Copper fouling and quality bullets

[GKPrice]

I may very well be incorrect. I have only heard this from a couple people but never researched it for myself. Just seemed concevable to me that something in the powder residue could negatively affect the bore. But I've never looked very far into it

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I really don't know if what I've heard or read is true, carbon fouling is hard and getting it out of a barrel is "harder" but I don't know if it is truly damaging to a barrel, I've also read that there is a component to barrel fouling that actually reduces friction for the next shot - I am going to give Formidilosis's approach an honest try because if nothing else, it would make MY life immensely easier and less messy (plus handing those solvents is outright unhealthy) use rubber gloves that don't melt on contact ALWAYS !

 

[Big Tex]

I have had good results with Barnes CR10 to address copper fouling. Chase it with a quality gun oil after following the instructions on the bottle.

Like many have stated, barrel quality is a major factor in fouling. If shooting solid copper bullets, my experience is the accuracy improves a few rounds after cleaning and will start to fall off when fouling becomes an issue. I have witnessed accuracy fall off in as little as 30 rounds with poorer quality barrels. Have a couple rifles that never see issues with hundreds of rounds.

 

[Mister Shush]

to be accurate things need to be consistent. the most consistent barrel is one that is fouled. if a bore is clean, the conditions of the bore change every shot until it becomes fouled, then they stay consistent for often very many rounds. I used to chase my tail during load development because i would clean between range sessions and could never find a consistently accurate load. once i stopped removing copper fouling all my rifles shot better.

I have heard that powder fouling can be somewhat corrosive so i do run some hoppes if the gun will sit for awhile. this,however, removes little copper.

good luck!

Powder is not corrosive, but older ammunition may have been built with corrosive primers (mercury being a primary ingredient) and those primers left behind a residue that corroded barrel bores and chambers. This is particularly an issue with surplus ammo from former Soviet Bloc countries. Cleaning solvent does not neutralize corrosive residue. The only thing that effectively does is water. Modern ammo is manufactured with non-corrosive primers, so don't be worried about your rifle. You're good to go.

 

[bhylton]

Powder is not corrosive, but older ammunition may have been built with corrosive primers (mercury being a primary ingredient) and those primers left behind a residue that corroded barrel bores and chambers. This is particularly an issue with surplus ammo from former Soviet Bloc countries. Cleaning solvent does not neutralize corrosive residue. The only thing that effectively does is water. Modern ammo is manufactured with non-corrosive primers, so don't be worried about your rifle. You're good to go.

Interesting. Thank you for the information. Hopefully it will help the OP as well

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[Mister Shush]

I have been hesitant to post, as I didn't want it to seem contrarian... again.

For those that clean their barrel after each time they shoot it, or at set intervals, what is it that you believe you are accomplishing? If the gun hasn't started shooting bad, why are you messing with it? Shoot them and forget cleaning until they start shooting bad. That may end up being A LOT of rounds.

I haven't cleaned my comp 308 ever. This group was shot a few days ago- 10 rounds at 100 yards. The barrel is approaching 3,000 rounds without so much as a patch.

This is 10 rounds at 100yds while re zeroing a T3. Again this barrel is right at or just over 3,000 rounds without anything being done.

Granted magnums sometimes tend to want to be cleaned sooner, but I still go 150-300 rounds on average with 300WM, 243's, etc. There's a lot of myths in shooting that show themselves when you start testing them.... excessive barrel cleaning is one.

I have two AR-15's that have each gone over 4000 rounds in various training courses with nothing but bolt carrier group wipe downs and a few drops of lubricant every 500 rounds or so. They are combat effective to 300 yards all day long and function reliably.

 

[Mister Shush]

Hey, I'm not trying to stir the pot or anything but what are your thoughts on frequent cleaning during barrel break-in?

I clean my hunting rifle about once a year (and it sees almost zero copper fouling), but I cleaned it frequently (and carefully!) during break-in and it was definitely retaining quite a bit of copper during the first 100 rounds or so.

See my comments above. Copper fouling is not affecting your rifle. You would likely need to shoot thousands of rounds before fouling of any kind affected your accuracy. I have used 7.62x51mm bolt rifles in austere conditions that have functioned flawlessly with no degradation in accuracy after hundreds of rounds. I would conduct wipe downs of the bolt and lubricate where needed. I also use rubber muzzle caps to prevent debris infiltration (I highly recommend them). I have M-1 Garands, Swedish Mausers, Swiss K-31's and AK platforms that have never had their bores cleaned once after hundreds or even thousands of rounds. They have suffered no accuracy issues. On the other hand, I have seen Marines, against instructions, use copper solvent to clean the bore of a 7.62x51mm rifle and then have loose groups and point of impact shifts as a result. This required a period of non-cleaning to restore consistency. A good friend of mine took a tack driving Swiss K-31 WWII rifle and cleaned it with copper solvent and the groups went from about 1.5 MOA to 3 MOA before coming back down again after 200 rounds without cleaning.

 

[TheCougar]

Awesome, thanks guys!

 

[Formidilosus]

I have two AR-15's that have each gone over 4000 rounds in various training courses with nothing but bolt carrier group wipe downs and a few drops of lubricant every 500 rounds or so. They are combat effective to 300 yards all day long and function reliably.

If we're talking 5.56 work guns....

Block II M4A1 with 4,500+ rounds through it never cleaned-

Zero confirm after remounting scope. 10 rounds Mk262, 100 yards, prone with bipod.

Clean them them when they need it.