Is this copper fouling?

[FloridaLife23]

I bought a brand new Browning AB3 Bolt Action .308 rifle this summer. I've shot less than 30-40 rounds through it in 5-6 trips. I clean this rifle every time it's been shot within 1 hour of finishing my range shooting. I take 30 minutes to clean the bore with hoppe's solvent and I run a regular .30 caliber brass rifle brush to break up the normal fouling. The last time I cleaned it I looked through the barrel and noticed that some (every other rifling) had some brown/orange looking substance/marks/wear on it. I attached a very clear picture of what I can see exactly.

Is this even an issue worth worrying about? Couper fouling? Is the barrel lined with something that gets worn cause it isn't a smooth clean line it's very broken up but only on the insides of the riffling I can't see it being rust as I don't notice any brown on my patches & I'd imagine rust would rub off a little bit to see.

 

[FloridaLife23]

I've attached another picture to show how this orange mark/wear skips rifling, you can see in the picture under the visible orange wear that the below rifling is perfectly normal not orange/worn.

 

[whatluck]

Those pictures are blurry af, but that's either copper or rust. If you put more light on the area and back up a bit we should be able to see better.

 

[fa18hooker]

If it's copper it will oxidize green with an ammonia solvent (hoppes, etc). Copper fouling is usually worst at the breech, not at the muzzle (unless the rifling is seriously rough at the muzzle).

 

[whatluck]

Also, do you oil the bore after you clean?

 

[FloridaLife23]

If it's copper it will oxidize green with an ammonia solvent (hoppes, etc). Copper fouling is usually worst at the breech, not at the muzzle (unless the rifling is seriously rough at the muzzle).

I just ran some Sweet's 7.62 solvent and I could see activated blue patches on it.

Also, do you oil the bore after you clean?

I don't oil the bore after I clean at all. I run wet patches, than run my brush through to break it up, than clean the fouling with dry patches till dry patches have no residue, and lube the bolt.

 

[whatluck]

I just ran some Sweet's 7.62 solvent and I could see activated blue patches on it.



I don't oil the bore after I clean at all. I run wet patches, clean fouling till dry patches show no residue, and lube the bolt.

I always run a patch with a tiny bit of oil after every cleaning to keep rust away. Sounds like you need some copper remover, though. I like the Mpro stuff.

 

[FloridaLife23]

Those pictures are blurry af, but that's either copper or rust. If you put more light on the area and back up a bit we should be able to see better.

This is the best picture I could take. Does this look more like rust or copper?

I always run a patch with a tiny bit of oil after every cleaning to keep rust away. Sounds like you need some copper remover, though. I like the Mpro stuff.

That sounds worth doing for now on. I'll check that out, thank you.

 

[jpm]

That looks like rust to me. You need to run an oiled patch thru after you've cleaned otherwise you're just leaving bare un-oiled metal exposed to the atmosphere.

 

[whatluck]

This is the best picture I could take. Does this look more like rust or copper?



That sounds worth doing for now on. I'll check that out, thank you.

I wanna say that's surface rust but you said you got copper (sulfate?) blue, so that means you have at least some copper. Does a good bore scrubbing remove it?

 

[FloridaLife23]

Well, this is interesting now. I'll absolutely run a little oil through to help prevent rust but I did just find this post on bass pro's website that carries my gun, and this is interesting.

Gyazo

Sounds like this gun's barrel could be more prone to rust

 

[FloridaLife23]

I wanna say that's surface rust but you said you got copper (sulfate?) blue, so that means you have at least some copper. Does a good bore scrubbing remove it?

I just gave it a good bore scrubbing after reading this, and it had no impact. Still there.

 

[jpm]

I just gave it a good bore scrubbing after reading this, and it had no impact. Still there.

did you use a brass brush?

 

[FloridaLife23]

did you use a brass brush?

Unfortunately I just have bronze bristle brushes laying around

 

[Mudflap621]

Looks like copper to me. How’s it shoot that should tell you when it needs to be cleaned. A lot of people say you can do more harm to your barrel by excessive cleaning than shooting.

 

[FloridaLife23]

Looks like copper to me. How’s it shoot that should tell you when it needs to be cleaned. A lot of people say you can do more harm to your barrel by excessive cleaning than shooting.

It shoots extremely well. Last time I shot it I had outstanding groupings at 100 yards, last few shots were on top of each other.

I'll keep that in mind for sure though

 

[jpm]

Less than 50 rounds through it should not be copper fouling like that. Based on how you cleaned it after shooting but didn't oil the bore, rust makes a lot more sense than copper fouling.

Bronze brush is fine, so you've cleaned it well and I'd say go out and put 5 rounds downrange and see if the discoloration (aka rust) is gone. If its copper, there should be more but if its rust, it should be gone. Then clean & oil.

