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There have been a number of claims lately, of the latest greatest goop or gunk to use in the bore of your firearm. The claims vary from greater velocity, lower pressures, easier cleaning, longer barrel life, improved accuracy and often combinations of the above. To me these are sales hype and can easily be refuted just by reading the instructions and disclaimers. Some require you use another un-related product to “prepare” the bore to accept their product and often those items are proven over time to work on their own, without additional compounds or supplemental work.
One thing you will see in common among these processes is the requirement that the process be repeated at certain intervals such as every 1000 rounds. While that sounds like a nice round number and easily tracked, what does that also say about the process? Aside from the added cost of $40 or so dollars to the cost of a thousand rounds, you have gradually diminishing returns on your initial investment. It also means you have a gradual deviation in the benefits of the product you have painstakingly applied to your bore. That has to mean gradual reduction of velocity gains, higher relative pressures, a continued loss or a reduction in barrel life, etcetera. More important is the fact that you have introduced a variable into your firearm that does not allow for consistency. Consistency is the key to repeatability and determining the point of impact from shot to shot and ultimately it is the prime determining factor for accuracy.
Granted as the bore gets dirty from firing the gun it must be cleaned and then repeated each time it is determined to be dirty. This is a fact of life in firearms and shooting in general. There are some ways around the tedious chore of cleaning each time but it involves polishing the bore to keep the copper or lead from building up as rapidly as it normally would. The process I refer to is JB Bore paste or JB Bore Bright.
When used properly and cleaned out of the bore afterward, this is the most effective way I’ve found to condition a bore before even the first round is fired. By using VFG felt bore pellets the process is even faster and more efficient. The felt pellets hold an even amount of JB around the surface of the pellet and they conform to the land/groove configuration of the bore. Passing the combination thru the bore about 50 to 60 times each way will burnish the surface of the lands and grooves so they don’t drag the jacket of the bullet and cause transfer of the copper to the barrel interior. Shooting sessions can last longer before fouling becomes evident or accuracy begins to degrade. If you have the added benefit of access to a bore scope you can actually see the tops of the lands take on a smoother appearance. Using JB Bore paste is also a great way to remove molybdenum deposits left by moly coated bullets.
Recently I saw an article espousing the use of JB and another couple of additives to coat live rounds to fire lap bores and make them smoother. I would never recommend putting any type of liquid, paste, cream, salve or other obstruction in your gun’s bore and then firing a high pressure rifle round down the bore. If you think about it you will realize you would be flirting with possible disaster to do this type of action as it replicates having water or mud in the bore on firing.
Have fun shooting and keep it clean.
Monty Crain - Brownells Gun Tech
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