Dirty Barrels.

[samboy]

Hi gang.

              My pal and i have both got Beretta 694s. My barrels are not too bad to clean but harder than other shotguns i've had.

              I use Philips and Browning spray cleaner. I don't know what he uses but the gunshop recommended him some.

             He has soaked his barrels overnight but still can't get all the fouling out of them. He uses fibre carts one week and

             plastic the next. He never had any trouble cleaning his Miroku barrels. Any ideas chaps ?.

                                                                                                                                  Thanks all.

[B725]

Napier gun cleaner  give the barrels a good spray then leave it for 10 minutes before cleaning. 

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, I've tried many makes over many years but find this now the best , Napier bore solvent, clean out bores first, add a few drops, bronze brush them then clean with tissue, then an oily wooly mop

[Sweet11-87]

had this one  a cheap gun i bough for the saltflats that had been abused,  as an experement i put a touch of autosol on an old wool mop and put it in my cordless drill,  after only a few passes i put a clean patch through it and it was like a mirror. oiled it up and im put thouseands through it and all it gets is a boresnake after every outing and its back to being a mirror. i never use plastic wads  i only ever use fibre or eco.  i think barrels only become heavily fouled and a problem when the **** is allowed to sit in them for a prolonged period. ive gotten my guns really filthy but they always just seem to wipe down if you do it straight away.

btw i did it becasue it was a cheap gun and i had nothing to lose, i dont advise using abrasives and power tools on guns i was just pointing out ive done it once and it worked well. but the gun wor working fine after and had been easy to clean since and thats the extent of my experement its an old mossberg 535 and it may even be chrome lined

[snow white]

I use a cordless drill with soft bronze brush then a mop all ways spotless 

[Westward]

Beretta Optima bores have always been extra hard to clean. My SV10 sporter was the only gun I've ever had that needed the help of a power tool and even then it took ages. By comparison my CG bores come up like new after a 10 minute soak and a 2 or 3 passes with cloth patches.

[button]

Dont worry I'm sure the next one up the spout will shift it

[Vince Green]

I never clean my shotgun barrels. Just spray with plus gas to prevent rust and wipe through if it's being stored for any length of time

[Scully]

Are they chrome lined? 

[Vince Green]

4 hours ago, Scully said:

Are they chrome lined? 

Yes. I'm not saying it's best practice and I am scrupulous at cleaning my centre fire rifles but they don't seem to have suffered.

[Poor Shot]

I had a Beretta 686 which always seemed to suffer with lead build up in the first few inches of the barrels after the chamber. It was if the forcing cones were quite steep forcing the shot to condense in a short distance and rub against the barrel walls in one particular spot. It was a pain to clean out even with various styles of brass brush and a cordless drill powering them. It was likely a non issue and the chrome lined barrels would have been fine with just a bore snake every now and then but I was always paranoid about corrosion building up behind the lead fouling.

I've since moved to a Browning with back bored barrels and it seems to suffer a lot less with lead fouling. A quick bore snake every couple hundred shots and thorough clean every thousand or so and it's back to looking good as new.

The 694 should be both back bored and chrome lined so I wouldn't be too worried about keeping the barrels mirror clean.

[JohnfromUK]

There are a variety of different steels and finishes used.  Older higher grade Berettas used Boehler Antinit steel, which is very corrosion resistant (High nickel content?) and very strong - but expensive.  I don't believe it is chromed, but I may be wrong in that.  Some other makers used that as well and some (e.g. older Merkels) are just marked Boehler which may not be the same grade (antinit) of steel.

I had read that Boehler Antinit steel barrels are no longer available, but not sure if that is true.  Some are marked Laufstahl which I believe is another high nickel type of corrosion resistant steel and is a term used by both Boehler and Krup for steel in barrels.

[McSpredder]

With plastic wads, my chrome lined Berettas both tend to get grey streaks that need a lot of work (solvent + PB brush) to remove.   I never see that grey streaking when using fibre wads, so I assume the deposit is probably plastic rather than lead.   Also, it has never been apparent in my old S/S (one British, the other AYA), with any type of wads.

Is there some reason why plastic would adhere to chrome rather than steel?   That sounds rather unlikely, because I imagine the modern chrome surface would be smoother than the insides of those old plain steel barrels.

Or might it be something to do with barrel dimensions, as the Berettas are probably tighter bored than the old (and slightly worn) S/S?

[Fellside]

This is all very curious. I can honestly say - re all the guns I’ve used or owned - I have never had a problem with persistent barrel fouling. My two penneth (and it is only a guess), is that the barrels may not have been cleaned properly with a brush for a while. A friend of mine, who shoots clays at least once a week, didn’t clean his Browning 525 for about 2 years. Another friend eventually cleaned it for him. Apparently, there was a lot of stubborn stuff to shift, but it was fine afterwards. 

[Westley]

Bronze brush, electric drill job  !

I believe the 694's suffer from fouling of the barrels. I had one for a very short time, that was badly fouled up when I got it. GT85, bronze brush and electric drill sorted it though.

[Johnny English]

In time they'll polish up and be fine to clean. I've had my dt11 about 5 years now and it was just the same for a start, took loads of soaking and scrubbing even with a drill and bronze through it. Then it's gradually got easier to clean the more I've shot it, now it only takes a couple of scrubs with a hand bronze and a patch or two and she's spotless.

[Fellside]

Wonder if the problem is caused by initial manufacturing grease/debris being left in the barrels…? I know these can be stubborn on other gun parts. 

[Fargo]

Surely all to do with bore size?

Use a payne Galway brush and good cleaner and you’re away or use the drill cleaner by the company whose name I don’t remember …

[HantsRob]

1 hour ago, Fargo said:

Surely all to do with bore size?

Use a payne Galway brush and good cleaner and you’re away or use the drill cleaner by the company whose name I don’t remember …

MagicBore?
 

Magic Bore Drill Kit