 

[mac1911]

I just ran some Sweet's 7.62 solvent and I could see activated blue patches on it.



I don't oil the bore after I clean at all. I run wet patches, than run my brush through to break it up, than clean the fouling with dry patches till dry patches have no residue, and lube the bolt.

you need to apply something that will prevent rust.
Looks like rust to me.
Get nylon or stainless brush.
Always run a wet patch or 2 when done cleaning.

Im not a clean it every trip shooter.
I will run a wet patch then a few dry patches then a wet patch. i been using gunzilla for several years and it works good.
For serious copper removal , sweets or Montana extreme

 

[Mudflap621]

Less than 50 rounds through it should not be copper fouling like that. Based on how you cleaned it after shooting but didn't oil the bore, rust makes a lot more sense than copper fouling.

Bronze brush is fine, so you've cleaned it well and I'd say go out and put 5 rounds downrange and see if the discoloration (aka rust) is gone. If its copper, there should be more but if its rust, it should be gone. Then clean & oil.

I just purchased a tikka 308, cleaned and lubed than shot 20 rounds and It had copper streaks don’t think it rusted instantly. Imo if it was rust it would be more inclusive of the entire barrel.
Back on cleaning, I am no expert but the more research and reading on long range precision stuff I do the more I find a lot of guys aren’t cleaning their guns for hundreds and hundreds of rounds. they can tell when their barrels need cleaning when groups start opening up. There is also a lot to be said for people actually doing more harm by cleaning too much or incorrectly. I was always one of those guys to scrub till shiny but on this new tikka I’m going to try theabove approach and see what happens. I make sure that I run a small amount of lube to protect from rust but be sure to patch dry before firing.
I’d recommend going over to snipershide and reading up those guys are legit and really changed the way I go about my processes.

 

[PatMcD]

If it's a hunting rifle, who cares if there is copper in there? Actually ANY rifle, it does not matter. You can scrub out all the copper you want, but the next 1-6 rds through the barrel and it's all back again. If you do that, you will constantly be chasing zeros; clean barrel first shot vs. dirty barrel.

 

[Mtn_Guy]

It sounds as if the gun is defective. I’d suggest you post in the WTS/WTT at a ridiculously low price (make sure to throw in all ammo for free too)

 

[LuvDog]

First couple of pictures look like rust, but that last picture looks more like copper and you said you get a positive test for copper. I say oil it after cleaning and if it's rust, that solves the problem. If it's copper and it shoots well, then just live with it and stick to a good routine to make sure that you don't go beyond a point where it impacts your rifle's precision

 

[DW357]

If it's a hunting rifle, who cares if there is copper in there? Actually ANY rifle, it does not matter. You can scrub out all the copper you want, but the next 1-6 rds through the barrel and it's all back again. If you do that, you will constantly be chasing zeros; clean barrel first shot vs. dirty barrel.

This!
When I first got into guns I was super anal about removing all copper fouling and then I realized the effort wasn't worth it. I didn't notice any changes in accuracy etc. Now my guns just get a few pull throughs with a boresnake after the range.

 

[FloridaLife23]

What I take away from all of this is
1) Most likely copper fouling and that review I found is irrelevant to me.
2) Instead of spending 30 minutes cleaning my gun like a nut case I should probably spend 10 minutes and than 20 minutes making sure I’m cleaning it properly/effectively.
3) My accuracy has been consistent since the first day at the range so it’s probably irrelevant and I’ll just learn to live with it. I’m a bit of a detailed person so when I noticed it I sort of panicked as I spent so much time cleaning it that I felt it was for nothing haha

Thanks a lot for the useful information, I will be re-reading a lot of the replies for the next couple weeks for sure.

 

[moojpg2]

Put some oil in the barrel to keep it from rusting and stop worrying and shoot the damn thing. It's not a bench rest gun. You are doing more damage with the excessive cleaning than anything. You probably won't shoot it enough in your lifetime to truly foul or wear out the barrel. Run a bore snake through it with a little hoppe's #9 and then a patch with some oil to prevent rust and call it a day.

 

[jpm]

Now my guns just get a few pull throughs with a boresnake after the range.

This is exactly what I do. I have boresnakes for every caliber I shoot. I take some CLP type stuff and put it on a small section (like 1/2" or so) of the snake before the brush and after the brush. I pull it through 2 or 3 times and look with a bore light at the results. If it looks good, I'm done and it goes back in the safe. Put the snake in a baggie afterwards to keep it 'wet' and just pull it out again when needed.

 

[DW357]

Put the snake in a baggie afterwards to keep it 'wet' and just pull it out again when needed.

Yup, I do the same.