How far do you go before you say "The H#ll with it"

General Firearm Discussions
1

It’s clean enough !!

Howa .308 shooting FMJ BT IMI seeds pushed by 42 gr (medium target load) of Hodgdon H4895 - New gun, no more than 40 shots though it

A ton of scrubbing with the bronze brush and 20 patches in and the last patch is still as black as the first one :face_with_symbols_on_mouth:
I’m going to run out of Hoppes

2

No way 40 rounds gacks up a barrel that bad. Hoppe’s #9 (original recipe) is not great on copper fouled barrels. I use #9 for my shotguns and 22s, all else I use #9 with copper remover.

If the barrel is really bad, try one of the foaming cleaners. Hoppe’s has an Elite Foaming Bore Cleaner that will git 'er done. If you want something more gentle look into Hoppe’s Benchrest.

Personally, I do not like a squeaky clean bore. I clean till the patches start coming out lighter, then run a patch with G96. I do clean the hell out of the chamber though.

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3

I just realized what I might have done
I never cleaned the barrel before shooting it for the first time (not smart)
I probably cooked whatever factory grease/oil was inside it into black tar

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4

I clean a barrel until I can clearly see that there are no major chunks of carbon or signs of fouling (visual inspection with light down barrel). A little residue in there ain’t gonna hurt nuthin’.

Trying to get the patches to come out clean will drive you insane.

As far as your patches not getting any cleaner, did you give the chamber area a good scrub? Sometimes the shoulder accumulates gunk while cleaning and it makes the patches look dirty as you push them down the barrel.

5

Have the patches wrapped around the brush - all the way through the chamber and back with a scrubbing motion
Shone my bore light through, looks shiny and clean
Run a patch - black. It just doesn’t ever want to end

6

soak a couple patches and slather the barrel with solvent and let it sit over night. Like paint stripper, the longer you leave it and it’s kept wet, the better it works.

It is possible you are making more work for yourself than is necessary. more range time might cook that stuff off, and if your bore is shiny and you can clearly see the rifling, I doubt it will affect anything.

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7

It’s the black powder guy in me that can’t tolerate even a trace of powder residue - in a flintlock the tiniest amount equals rust.

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