with something else) are: Montana Extreme, Wipe-out, CR-10, Bore tech, Extreme Copper melt et al.

I avoid the abrasives unless really needed.