(Sorry for the long post but with everything in detail, maybe I can get the best answers.)

So, I thought I could get away with just cleaning my AR's, AKs, and Pistols with a Bore Snake and CLP after every shooting while still hot and keep the bore's pristine, but recently, I looked at the Rifling/Grooves right past the Crown (only could see a little) and noticed them to be bronze colored & dark everywhere, and between rifling has hazy/whitish blotchy type streaks (Probably dried CLP, not sure though).

Seems I have a Copper buildup after 500rds or so of 223 and 556 ("PMC 55gr & PMC X-TAC 62gr" Strictly!!)

The thing is, I'm now seeking a great one that may not be the Best on the Market, but is most harmless if traces are left behind by chance, so I think Im'a go with "BF-CLP Foaming Bore Cleaning Solvent" being I use standard CLP already in the Bore... Any BAD Reports on this stuff?? The reviews were great!!

This AR Bore/bbl is also "Melonite" (M&P15 Sport), which I hope can be cleaned with standard Bore/Copper cleaners, being the bbl type is not mentioned much on directions, opposed to chrome lined stuff.

The "BF-CLP Foaming Cleaner (Copper Remover)" apparently only takes 15 mins, and you can use standard CLP afterwards and seems to not be as harsh as some others on the market.

I was originally told to use "Shoot R Wipe Out" (aka "Wipe Out- foaming solvent) but the bottle/directions states NOT to lube the bore afterwards as it says the cleaner has "Corrosion Inhibitors". I DO NOT like the idea of that!! One guy complained of having rust 2 days later in his bore after following directions of  "Wipe Out" cleaner in a review (which also takes A Full Night to work).

With the "BF CLP Foaming Cleaner", I plan to blast it down the Bore, let it slowly run out of the other side with rifle slightly tilted, maybe do it twice if still dirty, and then Blast some standard CLP down the bore to rinse the cleaner out & in turn lube for storage, then use a Boresnake to dry/soak up the excess CLP and put it in the Safe and be done with no worries.

I just want to remove enough copper/residue to where my accuracy will not be affected when finally fine tuning/re-zeroing my Aimpoint optic (which I planned to do this weekend until I noticed the major discoloration.) Noticed the same discoloration in an Arsenal AK that has only saw 100rds so maybe the Bore area near the crown is always the dirtiest!?!? I know when I shine a bore light in Both Rifles Bore's, its almost blinding when looking down the muzzle's.

Sorry for all the filler, but my MAIN QUESTION IS:
With "Foaming" Bore Cleaners, is it an issue of it potentially expanding and getting into the gas port/gas tube? When looking on Google about "Foaming Bore Cleaner" a guy said "NOT TO USE IT, being it WILL gum up in the the Gas Port/Gas Tube"

How do you guys feel about this? I have a dewey rods, but I'm not a Jag & patch kind of guy, more of a CLP and BoreSnake/Otis Ripcord kind of a guy (I'm Novice, I WILL admit).

Sorry again for the long thread and use of BOLD letters etc etc, just wanted to share how I need it cleaned but am confused with all of the options and once I found one, then I read that Foaming cleaner can clog/even worse, "Gum Up" the gas port.

the guy talking about gumming stuff up is an idiot. You'll be fine.

I may have missed it but it sounds as though your not running a brass wire brush through the barrel.  Cleaners that I know of aren't going to remove the hard stuff bullets leave behind where a wire brush will.

Use a SOFT bore brush, bronze or nylon is better than brass.  Use plenty of cleaner (whether it's a copper cleaner or just solvent) and try to go only in one direction with the brush.  And copper cleaners CAN interact with the copper content of your cleaning brushes and rods (brass is copper and zinc, bronze is copper and tin), so it's a good idea to use either aluminum or fiberglas rods and nylon brushes when using these cleaners. Melonite is not going to be harmed by a copper cleaner, but some copper cleaners are pretty harsh and shouldn't be left in contact with ANYTHING for longer than the instructions dictate.  

What sort of patches are you using?  Cheap "fiber" patches can disintegrate in the bore, while cut cotton (knit or woven) will only leave bits of string - it's easy to tell when you're seeing leftovers from cotton patches instead of un-removed gunk.

