My Bore Polish Method to Shoot Better

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Last Post 27 August 2017

Standard Member

onondaga posted this 05 April 2012

There are several methods to hone or polish bores. My method works well to Break-in a new barrel without shooting the firearm at all. You can also use this method on an old blackened Military bore and bring it to a slick shine that likes cast bullets. A lot of firearm manufacturers bores are not match grade or even friendly to cast bullets. The method I describe here is my own and has proven to be a simple, effective way to polish a bore with minimal or no dimensional bore change and leave a new barrel nicely broken in or an old one bright and slick. The process will also effectively lower ballistic pressures to a small amount because the bore will give less friction to your bullets when your bore is slicker. The Turtle Wax Chrome Polish has a very fine abrasive that is tough enough to cut and polish chrome. Most gun barrels are not that tough but some military and commercial firearms have chrome lined bores. Most barrels are Chrome-Molybdenum Steel and respond to this polishing method very well. Chrome lined bores also respond well to this method but require more pull through times with the Bore Snake. About100 ” €œ150 pulls. Stainless barrels are actually softer than Chrome/Moly barrels and take less work to polish. i30.photobucket.com/albums/c338/rhymeswithwhat/BorePolish.jpg&rdquo/"> THE METHOD: Drop the weighted end of a Hoppe's Bore Snake into the chamber and let it out the muzzle. Pull it till the thicker part is just entering the chamber. Use a syringe and put about 1 teaspoon of the chrome polish into the chamber. Pull through 10 times and then start again with adding another teaspoon of polish for each cycle of 10 pulls. I repeat this using one new teaspoon of polish and ten pulls per cycle. A total of 5 to 10 cycles for a total of 50 to 100 pulls will break-in a new barrel or polish one that needs a polish. When done polishing I do another 10 pulls with no added polish and that completes the job. No additional cleaning is necessary to begin shooting. When I am done I clean the Bore Snake by soaking it in Mean Green or 409 Cleaner for Ã‚Â½ hour, then thoroughly rinse it and hang it to dry. Gary

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CBA Member

Wineman posted this 27 August 2017

Gary,

I'll think good thoughts and hope you get your Mojo back.

Ken, PM sent.

Dave

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 26 August 2017

dave ... i have a new lee 312 185-1r that i never used, as i am plinking with shorter bullets ... be glad to send it to you to play with/buy cheap if it works for you . pm me if .

ken

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onondaga posted this 26 August 2017

Dave, mine drop .314+ in #2 but all are loaded right now and health is restraining me. I hope you get the mold and try it.

Gary

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Wineman posted this 26 August 2017

Gary,

Thanks for the tips and encouragement! My M1903A3 is kind of an odd duck. It is short chambered and has a large throat. My best bullet has been the Lee 312-160 TL with the WLL 45:45:10 and 16 of Aliant 2400. I am working on a load with a 312299, seating the GC in a 0.314 L:ee die and tapering the front band to 0.311" in a Lyman 45 pushing the bullet nose first, and a 28 grain load of Varget. Sometimes this rifle is dead nuts on and sometimes it has a mind of its own. Ah the thrill of the chase... I don't have that mould but if you have a few laying around, I would happily pay postage to try some out, just cast them as fat as you can.

All the best!

Dave

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onondaga posted this 24 August 2017

Dave,

To make the Hoppe's BoreSnake handier at the range, I stretch the pulling section hard to get the curls out and the brass weight drops more freely with the rifle completely vertical and dropping the snake weight straight down. If the pulling cord section is curly it won't drop through freely and stretching it first really helps. I let it hang over the bench between uses to keep it straight too and don't roll it up till I go home because I use it once every 5 shots.

My 1903A3 shoots one bullet better than any other, the Lee C312-185-1R cast in certified Lyman #2 Alloy, sized/checked at .3115" for an ink verified slide fit on chambering. I use tumble lube once before size/check and twice after. All coats are minimal. I use Whites Deluxe 45:45:10 warmed and bullets warmed too. My gas checks are Aluminum from member *Sage's Outdoors. This Lee bullet consistently shoots 5 shot groups under 1" at 50 yards with issue sights using H4895 at 2050 fps from my 1903A3. For hunting, I hollow point that same bullet on loaded ammo with the Forster large HP tool in a drill press. If you haven't tried that bullet, I highly recommend it for the bench and for Deer when hollow pointed. Either way, HP'd or not, it shoots to the same POI for me and it is all I shoot from the rifle now.

