Prepare a rifle bore to shoot lead bullets ?

[Eldon]

Thought this might be the site to find out about this.

Eye Doc says no more heavy kickers.

Bought a nice Winchester Model 70 30-06 standard target model in excellent shape. Borescope shows no issues, sharp lands/grooves and minor tooling marks. (This is a cut barrel correct ?)

It was only shot with jacketed match ammo. Across the web are many suggestions to clean a bore, none directed at cast bullet shooters.

Otherwise the consensus seems to be to clean to bare metal with something like Sweets. Then JB paste with Kroil. Then acetone followed by a product called Dyna-Tek.

Are there better methods to get a barrel prepared for shooting lead bullets ?

Appreciation in advance.

[tazman]

That method would certainly be thorough. I suspect it would be overkill.
I think the first two processes would be enough to prepare it for cast boolits.
You simply need to get the copper out of the barrel.

[Oily]

Please keep it simple at first try a foaming bore cleaner. they work very well on light copper fouling.Make sure you can see through the bore before you swab.Make sure you oil after using any bore cleaner. You can use Sweets but be careful as it is a very aggressive cleaner and must be cleaned and .oiled after use.Sweets is primarily used on military weapons that have extended use.Try the foaming bore cleaners until you see no more green on your patches and you are good to go.Then start slinging lead

[kungfustyle]

+1 on getting the copper out. Mix up some bore paste: http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm and some hoppes 9 clean the bbl till you don't feel any grit from a tight patch. Should be smooth all the way through. Slugg the bbl and size .001 over grove diameter and you should be golden. H4895 or 2400 powder as well as 4227, 4198 etc will get the job done. Get a Lyman Cast bullet handbook too. If NOE makes the mold or Lyman use it, they will work, and will shoot better than you. Best of luck and welcome into a great hobby, or should I say a great hobby that supports a great hobby.

[lotech]

Your cleaning method should work fine. However, even in a rifle that shoots cast bullets very accurately, I can't recall any detrimental effect on cast bullet accuracy caused by slight, but visible copper fouling.

[Tripplebeards]

If you check out my thread on shooting cast through a Ruger American 450 bushmaster you can see my groups shot from a brand new barrel. I did clean the bore with sweets before shooting to get out what ever the factory lubed it with. Best group was 1.250" at a 100 yards with Lee 310's and no leading. I had tips to shoot jacked bullets through it first to clean out burrs but I started out with cast anyways.

Here is the link
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?339280-Ruger-American-450-bushmaster-using-Lee-310-s-(my-1st-casts)group-results

[Toymaker]

Suggest you DO NOT use a brass jag or brush when using a copper cleaner. You'll be getting green forever. :???:

I recently switched to a series of products called KG (KG-1, KG-2, KG-3, etc). They've proven to be very effective.

[Dusty Bannister]

In the past I have often swabbed the bore with a light application of the bullet lube to be used. Often thinned with solvent, to pre-condition the bore so the first shot does not slide over bare metal. Just enough to put something between the bare metal and the nose of the cast bullet. Perhaps this is no longer a preferred method, but I am set in my ways.

[tazman]

In the past I have often swabbed the bore with a light application of the bullet lube to be used. Often thinned with solvent, to pre-condition the bore so the first shot does not slide over bare metal. Just enough to put something between the bare metal and the nose of the cast bullet. Perhaps this is no longer a preferred method, but I am set in my ways.

That type of thing is in use for 22LR rifles in that you need to shoot several rounds to get the remaining lube from the last brand of bullets out of the bore in order to see the best accuracy you will get with new ammunition.
That technique also works for handgun usage for high accuracy/ long range shooting.

[country gent]

I do the light lube with the bullet lube I'm using on my BPCR rifles as the bore has a light coat of the same lube and this seems to help with the BP fouling more than with out it. I have the patches saved from loading when I wipe the bases off. So I'm using something Id normally just throw away anyways.

[Jack Stanley]

Getting all the copper out is first , carbon too . After that I use a heavily lubed bullet at very low velocities for a few shots . Then I bring the velocity up to what I want to use .

Jack

[waco]

I tend to agree with most of the others here. Don't over think it too much. I like the products from Boretech for copper removal. http://www.boretech.com/categories/gun-cleaners
Make sure to use nickel plated jags. For heavily copper fouled bores, Kroil and JB bore compound.

