what brush to use?
 

I bought some Hoppes solvent that works for Copper bullets.

Do I use that in addition to the standard Hoppe' s solvent?

Do I use a brash bruss with a solvent that works for copper?

Thanks
Bill

RE: what brush to use?
 

Any of the copper solvents will eat away at your brush. I' d use a nylon brush with a copper solvent. If you' re using the Hoppes copper removing formula (Benchrest), you shouldn' t need to use the regular Hoppes at all. The Benchrest Hoppes should do everything the normal Hoppes No. 9 does, plus help disolve copper. Although amoung copper removers, the Hoppes Benchrest isn' t nearly as effective as Sweets or some of the higher ammonia brands.

RE: what brush to use?
 

I havent opened it...I can return it.

Should I return it and look for a different brand?

I have always used Hoppes but I am by no stretch a gun expert. I have always used it because it seemed to be what was around. My Ruger 270 is my first rifle. (not counting the 2 .22' s and shotgun I have) and I want to take good care of it.

RE: what brush to use?
 

Yes. All Hoppe' s is good for these days is as a perfume for the gunroom. And you must use the old-time stuff for that!!

RE: what brush to use?
 

Hoppes copper solvent will work, but it' s verrrrry slow. It may take 3 or 4 days of overnight soaking to get all the copper out. I prefer Barnes CR-10 for copper removal. It will work a lot faster. For powder fouling I prefer Shooters Choice.

As previously mentioned, do not use a bronze bore brush with copper solvents. Not only will it dissolve the brush eventually, but it will cause your patches to come out blue every time, which is an indication of copper fouling. You could have a perfectly clean bore but not know it because of the blue patches.

Since we' re on the subject of cleaning and this is your first rifle, let me suggest you use proper cleaning techniques and tools. Your rifle will remain accurate longer and you' ll get more enjoyment out of it. Use a good quality one piece cleaning rod like a Bore Tech or Dewey and a bore guide. Always clean from the chamber, not from the muzzle. Also, use 100% cotton flannel patches. They work much better than the synthetic patches like you find at Walmart.

Good luck, I hope you enjoy your new rifle.

RE: what brush to use?
 

Does this mean I would use both of these products to clean my rifle?

Are there any good articles that show how to clean and maintain the rifle?
I have removed the bolt and cleaned it from the proper direction as you suggested but should I be breaking the rifle down?

How clean should the patches be?

Thanks for all your help!
Bill

RE: what brush to use?
 

Where do you find these cleaning products?

The only thing I could find was a bore guide

http://www.basspro-shops.com/servlet...rTarget=browse

RE: what brush to use?
 

S4, don' t fall into this trap. All what they say above it true. But call my gunsmith up in Westminster, MD and find out how many barrels he has rebarreled over the years due to overeager people including myself for over cleaning the barrel cause they got to get every little peice of copper out. I have fell into the trap and have coated dewey rods, bore guides, plastic brushes, CR10, Sweets, montana extreame, the list goes on and on. Once you go down it, you can' t go back

RE: what brush to use?
 

here' s what works for me......every 50-100 rounds I soak a cotton or wool mop in an amonia smelling copper solvant and swab the bore.......then I have a smoke.....If you don' t smoke have sex with the woman of the house.....if you live alone......find something to do for half an hour.....then swab the bore again..... keep the barrel wet with the copper solvent.....then get out a phosphor bronze brush and brush the barrel at least 20 full up and down strokes. Then dry the barrel with patches or clean cotton mops and run a light lube patch through the barrel.......it works for me.

RE: what brush to use?
 

Who is your gunsmith in Westminster?

RE: what brush to use?
 

RA Browns on Old Windsor Pike. He is not a big fan of Sweets or CR-10 however due to several customers misusing the stuff. He likes wipe out. And has turned me on to it.

Just talked to him. And he was telling me that he always uses " brake clean" after using products with alot of ammonia in it like Sweets to get all the ammonia out of it. I may think he is taking it too far however.

RE: what brush to use?
 

bigcounty makes a pretty good point. You can take this cleaning thing a little too far. However, if done right, you won' t do any harm to your barrel.

For a while your barrel will probably copper foul quite badly, so after each range session (20 rounds or so) you' ll need to clean it out. After a few range sessions your barrel will become broken in and then copper fouling will be less of a problem. When that happens you won' t have to get the copper out as often, maybe after every 50 or 75 shots or so. It' ll just depend on your particular barrel as to how long it takes to get broken in. Some take significantly longer than others.

I first use Shooters Choice to get the powder fouling out. I run two or three wet patches down the bore then let it sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Then I wet a bronze brush and scrub the bore back and forth about 15 times. Then I run another wet patch or two down the bore followed by 3 or 4 dry patches. This takes care of the powder. If I don' t need to clean the copper out I then apply some Butches oil to a patch and run that down the bore a couple of times and put the rifle back in the rack.

If you' re not sure you have excess copper in your barrel then, do this: After letting the barrel sit with Shooters Choice in it for 30 minutes or so, run a patch (wet or dry) through it BEFORE you use the bronze brush. If that patch comes out with a significant amount of blue coloration on it, then the bore has a good amount of copper in it. Shooters Choice has a mild copper cleaner in it, so if you get blue patches with it, you got copper. If you only have a very, very slight tinge of blue, then you may not need to worry about the copper at that time.

If copper is a problem I use the Barnes CR-10 after getting all the Shooters Choice out of the bore. DO NOT use these two cleaners in your bore at the same time. I apply the CR-10 with a wool bore mop. I swab the bore back and forth several times. Then I apply the CR-10 to a nylon brush and run it back and forth a few times and then I wait about 10 or 15 minutes. Next I run a clean cotton patch down the bore and check to see how much blue coloration is on it. I continue with the CR-10 routine until the patch comes out clean or with only a very slight tinge of blue on it. Then I run two or three more dry patches down the bore to get the CR-10 out and I' ll follow up with Butch' s oil.

After every 150 to 200 rounds I' ll give the barrel a good going over with JB paste. This does a good job on the really caked on fouling that my normal cleaning routine doesn' t get.

Here' s a few places where you may be able to find what you need:

www.sinclairintl.com
www.grafs.com
www.lockstock.com
www.midwayusa.com

Good luck.