JB Paste in a Fine Shoot'n .300 Magnum?

[PatMarlin]

I've got a very nice old Ruger #1 in .300 Winchester Magnum -made in 1978- that I picked up at a Hawkshop for a song. Worn blue and a beautiful stock with it's share of use marks.

It is ballanced so well can (no bull factor) shoot standing off hand with 150gn Remington Core Lockts, and hit a close 3" at 100 yds pretty consistantly. It will shoot 1/2 moa off the bench.

Problem is It is way to much power for my needs on deers up here in the woods. I started cleaning the bore to get her down to bare metal for cast, and I can't get the thing clean. I mean I've been working on this thing with Hoppes (overnight soaks), Blue Wonder, and Sweets. Patches and brushes for days, and I still get some blue on the sweets patch. I've also checked my tracks- making sure my brushes and tools are not leaving any residue, and they're not... it's copper bullet fouling.

My goal with this rilfe is to see if I can make a nice lower velocity heavy .30 cast boolit shooter out of it for deer. And hopefully use the high powered copper load someday if I ever get into long range hunting country.

Should I try to clean the bore with JB bore paste? I've heard good and bad. I don't want to ruin my copper bullet shooting accuracy, but it sure would make an awesome cast boolit hunting gun (if I can find a cast load that will work), cause it fits like a glove.

Any tips on how I should proceed?

[Trailblazer]

I don't know of any danger in using JB and I used to use it. If you have already been working on it for days JB may not help anyway as it doesn't do well at getting the last of the copper out down in the corners of the lands. At this point I would continue soaking or go buy some Wipe Out which is a foaming bore cleaner in an aerosol can that removes copper very easily. You squirt it in the bore and let it set overnight, swab it out and repeat until clean. Throw the brushes away and cast up some bullets instead with all the time you save. The worst barrel I have cleaned with it was a Rem takeoff in 7mm RM that took 5 applications. That one was bad! My other "foulers" took three applications.

[BABore]

I ran into a similar situation with a Win. Mod. 70 Super Grade in 300 WM. I picked it up for a song too. Too bad I could not make it shoot as the throat was pretty tore up. It's a 375 H&H now. Anyway, I started with JB and Kroil. This is a great combo and won't hurt anything but the fouling. After about 12 hours of scrubbing I gave up and got an Outers Foul Out system. It still took 2-3 days to get to bare metal. You may want to try the newer foaming copper solvents as they work pretty well with little scrubbing. I don't know how that work on powder fouling though. Layering of powder then copper, one atop the other can be a challenge. Some cleaners attack one type well, but not the other. If I had to do a badly fouled gun again, without a Foul Out, I would alternate between the foaming/enzymatic type copper cleaners and JB/Kroil. Use a good bore guide and don't get too frustrated. Give it an hour or so then hit it again tomorrow. Once absolutely clean you will probably want to give it a new barrel breakin with jacketed. Fire one round, clean completely, repeat 15 to 20 times. Now it's cast time. Good luck

[ghh3rd]

Google "Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner". I know it works well for lead, and they claim that "it goes a long way toward cleaning copper buildup as well.

PM me your address and I'll cut off a chunk and send it to you to try.

Randy

[DaveInFloweryBranchGA]

Something you may want to try is to alternate Ed's Red soaked patches with your favorite Copper Solvent. I'd had quite a few really nasty milsurp bores I've gotten down to the bare metal this way. The trick seems to be to get rid of a layer of burnt powder, then get rid of a layer of copper. The Copper solvent doesn't do much with the burn powder, which is where the Ed's Red comes in. Alternating the two seems to be the cat's meow for absolutely cleaning any bore.

I work with a buddy of mine gunsmithing and this has resolved every bore we've ever had that was tough.

Regards,

Dave

[dualsport]

Yep, Tim's Pink. That's what I'm calling it, although I'm sure I'm not the first one to think of it. I just mix Ed's Red with about 25% Hoppe's #9. That makes it about 4 to 1. Ed would call it a waste of money, but I like the #9 in there to remove copper. It works for me, and I like the smell. On a bad one I plug the muzzle and fill it up, let it soak for as long as you can stand the suspense. If that doesn't get it out I break out the Sweet's. I'm a soaker, not a scrubber.

[Char-Gar]

It is darn near impossible to get a rifle bore 100% clean of jacketed bullet fouling if the rifle has been shot much. There will be some copper fouling IN the pores of the metal after many applications of Sweets or whatever. The good news is it is not necessary to get the metal out of the pores. You are just concerned with what is on top of the metal.

When the patches start to show trace amounts of color, stop and go shooting with cast. All is well! You can tell when most is out and you are down to the stubborn trace amounts.

It is good advice to alternate Sweets and Ed's Red as often there is a laminate of metal and powder fouling in a rifle bore. You think all of the powder fouling is out and after an application of Sweets you will find there is more and vise versa.

The above is based on many hours spend with a rifle rod, patches and various solvents working on rifle barrels. YMMV

[AZ-Stew]

Try Montana Xtreme Copper Killer. I've used the foamers, and they're good, but you can get the copper out in a few hours using Copper Killer. Wet the bore and let it soak for a half hour. Run a fresh, soaked patch through the bore on a jag tip and wait another half hour. Repeat until the patches come out clean. One warning. Don't get your nose over the uncapped bottle. The ammonia fumes will sear your nostrils.

