Shotgun cleaning problems

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kaaskop49

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Really don't know if this is the proper area for this.
Although I've cleaned SGs for decades without too much difficulty, I'm currently having problems with the modern-day Rio/Royal slug and buck loads. They leave a plastic residue that has the barrel looking like a sewer pipe, even with as few as 5 rounds.
I'm able to remove about 85% with a TREMENDOUS amount of 'elbow steam' but it's becoming onerous. My 'smith once polished a bbl out for me, but I can't keep going to him every time I shoot a SG. I have no access to power tools, nor would I know how to use them. Can anyone help?

Thanking you in advance.
 
remove the barrel
wet a patch with some paint stripper.
get a good coat of it in the bore and leave it sit for about 10 - 15
wire brush the fungus out and give it an oil soaked patch chaser
 
They've been making........

They've been making plastic shotgun shells and wads in contact with the barrel since at least the 60's. Why after 50 years does somebody make a shell that melts in barrel??:confused:
 
rwsmith said:
They've been making plastic shotgun shells and wads in contact with the barrel since at least the 60's. Why after 50 years does somebody make a shell that melts in barrel??:confused:
Click to expand...

because the shells hes using are made in Spain.
Here in the states we use polyethylene (IIRC)
They seem to be using ABS .. different animal, different properties.
 
GKC said:
Why not just buy different/better ammo? I'd be darned if I'd go through all that!
Click to expand...

same here ... though Ive run into this sort of thing as a matter of course .. and subsequently avoided doing it again.
for what ever reason .. he's fond of this ammo for the time being.
Quite frankly I'll stick to the Lyman 525 grain sabot cast slug.
easy to work with and very effective.
 
After quite a few hundred rounds in my trap gun the plastic does tend to accumulate in the choke tubes. I use brake and parts or carburetor cleaner and let it soak for awhile, then a "pull through" cleaner a few times. Occasionally I have to take a bronze brush on my cordless drill. I really should clean it more frequently.
 
As H Richard pointed out, the residue from the plastic wads
in shotguns sticks to the barrel. Ordinary cleaning stuff, like
Shooters Choice, will not take it out without a lot of brushing.

I know one very good shooter, Hall of Famer as a matter of fact, who never cleans his barrel and doesn't care if the plastic accumulates. He believes it makes his trap gun shoot tighter.

I rarely clean my guns, but when I do, I simply drop a cleaning rod in my drill, with a brass bristle brush and run it through the bore a few times, following that with a dry patch, then with Kroil or whatever I happen to have to clean guns with.

They do make specialized cleaners for shotgun barrels and choke tubes that take out the plastic and they work well. So does Gun Scrubber, Brake Cleaner and Acetone, but one doesn't want to get any of those on the wood as they will remove the finish and, if there is any plastic in the gun, it will (or can) damage it, too.

I have seen some plastic build-up that is so thick the gun owner takes a pocket knife and scrapes it out. That works and I have never seen it hurt the bore. But, I clean my guns often enough, albeit rarely, that this has never happened to me.

Bob
 
I'd sure change ammo! But which specific products are meant to clean out the plastic from normal US loads? Like the OP, I don't have access to power tools, even a drill.

Are German RWS or DWM loads with Brenneke slugs loaded with that ABS plastic?

Are those firms still making ammo? I haven't seen any here in years. I know the Brenneke slug is supposed to be the best, if one has to fire slugs. (I don't live in a state that requires shotgun-only deer hunting.)
 
Thank you & keep 'em coming!

To all Forum members so far who have taken the time to answer and help: I cannot thank you enough! There's a world of experience out there and I really need some now!

To those who ask why am I using that ammo, and why not use something better, please try to understand. It's not only .22LR and .223/5.56 that's hard to come by. Before this panic, LGS's and Walmart carried tons of R-P, W-W and Fed slugs/buck. Southern Nevada shooters would go through this ammo like no tomorrow: the shell casings in the desert testify to this.

It's not as easy to obtain the American-made ammo anymore, but the supply has begun to open up lately. I've been doing a lot of SG work lately, and 3 boxes of Walmart ammo (15 rounds) at a time won't cut it. I'm also reluctant to drive around in 100+ degree heat to buy dribs and drabs... The Rio/Royal has been available, and despite the fouling, shoots or patterns pretty well.

Hey, it's all good, people. Love you all for your help. Good shooting!
 
All shotgun ammo will leave residue from the wads, some more, some less. In handloading, there are wads, like those from Downrange, that leave a bit less, but it's still there.

I shoot reloads and factory shells from Winchester, Federal and Remington and all leave plastic in my bore.

What will clean it without lots of scrubbing or the use of a drill?

RGS is the best. Available at most major trap shoots from the vendors (and I imagine at big skeet shoots, too), it runs about $15 per bottle and lasts a long time. You can order it on-line, too.

I finished up a bottle I bought in 2008 at the end of 2012, but I didn't use it as frequently as you might.

