I put a hundred rounds of PMC 38 Special, 132 gr fmj, "Bronze" thru my GP100 this weekend. The chrono showed velocity pretty close to the factory claim of 840 fps. This load was astonishingly clean. I used the same patch with a little solvent in the bore and all 6 chambers and it looked just like when I started. No junk on it at all. The insides of the fired cases was shiny! But. The barrel now looks like I had it sent out for copper plating. A smooth shiny layer of copper on lands and grooves. The bullets they load this with look a little more "coppery" than most. Like maybe they used pure copper with no zinc or whatever else jacket material usually has. Anyway, I see no effect on accuracy, velocity or pressure indications so have done nothig about it. Will shooting a few hundred rounds of my regular Winchester loads clean the copper out?
PMC clean powder, "dirty" bullets.
- Thread starter wolfee
- Start date
Might push some of it out but more than likely, trying to push it out by firing more bullets will "iron-in" more than it removes.
Try some Hoppes copper solvent. Follow the directions and after you've got it as clean as you can, apply some more, let it sit overnight and start over the next day.
Rinse and repeat....for however-many times it takes.
Following-up all that with some JB bore paste after every 500 rounds or so won't hurt either. Of course, after the JB, you'll need more Hoppes to get all the new crud out.
You're going to need a lot of patches if the goal is to maintane a pristeen bore (Back when I was shooting NRA matches,I used to buy them by the 5-pound bag). And even then, after you THINK it's clean, it aint. If you don't believe that, just get it squeaky clean, re-wet the bore with solvent, let it sit 2 days, and run another wet patch through it......I gots a dollar that says more "green stuff" comes out.
What I'm saying is that I aint sure that it's possable to ever get all the copper out of a bore using conventional cleaning methods......but I AM sure that you can about wear yourself out trying. That kinda makes me think that I'd quit using whatever ammo it is that seems to compound the problem.....Just sayin'.
Hope this helps.
DGW
Try some Hoppes copper solvent. Follow the directions and after you've got it as clean as you can, apply some more, let it sit overnight and start over the next day.
Rinse and repeat....for however-many times it takes.
Following-up all that with some JB bore paste after every 500 rounds or so won't hurt either. Of course, after the JB, you'll need more Hoppes to get all the new crud out.
You're going to need a lot of patches if the goal is to maintane a pristeen bore (Back when I was shooting NRA matches,I used to buy them by the 5-pound bag). And even then, after you THINK it's clean, it aint. If you don't believe that, just get it squeaky clean, re-wet the bore with solvent, let it sit 2 days, and run another wet patch through it......I gots a dollar that says more "green stuff" comes out.
What I'm saying is that I aint sure that it's possable to ever get all the copper out of a bore using conventional cleaning methods......but I AM sure that you can about wear yourself out trying. That kinda makes me think that I'd quit using whatever ammo it is that seems to compound the problem.....Just sayin'.
Hope this helps.
DGW
Thanks. Yeah, that helps a lot. I been foolin around with guns for 40 years and didn't even know Hoppes made a copper solvent. This is a recent acquisition of a GP100/38 Special only. It's primary purpose is casually blasting away at anything and everything at the shootin' range on summer afternoons. So, no, I'll just give the Hoppes a try for a couple of cycles and forget about it. But, yes, I will stick with my favorite Winchester loads that don't seem to copperize the bore.
Jimbo357mag
Hawkeye
I have shot the same exact ammo through my GP recently and did not notice any copper build-up. Perhaps your new barrel is isn't broke-in yet. After about 500 rounds of copper plated or copper jacketed bullets I will swab the bore with some copper solvent (Sweet's 7.62) and then clean the copper out with some tight fitting clean patches followed by regular bore solvent and then light oil as usual. I don't think you have anything to worry about. 8) 8)
BCB
Bearcat
Sweets 7.62...
J & B Bore Cleaner...
A stainless steel brush (some will cringe on that--not me. Used them for years and years--no problems at all)...
I have noticed that ball powders--particularly H-335 and WC-844 caused copper fouling in my 223's...
I would be interested in knowing if the PMC cartridges use a ball powder also...
Good-luck...BCB
J & B Bore Cleaner...
A stainless steel brush (some will cringe on that--not me. Used them for years and years--no problems at all)...
I have noticed that ball powders--particularly H-335 and WC-844 caused copper fouling in my 223's...
I would be interested in knowing if the PMC cartridges use a ball powder also...
Good-luck...BCB
Jimbo357mag
Hawkeye
Stainless, and well broken in. Like you said it might have been a batch of bullets with soft copper jackets or something. 8)wolfee said:
WESHOOT2
Hunter
IME the finest copper cleaner remains RB17.
WESHOOT2, I have surfed across the net looking for comments aobut this stuff. Seems to be some kind of miracle juice that will turn a rusted piece of junk into a museum piece in 5 minutes. I have to give it a try. But, I can't find it CHEAP anywhere. Who do you reccomend as a good source for RB-17?
