Hello,

I hope someone can help me as it's driving me nuts trying to clean this bore.

I have a very nice 1918 SMLE, it's in great condition, it shoots well and overall I'm pretty happy with the rifle.



Now, my problem is that, when I look down the barrel end the bore is filthy. The barrel itself is fine, it has strong rifling, it's just that I see a lot of crap in the grooves. Looking from the bolt end, it's clean it's just the last bit of the barrel at the muzzle.

I have tried a lot of cleaning products, and put in a lot of elbow grease, but so far it refuses to come up nice and shiny. So does anyone have any suggestions to get it cleaned up nice?

I have used this stuff to clean a barrel that had some pitting and it brought it back to a shine.  Just cut off a small piece and run it back and forth through the barrel with a cleaning rod.  There are other brands out there and you should be able to find it locally.  

Gun Bright

The problem is the end of the bore, that was more open to moisture, has rusted. Removing said rust could create a larger bore where you want the same or smaller for accurate shooting. If you know it is clean, shoot it. Then clean some more. I've found this results in better accuracy in the end.

If you just want shiney use evaporust or navel jelly then polish. Evaporust in a plugged bore provides the best result and is available at the local car parts place.
It will remove blueing so be careful. The bore must be submerged.

If you think it may be copper, try Butches Bore Shine or Barnes CR-10.  Both work well for stubborn buildup.

Thanks for the help guys.

It's a black, horrible sludge that comes out. I've tried alsorts of products, then ran a patch though it until it's comes out clean, but the bore is still black.

I think I will try the shoot it and clean method. It does shoot well, so I'm not worries about the rifle, I'm just like the bore to be shiny.

Copper with stain your patch with a dark bluish-greenish color.  If it's not that color, then strong copper solvents will not help you.  They are heavy on ammonia..