GUNS Magazine Don’t be a (fouled) bore!

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Nostalgia is all very well. Looking back, we tend to forget the bad and remember the good maybe a little better than it really was. I’m as sentimental as the next guy but I don’t miss typewriters, film cameras, vinyl records and four-barrel carburetors.

Dave has owned or tested 15+ Weatherby Vanguard rifles and has yet to see one
which would not shoot under one moa right out of the box.

Transformations

Some changes are fast and dramatic. Others occur so slowly you are hardly aware of them. One such change occurred to me as I was putting a rifle away after doing some testing. I remember a time when copper fouling was a constant issue. It used to keep me awake nights worrying. Now it seems I hardly ever give it a thought, at least not as a serious problem. So what happened? I don’t think there is one big factor but rather an accumulation of a number of small factors.

In my experience new barrels with rough bores from the rifling process are prone to copper fouling. I’ve known some so bad copper fouling would seriously affect accuracy in as few as 10 or 15 shots. On the positive side such bores tend to smooth up after a couple of hundred rounds, though by then you’ll have used a lot of patches.

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Another approach to reduce copper fouling is by coating the bore and/or bullets.
These .223 Rem. loads use the Hornady 55 V-Max bullet which Dave moly-coated.

Getting Better All The Time

Probably the single biggest firearm technical improvement over the last decade is more consistent barrel quality. Modern manufacturing methods such as computer-controlled tooling have given us barrels with consistently close tolerances. Certainly we’ve had good barrels available for a long time, both factory and custom — pre-war Winchester 70 barrels, for example, are highly regarded to this day.

Barrel making used to be as much art as science. In a way I suppose it still is an art, though now the “artists” are relatively unknown technicians. Their genius is in designing, building and programming the amazing CNC machines and in developing high quality steel alloys and precise heat treatments. Start with good materials, precision machines programmed right and good barrels come out one after another like beads on a string.

For a couple of decades now when I want to experiment with a cartridge, I just buy a Weatherby Vanguard or a Tikka T3, bolt a Picatinny rail on top and attach a proven Nightforce scope. Clean the bore, maybe tweak the trigger a bit, tighten all screws using a torque wrench and they all shoot. No fuss, no drama, just go right into trying various bullets and loads. Don’t misunderstand, I like many other makes and models as well and generally get results just as good. I just like the Vanguard and Tikka because they are reasonably priced, available for a wide range of cartridges, and after owning a dozen or 15 of each they have never let me down.

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Many modern powders such as Hodgdon, Alliant and IMR incorporate anti-copper
fouling technology in several of their rifle powders.

Expanding Horizons

More recently I’ve been having just as good results with even less-expensive rifles. Every one of the half-dozen or so Ruger American rifles I’ve owned or tested has shot sub-moa. When the 6mm Creedmoor cartridge came out, I bought a standard Ruger American, a few boxes of factory Hornady ammunition and got groups consistently under one moa. Moreover, bore cleaning was fast and easy with little indication of copper fouling. The T/C Compass is another moderately priced gem.

This 6mm Creedmoor Ruger American Predator model is a “budget” rifle but easily
achieved sub-moa accuracy out of the box with factory ammo.

Powder Prevents

Another boon was the development of powders with anti-copper fouling technology. Hodgdon has its CFE (copper fouling eraser) series which includes the CFE 223 powder. Several of the Alliant RL series powders incorporate technology to reduce copper fouling, as do the IMR Enduron series. This technology really works. It is particularly useful in rifles shot a lot, or with ultra-high velocity cartridges.

Another way of reducing copper fouling is by coating bullets and/or rifle bores. Molybdenum sulfide (Moly) bullet coating got a lot of press a decade or so ago. Unfortunately much of the coverage focused on potential velocity gains instead of the real advantage, which is being able to shoot more with less fouling. Since most rifles don’t actually get shot very much, many shooters gave moly a try, found their lives pretty much unchanged and decided it was a waste of time.

Today there are other coatings such as Tungsten Disulfide and Hexagonal Boron Nitride that some feel are superior to Moly. Personally I use coated bullets only in rifles I shoot a lot, as in 1,000 rounds or so annually. For the typical hunting rifle which might get fired 20 or 50 times a year. it hardly matters.

When copper fouling does occur ammonia-free cleaners remove the copper with less danger of bore damage.

Put On Your Coat

Alternatively or additionally, consider coating the bore. I’ve read positive reviews of Dyna-Tek bore coating though I can’t yet speak from personal experience. It’s been getting favorable reviews from people whose opinions I respect, including John Barsness, so I am going to have to give it a try.

I’m maybe a victim of habit. I have a couple of .223 and .308 rifles I shoot regularly to maintain shooting skills — and because I enjoy shooting. New, out of the box, I cleaned the barrels assiduously, coated the bores with moly paste and shoot moly-coated bullets exclusively. But hey, I don’t fear change; I now use CFE 223 powder instead of old favorite H-335 in my .223 loads. I may never have to clean them again! (I’m joking, I’m joking!)

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We think you'd be interested in this, too

Don’t be a (fouled) bore!

Keeping rifle barrels clean is easier than ever

Transformations

Getting Better All The Time

Expanding Horizons

Powder Prevents

Put On Your Coat

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