New bore cleaning strategies for 2025

[pertnear]

This is kind of a New Years resolution question. I want to “up” my rifle barrel cleaning. I know everyone has there own process & frequency but I want to try a few new things. I’m going to make sure I have quality rods & bore guides (I shoot bolt guns & a several Ruger #1/#3). I ordered some Thorroclean to try out. I’m already a big fan of JB but I never tried it in conjunction with Kroil oil. I noticed something new are the felt pads threaded on the end of the rod. These look like a good idea although I don’t understand how they’re sized. I only shoot .224, .243, .257, .277, .308 calibers. Seems like the pads are not caliber specific? Are these felt pads & special tips worth messing with? And finally, am I just wasting my time without getting a borescope? Maybe this needs to be my first purchase(?) TIA

 

[ericmcd]

I keep it simple, shoot until accuracy degrades then I use wipeout and push a patch through it. Who cares what it looks like through the borescope if the rifle is shooting good
Felt and thorroclean might be good to try but don't over clean or make things more complex than they need to be

 

[TaperPin]

The nice thing about a cheap borescope is you can get a feel for how much work to put into cleaning - without it you might be working too hard.

 

[pertnear]

The nice thing about a cheap borescope is you can get a feel for how much work to put into cleaning - without it you might be working too hard.

What borescopes do you folks recommend & yes I'm "budget-minded".

 

[General RE LEE]

I have JB Bore paste and the felt pads along with the threaded jags to use them. Check out Brownells.

With that said if I want to get a barrel completely clean, I use Patch Out. Its easier, non abrasive and not messy.

I ONLY down to the steel if buildup has reached a point accuracy has degraded. I like to run a few Hoppes patches and dry patch every 50-100 rounds.

 

[TaperPin]

What borescopes do you folks recommend & yes I'm "budget-minded".

It seems everyone is selling an inexpensive scope, but Teslong is very popular because it’s so darn cheap. It plugs into a phone/tablet so make sure you get the correct one - sometimes the $50 model on Amazon is for iPhones and sometimes it’s for windows/android. My iPhone scope has a plug for newer phones and I had to get a $5 adapter. There are flexible ones that are easier to store, and a model with a stand alone screen.

 

[Muddler]

Teslong borescopes on Amazon are relatively cheap. I have one and like it. Don't get the wireless version, get the one that plugs into your phone or computer. IIRC, guys were saying the wireless ones don't always connect and the ones that come with the little screen sometimes take a dump (the screen craps out I mean).

I might be wrong, but I thought that Thorroclean has some abrasives in it. Frank Green from Bartlein has a good thread over on Snipershide about not using abrasive cleaners all of the time and that he's seen barrels get trashed by them. Basically only use them when absolutely necessary. I figure he's a whole lot smarter than me so I take his advice. But I know guys say they use abrasives all the time without issue. Elbows and A-holes as they say.

I've become a fan of using a chamber plug and letting it soak. I use Boretech Eliminator...run a couple of wet patches to get the loose crud out. Pop in the chamber plug, slip an aluminum rod down the barrel and fill it with Eliminator. Let it sit over night or so. Pour it out, run a brush through it, then patch it out. It's normally pretty clean at that point. I might have to run a series of wet/dry patches through it after that depending on how many rounds I fired.

I also took Eric Cortina's advice on cleaning...treat it like your ass...if you use it, clean it. Again, he's a whole lot smarter than me. Don't need to worry about counting rounds and it just bothers me to put a gun away dirty. YMMV

 

[sierracharlie338]

See a lot of guys looking at their bores thinking there is an issue when there really isn’t, normally because they don’t know what they’re looking at. Not saying I do because I don’t have a borescope to look at my rifles. Best advice I’ve seen from actual barrel manufacturers is believe what the barrel is telling you with groups. Clean as needed when accuracy degrades. There is some info on snipers hide from the guy that runs Bartlein barrels that’s worth reading.

 

[wapitibob]

After cleaning, I wipe the bore with alcohol/acetone/etc and dry patch, then finish with Lock-ease suspended graphite. I almost always go to the range with a clean lock ease bore; cold bore shot has the same bore condition every time.