Rust & Bore Build up removal & Cleaning.

[Utha Schleigle]

I threaten to do this long ago - and yes I know there are two schools of thought on shotgun cleanliess. I am in the clean camp.

Many competive trap shooters clean out bore build up regularly so the expensive shot gun they bought can maintain it pattern and forcing cones stay clean.

Many of the new LE and home defense shot gun rounds have specail plastic wadds that could leave more bore deposits in the tube and on the forcing cones. I have asked some of the manufacturers about this and they have had no response.

Rust & Build Up Cleaning Procedure = RBCP

I will hazard to guess - but this does not replace standard cleaning after every tripp to the range.

Standard shot gun owner - standard shells = RBCP every 1500 to 2000 shells.

Trap competitive shooting and LE Specaility ammo every 500 to 750 shells.

I am going to do this in two sections.

The way I am going to do it and then were I got the information.

As allways if you a different way or you see any problems. Please share.

You will need.

Basic
A good 3/8" wooden dowel. Shop knife. 0000 ir 00000 steel wool. A good bore cleaner. Also you can use a standard shot gun cleaning kitt with TWO bore brushes in the gauge of the gun.

For the chamber bushing. YOU will need a 3/8" drill bit. An frired shell casing in the gauge needed. Shop knife. Punch primer sized.


Take your 3/8" dowel and cut down to 24" to 36" - keep short end whitch is good for chamber only. Using your shop knife raise slivers to hold steel wool.


Wrap 1/3 to 1/2 of a padd of 0000 to 00000 steel wool onto slivered dowel end. Unwrap sheet off steel wool padd and then evenly wrap on dowel. More coarse steel wool is really not needed and you want to clean and polish/burnish.

I recommend just pushing the steel wool straight down the tube with only spining the dowel by hand. Yes you could put end of down on a drill, but you have to keep steel wool wadd constantly move-ing. Drills are for more agreesive cleaning. I like the straight push through method, because this technique is exactly how the wadd and shot will travel up the tube.

Just as the dowel end reaches the muzzel pull back out - this prevents the steel wool bunching up - but on a $2000.oo to 20,000.oo trap gun beach to muzzel is the method I would use.

You can use dry and place a peice of paper to see all the plastic and shot smears then come out.

You can apply bore cleaner or AFT or ED's RED. I am using ATF and AFT Slick50 with TEFLON to clean the tube out and polish. With liquid is applied to the steel wool.

5 to 10 passes and the tube should look like a mirror inside. Heavy deposits or chamber rust light pitting - hand spinning and then finnish with 10 to 25
straight passes should work.


Barrel length dowel and a chamber stick.

[Utha Schleigle]

You can use a standard shot gun cleaning kitt - with one bore brush for the steel wool and another for standard clean and patches. The same chamber bushing works on the aluminum rod as the wooden dowel.

The chamber bushing is realy only used and is necessary when you attach a drill or cordless drill to dowel end.


Take a fired casing and cut off plastic part of shell. Next time I will trim to Brass part and try out a empty shell casing with less brass. Knock out expent primer and use drill bitt to drill out a 3/8" hole for dowel or aluminum cleaning rod.


Put oil or small ammount of grease to lube bushing - fit to rodd or dowel until the bushing moves and spinns freely on bushing. This actually works really well and you hold barrel and place thumb on bushhing - pushing it into the chamber recess for the breach as the drill rotates.



Some build up over decades may require soaking the tube with bore cleaner / copper fowling / your favorite mixture for and 1/2 hour or so to loosen deposits up.

Many pattern problems can bo traced to bore build up and broken extractors / cycle problems can be traced to chamber rust.

[Utha Schleigle]

Sorryfor the large format - but this is my source.






The chamber hones and foam lapper I would leave to the SHOT GUN - GUN SMITH. This could take a lot of metal off.

[Utha Schleigle]

I would pass on the NAVAL JELLY - ATF has a lot of cleaner in it.

[Utha Schleigle]

[Thefeeder]

><

That is a very aggressive method of cleaning. Used only as a one time treatment after a shotgun has been neglected for a long time.

