Sweet's and S/S

[WSM264]

What is the deal with Sweet's 762 and stainles steel??  Is it safe to use or not??
I have read that ammonia based cleaners will etch the bore thus causing increased fouling and once cleaned a new break in procedure to be done again.  Anybody else hear this??
I am not worried about my hunting guns but my long range prairie dog set ups.

[Graybeard]

Can't say that I've ever heard that story. Ammonia based clearners shouldn't be left in any barrel all that long. I use it on all mine SS and chrome moly.

I should add I don't use Sweet's but rather Barnes CR-10. It's the fastest acting copper solvent I've found.

[Lloyd Smale]

im sure its safe if used like it is supposed to be used. Dont leave it in overnight though. I dont use sweets anymore there are solvents just as good that are much easier on the barrel. Barnes and montana x are two i use most. I also use the overnight foams and they do a great job.

[LanceR]

Brandt, as Lloyd wrote Sweets is fine but it is intended to be used and then completely removed followed by whatever cleaning solvent and preservative you normally use. Even a heavily fouled bore should not take more than a few minutes to clean.   If it is not thoroughly cleaned from the firearm it attracts water and promotes corrosion.  If someone tells you they had damage from using Sweets it is because they didn't follow the directions.  One challenge with using it is to keep the muzzle down somewhat and to be careful not to let any of it run down into the action where it is a real PITA to clean out.  With a gas gun be sure to keep the gas port up to prevent any from getting into the gas system.

My varmint rifle is a match built AR15 with a stainless barrel.  When I built it back in 2002 I polished the chamber and lapped the barrel.  I have never had an issue with Sweets hurting it but only use the Sweets about once a year or 500 shots whichever comes first.  There is still darn little copper residue to clean out.

I stopped shooting competitively for the New York Army National Guard when I retired in 2005.  We used stainless steel barreled Remington 40-X match rifles chambered in .30-.338 Win Mag for our 1000 yard work.  Practice and match sessions averaged 40-44 rounds and we used Sweets after every session.  They still shot the heck out of the X ring if we did our part.  That's a lot of Sweets over the life of a match rifle and we never had a problem.

I haven't tried any of the other products Lloyd mentioned but I since I shoot some Barnes bullets for big game in a .308 I might give them a try when my current bottle of Sweets runs out.

Lance

[WSM264]

Thanx for all the advice.  I remember hearing that about 5-10 years ago and couldn't remember if it was ever debunked. 
I love my Sweet's  .  I also use Gunslick's Foaming bore spray and for used guns that I buy I put them on  the Foul Out electronic bore cleaner.
I haven't tried the Barnes or Montana -X yet - maybe when I run out of Sweet's.  I did try the T/C foaming bore cleaner and was not impressed.
 
Lance, that is a good long term testament with the 30-338.  It also answers my question about Sweet's and gas operated guns.

[LanceR]

Brandt, we used Sweets in our National Match M14 and our M21 (M14 based) sniper rifles along with our match rifles built on M16 receivers but I don't ever remember using it on rack grade M16 stuff due to the chrome lined bore.  We also used it on our M24 sniper rifles (souped up Remington M700s) and our .50 BMG rifles.

The .30-.338 is easier on barrels when shot near max loads than a .300 Win Mag because there is less powder to cause heat erosion.  It really does not give up anything in performance to the .300 WM with the heavier bullets used at long range and it is an easier cartridge to load accurately due to the longer neck.  Add in the ability to use a less expensive and stiffer standard length action and it is a good cartridge for long range work.  I did the long range loading for the team and strove for consistency, not all out velocity.  Most of our loads were a little below the mid point of a particular component combinations powder charges. 

For those of us involved with building match rifles most barrel blanks were initially chambered and then cut to the longest length we could get.  As the throat was shot out we'd cut the threads off the barrel and re-chamber and thread it and screw it back into the action.  You had to be careful in setting up the thread cuts to get the front sight screws pointing straight up or put up but we used to get an awful lot of rounds through a bore before the accuracy went away.  You can re-cut the chamber 2 or 3 times before the tube is shot out.

Lance

[WSM264]

Great info.
My AR's are S/S barrels so they are not chrome lined.  I may use this it in my Garand & FAL too - if needed.
I have bought some of those shot out heavy barrels at gunshows.  I turn/thread them for 308's in a Large ring 98 or for 300 Savage in a Small Ring 95.  They worked out well.  I still don't know how to use the lathe to put a taper on them so they are heavy.

[LanceR]

Do you have a taper attachment for your lathe?  If so you cold practice by changing the taper of an existing worn out barrel or even just the shank of the barrel.

Lance

[WSM264]

Whoops!  See next post

[WSM264]

I don't think I have a taper attachment.  I do have some tooling that I don't know what it is.  Can it be done with the compound?

[.22-5-40]

Hello, Brandt.  Ammonia based solvents are not allowed anywhere near the stainless steel piping at nuclear power plants..causes etching.  What you said about etching bores..A new break-in must be done..More like bore-lapping or a new barrel..once etched..that metal is gone.

[max1138]

Can't say that I've ever heard that story. Ammonia based clearners shouldn't be left in any barrel all that long. I use it on all mine SS and chrome moly.

I should add I don't use Sweet's but rather Barnes CR-10. It's the fastest acting copper solvent I've found.

2nd that, I bought a bottle of the barnes cr-10 on a whim thinking its barnes, they do copper better than anybody they should know how to remove it.  they do, I tried it on a barrel I thought was clean, using a nylon brush per instructions  I got more copper/lead out than I thought was creditable. that particular bore looks like a mirror now.   I went the whole collection the next evening with similar results.