What firearm, since it really boils down to the lube that is going to be used on it after cleaning.

With bolt action rifles where you will not have high round counts to really copper foul the barrel bore before they are cleaned, and since very little lube is used/such lube contains no cleaning agent properties, solvents like Hoppes work fine since they leave a protective coating behind in the bore.

In the case of AR rifle where CLP is being used as the lube and it does contain a cleaning agent, then the protective coating that Hoppes leaves behind is dissolved by CLP to leave a sticky mess instead.


Also to point out, Hoppes is fine for removing power type fouling, while when it comes to copper type fouling, take a lot a lot of scrubbing which can be bad instead.
Note on scrubbing, from the loading breach, to the muzzle with the rod and brushes.   If pushing from the muzzle back, you can cause damage to the last inch of muzzle (read why the garand rifles had the last inch of bore worn out of them, since the USGI cleaned them with cleaning rod from the muzzle back down to the breach).

So if we back it up to say a bolt action rifle, yes something like Sweets copper solvent will clean the bore quicker with less scrubbing if the bore is really copper fouled, but since sweets does not leave a protective coating for short term storage, then you would do a quick patch of Hoppes cleaning solvent down the bore, followed with clean patches after you use the Sweets so there is a rust protection layer left behind.

In the case of the AR rifle, Sweets to clean the high build of of copper with min scrubbing, then you move onto the chamber with CLP and a chamber brush, and when that fouled CLP is pushed through the bore, its the light remnants of the lube agent in the CLP that becomes the short term storage agent left in the bore.


Bluntly, more rifle barrels have been destroyed by incorrectly/over scrubbing and lack of short term storage agents to prevent rust, then have been shot out in the civilian markets. And again, it the final lube that will be used after cleaning, that pretty much dictates the cleaning solvent that should be used to clean the rig.

Don't use a Bore Snake, sooner or later it will break off inside the bore.

However, I like pull throughs for a quick clean at the range.  I either use one I made or one made by Pro Shot.

I do a quick cleaning after shooting to get the carbon out while it is still warm, and then more intense cleaning every 400 rounds or so to get the copper out.  I use Butch's Bore Shine for routine cleaning as it helps stay on top of the copper, and chase with Hoppe's.  Sweet's is seldom needed if Butch's is used.

Last Saturday night I cleaned a VZ-24 down to the metal, probably the first time in decades.  I used everything I have on that one, Butch's, Hoppe's, Sweet's, J-B Bore Polish, and Wipe Out.  The carbon was built up so thick that a 8mm brush required a hard push when I started, but moved with almost no friction when I finished.  It still had a little copper when I finished that I expect was mostly in the bottoms of the pits.

I have never liked a Bore Snake, I'm not going to drag one of those nasty things through the bores of my guns, and I'm not going to keep two or three so one or two can be in a wash cycle.

When they break, they're usually a lot of work to remove, but I have read stories both ways, some are stuck hard, others come out with a gentle push of a cleaning rod.

I use Hoppe's as a general purpose carbon solvent.  A little on a rag, paper towel, large patch, or Q Tip for the tight spots, let it soak a few seconds, and wipe everything off.  The carbon on the outside isn't baked on, and it's not terribly hard around forcing cones or the end of a cylinder, so I don't worry about trying other solvents.

He asked about carbon.  If you look up the page, you can see a list of my arsenal of chemicals I applied to my BIL's rifle last weekend.

I have regular Wipe Out that is supposed to foam when agitated with a brush, and I have yet to see it foam up.  I'm also not impressed with the claim that it gets the carbon and copper after everything else indicates the gun is clean; it removes carbon about as well as anything, but not copper.  I've used it in a couple of barrels with zero additional cleaning.

I thought you were replying to me.