removing hard fouling from old .22 barrel

[willysjeep134]

I just built a new hammer for a pre-1915 Stevens Favorite .22. This is the model with the flat springs. The firing pin was upset on the end so it wouldn't pass through the breech block. I took the pin out, removed all the crud in the channel, and chamfered the end of the pin so it would slide through the breech block. I also removed the burr from the extractor that was made by extensive dry firing at some point. I didn't make a chamber ironing tool like I should have, but instead used a small dowel with some very fine emery cloth on it to polish down the burr. The hump was so bad that it would deform a cartridge when you closed the action.

Anyways, so now I see that the rifling in the barrel is almost completely filled in. I have used hot soapy water, Kroil and a brush, patches, and almost everything else at my disposal to try to get the rifling looking better. I have had partial success. I can see a little more of the rifling with each cleaning.

Are there any tricks to remove this nasty lead fouling from the bore? Any advice anybody could give would be greatly appreciated.

[clodbuster]

"go devil"  I say electic bore cleaner.  I got directions and made one for about a buck eighty-five.  It works great and you only need to use it once in a while but it sounds like now is your while.  Seriously,  I have had absolute sludge come out of barrels I thought were clean.   My 99 Savage in 308 began shooting like crap and nothing I could do helped.  Ran the electro on her and it took patch after patch to haul out all the crud that other methods wouldn"t touch.  The new foaming bore cleaners are pretty good too.  Just put em in and wait then wipe em out.  Repeat until you get clean patches.  No work.  Took five applications to clean my latest 99 aquisition though.  I bet the previous owner thought it was clean. NAUUUUUGHT!  Try the internet for electric  cleaner if youre interested I can't remember where I found it, but its just a flashlight with wires at each end with alligator clamps on the end of the wires.  get a steel rod and put heat shrink insulators on it at the ends and middle.  The solution is water and ammonia, get a plug and fill 'er up.  Put the rod in and hook er up, one lead to the gun and one to the rod.   It will foam a little if its working right.  After 30 mins. get out the patches cause the gunk's comin' out.   Good luck!

[willysjeep134]

Heh, in about seven years I think you're the first person to both get the reference in my user name and also speak up about it. Course I haven't been a member here for that long, but I've used this name elsewhere.

Yeah, I'm definately going to google up some info on electric bore cleaners. I always see them in Midway USAs catalog, but I didn't know you could make your own. I was also thinking about using that lead-out system with the wire screen patches, but I can never find them in catalogs, unless I just wasn't looking hard enough. But yeah, I'm sure going to give the electric system a try. That old stevens sure would be fun to hunt rabbits with this winter. Thanks for the advice.

[Graybeard]

The fouling in a rimfire barrel is primarily carbon with some wax perhaps. The original Hoppe's #9 is as good as it gets for removing it. Used in conjunction with a wire brush to give some mechanical advantage in addition to Hoppe's chemical action is helpful.

A good spray cleaner like BC Gunscrubber is also excellent and fast but can't really get down in the barrel like you need. But works great on the parts of a semiauto you can reach.

I disagree strongly with the use of ammonia in the rimfire barrel. It's purpose is to remove copper. There is NO COPPER in that rimfire barrel. What you want is a carbon solvent and Hoppe's is the best I've ever seen. So is brake cleaner and carb cleaners and if the barrel isn't too long you might spray enough of them down it to do the job.

I'd wet a few patches with Hoppe's #9 and run them down the barrel. Let it soak awhile. Then run a few more. Follow that with a brush soaked in Hoppe's and run it back and forth 20 times. Run some more soaked patches down it. If needed repeat until clean. Or fill it with Hoppe's and let it soak over night and then begin the process. That will reduce the time considerably.

[cntryboy1289]

I really like the product Ballistol.  I use it to clean out carbon, lead, and many other fouling left in a barrel.  I agree wholeheartedly with GrayBeard about not using ammonia in a rimfire barrel.  There really isn't a need for it since there is no copper in the barrel and ammonia will cause barrel damage if left in the barrel too long.

The Ballistol was a German cleaning fluid that their government came up with in response to their military needing a gun cleaner.  It is a cleaner and removes tombac, carbon fouling, dissolves traces of lead and copper, and will help an oil finish of the rifle as well as can be used on a cut believe it or not as a pain reliever.  I really do like the stuff.  Do a google on it and see for yourself.  The stuff isn't harmful to anything on a gun an this is another reason I like to use it.  If it gets on the wood, just rub it in, if it gets on the barrel , just rub it in, if it......, get the picture.

[clodbuster]

Sorry but I think youre both missing my point about cleaning fouling from the 22 barrel using the homemade cleaning solution containing ammonia.  The issue is results and nothing I've used works as well taking out all kinds of gunk including carbon and this is without a bunch of brushing.