[pitchfire]

I have used Bore Tech eliminator and copper eliminator and various foaming cleaners and hoppes copper solvent among others and found that I usually can get copper to a point and then any of the solvents stop removing it (anybody else notice that). I have read speculation that it is due to different copper alloys but I have no idea why it happens. I suppose I could scrub it with a brush to get at fresh un-reacted copper, I don't know. I am reluctant to use aggressive copper products with ammonia etc...

Food for thought: http://www.texas-mac.com/Barrel_Break_in_Process.html

[725]

It's all good. I like janitorial ammonia - 10% - (not household ammonia = 3%) to remove copper. Wet it, swab it, or cork it up to keep the ammonia in the barrel. Do it for just a few minutes and then clean it out. Will lift out copper very well. Once the copper is gone, clean vigorously to remove all traces of the ammonia and then oil with eezox, fluid film or other rust preventative. You'll be good to go.

[EDG]

If you have patience Hoppe's will take the copper out without doing much else.
Just wipe a light film on the bore and let it sit about 2 days. Wipe clean with a few dry patches.
Then apply a light film again. Wait 2 days again. Keep repeating this routine as long as you get copper.
A brush can knock the copper out faster but clean well after the brush.

[NoAngel]

Everybody and every gun is different but the biggest thing for ME personally has been getting right kind of fouling IN there. Well, fouling is probably bad terminology. Once clean, cast probably ain't gonna group as well as it will after you've shot several and things settle in...this provided everything else is in line: Fit, lube, etc.

I have a couple of rifles that won't group for nothing until I get a little antimony wash. That's why I only clean bores that stop grouping well. Or get wet.

[country gent]

A lot have started cleaning to get through the next session as a completely clean bore may require a ew rounds to settle back in to consistant performance.

[MyFlatline]

Gee, I shoot both cast and copper out of the same rifle all the time, didn't know that was bad. Have great accuracy with both and no leading. SO what am I to look for? If you use gas checks, isn't that the same as jacketed? Man, I'm confused now.

[lotech]

The "all copper must be removed before shooting cast bullets" is a holdover axiom that may have some basis in fact as there are exceptions to every rule and belief. From a practical standpoint, however, this bit of conventional wisdom is largely unproven.

If you find copper fouling degrades cast bullet accuracy, then it needs to be removed. If you have a bore with an undue amount of copper fouling, it probably affects both jacketed and cast bullet accuracy.

[mehavey]

Forget Sweets and most other of the traditional copper cleaners. You'll wear yourself(and the barrel) out scrubbing for hours and still get "blue".

grab some KG12
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1078144092/kg-kg-12-big-bore-cleaning-solvent

wet-swab/sit a few minutes/dry-patch the (now) brown crud out.
repeat if necessary once.

That`s about it for pre-cleaning before shooting cast.

[Hick]

You've got to be a pretty good shot for it to matter.

[Grmps]

Eldon, welcome to the forum and the world of cast boolits.

You never mentioned if you would be getting into casting you own.

You probably found that there are 2 schools here on that, 1 that lubes the boolits and 1 that powder coat or hi-tek coats (both PC and HT coating replace the need for lube).

To soften the kick, you want the light boolit 113 grn - 120 grn and the lightest load that get you the accuracy you want.

Jim

[HangFireW8]

After you get the barrel clean, lube up a patch with the boolit lube you intend to use, and run it through the bore. (Make sure you don't leave a chunk in the chamber neck). Your barrel is now ready to shoot its first lead projectile without leading.

[Tom W.]

Don't forget to sprinkle blood from a freshly killed chicken over the barrel during the solar eclipse while reciting your favorite poem backwards, and dancing wildly. :kidding:

[Wolfer]

Gee, I shoot both cast and copper out of the same rifle all the time, didn't know that was bad. Have great accuracy with both and no leading. SO what am I to look for? If you use gas checks, isn't that the same as jacketed? Man, I'm confused now.

Me too. I routinely shoot cast and jacketed out of several different rifles with no cleaning unless accuracy was to fall off. It hasn't yet. Maybe I'm not a good enough shot to tell the difference.

[nicholst55]

Don't forget to sprinkle blood from a freshly killed chicken over the barrel during the solar eclipse while reciting your favorite poem backwards, and dancing wildly. :kidding:

Naked. Ya gotta be naked!