After each trip to the range or field....pass a brass brush coated with Bore Cleaner through the barrel several times. Pass two or three patches made from old cotton socks....run in one with oil...wipe down the gun and done.

Takes all of 5-7 min. Done this for many, many years with no rust or build up problems.

I have used the steel wool method and it does work, but only on shotguns that need that one time service

[Smokinjoe101]

After a range trip I spray cleaner then run my brush connected to my electric drill run for a few min spray again then run clean patches then oil.. im am surprised how much lead comes out of clean looking barrels.

sj

[aippi]

I make home made polishing rods and use them every time I clean my weapon. Just stretch the wool over the dowel rod and tape it off at the bottom. No knotching the dowl (still laughing about that one)

I rund these dry. No mess needed for a smooth bore barrel. I have one for the bore and one for the Chamber. These can be seen at www.aiptactical.com on the red link "Install and Cleaning". I guess I am a simple guy and prefer doing things simple.

Not sure how you get lead build up in a smooth bore barrel that can cause the barrel to bulge as that book in the picture claims. Anyone figure that out?

[sarge1572]

Very impressive write up.

I maintain 50 - 870's for a local PD. They ONLY shoot "sock" rounds (Flexible Baton I believe is the correct nomenclature) out of them anymore. When they shoot these rounds the barrel is lined with burnt on plastic. I use a "tornado brush" to strip the plastic out and run a Rodge-F http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1..._CHAMBER_BRUSH brush down the chamber and bore. One pass with it and I'm done. Best cleaning brush I've ever used. I have 5 dozen brass and bronze 12 ga bore brushes I'll never use!!

If you clean lots of shotguns and haven't tried the Rodge-F brush you should.

Thanks for the write up. It was interesting reading.

Jeff

[Utha Schleigle]

Very impressive write up.

I maintain 50 - 870's for a local PD. They ONLY shoot "sock" rounds (Flexible Baton I believe is the correct nomenclature) out of them anymore. When they shoot these rounds the barrel is lined with burnt on plastic. I use a "tornado brush" to strip the plastic out and run a Rodge-F http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1..._CHAMBER_BRUSH brush down the chamber and bore. One pass with it and I'm done. Best cleaning brush I've ever used. I have 5 dozen brass and bronze 12 ga bore brushes I'll never use!!

If you clean lots of shotguns and haven't tried the Rodge-F brush you should.

Thanks for the write up. It was interesting reading.

Jeff

When I read the specifactions of the CONTROL FLITE rounds - OOO & OO buck rounds with the Special Engineered wadds, I had to guess there would be some effect to mantenance - tube pressure {CUP Pressure} - recoil. Sabots are incased in plastic wadd - driving bands and would have the same issues.

Eventually build up will effect the pattern. Even in stove pipe or improved cylinder tube a 5% to 10% change {+ or -} in pattern would be of interest. In a round {Trap ROUND - bird shot - 80 to 100 pellets} with 6 shot in it a hole in the pattern may let 5% of the clays miss be-ing hit. Now a BUCK SHOTT round your pattern/aim is more crytical {IN MY OPINION} { 8 to 9 pellets - sabot - slug}, because fully hitting the intended target may be more important to the shooter.

[Utha Schleigle]

I make home made polishing rods and use them every time I clean my weapon. Just stretch the wool over the dowel rod and tape it off at the bottom. No knotching the dowl (still laughing about that one)

I rund these dry. No mess needed for a smooth bore barrel. I have one for the bore and one for the Chamber. These can be seen at www.aiptactical.com on the red link "Install and Cleaning". I guess I am a simple guy and prefer doing things simple.

Not sure how you get lead build up in a smooth bore barrel that can cause the barrel to bulge as that book in the picture claims. Anyone figure that out?

Cool tape the bottom of the wadd of steel wool. When using a drill some attaching method would be good, so the dowel just does not spin. Running DRY make sence for the tape. Different ways of doing something - can help ALL to use a method to

Bulges and other issues.
Any restriction obstruction could cause excess presure in the tube. Bulid Up - Mudd - Water - Snow - ???? The pressure will find the wealest spot.

