cleaning question

[mescalero1]

I have been cleaning the .243
Hoppes
JB bore compound
Butch's bore brite
3dozen patches
they are still coming out with some black on them, the green has gone away.
Should I keep going?
Starting to worry, bit the bore is nice and shiny

[Chuck 100 yd]

I stop before the point you are at. Clean enough!

[mescalero1]

Thanks

[J Miller]

m1,

You might be seeing the remains of the JB and Butches on the patches. This stuff turns black as it works if I remember right. That has to stick in the poors of the metal.

Personally I don't use abrasive pastes in any of my firearms. I don't believe in it.

My cleaning routine is thus:

>Shoot gun, get it FILTHY
>Go home, stick gun in corner till all the ammo, empty brass, is sorted, and all the other shooting things are put away.
>Forget FILTHY gun setting in corner
>Two weeks later remember I should have cleaned FILTHY gun sitting in corner
>Pick up FILTHY gun from corner. Open action or pull bolt, whichever. Run a brass brush through the bore several times to break loose all the carbon and saturate the bore with Hoppe's #9. Turn gun muzzle down on a folded up rag and stick it back in the corner. Let Hoppe's #9 do the work.
>Repeat as above until the patches come out clean, or until I get bored with the routine. Oil now cleaned gun and put it away.


That's about the way I do it. Except lately I've just ignored the darn things. I haven't cleaned my Rugers since last April. I might not clean them till next year.

Joe

[mescalero1]

I got freaked out about this one. Realized my lazy brother never cleaned it.
He's such a putz sometimes.

[Andrew]

I have the same pattern as Joe when it comes to cleaning stuff. I doesn't work too well on the BP guns or the ones with surplus ammo though.

[Sixgun]

Yea, for some reason, there's always a little crud hiding in the nooks and crannies, you know, very akin to the Democrats.

What I do and do not recommend, ( I tend to live life on the edge) is after cleaning the best you can, dip a bore brush in carberator cleaner, scrub with that and then slam down a few patches with that stuff 2 + 2. Talk about clean!! But...............................the vapors from that stuff will make your offspring look like tree branches. If it gets in your eye's, plan on buying a seeing eye dog. The flammability of 2 + 2 will start a forest fire on a rainy day AND it will eat up any finish on the stock, plus, it will destroy plastic parts that are of a low quality.--------Sixgun

[TedH]

I don't think I've ever had a bore so clean that patches would come out clean. I don't think it's possible!

[JReed]

The only time I have gotten a gun so clean that the patches came out clean is when I am turning an M16 back into the armory. For my own guns I never scrub them that clean. Hoppes #9 and CLP is what I use and that gets them clean enough. Get the bore nice and wet leave over night and patch out in the morning works great for me.

[mescalero1]

I don't usually go this far, but this one was so bad I wanted to get down to bedrock.

[Modoc ED]

Hoppes #9 and RemOil get the job done. If I know I will be in wet weather or before going duck/goose hunting in a wet environment, I will spray my rifle/shotgun down with Corrosion X. It forms a film on the gun and prevents rust.

[marlinman93]

Be sure to oil that bore after getting it so clean! The metal will be so bare that it has more chance of rusting.

[mescalero1]

I did,oily patch,them clean patch.

[kimwcook]

Generally, I try to let my dirty guns sit for about a week or so. The pore impregnation of crud has to have a little time in expelling itself. I then run patches with Butch's Bore Shine or Hoppe's 9 until they're relatively clean. Depends on what type of ammo I'm shooting, cast or jacketed. Cast, I'm looking for lead. Jacketed, I'm looking for copper. Run some oil down the bbl. with a patch and then one or two dry ones to soak up excess. A quick wipe around the action with some solvent for the big stuff and then a very light oiling. I try to avoid the harsher cleaners like Sweets or some type of copper solvent unless they're really loaded up. A total, thorough cleaning for my Rem. countersniper rifle was a multi-day affair of soak, clean, bush and repeat with various solvents until I didn't get any blue/green residue on my patch. The stronger solvents always tended to leave a black/grey residue whenever they were used, on a clean bore or not.

My duty sidearm, a Les Baer 45 ACP, which doesn't see any cast, is usually cleaned by totally dismantling the slide and cleaning all parts sparkling clean. Sometimes that includes a carb cleaner wash. The lower gets a wipe down with solvent and maybe a once a year total tear down for cleaning and lubing. Then appropriate lubing of the rails, bushing and guide rod with a high tech grease. I don't use any lube anywhere else other than a small dab on the sear and hammer hooks.