Can't remove Copper Fouling during Barrel Break in

[cjaviator]

So I just recently put together a 6 GT with a CRB prefit barrel on a lone peak arms fuzion. I have fired three rounds through the gun so far, and in between each shot I cleaned with Thurroclean per the instructions on the bottle to follow the gunsmiths barrel break in procedure of removing all the copper between firings for the first 10 rounds or so.

I just received a borescope in the mail so I figured I would put it down the barrel and see what things looked like where I left off after the last cleaning after the third round went down the tube. There was still quite a bit of copper in the bore in the last 10 " or so, so I cleaned it again with the Thurroclean.

Put the borescope back in and there is still (what to me seems to be) quite a bit of copper in the last roughly 10 inches of the barrel. I am using quality rods with nylon brushes, with a bore guide.

Am I over thinking this? Should I be trying a different copper remover such as sweets? Should I just say screw it to the barrel break in procedure all together?? Attached are some photos of the bore.

 

[Dmoua]

Just shoot it.

 

[35WhelenAI]

Is the last 10 inches of bore at the muzzle, which is what I consider to be the last 10 in, or at the breech? To confirm. I clean mine after every shooting session, but leave it fouled after verifying zero before the hunt. Many guys have gone different ways and said any cleaning is overrated and not needed or can be work that doesn't have any effect. I take the chance and spend time cleaning simply out of habit and works for me.

 

[cjaviator]

Last 10 inches on the muzzle/crown side.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[35WhelenAI]

For what it's worth, my goal shooting Barnes Bullets, which typically paint the bore with more copper than traditional gilded jackets, when it's clean at the muzzle I consider the barrel clean. For a hundred years bore scopes were not an item any folks had or certainly thought they needed. To my mind if a borescope is going to change the way a guy cleans a rifle when they've been cleaned hundreds of years without them, spend the money on more reloading components in the New Year and revaluate the minutiae.

 

[SDHNTR]

That’s not significant fouling by any means. Shoot the gun.

 

[HandgunHTR]

Should I just say screw it to the barrel break in procedure all together??

Yes. Just shoot it and let the target tell you when it is time to clean.

 

[Article 4]

If its accurate, that little bit of fouling isn't really doing anything. Obviously watch it to see if it gets worse. You dont want to go hacking away at it though and potentially ruin a good barrel.

Sometimes it helps to try another cleaning agent...maybe a specific copper killer like Montana Extreme - sometime to me its like bullets, some barrels just like or dont like certain ones.

 

[General RE LEE]

I consider copper towards the muzzle as copper wash and not fouling. I would not worry about it whatsoever. I used to worry about it but I now let how the gun is shooting dictate what I need to do.

Unlike many on here, I do like to clean out the bulk carbon every 50-100 rounds. I do this with patches, a bronze brush and Hoppes. I don't go after copper unless my groups start to open up and then I use Patch Out.

In many bores, cleaning down to the bare steel opens up groups. Some copper and carbon build up "seasons" the bore and its starts to shoot tight groups.

 

[wind gypsy]

Should I just say screw it to the barrel break in procedure all together??

yes.

 

[cjaviator]

Cool thanks guys.

 

[77TMK]

Stop doing barrel breakin. It’s made up nonsense to sell more barrels. Some barrels lap themselves over the first 100 rounds and will “settle”, but cleaning it with some sacred ritual will not make a difference.

 

[RyanT26]

Return the borescope, buy more ammo with that money, skip the break in process, put the cleaning brush’s and solvents in the attic, and just go shoot.
Why people care what the bore looks like is beyond me.

 

[TaperPin]

The trick to get better results with any of the copper or carbon removers is to let it sit in the barrel for 10 minutes, run another wet patch through and if here is still color coming off let it sit another 10 minutes, rinse and repeat. Give the chemicals time to work.

 

[SloppyJ]

That's not bad at all. The most important question is how did it shoot? I don't subscribe to the never clean your gun train, I think that's a bit much but I've been pushing out my cleanings for hundreds of rounds now. I've noticed no difference in consistency and maybe even it helping.

Growing up at was clean it after it every use. I understand that's all we knew at the time but there's a happy medium between the two extreme options.

Keep the borescope, it can be a great tool to check all kinds of things on your rifle like trim length. But take what you see with a grain of salt.

 

[Axlrod]

If you want to remove copper, a bronze brush will work better than a nylon brush. But there is no reason to remove that copper in your barrel, or to do the "break in". I have a borescope, but the most important thing to look at is your targets, not the barrel.

 

[General RE LEE]

I personally have developed a carbon ring in the leade of my Tikka CTR 6.5 CM. If anything, I would get a Dewey Chamber rod and a good bronze 20 or 12 gauge bronze brush and periodically spin that brush in the chamber with a good solvent. Cleaning with a bore guide never touches that area and carbon can build up and create pressure spikes.

 

[Thegman]

I've not been a break in guy, but on the few that I have, I have seen less and less copper fouling on those that show fouling to start with.

I just use something like Wipeout with patches only and just get the copper out after a few shots, a few times, until I see less and less. I don't clean and clean until patches come out completely white.

Of course, less copper fouling could be the case over time without that cleaning, IDK, but the cleaning doesn't seem to hurt anyway.

The main reason I don't want a bunch of copper is that I've looked down bores that were literally green with copper oxide. Probably not a great condition for the bore...???

 

[Article 4]

I am a believer in barrel break in. Especially for button rifled barrels. Disclaimer though, I quit using button barrels about 10 years ago. I am a cut rifle guy, Even in my ARs.

I use the first 10 shots during break in to ensure:

• Getting the rifle zeroed and ready for ladder testing.
• Seeing how the barrel reacts to cleaning and what do the patches tell me.
• Some barrels take 40-50 rounds to fully “season” and become consistent. i get that process started.

IME using 10-12 rounds to accomplish this has Zero affect on barrel life, and does absolutely no harm.

Most barrels that have gone through this process are now 10 patch barrels to fully clean.

 

[Article 4]

Stop doing barrel breakin. It’s made up nonsense to sell more barrels. Some barrels lap themselves over the first 100 rounds and will “settle”, but cleaning it with some sacred ritual will not make a difference.

Help me understand what you are saying - in a barrel that is projected to last 2000 rounds, that it will now reduce that to 1990 rounds due to just barrel break in?