Cleaning the Bore after BH-209
 

First of I really want you all to know that I am totally biased about this subject, but I am going to mention something that I have found.

I really dislike cleaning the bore after shooting BH - for me it is a much longer process than cleaning after shooting T7.

I have/had been using Hoppe's #9 Bore Solvent in the past, following directions on the bottle - running patch after patch saturating the patch and running it in the bore until they come out some what clean... For me it has taken a bunch of patches and I never really seem to be happy with the color of the patches.

The last three times that i have shot BH - I gave up on the Hoppe's and switched to using Tipton's Bore Solvent. For some reason this solvent seems to work much faster in cleaning the bore. It only takes a 2-3 patches and they are coming out nearly white. Then a couple of dry patches patches followed by 2 Montana X-Treme patches and I am now really happy with to looks of the patches.

I THINK part of the problem with Hoppe's is that it contains 40% Kerosene and 40% Ethyl Alcohol, 5% Ammonium Hydroxide. In effect a big part of the solvent is just Kerosene oil.

Tipton Bore Solvent or Barnes CR-10, neither of these contain Kerosene. They are much less oily than the Hoppe's, and seem to me to a faster job of cleaning. Looking at the contents of each of these solvents - I do not see any form of oil in the product.

All of these solvents contain chemicals harmful to your health so handle them with caution.

Just passing on some observations - not really sure what they mean, but I will continue using something other than Hoppe's.

Takes me 3 bore scrubber patches to clean up BH209.

Butches bore shine i always found worked best when i didnt have UBC in my barrel.

90 percent alcohol mix 50/50 wiith #9 works for me two wet and two dry.

mineral spirits or wd40 work good for me,i alternate wet + dry 2-3 times.....karl

Have you tried montana's BH 209 solvent? i have been wondering how it works myself. Ray

I'd have to agree, that T7 cleans up easier and I really don't care for the smell of Hoppe's #9.

Glad it wasnt me - I too have experienced dirty patch after dirty patch before ever seeing progress. Taking way too much and too long. Great advice as always.

That Montana Xtreme Cowboy solvent always worked real good on BlackHorn 209 for me.

I am curious as well if anyone has used it? I actually emailed Monatan yesterday about it - I am sure I will get some biased opinion or statement from them but it was basically asking them what separates this solvent from the others in its effectiveness on BH.

Do you think the extra alcohol helps by reducing the amount of oil in the mix?

So Sabotloader do you prefer T7 or BH? Do you use BH for the ease of Cleaning and not having to swab between shots, or is it superior to T7 in accuracy and ignition, or both?
(BP)

I really do prefer T7 to BH and not just because of price.

I use BH for testing only... do not really shoot for recreation or hunting. Ease of cleaning or non-swabbing really is not a motivation for me.

Is it superior??? no I do not think T7 is 'superior' or even that BH might be superior - they are both great I just have a ton of confidence with T7 and it works great for me.

This year if the crud ring is down to 4-5 shots, im switching most of my shooting back to T7. Im saving the black gold for the higher end loads (experimenting) mostly and hunting.

Thank's for being Honest.....as you know I use Pyro RS, I feel the same as you do about T7 as I do with the RS. I did however try (for testing pourposes) the T7 and I found it to give more of the Crud Ring then the RS. Now most of you shoot way more than I do, a trip to the range for me consist of mabey 15 shots at most, and that's when Im sighting in a New Scope. Other than that I may just go and shoot say 4-5 shots and Im done so getting a real dirty Mler or a Bad Crud Ring is never the case.
Now you do a-lot of Testing of different Powders and Bullets and that's Great because I dont have to, you do and I'll get the advice from you for if I need to use what you've used and it'll cut my Range time by a-lot.
Sometimes I feel like Im not shooting enough or trying different products enough, but what I use works and Im shooting great groups for what I use so I stay with that. I guess when you feel like you cant improve on accuracy anymore your content.
But keep up the Testing and Good Work as Im sure many are appeciative for what you do! I do have some Testing to do on them new Bullets you sent me and also on them Deep Curls so it'll give me a reason to change My ways and do some shooting. I guess I feel as if I have nothing to add anymore to what I've alread said in my past post. Keep up the Good Work and Thanks for the Hand's on Testing:party0005:
(BP)

I just use plain ol' 90% alcohol. A few patches and I'm done. I don't like Hoppes either though.

After 90% Alcohol and a few patches I'd be done too:happy0001:
(BP)

Everyone who uses there other products raves about them. i suspect there bh solvent, may be real good stuff lol.

I use hoppes, but only in my centerfire rifles. Grew up with the stuff. I have started using the gunslick foaming bore cleaner and then finishing with hoppes. That has seemed to cut my cleaning time. As for muzzleloading I use the tc17 products. Never takes too long. Use the foam and let it soak, clean the breech plug, and then clean the barrel with the tc17 solvent. Patches always come out clean. I like BH better. I think a lot of it is the no swab between shots. I shoot atleast 30 times a session though.

Hoppes #9 or Ballistol works fine for me, wiped dry. Nylon brushes IMHO, are plenty for BH209 and sabot fouling and bring less crap into the bore than a used bronze brush.

I always felt that the companies that make the solvent want you to use lots and that increases sales and puts more money in their pockets.

