Sorry for all the post in a short time, but here is another. Wanted to do this new savage "right" so I asked the guy at the shop what to clean with, he wants me to use Hopps 9. Well it seems like there is never no end to getting a clean patch in and back out still clean. I used a little sweets at first, but he dislikes it, said it will ruin a barrel. So I have tried not to use it. Cleaned my gun to night with the hopps and had it about as good as it will do with it, about thirty patches and fifteen minuets worth of brushing. So I decide to break out the Sweets and by doing it to there instructions had to do it six times before the patches would not come out blue. I would soak a couple patches and run them down the barrel, wait one minuet and then push out. Would follow that up with regular lube cleaner to get the sweets out, did not want to leave a barrel coated for a long time with sweets. But like above it took six times with this cycle before I had clean patches, then with hopps, butches bore shine, and Kroil (sp) I had patches coming out as clean as they went in, just to see what they did.

Two questions....

How clean does it have to be?

And is Sweets bad for your gun if used properly? I know leaving in your bore is bad, but if used right is it ok and or good?