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.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

What about the trend to not clean?

 

[j3h8]

Clean it when it needs. Not because the Internet makes you think it needs it. My primary hunting right hasn't seen anything other than a oiled rag in the outside, and a bore snake if I feel like it, in at least a decade. Critters still have no clue the bullet wasn't as clean as it could have been if I cleaned my rifle more often when bored.

 

[sveltri]

What about the trend to not clean?

Clean or don't clean, just do what's right for you. Test it, don't just take someone else's word for it.

 

[Matt5266]

I'd say your wasting your time cleaning at all, but to each their own ...

 

[Gar]

I started using Flitz to clean my new rifle barrels. I will use it on a brand new barrel before the very first round is fired. All my barrels are AI or Bartlein barrels.

A good friend (former Army Marksmanship Unit shooting team member) says that they would Flitz all their rifle barrels before the very first round is fired. The Flitz polish takes all the imperfections out of the bore and improves accuracy, cleaning, and barrel life.

I did some research on the product and it would seem its use is not uncommon or harmful to the barrel.

 

[justin davis]

the guys that say you don’t need to clean ever…I’m not sure I buy it. I want to get on board but I’ve seen accuracy degrade and cleaning tighten it up. Just recently my 6.5 prc started shooting bigger groups. I was trying to figure out what the deal was. It has it had about 180 shots thru it since last cleaning. It Was shooting weird.

I cleaned barrel and the group tighten right up

 

[hereinaz]

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

Which advice on cleaning from Cortina? He has changed over time.

 

[hereinaz]

the guys that say you don’t need to clean ever…I’m not sure I buy it. I want to get on board but I’ve seen accuracy degrade and cleaning tighten it up. Just recently my 6.5 prc started shooting bigger groups. I was trying to figure out what the deal was. It has it had about 180 shots thru it since last cleaning. It Was shooting weird.

I cleaned barrel and the group tighten right up

Who says never clean? I don’t ever remember that. I think you are over simplifying it way too far.

The “no clean” guys say they never clean until accuracy degrades. Which is what you said.

 

[justin davis]

Who says never clean? I don’t ever remember that. I think you are over simplifying it way too far.

The “no clean” guys say they never clean until accuracy degrades. Which is what you said.

Ok yea maybe I misunderstood. I know some
Guys say don’t clean until accuracy changes. But I thought I remembered some guys say they don’t ever clean. But maybe I miss understood

 

[huntnful]

Who says never clean? I don’t ever remember that. I think you are over simplifying it way too far.

The “no clean” guys say they never clean until accuracy degrades. Which is what you said.

Ok yea maybe I misunderstood. I know some
Guys say don’t clean until accuracy changes. But I thought I remembered some guys say they don’t ever clean. But maybe I miss understood

Just 6 posts up the guy says cleaning at all is a waste of time. People say it fairly often.

I like to clean and see the changes in the barrel with a borescope. Necessary or not, I just like to see it and learn.

Thorroclean with a stiff nylon brush works great on carbon, but hardly touches the copper. Bore Tech copper eliminator is excellent on copper removing. Thorroclean is a slight abrasive so you don’t have to get crazy with it.

 

[hereinaz]

Ok yea maybe I misunderstood. I know some
Guys say don’t clean until accuracy changes. But I thought I remembered some guys say they don’t ever clean. But maybe I miss understood

There may be a few that say they absolutely never clean, I shouldn’t say no one says never clean, never say never…

But, the general debate over when to clean, goes from clean as often as every time they shoot and to the other end is only clean when accuracy degrades.

There’s justification for cleaning at different intervals, it really comes down to what makes you feel confident so your head is clear.

The guys who clean a lot can mess things up just as much as the guys who clean too little. Gotta be smart.

I am generally on the clean when accuracy degrades, with the exception of proactively watching for carbon rings in the throat.