{make sure gun is uloaded and do not get PINKEY stuck}

Try this experiment. Put your PINKEY finger in the muzzel and feel the forward forcing cone for the choke. Notice shape and smoothness. Now think of the shot colum screaming up the tube at 900 to 1,000 - 1,400 FPS. A smooth mirror polish would help. Also take any soft metal {Copper-Laed-Aluminum- BiMetal Allow-Plastic and rubb on a steel surface with speed and pressure and look at schmears and deposits.

[Utha Schleigle]

Thoughts and policies on firearm rust. I will tell you generally, because source material and the army is not CA-PC.

Rust should be removed with fine steel wool and cleaner or cleaner and PLASTIC tooth brush ONLY. Guide-ance and instruction should given and sought from squad leader and/or company armorer. ONLY the effected area should be treated and ONLY to the ammount that rust is removed. The rust removed {especially if it effects the smoothness of the action or action cycle should be} is ONLY an issue of weapon readiness and realiblitiy. Light pressure should be applied with steel wool - PLASTIC tooth brush can be used with wilde abandon.

Rust pitts and staining are ONLY a concern if they effect the function of the rifle. AGAIN
Guide-ance and instruction should given and sought from squad leader and/or company armorer.

NO POLISHING - BUFFING the area and action would be neccessary or tollerated. If firearm needs more than cleaning with steel wool / tooth brush and cleaner - the squad leader and company armorer should inspect the rifle and the armorer fix the waepon or the weapon will be sorted out. {SORTED OUT = weapon turned into armorer and sent to be refurbished or replaced. Soldier issued a different weapon}

Generally all wapon maintenance is along the same lines - function over cosmetics.

{My opinion}
The reasoning for this policy was to prevent the soldier {gun onwer} buffing / polishing the gun and action to a LOOSE state or cause-ing other dammage. The rifle would pass inspection if the rust was removed. Stains and pitting were left and dis-reguarded as cosmetic.

The soldier wanted bright shiney pretty rifle/weapon that would pass inspection quickliy. The soldier did not to get shot by the squad leader or sargent for lack of gun maintence while out in the feild of operations.

The armed forces wanted a soldier with a weapon that worked and preformed it'z function and was not concerned with cosmetics. Harsche enviroments were expected and planned for in relation to maintenance.

_________________________________________________

For US - heavy rust issues and crytical action/headspace rust areas should planned out or guidance should be sought out by a GUN SMITH or may be ask the forum for ideas.

Plastic Tooth brushes should be used with cleaner or ATF. Automotive cleaning brushes may be too hard for gun metal. {Steel or Brass - use with caution} Steel wool can move blueing - metal finishes - change color and hue of metal finnish.

[Utha Schleigle]

On another forum.

He cleans regular-ly

At the first signs of build up.
The member posted that he uses a piece of CLOTH SOLD TO CLEAN SILVER. He cuts a peice {off the sheet} to wrapp around the bore brush. 2 to 8 passes with the SILVER CLEANING CLOTH and it micro clean and super fast {Copper-Lead-Plastic} all gone.

He said that it was very fast and very thorough - very simple.

Could be an option for multiple shot guns - easy to train - less chance for PILOT ERROR.

He said he has used it for years and it has not harmed his bores.

{Me} look into chemicals and if they pose a hazard to barrel steel.

[Utha Schleigle]

I was not sure if this was made clear when useing the steel wool on your brush or dowel

Hand method works the best - also with in 20 passes you will be able to FEEL the bore smoothness or roughness. The straight hand method mimicks the move ment of the shot wadd collume straight up th bore. I do not use a drill. but in extreme cases I would.

I would leave hone-ing and reem-ing to qualified SHOT GUN - GUN SMITH

NOTICE THE.... SHOT GUN gun smith

NOW if using a drill allways keep steel wool wadd moving back and forth - even it is an couple of inches - KEEP the steel wool MOVING never stopp and let it spinn for 10,000 - 100,000 revolutions and cut a bulge in tube bore

A concave buldge in bore or chamber will need to honed or reemed by a gun smith or barrel replaced - only in extreme instantances - but why go there..

ALWAYS KEEP MOVE-ING back and forth

NEVER STOP and let steel whool or hones stay in one space.