It is virtually impossible to "clog" a gas port or gas tube.  When you fire a round, you have gas pressure at the port of about 50kpsi pushing anything out of its way, and whatever is there WILL move.  That keeps the port and the gas tube pretty clean.  But it's very unpleasant to have cleaner and gunk spray at you when you fire the rifle the first time after cleaning, so it's a good idea to leave the upper standing muzzle-down (and with the gas port "above" the bore) for a while to let anything left in the gas system drain out.

A bore sake and clp is only a part of the cleaning. You'll need patches and brushes to clean it well.

I recommend the Otis cleaning kit: http://www.amazon.com/Otis-Modern-Sporting-Cleaning-System/dp/B007ZYQUUI/ref=sr_1_5?s=sporting-goods&ie=UTF8&qid=1406485440&sr=1-5

Get that kit, some patches, and some good break free clp and you should be rocking. Otis offers a lot of kits so I have about 4 different kinds. The most important is the chamber brush and bone tool that will help you out.

As far as the gas tube I like to quote someone here on the forum. I don't like what his name was but he said cleaning the gas tube is like cleaning your pee hole. You never want  to mess with it unless there is an issue.

However as far as the guy above said, spraying something in there shouldn't cause an issue but it can blast back to your face. Cleaning around the edges and what not is okay. You should never spray into it though as that is not really needed since it is relatively cleandue to the gas blowing back.

Thanks for advice, but when I meant "Spraying into it", I meant the Bore with the cleaner, not spraying into the gasport.

I like the idea of Foaming cleaner being it seems you do not have to use a rod, being if I used a jag with Hoppe's etc etc, it would get on my feedramp and in the lug recess area and possibly attack my dewey bronze attachment pieces/ brushes. Unless this foaming cleaner is just as harsh...

I just DO NOT like the idea of Harsh solvents. Thats just me though, I have bad luck at times so would hate to leave Hoppes sitting in storage for too long in a nook or cranny. ARs are the worst for having excess areas for stuff to get trapped in (Flash Hider, Feedramp/lug recess area, Chamber.)

I plan to stuff cloth or something in the lug recess area and slowly blast/spray some "BF-CLP Foaming Bore Cleaner" into the bore then rinse with regular CLP after the 15 mins its says to lets the Cleaner sit + drain out..

Has anyone used this particular cleaner and the other, which is "BF-CLP Foaming Bore Cleaner" "VS "Wipe Out"?

Also, how important are these cleaners to barrel cleaning? Is it normal to NOT use them often, or is it a "must" after every season.

Im used to just running a Dry Boresnake after shooting, and then using standard CLP on the Bore Snake's tail afterwards to leave a coating for storage, rather than for cleaning. Although I normally run it through a few times to get rid of some of the excess CLP but I never do it after the CLP has sat for awhile, May need to start doing that.

I've read that copper on the rifling makes the rifling "slick" over time to where the accuracy will become poor so thats why copper removal is important. TRUE??

What is this cleaning thing you speak of?  Stop studying the bores and just shoot the damn things.

REALLY!!!!

You guys really over think this.

It's a gun, and like any other gun, you shoot it, clean it by well established methods, put some sort of rust preventive on it (oil, CLP), put it away and dream about thie next time you get to shoot it.

It isn't rocket science for Gods sake

OP is WAY over-thinking everything. You can shoot thousands upon thousands of rounds down an AR barrel just using a bore snake with a few drops of (insert your favorite name here) cleaner/clp/frog guts/whatever added to the bore snake.







 

Well, I AM "OVER-THINKING" this Indeed, being I have found about 15 cleaners which all have great Pro's and a diff Con on each so still unsure, but am taking you guy's advice for sure.

I have Hoppe's #9 but read that it doesn't kill copper unless you brush the shit out of it and then its half ass. (I have dewey rods, but no bore guide)

I was about to take this AR out and Fine-Tune/Zero my "Aimpoint" Optic and would hate to do it with 500rds worth of Copper fouling, and then clean it out later and have to re-zero.

Also having a VERY hard time finding/and having Range Time as of late.