* http://www.sagesoutdoors.com/

Gary

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Wineman posted this 24 August 2017

Gary,

An assistant would have been nice but due to my schedule, I needed to do it in three settings to get to 100+30 pulls. It went well as I was able to hold the handguard with one hand and pull the Bore Snake with the other.

I looked and it is Turtle Wax Chrome Polish AND Rust Remover. It just happens to be in a green bottle instead of a white one:

https://www.turtlewax.com/our-products/renew-restore/turtle-wax-chrome-polish-rust-remover

This rifle gets both cast and jacketed but mostly jacketed. I usually use a M1903A3 for most cast Match shooting.

At a match moving the rifle to get the Bore Snake in is sometimes tricky. Now that I can leave it on the bags and feed it horizontally, I may be able to use it every five shots.

I'll let you know if the copper problem returns. I may need to get more aggressive if that is the case.

Dave

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onondaga posted this 23 August 2017

Dave

You managed to make handling the BoreSnake easier to handle for yourself, A helper would have made the job a lot easier even with your aid.

I am not familiar with the Turtle Wax Chrome Polish "without rust remover" and cannot vouch if it has the same abrasive as the one with rust remover that I have tested and recommend. I hope it works well for you.

Remember that chemical etches to remove copper after my polishing method will degrade the shine you worked so hard for and increase coppering. If you still have coppering, don't repeat my method, you need to do something more aggressive like fire polishing with progressive grits.

Rough finish and tool chatter cause coppering. My polishing will shine it very well and fix coppering unless it was deep chatter causing the coppering, but there will still be improvement and pulling a dry/clean BoreSnake through once every 5th shot does a lot to keep bore condition constant for best accuracy.

Gary

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CBA Member

Wineman posted this 23 August 2017

Gary,

I have a M1917 Enfield that is a copper magnet. Original 1918 5-Groove barrel. Shoots nice but is a chore to clean. Well after a lengthy Sweets treatment I thought I would give your technique a try. I only had regular Turtle Wax chrome polish w/o rust remover, but I did have an original 30 caliber Bore snake. After one set of 10 pulls, I got tired of picking up the rifle and dropping the BS down the barrel. I looked around and found a three foot piece of 0.105" string trimmer line and some heat shrink tubing. I shrunk the tubing to the brass weight and the trimmer line. Now I could leave the rifle in a cleaning cradle and push the trimmer line through and then pull the Bore Snake through. I found that if I made short pulls I could keep the string from hitting the edge of the crown and kept the main part of the BS straight. I did 10 x 10 pulls with 5 cc of Chrome Polish every tenth pull. Afterwards, I pushed a couple of patches of CLP through and they seemed to slide through much easier than previously. Wishful thinking?

I will update everyone when I get a chance to range test this puppy.

Bore Snake Modification

Thanks,

Dave

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onondaga posted this 27 February 2017

just a thought ... re:: before-after comparisons of accuracy ...

whether bore polishing or re-bedding ... or twisting your barrel tuner ... you can't really use the same load to show a change in accuracy .... i just mention this because i see posts/magazine articles doing this from time to time .

this is similar to extensive tests of every known 22 rimfire brand in 1 or more guns ..... without trying a full range of tuner settings for each box and also lot of ammo . no wonder we get confused .

just rambling ken

Just a thought, there is a Joe B. on every forum too.

Gary

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CBA Member

Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 27 February 2017

just a thought ... re:: before-after comparisons of accuracy ...

whether bore polishing or re-bedding ... or twisting your barrel tuner ... you can't really use the same load to show a change in accuracy .... i just mention this because i see posts/magazine articles doing this from time to time .

this is similar to extensive tests of every known 22 rimfire brand in 1 or more guns ..... without trying a full range of tuner settings for each box and also lot of ammo . no wonder we get confused .

just rambling ken

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CBA Member

Scearcy posted this 26 February 2017

After:

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CBA Member

Scearcy posted this 26 February 2017

PICTURES!

My barrel is an almost new Remington SS takeoff. When it arrived in the mail, I put a bore scope in it and decided it would benefit from a little work. What I have here are before and after pictures. Its difficult to tell from the pictures but they are taken of the same two places in the barrel, as close as I could.

I used Gary's method exactly: 10 teaspoons of Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and rust remover with 10 full pulls of the bore snake for each teaspoon. Start to finish the procedure took about 1/2 hour once I had the materials at hand.

The two following pictures are before. The following post will have the after pictures.

