bore wiper VFG felt wads ...

[rfd]

... how are you folks cleaning them?

[Don McDowell]

Pre soak them in oxy clean, rinse , then when you're thru cleaning cases, leave the media out of the tumbler , toss them in with some mild detergent and water, run the tumbler for about 20 minutes rinse and let them dry.

[Gunlaker]

In Phoenix I asked Dave Gullo how he cleans his. He puts them in a "delicate bag" and runs them in the washing machine on cold so they don't shrink. I imagine that he gives them a good rinse first though.

Chris.

[Gunlaker]

I'm going to try your technique Don. It'll give me something to do with my tumbler. I've always wanted to see if it was any good for cleaning patches. I'm going to try my new .40 cal wipers tomorrow.

[Don McDowell]

Chris I have put them in a small dainties bag and ran them in the tumbler, but didn't really see any difference in running them without the bag.

[Don McDowell]

Chris one other thing we're finding with the 40 cal set up, running a patch smaller than 2 inches is working well. Carol ran just one button yesterday , and that worked quite well with the .396 diameter money bullet wrapped in seth cole.

[Chill Wills]

Don, It looked like a lot of people were trying them yesterday. I had my home made set with me. After the match, Cody and I were going to shoot a few dozen PP test rounds and wipe with them. After shooting Five relays and the fighting the hard winds, the thought shooting test rounds was the last thing on my mind. So, I might get to them tomorrow if I can take the morning off and shoot.This is a picture of some of the early ones I have made. Working out the details. Starting out with too much and removing what is not needed. I think two felts are one more than needed. I follow up with a dry patch (PP bullets) and a damp patch for GG bullets.

[Gunlaker]

Thanks Don. I will try them out in one of the PP rifles too. I'm curious to run some known loads over the chonograph with the wipers to see if they are more or less consistent than my current wiping routine.

Chris.

[Don McDowell]

Yessir that was quite a work out yesterday in that wind.It was pretty interesting with what seemed like a constant wind , all the little switches it would pull. Felt bad for Gary during his ram relay, saw it switch or die on him just about the time he broke every shot. I'm thinking you're right shooting Swiss or Eynsford 2 might be 1 to many.
Chris it will be interesting to see what your chronograph tests say. Zack was testing Mpro-7 and oil/water, and one day one would give tighter groups the next it was the other way around.

[Chill Wills]

I meant to post above that I have been using the tumbler to clean the felt after load tests. Just some detergent, water in the empty drum (no ceramic) and loose felt. I think they come out clean enough but I doubt they will ever look clean and white again.

So far I have avoided putting them in our laundry washing machine due to trace Pb concerns. Maybe nothing but my wife like to keep it out in my shop.

[Gunlaker]

That's a good point Michael. I try to make very sure that my shooting hobby doesn't cause trouble in our household. So far I avoid the kitchen and laundry areas

Chris.

[rfd]

don, thanx for passing on the oxy clean info - a bit of it into cool water and in a tumbler, and by golly a mess of wads that were just black sooted filthy ugly turned out almost like new ...

[Chill Wills]

Wow. Those are almost white clean. My felt plugs may never pass that test!
I don't know about the product oxy clean except Dave Gullo has it. I will look into it.

I am not sure that it is necessary to return the felts to white, but they do look good.

I was thinking cool H2O and Woolite might be worth a try.

Oxyclean - Laundry Detergent- got it.

[rfd]

all i can say is that oxy clean powder is stupid cheap and i ain't gonna argue with what i'm calling a success.

[Don McDowell]

Michael, you can get that Oxyclean at about any grocery store or Walmart etc. It used to come in a nice handy little bucket, but now it's in a cardboard box.

[rfd]

got mine at the acme supermart for $3.50 in a 1.3# plastic container with measuring spoon. i only needed a sprinkle to clean 44 felt wads. oxy clean is sold pretty much everywhere, save for the back country ranches.

[Chill Wills]

Michael, you can get that Oxyclean at about any grocery store or Walmart etc. It used to come in a nice handy little bucket, but now it's in a cardboard box.

Maybe I am mistaking that product for some other Dave supplies. I guess that is a product (Oxyclean) we never used around the house and I just don't know about it. Always learning.
BTW- OT- how was it you were shooting a rifle with only barrel sights Saturday? Man. It was hard enough in that wind as it was.

[Don McDowell]

I had a wild hair... Things started looking bleak when he hit the wind about half way down, and it kept getting stronger.. By the time the match started I was hoping you were going to tell me Eron had sent my hepburn with you. LOL... It was a hoot anyway, especially when that ram went over. Have to rethink the front sight, need to start with a fresh blade and get it regulated for the chickens and then figure out where to set the slide for the rest of them. Seeing the animals wasn't a big problem , just trying to figure where to hold for the wind was the challenge.

[BrentD]

I put the felts on my bore gophers but I don't feel the need to clean them - ever really. I just rinse them once or twice after the match and let them dry. BP fouling is super water soluble so getting the fouling out is simple with just plain water at the hydrant behind the firing line. Takes less than 2 minutes. Sometimes you guys can make this way too much work.

[Lead pot]

I recycle my wiping patches not for economy but they just work better after they get washed. Some come out of the wash machine a little gray but I don't think the barrel knows any difference