corking the barrel?

basically, it's the practice of plugging one end of the barrel, turning it verticle, and filling it with hoppes or some similar cleaner and leaving it overnight.

assuming that you do not use something harsh, such as an ammonia-based cleaner, it seems like a good idea to me, yet i see that this is "not recommended."

comments?

And something else....get a plug big enough for the CHAMBER end, as that way you can soak ALL of the barrel AND the icky part of the neck and throat. If you plug the muzzle, you'll not get the copper in the last inch or so. Use one of those black rubber corks you can get at the hardware, and find a dowel long enough to stick in the action so you can actually stand her up with the dowel making sure the cork stays.

I have heard of guys plugging the barrel to soak the bore, but wouldn't it be easire to put the barreled action in a piece of PVC pipe, plugged at one end and pouring your favorite concoction into the pipe and allowing it to soak? That way, you'd only be pouring once and it would be available for other guns when you wanted to do it again?

Along these lines, I have used a plugged bore, and electricity to clean copper out of the barrel.

First

1.  get a 3/32 stainless welding rod (They are 30" long)

2. Get a plug that fits the chamber

3. Get shrink boot that will fit over the welding rod.

4.  Cut 1/2" pieces of the shrink boot and shrink them to wht welding rod, space equal along the length of the rod (about 5 pieces will do. These are to keep the rod from touching the inside of the barrel.)

5. You'll need a 9 volt transistor radio battery and a clip to attach the poles of the battery to.

6. The positive wire lead from the clip will be attached to the plugged action, giving it a "positive ground"

7. Pour household ammonia (I use Mr Clean) down the bore until filled.

8. Insert the welding rod into the bore and attach the negative pole of the battery to it.

9. Leave it set, for about 5 minutes and pull the rod out. It will be blue (Indicating that copper is being removed from the bore)

10. Wipe the rod clean with a rag and re-insert it in the barrel.

11. Do this as many times as you need to, eventually, you will get the copper out, but I have done this as many as 6 or 8 times.

12. After you pour the ammonia out of the barrel, dry the barrel with a patch and lightly oil the bore. The gun should be cleaner than when you got it from your local dealer.

13. At NO time did i mention submerging the whole barreled action, so don't to it! Just the bore. This entire operation is so safe that you don't have to remove the action from the stock.

................................................Kingpin

 

 

I use one similar to this one on my milsurps that have years and years of fouling in them. Works well. I use heat shrink tubing in place of rubber washers. Plain old cold rolled steel rod works fine for the electrode.http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews/copperout/index.asp 

Sinclair has a chamber plug.  Different models for different cartridges, it cost about $9.  They have a backup oring and I'd order a spare few at the time of order.

Soaking in a PCV pipe (or ABS) will mean that you are subjecting the blued finish to the solvent action.  I'd use a saturated patch and let it soak over night.  but the breech/chamber plug will work.  King's method is an accelerated Outer Foul Out.  The 9 volt will work quicker than a 3 volt which most units use.

BEAR