My remington 700 xcr LRT in 308 never has any copper in the barrel. I asked a local gunsmith (friend of mine) to clean it for me just to be sure there was nothing in it that I was not getting out. After he cleaned it for me he said the barrel felt really good and that he didn't get any copper out of it, but that bigger calibers didn't collect copper in the barrel like smaller calibers do. Has anyone ever heard anything like this? Just wondering if there was any truth in this.
Barrel collecting copper?
- Thread starter bjordan
- Start date
Re: Barrel collecting copper?
Typically coppering is relative to a rough throat. Not sure about relativity to caliber.
Typically coppering is relative to a rough throat. Not sure about relativity to caliber.
Re: Barrel collecting copper?
There are a lot of things that effect why a barrel will copper foul.
What your smith might be saying to the effect that the bigger bores collect or copper foul less than say a smaller caliber bore is because of velocities. Typically say a .308 win. at 2700fps vs. a guy shooting a .220 Swift at 3800 fps. etc...
As a general rule of thumb as you start hitting 3200fps. copper fouling typically goes up regardless of caliber.
What are others and in no particular order:
A rough throat can cause fouling like stated earlier.
Poor finish in the rest of the barrels bore.
Damage to the rifling when the barrel was made.
Poor quality bullets and or you get a different lot of brand X even though from the same manufacturer and the copper of the jacket material will vary from lot to lot. One lot can foul more than another. This applies to match bullets as well.
Damage to the bore of the barrel from improper cleaning!!!! Yes people do wreck the barrels from improper cleaning and the barrel will start to foul!
Barrel life. As you get more rounds thru the barrel they can start to foul more. Why? Throat is getting rougher from erosion etc....also some powders are harder on barrels than other powders. They will wear/erode the barrel faster than other powders etc....
Barrel steel can vary. From lot to lot as well as quality of the material etc....
Also and this one is hard to prove but some say you can have to smooth of finish inside the barrels bore. They say to smooth a finish can cause fouling also. What causes this. One could be from lapping when the barrel is made as well as shooters and how they clean the barrel and the type of cleaners they use and how they are being used. Back to cleaning again.
I tell guys this. Some copper in the bore is normal. As long as it is not building up and causing accuracy problems don't worry about it. Just shoot the gun.
Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
There are a lot of things that effect why a barrel will copper foul.
What your smith might be saying to the effect that the bigger bores collect or copper foul less than say a smaller caliber bore is because of velocities. Typically say a .308 win. at 2700fps vs. a guy shooting a .220 Swift at 3800 fps. etc...
As a general rule of thumb as you start hitting 3200fps. copper fouling typically goes up regardless of caliber.
What are others and in no particular order:
A rough throat can cause fouling like stated earlier.
Poor finish in the rest of the barrels bore.
Damage to the rifling when the barrel was made.
Poor quality bullets and or you get a different lot of brand X even though from the same manufacturer and the copper of the jacket material will vary from lot to lot. One lot can foul more than another. This applies to match bullets as well.
Damage to the bore of the barrel from improper cleaning!!!! Yes people do wreck the barrels from improper cleaning and the barrel will start to foul!
Barrel life. As you get more rounds thru the barrel they can start to foul more. Why? Throat is getting rougher from erosion etc....also some powders are harder on barrels than other powders. They will wear/erode the barrel faster than other powders etc....
Barrel steel can vary. From lot to lot as well as quality of the material etc....
Also and this one is hard to prove but some say you can have to smooth of finish inside the barrels bore. They say to smooth a finish can cause fouling also. What causes this. One could be from lapping when the barrel is made as well as shooters and how they clean the barrel and the type of cleaners they use and how they are being used. Back to cleaning again.
I tell guys this. Some copper in the bore is normal. As long as it is not building up and causing accuracy problems don't worry about it. Just shoot the gun.
Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels
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