Copper removal

[Alderman]

I've been reloading and shooting since 1994. Generally I clean my rifles every 20 rounds, more often of I've had them out in the weather on a hunt.
I've never really targeted copper when cleaning until today when I used some copper remover on my 257 Roberts. I got many blue patches but never did get it all.
I'm not a competitive shooter and just shooting over the counter rifles trying to get 1" groups at 100 yards and admit it doesn't always happen.

What are the signs of excess copper fouling and is it beneficial to remove it even if I don't get it all?

 

[wisconsinteacher]

Alder, I was in your boat about 3 years ago and looked into different cleaning products. I have been using Sweets 7.62 and it does a good job, but you have to make sure you don't let it sit too long. I am not going to order some Foam-Out, from all the reports I hear, it is great. I feel that getting the rifle as clean as possible is the best answer but I try to foul the barrel with a few shots before I take the rifle hunting. In some rifles, I clean after every range trip, others get cleaned when groups start to open up.

I feel it is a personal thing. Some people clean all the time, others clean once a year. I really don't have a method other than every winter, I deep clean everything and remove as much copper as possible.

 

[Laker_Taker]

I use wipe out foam and it does a amazing job on copper. I usually clean my barrels after each range trip my worst fouler is my 30-378 bee the patches come out deep purple.

Lt

 

[ElmerThud]

Hmm this is a difficult aspect to get clear. For thirty odd years I've cleaned my rifle barrels and got pretty much all the copper out each time. Then it takes at least a few fouling shots to get the rifle shooting neat and tidy again.

Recently...as in the last six months, I've taken to NOT cleaning the copper out just to see how long the accuracy holds.
My reasoning is that as copper is non corrosive, it's not going to harm the barrel to sit there for a while..especially if by just removing the carbon, the barrel accuracy remains consistently good.

So, I'm happy to try this system out and see whether or not it works for me. Time will tell!
ATB

 

[Guybo]

I've been using the barnes cr-10 and it works pretty good but takes some scrubbing. I recently started using the foaming bore cleaner by outers that seems to work quite well. I've heard nothing but positive reviews on the wipeout so im going to give that a try next. Looks to be a little more expensive than what I've been buying but I don't mind paying the extra bucks if it works as good as the reviews say it does.

 

[Dwh7271]

I seem to have accumulated a bunch of different brands and now use mostly CopperZilla. Seems to work without stinking the whole house up and since I use GunZilla to clean and lube made sense to me.
I have the foaming, Sweets, and some others if the effectiveness should change but so far Im satisfied with it.

 

[Horsethief]

To a point different for each rifle, copper fouling in the bore is OK. If or when it becomes thick enough to cause a loss in accuracy, THAT is the sign you have to remove the excess. You're probably not going to get it all, but you can get out enough that it makes an improvement in accuracy.

No matter what removal agent you use, if you also use a copper brush then you will get a reaction from the brush that looks like you're removing copper. You might not be removing hardly any copper but you're getting blue or green splotches on the swab. Avoid the false positive readings by using a nylon brush with the copper remover. I use a .375 caliber brush with my .366 caliber bore (a 9.3x62 Mauser) so I have a bit more force from the brushes going against the bore.

The very best copper removal agent I've heard of us Bore Tech Eliminator. I haven't used it, but a bunch of guys on Weatherby Nation swear by it. I have used Sweet 7.62, some kind of foaming agent, and an older bottle my dad gave me---all of them work, if you follow the directions.

The last point about copper fouling is you don't have to use a removal agent after every practice session. The manufacturers want you to, but it is not needed. If you get down to the 99% copper free bore then your accuracy is probably gone too until you rework the barrel and get some of the gaps filled in with copper. It's not always a bad thing to have in a barrel.

Good luck.

 

[SJB358]

I use Bore Tech Eliminator and their Copper removal solution. Works for me. I clean when needed and accuracy starts to drops.

 

[ElmerThud]

I use Bore Tech Eliminator and their Copper removal solution. Works for me. I clean when needed and accuracy starts to drops.

Yup Scotty - I think that's where I'm at now. I'll give it a good go and see how I get on. I'm guessing it'll be just fine and I'll wish I'd done this years ago. LOL - ATB

 

[ColColt]

I have a problematic barrel that coppers up worse the the others. I've used Sweet's, Bore Tech Eliminator, Patch Out, KG12, and JB Bore Cleaner. It sometimes takes all of them to get all the copper out. Next up is going to be Wipe Out.

A little copper shouldn't hurt but I don't like to let it keep accumulating. It will only be worse to get it out. Jut like lead, an accumulation is not good, IMO.

 

[Wis65x55]

Is their a problem if a person has the Cu solvent soak in the barrel for an extended period of time?
Keith

 

[ColColt]

With Sweet's, yes. The others not so much. You'd have to read the instructions on the container.

 

[Wis65x55]

I have used many of the commercial gun cleaning products. If accuracy is a test of whether or not you've got a damaged bore, then I can report that I've never had any bore damage as a result of using either of these copper cleaners. You would think that if ammonia was such a problem that one of the major custom barrel makers (Kreiger, Hart, Shilen & Lilja) would have some kind of warning about it. But they don’t.
In fact, here is what Lilja has on their website:
“While we’re aware of “bad press" associated with the use of cleaners with ammonia as part of the solution, we have never seen any damage in one of our barrels caused by the use of ammonia. The rumor is that copper-removing cleaners with ammonia will pit and damage the interior surface of a barrel. Ammonia is very effective as a copper remover. We use solvents, such as Butch’s Bore Shine, to remove copper during the break-in. We routinely leave Butch’s solution in the barrel over night too. Again, I repeat, we have never seen a problem with ammonia in the concentrations found in commercial cleaners, in either our chrome-moly or stainless steel barrels. This includes examination with our borescope."
To me, that is a very strong statement.
Keith