Clean That Barrel!

by Jim Taylor

I had originally picked up the Model 94 .30-30 Winchester with the idea of using it for a cast bullet rifle. The firearm had been used before I purchased it and I had fired a number of jacketed bullet loads through it after I bought it. By the time I began to work with cast bullets in it, copper jacket fouling could be seen at the muzzle. I knew that for cast lead bullets to work their best the barrel should be clean of copper fouling, so I endeavored to remove it. I used several different bore cleaners and worked at it off and on for a couple weeks but I could still see traces of fouling in the bore. To get it absolutely clean I decided to try the Outers electro-chemical cleaner called the "Foul Out II"..  I ordered one and when it arrived I unpacked it and read the instructions several times.

Work

First of all let me warn you. If you think you can just plug this thing in and let it clean your gun while you watch TV you had better think again. This tool will not necessarily relieve you of brushing the bore, shoving clean patches through it etc. You still have to work at it. And it will take some time, especially if your bore is heavily fouled. But I found it will clean more thoroughly than any other method I know. The "Foul Out" works on a reverse electro-plating process. The copper that is on the bore is removed from the bore and is plated onto the stainless steel rod that is part of the unit. It will not work if you do not follow the instructions carefully. And there is the possibility of ruining your barrel if you do not do use it properly.

To begin with it is best if you get the bore as clean as possible with ordinary cleaning methods.  I worked on the barrel of the rifle until the patches I shoved through the bore came out clean before I started with the Foul-Out cleaning. 

Also.... please use a muzzle protector when you run your cleaning rod down the bore. Since leverguns must be cleaned from the muzzle (unless you take them apart - which ain't a bad idea)  you can wear the crown and the muzzle-end of the bore and ruin your accuracy. Many a "wore-out" levergun can be restored to fine accuracy by cutting a couple inches off of the barrel and recrowning it - all because someone did not take time to protect the muzzle from wear by the cleaning rod. I use a cut-off 7mm cartridge case as a muzzle protector. This slips into the muzzle and guards it from wear when the cleaning rod is in use.

working

Once I had cleaned and degreased the barrel according to the instructions, I fixed a stand that would hold the rifle upright while the cleaner was at work. Then I assembled everything, plugged the chamber end of the bore, poured in the chemicals, inserted the stainless steel rod, hooked up the wires and turned it on.

I let the unit run 10 minutes and then shut it off and pulled out the rod. There was some copper fouling on it already! Everything looked OK so I re-inserted the rod in the barrel, hooked it back up and let it run for an hour. This time when I pulled the rod out of the barrel the bottom 3 inches of the rod was black. I poured the solution out into a clean jar and it had turned yellow. According to the instruction booklet this is a sure sign of rust in the bore. There was lots of copper on the rod also in various places, with the heaviest concentration about 1/4 of the way down the barrel from the chamber. I disposed of the solution and cleaned the rod. Once the solution has rust in it you cannot continue to use or it will remove steel instead of copper from your bore and plate that onto the rod! I wiped the rod down, then sanded the copper off it, then degreased it and prepared it to go back into the barrel. Then I cleaned the barrel, scrubbing it with bore cleaner and running rags through it until they came out clean. After doing that it was degreased also.

New solution was put into the bore and the process started over. [ This was done every time I cleaned the bore and the rod.] After one hour I pulled the rod. There was more copper on the rod, but no signs of rust either on the rod or in the solution. I cleaned it and put it all back into the barrel and let it run for 2 more hours. At the end of that time I pulled the rod out and it was BLACK on the end nearest the chamber! The solution had turned yellow also. In addition there was more copper on the rod in the middle of the bore and near the muzzle. I cleaned the rod, the barrel, degreased everything and started over - again. After another hour I pulled the rod out and found more copper on it, but it looked free from rust. I cleaned everything and started over, using the same solution which looked fine. Another two hours passed and I shut it down, pulled the rod and found MORE RUST! Again there was some copper in various places on the rod also. I cleaned everything and started over. After 35 minutes the "CLEAN" light came on. I pulled the rod, checked it and the bore and found it was indeed clean. After 7 hours and 45 minutes plus the time I spent scrubbing with a bore brush and shoving rags through it. I felt fortunate. Outers says that a heavily copper fouled barrel can take up to 12 hours to clean. The rust the unit pulled out were small pits underneath various layers of copper fouling at different places in the bore. Most were just pinpoints, though one appeared to be larger.

worked

The barrel was now as close to a "pre-fired" condition as it can get.  One thing that is good about cleaning a barrel this way - by this late in life all the rough spots have been somewhat smoothed down.  Small pits will not harm the accuracy as long as the bore has sharp lands and grooves.  The pits in this barrel were not much larger than a pin-head for the most part.  You cannot see them when looking through the bore with a mirror.

A clean bore does not mean an accurate bore. Barrels must be 'fouled' somewhat to shoot all their shots to the same point of aim. It takes some time to condition a barrel. I began conditioning it by shooting some light loads. Using the RCBS #32-098-SWC 100 gr. bullet over 8 gr. of Unique, I fired 20 shots at 25 yards. While some of the shots stayed in decent groups, the bullets "walked around" the target. That is, the more I fired, the more the point of aim shifted. I also fired 20 rounds loaded with 8 gr. of Unique but using the Lee 170 gr. roundnose bullet. After 40 rounds I moved back to the 50 yard line and fired from there. The best group with the Lee 170 gr. roundnose measured 1 3/8" center to center at 50 yards. I also fired 40 additional rounds using the RCBS #30-180-FN which casts right at 190 gr. out of my mold and with my alloy. These were fired with 2400 powder. By the time I came to the end of the firing the gun was settling down somewhat. I had to readjust the sights but the shots had quit "walking". I have heard of it taking 100 rounds or more to settle a barrel in and condition it.

Once I had the bore "settled" down I began working up the load I wanted to use.  Since that time I have fired hundreds of rounds through this gun.  All of them have been with cast bullets.  I have yet to fire one jacketed load through it.  The "standard" cast load I use is the RCBS 180-FN which casts 190 gr. in my mold.  I run this bullet at 1800 fps in my rifle.  It is very accurate and hard-hitting.

The Outers Foul-Out II comes with the chemicals to remove either copper or lead.  So far I have not leaded the barrel and have not had to try the lead remover. It works the same way as the copper remover.  I am sure it will work great.  This is one product that is sure worth the money, at least in my estimation.  And it works for handgun and shotguns.  I have not used it on any, but I am ready to if the need arises.