New barrel......

[fullbore762]

Hello,
Have been looking at this forum for some time, but this is my first post so here goes...

I had my rifle re-barrelled at the end of last season (August) and was not able to shoot in it. Therefore i ran a patch of Hoppes through the barrel to store over the winter period. Whilst cleaning the rifle a few weeks ago, i put a dry patch through and it came out green. (Indicating severe copper fouling) I continued to clean till the patches came out clear, and i again ran a wet patch of Hoppes down the barrel so that it could be stored till the end of February when this will be the first available time i will be able to shoot the rifle.
I have been told that when i 'shoot in' the barrel, i should use Sweets 7.62 to remove this copper fouling.
Has anyone got any opinions or advice?

Cheers!

[ovenpaa]

Firstly welcome to F-B(UK)

Copper fouling - How many rounds had you managed to put through the new barrel? I use Forest Bore foam for my rifle, ideally finish shooting and squirt it down whilst still warm, take the rifle home and it is ready to patch out, I use a nylon brush as well. Now I have a theory.... No one copper solvent ever seems to work 100% so I start with Bore foam and finish with a second different copper cleaner, I have a few to choose from.

[IainWR]

Hi

Copper fouling in a new barrel is evidence that the surface is not run in.

I have rewritten this para three times and not got the technicals right. I do know that you need to clean it very regularly ( every 2-3 shots) until it doesn't copper foul. Thereafter it will shoot straighter and clean easier.

Iain

[20series]

I was given the attached procedure by Truflite when I bought my Barrel, might be of use to to as a guide

Cheers
Alan

PS welcome to the forum

[ovenpaa]

The break in procedure from Border is shoot one, foam, wait 24 hours, clean and repeat, great if you have a range in the back garden. At the other end of the spectrum is Schultz & Larsen, When I mentioned I had copper stripped Christel's new S&L with solvents the owner of the company all but exploded and told me he did not care one bit about other peoples barrels but I was not to use solvents on any barrel he made (They are cut rifled, hot tin lapped and have a reduced diameter at the muzzle end. He told me to copper strip before 2,000 rounds.

The bottom line is do what is comfortable for you, I prefer to shoot a couple, clean and repeat for 12-15 rounds and then push it out, if it still shows copper I keep cleaning, depending on the barrel you should be shot in somewhere between 40-50 rounds. Apart from an S&L of course!

[Watcher]

The break in procedure from Border is shoot one, foam, wait 24 hours, clean and repeat, great if you have a range in the back garden. At the other end of the spectrum is Schultz & Larsen, When I mentioned I had copper stripped Christel's new S&L with solvents the owner of the company all but exploded and told me he did not care one bit about other peoples barrels but I was not to use solvents on any barrel he made (They are cut rifled, hot tin lapped and have a reduced diameter at the muzzle end. He told me to copper strip before 2,000 rounds.

The bottom line is do what is comfortable for you, I prefer to shoot a couple, clean and repeat for 12-15 rounds and then push it out, if it still shows copper I keep cleaning, depending on the barrel you should be shot in somewhere between 40-50 rounds. Apart from an S&L of course!

I've got an old (original) S&L barrel on my Angel. What did your man recommend for normal cleaning then?

[ovenpaa]

He is very much against solvents of any form and had a couple of Field Sport competition rifles with 2000+ shots through them that had been cleaned with normal cleaning agents only, they use Danish stuff that I did not recognise, I would imagine it is something similar to Youngs 303, just a gentle removal of the powder residue and a rust inhibitor is required. Apparently S&L barrels are built with a slight taper towards the muzzle end and this means they are not as susceptible to copper fouling.

Now I have to admit this all seems a bit wrong to me but the person we spoke to at the factory was the owner and designer, they build everything in house including the actions, bolts and triggers, they even build the 'scope mounts and rings on site. They sell everything they make and there is always a waiting list. Of particular interest was the barrel making facility. They only cut rifle and each cut is so fine it cannot be measured but it can be calculated (His words) Once the rifles are cut they are lapped with a lapping tool cast from hot tin, some things he was very open about including his future plans and releases but a couple of areas he clammed up on. I think we can expect some exciting new things from S&L over the next couple of years, if we see them over here is a different matter...

If you ever get over to the west side of middle Jutland it is worth a look.

[Watcher]

Thanks for that.

When I have used either Hoppes of Sweets I've had some colour but not that much. Maybe because the barrel is quite old now. I'll go easy on it from now on.

[andrewh]

I've been told not to leave copper solvent in a stainless barrel for an extended period, eventually it can attack the steel.

[ovenpaa]

I've been told not to leave copper solvent in a stainless barrel for an extended period, eventually it can attack the steel.

Welcome to F-B(UK) Andrew. I agree and my view is any solvent capable of removing copper may well have an impact on the integrity of the barrel if left in contact with it for a long enough period. Border make stainless barrels, in fact the make very good stainless barrels and I have one which has had many thousands of rounds through it and is still doing the job, they say foam for 24 hours and I am sure they have researched this at length but I feel it is excessive and I do wonder if it is a 'Get out of jail' card. Imagine buying a Border barrel and for some unknown reason it does not perform as expected, one of the first things they may ask is did you run it in as we recommend? I strongly doubt many people are in a position to shoot one, wait 24 hours, shoot one....

Personally it would take me a months to shoot in at that rate as I do not have a local range nor am I able to dedicate every single day of my life to the range....