Heavy copper fouling

[clovishound]

Well, I went to the range today and tried about 10 rounds through it. It's not a tack driver, but groups are way down. Definitely good enough for hunting. The only fly in the ointment is that it seems to grab copper pretty easily. I'm having to do a number of soaks to get the copper out from just 10 rounds. Since I don't plan on running 40 or 50 rounds a week through this, that may just be an inconvenience.

Perhaps it will get better after a few more sessions of shooting and cleaning. Perhaps it should be lapped. I understand that is fraught with danger. Do it wrong and it can easily ruin a barrel.

[GFK]

After reading your post, I took the bolt out of my Marlin and cleaned the rifle again. Last time, I cleaned it using a flexible cable. I got a better cleaning this time using the one piece rod. The fit was tighter. I was able to remove more copper. I guess I will use a pull rod each time I clean now. The action seems smoother also.

[JEBar]

After reading your post, I took the bolt out of my Marlin and cleaned the rifle again. Last time, I cleaned it using a flexible cable. I got a better cleaning this time using the one piece rod. The fit was tighter. I was able to remove more copper. I guess I will use a pull rod each time I clean now. The action seems smoother also.

just curious, can you tell any difference in accuracy after removing the copper ?

[snell]

Check out this thread. I had a similar problem..

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=3350

Henry treated me right.

Art

[clovishound]

What seemed to do the most good for me was the foaming bore cleaner.

In other related news, the buddy who gave me the Mauser is bidding on barrels chambered in .308 that fit the Mauser.

My suspicion is that this barrel had some rust damage at some point, and it has some shallow damage. I can see imperfections on the lands when I shine a bore light down the bore. Nothing looks real bad, and it's hard to see exactly what it is, but there is something there. Might explain why it collects copper so quickly. We are talking about slugging it to make sure the bore is not undersized.

[GFK]

After reading your post, I took the bolt out of my Marlin and cleaned the rifle again. Last time, I cleaned it using a flexible cable. I got a better cleaning this time using the one piece rod. The fit was tighter. I was able to remove more copper. I guess I will use a pull rod each time I clean now. The action seems smoother also.

just curious, can you tell any difference in accuracy after removing the copper ?

I has not been to the range since. If weather permits, I may make it out there next weekend. It was not a great amount. But, a cleaner barrel should allow for the projectile to spin better. However as you pointed out, the proof is in the shooting. I will post the results though.

[JEBar]

looking forward to seeing your results

[GFK]

I came across this link about reducing copper fouling. It seems like a full day at a range. I guess I have a lot to learn.

https://www.shootingsoftware.com/fouling.htm

[GFK]

I did not know anything about breaking in a barrel until I read this thread. But from what I have gathered, it seems not to be a big as a concern when hunting for deer. However, I was concern if copper fouling was having an impact on the accuracy of the rifle. I have only shot about 200 rounds through this rifle, so I guess there may have not been that much of a buildup yet.

I shot it about a month ago sighting in the scope. It is not a fancy scope. One that came with it from the manufacturer (Marlin). I know, this is a Henry forum. But, JEBar wanted a report. So, the first target is one before I was concern about copper fouling. I tried a round I have not used before, Hornady American Whitetail 150 gr. It seemed to provided good groups once sighted in. I was at 25 yards. I ran out of rounds, I shot 3 rounds of Remington 150 gr for a comparison:

DSCN0440.JPG

Even though it was windy and a little chilly, I went to the range yesterday. I had pay more attention to checking for copper and wanted to see if there was a difference. I started at the 25 yards range. I used Hornady LEVERevolution 160 gr this time, because I thought I would get a tighter group. I shot 3 rounds of Winchester 150 gr for comparison:

DSCN0445.JPG

Then, I went to the 100 yards range. Here, I was surprised. Hornady LEVERevolution seemed to be have been all over the place (or it could have been just me). I thought it could have been the wind. Even after making an adjustment for windage, there seemed to be no effect. However, I shot 3 Winchester 150 gr for comparison. It seemed to fair better:

DSCN0442.JPG

It was getting dark and cold, so I called it a day. It is hard to determine if the extra attention to copper fouling made much of a difference. For starts, I used different rounds. Yet, I think I found a round that I liked. The Winchester seemed to performed as predicted at the 25 yards and 100 yards range. If I do my part, I should hit what I am aiming at. So, it will be the one I will pick when I go in the woods:

30-30graph22.gif

[JEBar]

well done range report .... your conclusion sounds reasonable to me .... I've never owned a firearm that experienced copper fowling sufficient to affect accuracy .... even our newest Henry rifles have literally had thousands of jacketed and lead bullets run through them .... I have had some issues in our Henry 44 mag with lead buildup but none from jacketed bullets .... so much so that once my current stock of lead bullets are expended, I plan to fire only fire jacketed ammo ..... I've had zero issues with either lead or jacketed in our 45-70 or 357 mag ....