Molly
05-12-2008, 06:34 PM
Robbed this from another web site, and thought it would be a great introduction to the topic.
John Caswell, Townsend Whelen and E. C. Crossman all described Hoppes No.9 in their books. Caswell’s description is as good as any:
Sporting Rifles and Rifle Shooting; John Caswell, 1920, page 83.
“The following is the best ammonia solution I know of:
Ammonia persulphate ...... 100 grains
Ammonia carbonate ........ 50 grains
Ammonia bichromate ....... 10 grains
Stronger ammonia 26% ..... 1 ˝ ounces
Water .................... ˝ ounce
The three chemicals should be powdered thoroughly, the ammonia and water then added and placed in a tightly corked bottle until needed. The above solution should not be kept over 24 hours, as the ammonia gas escapes and the resulting solution will then attack steel and not dissolve the copper readily, although the use of ammonia bichromate partially stops the action on steel.
The best neutralizing agent to remove the traces of ammonia from the bore is soda and water or hot water and soap.
The powder solvent consists of oil mixed with either amyl or acetone, or both, and may be made as follows:
Kerosene oil free from acid. ..... 1 ounce
Refined neatsfoot or Rangoon oil . . 2 ounces
Spirits turpentine ............. 1 ounce
Amyl ........................ 1 ounce
Acetone ...................... 1 ounce
Hoppe's solvent mentioned is practically the same as the above; it is sold at all gun stores ready for use, and is thoroughly reliable.”
Townsend Whelen in the American Rifle 1918, chapter 42, gives a similar description of Hoppe’s No. 9
It seems to me one of the three Crossman books gives a little more detail on the Development of No. 9 solvent. I do remember that in chapter 11 of Small Bore Rifle Shooting, 1927, Crossman wrote there were better products for protecting the rifle bore. I don’t have my books in front of me at the moment but there is quite a bit of information, in small batches scattered around in the writings of the 1920’s and ‘30’s. Harry Pope was one of the first shooters to use strong solutions of ammonia for cleaning metal fouling from a rifles bore, and he lost the use of an eye for his trouble. Pope told several people it was very painful and there was no point in going to a Doctor, the damage had been done.
That said, I've gotta add my two cents worth: I find that #9 residues cause very poor accuracy until it's been shot out - usually 5 or 6 shots. I don't use it any more. Since I only use cast bullets, I generally don't have to worry about jacketed fouling (unless it's in a new purchase), and when I do, I can take it out easily by shooting a few bullets 'lubed' with JB compound. This cleans and polishes the bore, and makes it ready for conditioning with whatever I lube my next bullets with - and that's generally the traditional 50/50 Alox / Beeswax blend.
To protect cleaned bores or after a range session, I generally use a bore mop with a little bit of Alox 350 in a naphtha (lighter fluid) solution. This leaves a bore that doesn't have to be reconditioned every time I go to the range (or go hunting), and provides excellent protection without changing the POI for the first shot.
BTW, if using JB compound gives you the hebbie-jebbies, Brownells sells a solution for dealing with copper contamination in bluing tanks. They don't say so, but it's a fatty acid that chelates every trace of copper with a little time.
No, it will NOT attack the steel. You can spread it on a piece of polished steel and an old penny and leave it as long as you want, even for weeks. When you wash it off, the steel will still be polished, but the penny will be brightened because of copper that was removed by the chelation action. Run a wet bore mop through the barrel to wet it, and follow with a damp patch in a day or two. Repeat until the patch comes out clean. How long depends on how badly the barrel is fouled.
OK, that's my 2 cents. Anyone else wanna weigh in?
Molly
John Caswell, Townsend Whelen and E. C. Crossman all described Hoppes No.9 in their books. Caswell’s description is as good as any:
Sporting Rifles and Rifle Shooting; John Caswell, 1920, page 83.
“The following is the best ammonia solution I know of:
Ammonia persulphate ...... 100 grains
Ammonia carbonate ........ 50 grains
Ammonia bichromate ....... 10 grains
Stronger ammonia 26% ..... 1 ˝ ounces
Water .................... ˝ ounce
The three chemicals should be powdered thoroughly, the ammonia and water then added and placed in a tightly corked bottle until needed. The above solution should not be kept over 24 hours, as the ammonia gas escapes and the resulting solution will then attack steel and not dissolve the copper readily, although the use of ammonia bichromate partially stops the action on steel.
The best neutralizing agent to remove the traces of ammonia from the bore is soda and water or hot water and soap.
The powder solvent consists of oil mixed with either amyl or acetone, or both, and may be made as follows:
Kerosene oil free from acid. ..... 1 ounce
Refined neatsfoot or Rangoon oil . . 2 ounces
Spirits turpentine ............. 1 ounce
Amyl ........................ 1 ounce
Acetone ...................... 1 ounce
Hoppe's solvent mentioned is practically the same as the above; it is sold at all gun stores ready for use, and is thoroughly reliable.”
Townsend Whelen in the American Rifle 1918, chapter 42, gives a similar description of Hoppe’s No. 9
It seems to me one of the three Crossman books gives a little more detail on the Development of No. 9 solvent. I do remember that in chapter 11 of Small Bore Rifle Shooting, 1927, Crossman wrote there were better products for protecting the rifle bore. I don’t have my books in front of me at the moment but there is quite a bit of information, in small batches scattered around in the writings of the 1920’s and ‘30’s. Harry Pope was one of the first shooters to use strong solutions of ammonia for cleaning metal fouling from a rifles bore, and he lost the use of an eye for his trouble. Pope told several people it was very painful and there was no point in going to a Doctor, the damage had been done.
That said, I've gotta add my two cents worth: I find that #9 residues cause very poor accuracy until it's been shot out - usually 5 or 6 shots. I don't use it any more. Since I only use cast bullets, I generally don't have to worry about jacketed fouling (unless it's in a new purchase), and when I do, I can take it out easily by shooting a few bullets 'lubed' with JB compound. This cleans and polishes the bore, and makes it ready for conditioning with whatever I lube my next bullets with - and that's generally the traditional 50/50 Alox / Beeswax blend.
To protect cleaned bores or after a range session, I generally use a bore mop with a little bit of Alox 350 in a naphtha (lighter fluid) solution. This leaves a bore that doesn't have to be reconditioned every time I go to the range (or go hunting), and provides excellent protection without changing the POI for the first shot.
BTW, if using JB compound gives you the hebbie-jebbies, Brownells sells a solution for dealing with copper contamination in bluing tanks. They don't say so, but it's a fatty acid that chelates every trace of copper with a little time.
No, it will NOT attack the steel. You can spread it on a piece of polished steel and an old penny and leave it as long as you want, even for weeks. When you wash it off, the steel will still be polished, but the penny will be brightened because of copper that was removed by the chelation action. Run a wet bore mop through the barrel to wet it, and follow with a damp patch in a day or two. Repeat until the patch comes out clean. How long depends on how badly the barrel is fouled.
OK, that's my 2 cents. Anyone else wanna weigh in?
Molly