Is this 500rds of Copper Fouling not even an issue with accuracy?? The Bore looks black with bronze streaks right below the crown, but looks shiney if I shine a Bore light up the chamber and look down the muzzle end.

Was reading about after cleaning copper fouling, and how from 1-40 rounds you have great accuracy, but then groups start spreading out after that, then come the fliers and to clean the copper fouling again.

Although, I was reading a "Barrel Break-In" Review (atleast it started out as that) was a Novel nearly so Im not clear on if you can eventually stop cleaning the shit out of it or if thats necessary for precision (or if it was just "break-in" tips.)

Im looking for accuracy and wondering about my copper fouling so thats what all of this is technically about. Atleast want it to where my rounds hit whatever I put the Red dot on at 50 yards.

Also, do I need to worry about "lead" buildup if my ammo is all Copper Jacketed? Saw some pics of lead buildup (it looks pretty funky) which I haven't noticed in my bores.

I got this pic from Google, but my Copper Fouling is almost identical to this from only 500 rounds over 2 years (PMC ammo)..

I AGREE !

more rifle barrels have been screwed  up by too much cleaning coupled with improper cleaning procedures. i have a Colt 6920 that is about 10 yrs. old, and close to 10,000 rnds. down the bore, the bore has had one cleaning since new, and "she" still groups 10 rnds. in a 50 cent coin size group (providing you ever saw a 50 cent coin, kinda rare, aren't they ?)

my OPINION, i consider cleaning a properly chromed bore a waste of time prior to 5,000 rnds.

Topic Moved

I would start cleaning it after the gun has cooled down. And don't worry about the foaming bore cleaner clogging up the gas block or tube, there's over 50,000 psi of pressure blasting through there every shot, it would blow it right through the gas key

I still have a very unpleasant SSgt standing over me, at least in my mind, when I finish shooting.  He's going to whack me upside the head and have me run 4 extra miles if I don't properly clean my rifle when I'm done.  BUT, I agree that the OP is over thinking HIS barrel.  A little bit of copper fouling is trivial in most cases, and doesn't "need" to be addressed until it starts to cause a problem.  In reading the original post, I had the impression that there was a problem, like erratic accuracy or something, but it appears to be a question of cosmetics...

Cleaning the insides of the upper, the BCG, and the lower are things I do every single time, but swabbing out the bore enough to remove all the visible gunk only takes a few passes with a brush and patches.  If you can't see grit or powder flakes, it's usually "clean enough," especially if it's a chromed bore.  A "pristine" bore is something that benchrest shooters get after spending 5 times as much time cleaning as they did shooting - and for them it does make a difference.  For an AR?  Get the gunk out and leave it.

My main reason for this thread, outside of cosmetic appearance of my copper fouled bore, and cleaning advice, is that I'm wondering if my "Aimpoint" would have an inaccurate/large grouped "zero" due to the copper fouling if I go ahead and fine tune it, being its roughly zeroed at 25yds but I wanna take it out to 50 yards.

Its practically fouled to the point of the bore in the pic in my last post above, so if I zero when I actually get it cleaned free of most copper fouling, if thats gonna dramatically change the accuracy/ group size if I zero my Aimpoint before the copper cleaning, or if I should wait.

Or should accuracy be about the same when copper fouled/ or cleaned of all copper?? Rifle has only shot 500-600 rounds, mainly just PMC- Bronze 55gr 223, and PMC- Xtac 62gr 556..

Why are you over thinking it so much?  If you know you can group, shoot a three round group, which means they should be nearly touching at 50 yards, and make your adjustments for a zero.  If you are not grouping, even a one to two inch group would be fine for zero adjustments, you can not zero your optic.  There is no such thing as a "large group zero."  If you have a shit group, you should not be making adjustments.  You should be practicing how to shoot consistently.  

Get one of those huge 12 or 18 inch round targets.  Point the dot on the center of target and take three, consistent, same trigger pull, same breathing cycle, same eye blinks, same everything, and put them in relatively the same spot.  It does not matter if they are a high, or low, or to the side of the center of the target.  When you can consistently get the rounds close to each other, start worrying about adjustments.