This is a good topic. I have been using #9 since using BH209 and I have to admit that I have been getting the same results as Mike. Now I think I will try some of these other cleaners.

I went from Hoppes #9 to Montana Extreme (no real difference) to EEzox and stayed with the Eezox. I like the three in one product (Clean, Lube, Protect) and really like the way it ends up with an almost dry finish.

So now I have one product for all my guns, handgun, centerfire and ML. Makes it easy.

rafsob
I did a great deal of experimenting with what worked and how well when Blackhorn came out. My conclusion was that nothing else worked as good as alcohol but I have experienced flash rust with it alone so I mix #9 with it anything from a 50/50 mix to a 80 /20 mix will allow the alcohol to do the job and the light oil distillate in the #9 will prevent problems with flash rust. If you oil right away its fine to use 90% but I don't put oil in my barrels when I am going to hunt.

After shooting 9 rounds through the V2 Accura today with BH209. I ran 2 dry patches down the bore to take out the loose fouling, one wet patch with BC bore scrubber swabbed the bore, followed up by another wet patch than i ran down the bore and allowed to sit for a few minutes while i took some pics and cleaned the BP. Came back and ran another wet patch that barely had any fouling on it.

That doesnt sound to tough does it?

After shooting BH209, rifle in a vise, I remove the BP, stuff a patch in the hole, spray some CVA BarrelBlaster from the muzzle end stuff a patch in. Let it sit a few minutes, drain. 3 patches later spotless. Run a brush through the breech threads, clean the BP, done. Can't finish a beer or cup of coffee in that amount of time.

OK, i want to change up the original question just a bit. I plan on trying to work up a load this spring and have at least 6 different kinds of bullets and 3 different powders. I plan on using mainly BH 209. I know it shoots fairly clean but i plan on swabbing the bore between shots anyway just to make sure every shot is as consistant as can be.

Most answers so far have been what everyone uses at the end of the day. I'm looking for what would be best to use between shots. So far i'm thinking 90% alcohol, but i was just wondering what would clean the quickest seeing as how BH 209 says you need to use a BH 209 cleaner.

OK with the senario that you have requested.... I am not sure of a great answer.

In my case BH has been most consistent on a bore that has been repeatedly shot. Actually the same with T7 other that I do run a windex patch after each shot, except in the case of hunting when a hurry up second shot might be needed.

In both cases BH or T7, my approach is that I shoot 3-5 shots from the gun just before the season to check POI. With T7 I would then run a cleaning (semi-cleaning) windex patch and then a Montana X-Treme patch - with just barely any X-treme on it - then dry patch load up and go hunting. I never really clean the gun during the season.

With BH my approach would be the same but I would use just barely moist Barnes CR-10 bore cleaner patch, a dry patch, X-treme patch to neutralize the CR-10 annd to provide moisture protection of the bore while hunting - then load up again for the season.

Part of the consistentcy of bh is that the spent residue also provides a surface for the next load to ride on in the bore both on the way down and on the way out. Pretty much the same thing you would accomplish when shooting a centerfire with a smokeless powder.

Probably does not make much sense without actually seeing what and how but it seems to wrk for me.

I really never use alcohol in the bore as it strips all (or most)protection from the bore. And if you are hunting in Idaho it is not not that often dry out. I just do not want to hunt with a stripped bore. And I realize I am in the minority here.

So you may want to look to some one else for a technique...

mike

Seems to me the carbon in the breech plug will be more of a variable, than the soot in the barrel. Keeping the flame channel clean with a hand spun drill will make for uniformity. If you insist on messing with the barrel, perhaps a dry patch would be as good as any. When i shoot BH, i like it when about 5 shots have gone through the barrel, because, after that, it seems like things more or less stabilize.

+1, That's the way its worked out for me.
I have never liked putting water in a gun; and I probably never will. As far as cleaning is concerned a couple of patches with alcohol +#9 work for me where ever I am range or hunting camp no extra bother. I think every body should do what works for them in the long run we will find that the companies that have business will stay and the others will eventually go.

I would do 5 shots of BH209 (same load) without swabbing and then compare that with 3 shots of the same load swabbed between each shot. In an email conversation I was having with Randy Wakeman, he insisted that letting the sabot be the "wiper" as you load had a more consistent effect on the bore than swabbing.

I have found if you keep running wet Hoppe's or BH209 solvent down and out the bore they will keep coming out a little dirty. If I run a dry patch down after the first wet one clean up is quicker. Alot of the mess is down by and around the breech plug and if cleaning with the plug in it will keep picking up the fouling down there. After a few patches I pull the breech plug and run the patch all the way through and clean the threads. BH209 solvent to me is no better than Hoppe's. BH209 solvent has a very strong amonia odor so be ready to air the house out after cleaning or clean at the range to keep the Mrs. happy. My last patch on a dry bore is with a lightly coated Montana X-Treme patch.

Barrel heat with BH209 is going to affect your accuracy more than fouling. Carbon build up in the flash channel would be second runner up.

My first few jugs of BH209 I ran one dry patch between shots - just couldn't help it. I asked around and the consensus seemed to be don't swab with Blackhorn. Since I stopped, my shots have gotten more consistent.