Acetone is good and very quick, but watch out not to get it on the wood or any plastic. And, using Acetone can be hazardous to your breathing and, to scare you off, I've heard a number of stories about Acetone soaked rags spontaneously bursting into flame. :eek::eek::eek:

You can check Midway or Midsouth or Brownells (my favorite) and find other brands of solvent for wad residue.

But, really, it's no big deal and the guys who shoot thousands and thousands of rounds a year (I'm at about 12000 rounds just in competition since September 1st and at least 5 times that much in practice-probably more. Then there's my wife who has about half that many) really don't clean their guns after they shoot them though their guns generally cost from about 3K to 15K.

We wipe them off with the oily rag, maybe run a bore snake through them and worry more about some fellow with a Remington 1100 or Beretta 391 shooting next to us ejecting his hulls into the wood on our guns which cost many times what his gun cost. Hint, for $10 a shell catcher will stop that and make picking up hulls a thing of the past.

There are shooters who do clean their guns after every shoot, but most of them don't spend time on wad residue until it starts to really build up.

If you shoot shotgun shells, you will get wad residue. No big deal.

Bob
 
OP: I'm like you, in that - I bought a bunch of Italian 12 gauge slugs. Cleaning the barrel: lots of work! Little bits of metal imbedded, as well as some kind of "funky gunk".
 
Are you sure that's metal? Ain't supposed to be no metal touching the bore. That's why the plastic wads of today are so good that we can shoot steel shot (I'd rather die first) through our guns.

If there's metal, perhaps you better look at the face of your breech, or somewhere else to see if something is disintegrating.

See nothing? Then cut a shell apart on a paper plate and run a magnet over the contents, shot, slug, wad, powder, see if anything is picked up.

There just ain't supposed to be no metal there.

Bob
 
"...They leave a plastic residue that has the barrel looking like a sewer pipe, even with as few as 5 rounds."


That's a lot of plastic fouling for so little shooting. You expect some to build up no matter what wad or load is used. Some quicker than others, but not to that extent.
Most probably the type of plastic used as already pointed out.
Sounds like what happens when plastic wads are used with black powder,,they melt going down the tube.
Not much you can do other than the obvious of not using the stuff or be vigilant in cleaning.

To clean it out, I've found laquer thinner works well to help cut through the fouling clinging to the bore. It stays with it longer than acetone that disappears almost as quick as I can wet the patch and brush.
You have to try and soften it by disolving the plastic then brushing it out.
A scotchbrite pad wrapped onto a worn-out brush works good as it holds the laquer thinner or acetone nicely and still scrubs the bore. It won't damage it at all. Puts a nice polish on it. Used and spun in a electric drill is of course quicker but scrubbing it out manually isn't too bad either this way.

It's good to remove the stuff. If left in there the bore can sometimes corrode underneath the layer of plastic. You end up with those isolated but well defined areas of very fine pitting then. Those have to be honed out usually.

Most all shotguns have their bbl or bbl assembly that is removable from the action. Do that while working with any of these solvents and avoid getting them on any wood finish or plastic parts.
 
You made a good point, 2152hq, and I should have mentioned it earlier when I said I clean my guns infrequently.

IF you shoot in the rain, or if the barrel gets wet, then you shoot, it is said that the wad residue can trap moisture beneath it and, as 2152hq said, cause pitting.

Some dispute that as being an urban legend (like the Hall of Famer I mentioned earlier), as we generally shoot our guns so they are too hot to touch, thus drying the barrel.

But, since I had to mortgage my house to buy my guns (just kidding), I don't take chances. I clean mine thoroughly if they get wet.

And in Trap, we shoot in the rain unless there is lightning.

Can I tell you how much I hate shooting in the rain? Never mind.

I generally make sure the bore is dry before using a scotchbrite pad though as it can make a nasty mess with the cleaning stuff (whatever it is) when used with a drill. Uhh, don't ask how I know this.

I've never used one without a drill, so the mess may be less. But the pads certainly do polish the bore and make is shine.

Bob
 
Once upon a time I shot lots of Sporting Clays, Trap and Skeet. I tried several methods and like H Richard I found an electric drill with an aluminum rod worked great.

I wrapped steel wool around the brass brush and soon had a brite new looking bore.

I was reading an article by a shotgun fellow, you see his shotgun reviews and articles about bagging 20 gazillion doves in South America all the time. He mentioned in one article that cleaning the plastic out was quite the chore. I emailed the magazine and he emailed back. I gave him the drill and steel wool trick. He said it worked great.

I removed the BBL and went in the chamber to prevent choke damage.
 
I bought a Parker Trogan 12 ga not long ago. The bore just ahead of the chambers was dirty and it didn't take long to find out that it was residue from a previous owner apparently using copper plated shot (patches soaked in Shooters Choice turned green). With Shooters Choice, a brush, and an electric drill I've gotten most of it out, but the patches are still coming out dirty.

Plastic can't be much worse. :D
 
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