The Gun Counter

Benchrest hall of famer, and BR gunsmith Thomas "Speedy"Gonzalez shows how he cleans his rifles, and explains why he does it that way...

https://youtu.be/dfgbvAz09uI

Thanks! I learned a lot!

Probably the biggest truth given by "Speedy" is this:

Most shooters don't shoot well enough to know when accuracy is falling off

Yeah, I'm in that "most" category.

Old-bench-rest-guy (OBRG) years ago told me to get rid of my aluminum and brass cleaning rods and go to stainless steel. He claimed bits of metal and grit can embed themselves in the aluminum or brass, which leads to more barrel wear when cleaning. "Speedy" uses carbon-graphite cleaning rods, which can't be as hard as stainless steel. I'll probably stick to stainless steel, unless someone has some good arguments on carbon-graphite.

That same OBRG was a proponent of Butch's Bore Shine and bronze brushes. I decided Butch's was a little too aggressive chemistry for me, so I stopped using that, and rarely even use nylon brushes (unless I've just acquired a poorly maintained piece of iron). "Speedy" also says OK to just use patches unless you are in a hurry (like at a match), which is pretty much what I do now.

OBRG was a proponent of neck sizing his match cases. "Speedy" says he does full length sizing. Sounds better to me.

OBRG also got me converted to using bore guides for cleaning (no, we weren't issued those in US Army). I have three sizes bought years ago at Midway, small, medium and large. IIRC, it was about $40 for all three.

No links that I could find in the YouTube link, so I did my best to take notes and look up the stuff "Speedy" uses.

"Speedy's" recommended bore guides: https://www.pmatool.com/cleaning-rod-guides/

Wow! $70 for each caliber! Anyone have experience with these? Are they worth the upcharge from Midway?

Here's the cleaning fluid "Speedy" recommends:

https://sharpshootr.com/wipe-out/

https://sharpshootr.com/accelerator-for-wipe-out/

I've never used it, and don't recall every seeing it. Anyone have any comments?

Here's the graphite powder "Speedy" recommends:

https://benchrite.com/lock-ease/

I mentioned in another thread that I tried using graphite powder for extreme condition lubricant (very cold, very dusty). It didn't seem to work that well, but I don't recall the brand (not this one).

Anyone try this stuff?

Thanks!

The crap can imbed in aluminum and brass cleaning rods - a precision hole lap is basically a piece of brass rod with abrasive...

I think the advantage of the carbon fiber rods is they're stiffer than typical stainless rods for a given diameter. A good practice to get into is to wipe the rod with a clean patch every time you pull it back out.

Butch's boreshine "too agressive"?! When I started gettingt into BR back in the 90s, Butches was the hot new thing in cleaning - the old skool method of using kroil and JB compound was the predominant method on the line, and still is(although not nearly as much) fairly popular. I particularly liked it because both elements are "dual use" - I keep a gallon can of Kroil around to deal with stuck bolts, and JB makes an excellent fine abrasive for lapping bolt lugs. I've also used it to lap rough military barrels, and one person I know saved a vintage Marlin barrel that was "dark" using it after I suggested it too him, instead of relining.

Sweets remains the best copper remover, but it's also the most aggressive - IT WILL DESTROY THE BARREL IF LEFT IN TOO LONG.

There are a number of carbon removers on the market, but one of the better ones I like comes from the Automotive world. GM Top Engine Cleaner - you can get it from Amazon.

In comparison, here's something I posted last year, Walter Bergers cleaning method for Moly:

Walt Bergers procedure for cleaning rifle barrels - note, at the time Walt was a big fan of moly coated bullets(personally, I think Danzac is a better coating)

1. Push one patch wet with Kroil Oil through the barrel
2. Repeat step 1.
3. Push one dry patch through the barrel.
4. Repeat step 3.
5. Push one patch wet with Butch's Bore Shine through the barrel.
6. Repeat step 5.
7. Let the barrel soak for 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Push one dry patch through the barrel.
9. Repeat step 8.
10. Using short strokes back and forth push one patch wet with USP or JB Bore Paste through the barrel.
11. Push one patch wet with Kroil through the barrel.
12. Repeat step 11 twice.
13. Push one dry patch through the barrel.
14. Repeat step 13 three times.
15. Use bore scope or visually inspect muzzle for copper fouling.
16. If copper is present repeat steps 10 through 15.
17. If you are storing the rifle push one patch wet with quality gun oil through the barrel.

Thanks! Good suggestions.

I've gotten sloppy about copper fouling, but I'm not sure I'm ready for JB Bore Paste.

Yeah, Sweets is very aggressive. That stuff scared me the couple of times I used it. It does take the copper out, but I was wondering what else it was doing to my barrel.

I got to treating copper as just a thin layer of "plating". Yeah, it was probably affecting my accuracy, but I'm in the "most" category that "Speedy" refers to among non-BR shooters.

However, one comment "Speedy" made about the barrel possibly corroding under the copper layer got me reconsidering my maintenance routine. I hadn't thought about that.

Maybe only in Houston? I'm in the Southwest where it's a bit more arid, but I still have enough "Old Army" left in me that I try to maintain my weapons.

Anyone had experience with corrosion forming under the copper?

All very interested, but as I am not a bench rest shooter rather academic.