[willysjeep134]

I think what I'm going to have to do is try it all. I'm going to start with the methods I feel most comfortable with, like the Hoppes No 9 and a brush, and if that doesn't work after I give it the old college try then I will move to more drastic measures.

Even if it doesn't help much with a .22 that electric bore cleaner is still nice to know about. I have an old sporterized SMLE .303 british that has some terrible fouling as well. Maybe the electric bore cleaner could get that cleaned up. I have tried everything from Hoppes to Kroil to transmission fluid to hot soapy water. This electric system will definately be another weapon in my arsenal against dirty bores.

[Shorty]

Something else to be aware of;
  .22 RF cartridges were loaded with black pwder for years after smokeless became standard in centerfires.  The early smokeless didn't preform uniformly in such small charges.  That's why we see so many older .22s (and .32s) with ruined bores.  Continued shooting through an already rough bore might have caused the severe build-up that you have.  I hope this is not the case.

[JBMauser]

I have had to clean up some real messes fouled with lead and other crud.  first as to amonia in a .22 soak it with automotive transmission fluid and you will get a better result.  the amonia is not an active agent in a .22 other than being a solvent an there are better. I have used the home made foul out and it worked well to pull crud and copper out.  I have also used Ed's Red (formula on net) and a few strands form a bronze chore boy kitchen pad around a brush and pulled out stips of Lead.  I also used a paste of Johnsons floor paste wax and bon ami to make my own JB abrasive paste to remove what acted like laquer like crud.  The goal is to get down to metal so that the solvents can get under the crud, Then it can be pushed out with a tight patch.  You are not just going to disolve this fouling away.  You are trying to lift it from the bore and push, pull it out with a tight patch.  JB

[willysjeep134]

WOW I am amazed. I took a coat hanger and carefully straightened it out. I cut the straightest length I could out of it, sanded it down, then slid on a few short pieces of insulation wire sheathing. I then used a golf tee to plug the breech. I used ammonia window cleaner with water to fill up the bore. I put the wire down the bore, then tested with a multimeter to make sure it wasn't shorting out. I thn hooked the barrel up to the negative side of a 6v battery, and hooked the positive up to the wire. In about 10 minutes I had a thick crusty scum on the wire. I cleaned off the wire and brushed out the bore and repeated the process. I can see the rifling a little beter, but the bullet still keyholes at 20 yards. I'm going to keep cleaning and repeating until I see bare steel and rifling. It might be that the bore is really bad, which wouldn't be the end of the world. I like the rifle, but I guess everything has it's day.

If the rifle is shot it gives me more excuse to get a copy of the Marbles Game Getter I have been wanting for a while. I hope the factory (LEINAD, Ducktown Tn.) got around to making a few more.

[armory414]

Have you considered relining the barrel?  If you have access to some tools, Brownells sells the liners and provides instructions here:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/General/DisplayPDF.aspx?f=Inst-143.pdf

[varmintmaster]

Hi there. Have you tried wrapping some steel wool around a copper wire bore brush yet?  If not give that a try. I had that same problem with a couple of Ruger Super Blackhawks , and I used size OO or OOO steel wool wrapped around a bore brush dipped with Hoppes #9 on it, and man did it ever pull that fouling and lead out of the bore. I also have used it time after time with rimfire barrels.

 It looked bright and shiney as new when I got done doin that to it.  I don't reccomend doing it all the time, but when you have a bad case of leading and fouling it works like a Charm for me.  The Bore brush holds the steel wool you see, and the steel wool grabs and pulls out the gunk sticking to the lands and grooves really good.  I have found also that this method works well in shotgun bores to clean fouling and plastic wad residue out as well when you usa and stick an old cleaning rod in a 3/8's drill and run it back and forth a few times.   :wink:

    Hope this helps you some.



 "If it burns Gunpowder, I'm all for it"  Varmintmaster

[Iowegan]

The "electric" method uses the ammonia as an electrolyte, not a cleaner. If you don't like ammonia, vinegar will work just as well. The system works like reverse electro plating. It actually transfers the lead molecules to the rod and removes them from the bore. The metal rod must be bare metal and be insulated on both ends and the middle so it can't have electrical contact with the barrel. Once you get the rod in position, plug the chamber with a cork an fill the bore with ammonia or vinegar. You have to connect the negative terminal of the battery to the barrel and the positive lead to the internal rod. If you reverse the battery, you will electroplate the bore with "rod metal" (not good). This process will remove any foreign metal but won't do much for carbon fouling. Of course, that's where Hoppies comes in.

A couple of years ago, I bought a Stevens Crack Shot dirt cheap with a rusted out bore. Totally beyond salvaging. I bought a take-off barrel from a Ruger 10-22 at a gun show for $15. I turned the rear of the barrel until it fit perfect in the Crack Shot frame then cross drilled for the staking pin. I kept the Ruger sights. It's a neat little gun now. Not the most accurate but great for training my grand kids.