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CBA Member

codarnall posted this 12 April 2015

No chemicals. Especially NaOH and EDTA. Ammonia dissolves Cu and will not attack the Fe. Do not turn your barrel into a alkaline battery. EDTA is a great degreaser and will also de-blu your finish. Ultra cleaning calls for real rust protection when all is done! I attritube a lot of my gray hair to my not so great ideas.---Charlie

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onondaga posted this 04 January 2015

http://www.castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=8712>shootzem222

My experience with accuracy improvement after the bore polish is very minimal and shows up on long range 10 shot groups where all shots count. A few percent lower in group size is average. The biggest benefit from the polishing is less and easier maintenance because the bore is shiny to a slightly finer finish than a factory bore.

Your old 340B bore gleaming from chamber to muzzle is typical for results from my polishing method and the rifle should be easier to maintain from now on.

Be sure to clean your BoreSnake as discussed and take it to the range so you can pull it through dry and clean once every 5 rounds. That will keep your bore condition very constant and be a significant factor in lowering group size compared to before the polishing treatment.

Do not make the mistake of using stainless steel bore brushes after all your work. The SS brushes will destroy your polish job. When you do a traditional clean at end of season or before long term storage, use brass, bronze or synthetic bristle brushes. The only bore cleaner I use is the very pleasantly odorless and effective Hoppe's Elete gel or liquid and after cleaning I use JPW (Johnson's Paste Wax) patched in, allowed to dry and then buffed with a fluffy bore mop. That will easily hold a bore protected from rust for several years storage.

Gary

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CBA Member

shootzem6.5 posted this 04 January 2015

I save my targets, therefore i may be able to provide before and after comparisons. But, i shoot 3 shot groups and the targets i have are with 52 Sierra HPMK, and i just finished the TWCPRR honing this evening. 1st 20-ish pulls where showing some trapped lead, after that for another 75-ish pulls just a uniform light grey colored TW. As soon as the outside temp gets back to the low 30s ill try to get up to the club. Then all i have to do is figure out how to get the pics out of the camera and on to this site. @Onandaga, great method you`ve devised, the bore of my 50 + yr old 340B shows an even gleam from chamber to muzzle and since TW is approx. the same grit as Valve grind compound i used it for the home trigger job you mentioned in another thread. After a light lube in the bore the barreled action is hanging above the furnace to help ensure the trigger group is dry before it gets lubed. (no drier on my compressor)

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shootzem6.5 posted this 27 December 2014

onondaga, my mistake, hone the bore, not lap the bores.

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onondaga posted this 28 October 2014

http://castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=3>joeb33050

I bet you would Joe, so would I. I developed the method to see if polishing would cure cold shot high problem and it has for me and has for numerous others that have followed instructions and reported back to me. The polishing also breaks in a barrel with zero shots and makes cleaning easier. It will also polish old black military bores and make them easy to clean.

I have personally run out of new rifles that need a break-in right now but would not hesitate to use my method on the most expensive of rifles to break it in. It is only a polish Joe, it does not change bore dimensions. It saves ammo for break-in making a rifle ready to shoot with no shoot and clean traditional break-in needed at all.

Gary

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CBA Member

joeb33050 posted this 28 October 2014

I'd like to see a before and after test. Five 5 shot 100 yard groups with a broken in barrel, before and after the snake. Anyone?

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gpidaho posted this 28 October 2014

Gary: I tried your break-in method on a new 223 as per your recommendation using the regular bore snake not the newer version. When I got to the mid seventys count the starting cord ripped off the main cleaning portion. Not being one to give up on a project easily I went to an older gun shop, not the big box store, to get another snake.(18 More $) This snake had been on the shelf awhile and was a bit smaller than the one I started with and makes me suspect that there may be more variations in size of the Hoppe's snakes than just the new two models. None the less I fired 25 rounds of jacketed bullets on the first outting (I've never done that before on a new barrel when breaking one in) and there was no copper fouling and the clean-up was very easy. Thanks for the tip,it's a winner in my opinion and will be the first thing done to new rifles from now on. GP

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cheatermk3 posted this 08 June 2014

The bore on the T53 was not cleaned up to the point that it benefited from Gary's shine-up routine, as evidenced by it's appearance after only 3 CB rounds.

On the other hand, my M39 which has a nice bore showed improvement as it was markedly less fouled after shooting 70 rounds in our military match on Wednesday 6/4 (after only 30 passes with the loose-fitting boresnake).

So it's thumbs up from me for the TWCCRR treatment as Gary recommends it.