Funk in the barrel

[hardlyworking]

Ladies and Gents, I've got funk in my barrel

I've had it there for a while, and I've tried a few things with limited success.

Disassembling the VersaMax, about the first 1/3 of the barrel from the chamber has crud lining it.

My only cleaning tools are: Hoppe's spray can solvent (Kerosine and Ethanol looks like), a 12ga boresnake, and a nice carbon fiber cleaning rod.

For the rod I have a steel "tornado" brush, a wire brush and a mop.

When I cleaned last, the tornado was working overtime and pulling small flakes and specks of metal, presumably lead, off the barrel when vigorously brushing the affected area.

Rest of the barrel is mirror smooth. Supposedly the barrel is melonited, so it should be nearly impervious to the steel brush.

Should I just keep scraping until its all gone or are more involved solvents required/recommended?

[kielbasavw]

Theres a reason they make special solvents for lead or copper

[AreWeFree]

Foaming bore cleaner is awesome, it will clean your barrel in minutes.

Anything else I've tried takes too much scrubbing and the patches never came out clean.

[kmca]

It's probably plastic from the wads. Get some floor wax stripper and spray it down the barrel, let it work, then run your tornado brush through. If you are close, I've got a bottle that I bought years ago and you can have some. A bottle last a looong time

[hardlyworking]

Foaming bore cleaner is awesome, it will clean your barrel in minutes.

Anything else I've tried takes too much scrubbing and the patches never came out clean.

Any recommended products? AR15Barrels recs a foaming bore cleaner too, but I haven't heard any actual product names.

It seems like gun cleaning stuff has a huge potential for "snake oil" and I'd like to buy a product that people actually use.

It's probably plastic from the wads. Get some floor wax stripper and spray it down the barrel, let it work, then run your tornado brush through.

It could be some plastic, but the brush was definitely pulling flakes/chunks of silvery metal out of the bore, all kinds of it trapped in the brush and floating in the chamber where the locking-lugs...lock.

[AreWeFree]

I agree on the snake oil, I have a bunch of stuff that just sits on a shelf now.. all promises, no delivery.

The stuff I have is S&W Foaming Bore Cleaner, it is supposed to dissolve copper/lead/plastic fouling and just destroys carbon. I bought it at Big5 awhile ago on clearance and I don't think it's made anymore. It comes out like a gel and rapidly expands. I push it through the bore with a patch, then put some on a brush and run 2 - 3 passes, then let it sit for 5 minutes. Then I come back with 2 - 4 patches and I'm done, literally shiny bore and a clean white patch at the end.

I believe any foaming bore cleaner will work. I saw another member recommend Shooter's Choice.

Edit: The S&W foaming cleaner may be rebranded Gunslick

[twotacocombo]

You shooting slugs through that barrel? I've put a few hundred buck/bird shot through my 500's barrel without much fouling. 15 rounds of rifled slug, and there was a crapton of lead stuck to the barrel close to the chamber. I tried a foaming bore cleaner, and it didn't too much to it. Wound up just scrubbing it out with a wire brush, no big deal.

[Untamed1972]

Funk In The Barrel.......that's the name of my new band!

[hardlyworking]

You shooting slugs through that barrel? I've put a few hundred buck/bird shot through my 500's barrel without much fouling. 15 rounds of rifled slug, and there was a crapton of lead stuck to the barrel close to the chamber. I tried a foaming bore cleaner, and it didn't too much to it. Wound up just scrubbing it out with a wire brush, no big deal.

Yes to slugs. I bought 5 or more different kinds and trying to test them at 30 and 50 yards... even with the minor stock adjustments the VersaMax allows for, using the rib and mid-bead and front bead all lined up as best as I can get them, I'm high and right a good 8 inches at 50 yards. A PA red dot is on its way now.