the clean patch, real or urban myth?

[chief38]

My Procedure:

1) Push or pull a saturated patch down the barrel - let it soak for 20 minutes.

2) Run a Brownell's bronze bore brush through the barrel a half dozen times with solvent or CLP.

3) Run dry then wet patches through until pretty clean. If I have lots of debris still coming out, I will repeat the bronze bore brush a few more strokes. Then wet and dry patches again. Sounds more complicated than it really is - and usually a 20 minute job.

 

[djohns6]

I pull a bore snake down the barrel whenever I think about it . I'm not anal about cleaning my guns .

 

[oysterer]

run a bronze brush though a brand brand new barrel, and a patch w Ballistol afterwards and guess what it will be dirty

 

[Bald1]

Never trust a man who claims to have seen a clean patch. He’s probably seen UFOs as well.

 

[mckenney99]

Pistols and rifles are handled differently. I do usually clean all after each firing.
Pistols, I just use Hoppes or Shooters Choice standard bore cleaners and brushes and patches until reasonably clean.
Rifles are broken down into class.
Plinkers are cleaned pretty much like a pistol except I may work a little harder to get the bores clean.
On hunting, varmint and precision rifles I am more fastidious about my cleaning. Over the years, I have developed a routine that works for me, but the biggest difference is that I will usually use several different solvents to dissolve the jacket fouling. The jackets on different bullets are not all made with the same metal composition and thus the fouling left behind by different bullets may require different solvents to remove the jacket fouling left behind. I currently have at least 5 different solvents for removing jacket fouling on my cleaning bench and I may try them all, one at a time, in order to get the bores clean to my satisfaction.
Certain rifles, like my RRA NM AR15 used for local CMP matches, get fed the same handload at every firing and after each firing, the bore gets punched out with the solvents I know work on those bullets and I then break down the bolt into it's major components and clean/lube. At the end of the season the barrel, bolt & receiver halves get a thorough cleaning and oiling before it is put up for the winter.

 

[Jon42]

When I finished Army basic training 40 some years ago I found the way to get a clean patch in a short amount of time. I used CLP while the Drill Sgt's were watching and then snuck into the laundry room and used super hot water and soap and totally scrubbed the whole M16A1 that I had taken apart. The water was so hot that it was totally dry in a minute. I lightly oiled it and put it back together and snuck back to the compound. We were supposed to take two days to turn weapons in and I thought I could get out early if I finished first. I presented my rifle for inspection way before anyone else was close and the SGT's told me there was no way my rifle was clean and said if they looked at it I would knock out ten pushups for every piece of dirt they found. I told them "No Problem it's Clean". They finally found a piece of lint that stuck to the oil from a whole company running patches. I learned in the Army that even if you are done act like you are busy.

 

[dfariswheel]

Often, the stains you see on a clean barrel patch is metal staining.
Rub a finger vigorously on a piece of bare aluminum and you'll see what I mean.
Same thing happens to a lesser degree with steel.

 

[richrd]

after further review. The pistol in the op was leaded from many years of shooting and many minutes of cleaning and was leaded.

The results of my work is that it is once again shooting pretty groups off bags.

I now have a more serious question, which I will put in a new thread.

 

[Nevada Ed]

I for one, give the barrel some #9 when I get home or at the range before leaving
if I can't get to clean it the same day.

I ONLY use the "Heavy Duty" stuff at a sitting. since 20-30 minutes, is my maximum sitting time in a barrel
with the heavy chemicals used, in them, to remove copper or powder.

A proper sized, copper brush will only last about 200 passes, in a rifle
before it starts to miss places. You can tell when it starts to go through the barrel with less resistance, than a new one.
In the Navy, I learned that this was the main reason for LONG cleaning sessions
when the rifle barrels kept spitting out dirty patches, with the "GI" solvent, we used, in the Armory !!

You should not "Rush" a cleaning job.
Use a good brush, LOTS of clean patches and let the "Juice" work on the stuff inside your barrel
before you push that dry patch through the barrel.

Copper is sometimes hard to remove 100% but a little in your barrel will not hurt, as long as the powder and "Black stuff" is removed from the inside of the barrel & chamber area, with some solvent and a very light
coat of oil placed on the metal and removed, to where the metal has a
trace of oil on it.

A wet barrel etc, will collect dust and soak and stain a wood stock, if stored
in the muzzle up, position.

Good luck.

 

[steelslaver]

Excrpt foe winter I shoot big bore black powder sinngle shots with some guys once a week. Sharps, Trapdoors, Martinis etc. Fire 10-20 rounds with 70 or so gr of the Holy Black from one and then show me a clean patch.

I run a patches sprayed with a mixture of 1/3 Murphy's oil soap, 1/3 hydrogen peroxide and 1/3 alcohol down mine using a jag made to fit a 458 bore. I think I could go forever and never get a clean patch. I just go until the black is not as heavy.

 

[kbm6893]

Running a dirty brush through the barrel deposits more dirt in there. I wet barrel with solvent soaked patch, let sit while I clean rest of there, then dip brush in solvent and make 10-15 passes. Follow with wet patch or two to mop up what’s left and then a dry patch.