Are all decoppering powders the same? I think not!

[fatelvis]

After using CFE223 in my 222Rem this year for F-class, I'm very impressed on how copper-free it has left my bore. It does leave a black, sooty material behind, but is easily removed with a few wet patches. It shows almost no hint of blue, even after soaking with Shooter's Choice.
On the other hand, I was told, and later confirmed with a call to the factory rep, that the Alliant Reloader series powders all had decoppering properties (except for RL17). I've used RL15 for about 8 yrs now in highpower, shooting and cleaning MANY times. I can tell you, I had to confirm that what I heard was true, because between my 223 ARs and my 308 M1A, I was continually cleaning copper from my bores. Patches were always coming out blue.
Does Alliant not put as much Bismuth, (or whatever the "magic" ingredient is) into their powder, or is it another variable, such as cartridge, powder level, bore condition, etc.?
Any input or experiences would be appreciated. Thanks!

[mac1911]

Does the powder work in actually removing the copper as you shoot or just make it harder for the copper to "stick" to the bore. My thinking is you may still get copper residue that's suspended in the powder fouling.??

[goryshaw]

I just got a new flat top SR upper from Whiteoak Armament, took it shooting for the first time last week. 25 rds of Nosler 77gr CC over 24.0 gr of RL-15. While watching the eclipse yesterday I cleaned it and my older RRA A2 NM upper with Patch Out. Patches from both came out black with carbon, that Ed's Red didn't get out, but neither had any trace of color from coppering. The A2 has had virtually nothing but RL-15 and Alliant Varmint, which also seems to have some decoppering agent. Something around 2000 rds with Varmint and about 500 with RL-15, and I've never seen any sign of color on a patch.

The same Patch Out run through my WRA M1 Garand is still coming out with dark blue patches after sitting in the bore overnight, Patch Out is definitely an effective copper cleaner.