after inspecting my 9 with a LED light i was surprised on how much copper fouling was in the grooves of my barrel. i tried some hoppes copper remover & it helped a little bit. directions say to let the chemical soak on the grooves overnight. i guess ill give it shot tonight. any of you guys have advice on a more easier way to remove copper fouling, other cleaners etc., or am i on the right track. from the looks of it most my other guns have heavy copper fouling too. maybe im not cleaning my gun well enough after trips to the range.
copper fouling
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jepp2
Member
I was using Sweet's 7.62 but the ammonia smell is pretty strong. I switched to Sharp Shoot R Wipe Out Patch Out and it removes powder fouling as well as copper.
BruceM
Member
+1 on the K-12. I reserve it's use to situations where ordinary solvents don't cut it but this stuff is military grade.
Bruce
Bruce
I don't worry to much about copper fouling in my handguns, match rifles are a different story.
When I do want to remove all the copper, I find it best to first clean out all the powder and primer fouling and then to make sure the bore is dry and free of any solvents. Then I use a copper cleaner such as Sweets 7.62, yes it stinks but it does work. To get "all" the copper out, it may take two days of running a soaked patch through, letting in sit for a few hours and then running a few tight dry patches through. Once all the copper is gone, the patches won't come out blue green anymore.
I hear hyrdogen peroxide is a terror on copper but its hard to find in high concentration solutions.
When I do want to remove all the copper, I find it best to first clean out all the powder and primer fouling and then to make sure the bore is dry and free of any solvents. Then I use a copper cleaner such as Sweets 7.62, yes it stinks but it does work. To get "all" the copper out, it may take two days of running a soaked patch through, letting in sit for a few hours and then running a few tight dry patches through. Once all the copper is gone, the patches won't come out blue green anymore.
I hear hyrdogen peroxide is a terror on copper but its hard to find in high concentration solutions.
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Smith357
US Veteran
When I want to attack copper build up I use industrial strength ammonia. Most household ammonia is less than 2% ammonia, the industrial stuff found at janitorial supply houses is 10% ammonia and the fumes will knock you flat.
tbury
Member
I have tried Hoppes and Butche's and neither did the job on a really fouled bore. It takes a little time but Kroil and JB Bore compound removed all the fouling from a 90 yr old rifle I bought. The fouling was the length of the barrel and made the lands look copper colored. Liquids would take a little "blue" stain out but did not get most of it. Alternating cycles of Kroil and JB until no more black came on the JB patches and you know you are done. A pistol should not take that long compared to a 22" rifle barrel.
jlynch34
US Veteran
Ammonia smell is real bad but the best I've found for cleaning Montana Xtreme Copper Killer. Just got to be careful the smell doesn't kill you. My bores look the best they ever have.
My own experience is that IF you stay ahead of the issue the relative success of various copper removers is not too big of an issue.
Do you clean after every trip to the range or do you let your shot count accumulate until its really a copper fouled barrel?
There are some 'blasters' out there that only leave the range after they've gone through 150-200 rounds and then they might not clean until after the second trip. Would be OK with a rimfire but not perhaps with a full house .357 or .40S&W.
When buying a gun with an unknown history - then its another story if its copper fouled - get the strongest your nose will tolerate. Just my $0.02.
Do you clean after every trip to the range or do you let your shot count accumulate until its really a copper fouled barrel?
There are some 'blasters' out there that only leave the range after they've gone through 150-200 rounds and then they might not clean until after the second trip. Would be OK with a rimfire but not perhaps with a full house .357 or .40S&W.
When buying a gun with an unknown history - then its another story if its copper fouled - get the strongest your nose will tolerate. Just my $0.02.
Never had a lot of problems with copper fouling in a pistol or revolver. I have found Marksmans Choice to be excellent for keeping my high-power rifles clear of copper fouling. It is very effective. I will say, I do not make every effort to clean every speck of copper from a barrel. I do try to maintain a uniform barrel condition for target work or hunting. At the start of the deer season, I routinely check the zero on my rifles. Then I do not clean the bores until the season is over, unless inclement weather is encountered. The result is that POI is maintained from zero rather than a first round shot hitting away from the normal POI. I follow the same practice for my match rifles used in vintage military rifle matches. For shooting lead bullets, I don't clean the bores. I treat them like I would a .22 LR barrel... i.e., minimal cleaning at the end of the season. My favorite 1903 match rifle is used exclusively with cast lead handloads. It has demonstrated no fouling of any kind even though the current round count is beyond 2,000 rounds. It will routinely hold the 10 ring with most rounds in the X ring of a SR-1 fired at 100 yds. It a barrel is really giving problems with copper fouling, a bit of "firelapping" is helpful. One must of course use common sense. But it is helpful. No bore is perfectly smooth. If one looks hard enough, one will after cleaning find fouling even in the very best custom barrels. It is not that big a deal, especially at the ranges where one normally uses a handgun.
hobby-gunsmith
US Veteran
Copper removal
I have been using Mpro-7 copper remover for many years. By far, it will do the job with minimal applications. Try one patch of the copper remover, using a jag, down the barrel. Let it soak for about two or three minutes, run a nylon brush three times completely out of the barrel and back through the chamber. Take a dry patch and run it through the barrel to see if the copper was completely removed. You many have to do it a couple of times if it is really dirty. Also, I recommend it to my students when it comes to the gun cleaning lesson. Hope this helps.
Nick
I have been using Mpro-7 copper remover for many years. By far, it will do the job with minimal applications. Try one patch of the copper remover, using a jag, down the barrel. Let it soak for about two or three minutes, run a nylon brush three times completely out of the barrel and back through the chamber. Take a dry patch and run it through the barrel to see if the copper was completely removed. You many have to do it a couple of times if it is really dirty. Also, I recommend it to my students when it comes to the gun cleaning lesson. Hope this helps.
Nick
jouesdeveau
Member
Try Ballistol on a patch with an o-ring cleaning jag.
Gerry
Gerry
I'll second that...works great but don't leave it in the barrel long-15 minutes max per the instructions.
I have tried every possible method known to man...the one that does the best job for me is JB Bore Cleaner. Brownell's sells it and it is the fastest easiest and most effective way to positively clean to bare metal any bore. I have a borescope and without one you cannot tell if the bore is truly getting whistle clean. For years I used ammonia type solvents and thought like many that when the patches stopped turnig green it was over...then I bought a borescope and realized I was wrong. Another big mistake I did was to believe that when the streaks of copper at the muzzle were gone the rest of the bore was good to go...again not true.
+1 for the Montana Xtreme Copper Killer.
I used it for the 1st time last weekend and was very impressed with how quickly if had the bores of a couple very fouled guns looking like new.
Just follow the instructions. Wet patch, nylon brush, wet patch, dry patch, oiled patch.
I used it for the 1st time last weekend and was very impressed with how quickly if had the bores of a couple very fouled guns looking like new.
Just follow the instructions. Wet patch, nylon brush, wet patch, dry patch, oiled patch.
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