After you get the copper out, the JB paste will polish the bore and reduce future buildup. You'll have to work pretty hard to get JB to de-copper a badly fouled bore, so save it for the polish job.

Regards,

Stew

[yondering]

Another big recommendation for Wipe Out. It really is the best and easiest way to clean a badly fouled bore, short of the Outer's system. I like it because you aren't running a cleaning rod up and down your bore a bunch of times, like you do with any of the traditional methods. Each application of Wipe Out should only require 3-4 passes (one way) with a clean patch. I let the first application soak overnight, and the second for ~30 minutes. I've only had to do 3 applications on one rifle. I do recommend a bore guide though, to keep the foam out of the action. It will eventually attract moisture and cause rust if not removed.

The JB/kroil method is not a good one for a badly fouled barrel. It takes a lot of elbow grease, which also means your cleaning rod spends a lot of time rattling around in that bore. Hoppe's #9 is also very slow for copper removal, unless you have a LOT of time on your hands to let it soak. I do use it for powder fouling though and love the smell.

If you really can't wait overnight for Wipe-out to work, the second best I've tried is Bore Tech "Eliminator". It has almost no odor, is slightly soapy like dishwater, and cuts copper way faster than Sweets or any of the others. I still have a bottle of Sweets, but never use it anymore because there are better options.

[cajun shooter]

Give Pro-7 a chance. It removed fouling from a rifle that Sweet's would not touch. I would run Sweet's patches and they showed it clean and then Pro-7 and they would bring out fouling.

[jonk]

It's quite easy to make a homemade electric bore cleaner that will get all the copper out.

[scrapcan]

Also you copper is easy to get out, it is the layers of carbon that can be tough to cut to get the next level of copper.

You might try MEK top end engine cleaner from GM dealership. It is meant to cut carbon deposits on engine valves and it will work on powder fouling. rotate with your copper cutter of choice.

I had to do this on a 98/22 mauser. I am still not down to where I want it to be, but at some point you just need to shoot it.

[docone31]

My paper patched loads do a great job of getting the lead out. Shiney bores also.

[mpmarty]

+1 on Montana Extreme. Best copper remover I've ever used. Potent stuff but be sure to follow it up with a good oil or the bore rust quickly.

[Eutectic]

PatMarlin,

I have a Remington Model 700 Classic in .375 H&H. It has (especially had new) the roughest barrel I ever saw come on a Remington. I have some JB..... but it is abrasive. Some use it regularly (then talk about aluminum gas checks being abrasive) Maybe so..... But this ol' boy doesn't want to "wear" anything from the bore with abrasive as the abrasive cannot distinguish between copper and barrel material! Strong ammonia compounds the same way...

Copper fouling in a stubborn rough barrel can be murder to get out. I haven't tried the reverse copper plating removal method by electrolysis. Might be a good way... But I have a way that is totally barrel safe in my observation over many years of using it on many stubborn barrels. The .375 H&H mentioned above being the worst of the bunch!

PLAN OL" HOPPE'S #9 !!! But you can't rush it! Here's what got copper out of the "pores" that even Sweet's didn't.

Wet the bore well with #9 and stand the barrel muzzle down on a rag. Forget about it for two weeks.... When you pick it up notice the nice blue/green stain on the rag and the patch you push through the bore. Check for fouling.... If it's still there repeat the process for another two weeks! My .375 H&H took three times (six weeks total) but ALL the fouling came out.... Like I say, it was the worst barrel for fouling in 60 years experience. A lot of smooth barrels will be clean of copper in just a few days by this method.

I have pretty much decided to shoot another gun while I prep a "fouler" for cast boolit use.

Eutectic

[snowwolfe]

The best copper removing agents I've personally used to date are Sweets and Wipe Out.
Wip Out is supposed to be the safer of the two and can be left in the barrel overnight if need be.

[XWrench3]

J B Bore Paste works fine, and will not harm your rifle at all if you follow the directions. i had to do the same thing a while back, to remove all the copper that had built up. no harm to the barrel at all. actually, a little while after i had cleaned it up real good, i actually shot the best group the rifle had ever shot, and it was with cast boolits.

[scrapcan]

I went to a long range rifle clinic a few years ago, the guy giving the clinic was a multiple long range winner of the Dynamit shoot in Gateway, CO. He used off the shelf remington rifles for all competition. On thing he did was clean and hand lap the barrel with a small can of JBs. He swore by it's use and contributed part of his success to using it to make mirror bright mores.

[Mk42gunner]

I like Chargar's advise, shoot it.

The easiest way is to get someone else to clean it.


I have had good luck cleaning some really nasty bores with Rem Clean on a patch wrapped around a bore brush.


Robert

[selmerfan]

JB won't hurt anything at all. Your mention of using Sweets makes me wonder what cleaning jags or slotted tips you're using. If they are brass, you will get blue on every patch from the chemical reaction between the ammonia and the jag/slotted tip.
Selmerfan