Things I learned today with my new Lyman Borecam

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rockable

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1. My cleaning regimen needed work.
2. Hoppes #9 is better than Butch's Bore Shine for powder/carbon. A brass brush helps a bunch.
3. Kroil doesn't do crap as far as cleaning bores.
​​​4. Butch's will eventually clean copper out but it helps to use a nylon brush.
5. If you don't use a brush to clean your barrel, it probably isn't clean.
6. It's apparent that Savage OE barrels aren't finished or machined to anywhere near the standard of Shilen, Lilja or Douglas barrels. You get what you pay for.
7. The borecam is well worth the $200 I paid for it.
 
What will your cleaning regiment look like with this new knowledge?
 
rockable;n28595 said:
1. My cleaning regimen needed work.
2. Hoppes #9 is better than Butch's Bore Shine for powder/carbon. A brass brush helps a bunch.
3. Kroil doesn't do crap as far as cleaning bores.
​​​4. Butch's will eventually clean copper out but it helps to use a nylon brush.
5. If you don't use a brush to clean your barrel, it probably isn't clean.
6. It's apparent that Savage OE barrels aren't finished or machined to anywhere near the standard of Shilen, Lilja or Douglas barrels. You get what you pay for.
7. The borecam is well worth the $200 I paid for it.
Click to expand...

Put the borecam away. I have one to. Some of what you stated is not actually factual, meaning just because their is carbon, copper, powder in the barrel after cleaning doesn't mean it's dirty. To us and how we are programed we think it is.

What kind of end attachment are you using on your rod for patches?
 
I use caliber specific jags for my rod patches. I'm not sure what my cleaning regimen will look like yet but it will include brushes. I understand that a little copper is not a bad thing but what I saw needed cleaning up. I also now understand why the factory barrels get dirtier. The finish is not as good.
 
I've had a borescope for about fifteen years. You will learn a lot about barrels and cleaning. My best advice is to always remember that all that matters is how the barrel shoots, not how it looks. The borescope is a tool to learn how to keep the barrel in an acceptable accuracy window. I've had some barrels that had to be kept pretty clean to shoot their best. Others will foul to a point and seemingly almost stop, while maintaining accuracy. Some start to foul and continue fouling to the point of shooting very poorly.

You will learn there are huge differences in factory barrels. Some are pretty good, others look like they were rifled by driving a rock down the barrel. Most of the custom barrels, Lilja, Shilen, Kreiger, etc., are very good. The best barrels are those that you start off with squeaky clean and they take a bit of carbon and then stop, not taking any copper at all. Look at every barrel you can, including the chamber, neck, throat, and crown. These are as important as the rifling.
 
Cast lead bullets.
After participating in Cowboy Long Range, I have discovered some rifles will not group nor hit the same POA when squeaky clean. The first five rounds from my 38-55 with a squeaky clean barrel are "fouling shots". Some of the guys claim it may take ten rounds to foul the barrel for accuracy. Some of this, I suspect, may be blamed on undersized bullets.
 
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