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I was keen to add a couple more tests, one was to try and emulate the mechanical action of a cleaning patch on a jag pushed up and down a bore with a cleaning agent/solvent. Previously I had cleaned and weighed and then coated bullets in solvents and left them open for 10 days/240 hours with occasional agitation and then cleaned and weighed them with interesting results. Additionally I had passed samples to various shooters for testing and comment and all of the feedback was positive, even from the more cynical like myself.
The final test was a 'Rattle Test' the bullets as before were cleaned, weighed and then placed in small sealed plastic containers with 2cc's of solvent and 6 cleaning patches. The bullets were then tumbled for around 6 hours over a 12 hour period so they effectively were agitated, left to rest, agitated and so on. Certainly this is not the same as a patch pushed up a bore however it did add some mechanical abrasion between the bullets and the patches. The test was conducted using Wipeout Patch-out Liquid and C2R Bore Cleaner only.
Well I did say this was going to be an unbiased test...
The Wipe Out cleaner came out on top. Now before you all shout HAH! I knew that and rush off to buy some Wipe Out let me make some observations.
On this occasion C2R did not come out on top, it was very close in a shoot out of just two products however the Wipe Out pipped it. Odd given the results seen previously. So what has changed?
I do not have access to a fully equipped laboratory however I do have an understanding wife and a kitchen... I must admit I was surprised by the result as I had expected C2R to come out on top. One thing I can say is it was very cold during the first tests, typically 16C in the 'Test Area' whereas for the second test things had warmed up quite a bit.
One thing to consider is your chosen product effectiveness in quick versus “extended” cleaning periods/scenarios. In the 10 days test C2R took over 3 times the amount of copper versus the Wipe Out Patch without agitation plus so this needs to be taken into account if you are looking for a product that will work very effectively over extended periods plus of course the C2R is demonstrating highly effective carbon removal, possibly better even than Carb Out. So it is horses for courses
If you want a foam based product then Wipe Out Foam is the best. It removes good levels of copper but it is not recommended to be left in for longer than 24 hours since it seems to dry out and then gum up.
To the rest:
Forrest Milfoam - This was a surprise since I have used this for a while and always held it in high regard. The tests showed Forrest Milfoam had sporadic copper removal performance and gummed up after 24 hours.
KG-12 Now this is a serious anomaly, at no point could I get close to replicating the dramatic copper loss documented in other tests. In our tests KG-12 did not feature at all as a top contender in the copper removal stakes. It also left the most “residue” in the long term copper removal test and the bullets were incredibly difficult to clean up for weighing.
Some products never got out of the starting block in the tests. Specifically Napier Solvent is doubtful at any level as a copper remover however it did preserve the bullets rather nicely!
Shooter’s Choice did not remove dramatic amounts of copper and dried out leaving sludge very quickly.
The collection of Parker Hale 009, Hoppes No 9, Hoppes Elite and Benchrest 9 did not remove any significant amounts of copper in the test and cannot be considered as serious contenders for copper removal.
Boretech displayed sporadic performance in all of my tests, I expected more of it.
Butches Boreshine was not part of the 10 day tests however it is used regularly by two F/TR shooters who then tested C2R on ‘clean’ rifles and both commented on the amount of carbon and to a lesser degree copper that came out of the barrels.
In summary the only serious contender to C2R is Wipe Out Patch Cleaner and even then it looks like the effectiveness is dependent on environmental conditions. Wipe Out Patch Cleaner is certainly very effective at removing copper however cleaning with C2R afterwards did leave a slight blue tint on the patch (Is a barrel ever truly clean?) More noticeable was the amount of carbon that was removed when the bore was patched out with water dampened patches after the C2R treatment so in this respect it would appear C2R is performing a more effective dual purpose role. Personally I find this very appealing as I also have KG-1 and Carb-Out here for just this purpose and I am confident C2R performs the role of both a copper and carbon cleaner in a manner and effectiveness not demonstrated by any other single product.
This of course means less cleaning products on the shelf and fewer worries about mixing products and the potential barrel erosion and/or chemical reaction, also C2R can be left in for extended periods without fear of the rifling being reduced to a gummed up mess of multi-coloured sludge.
One word of warning, do not mix bore cleaners and solvents as the results can be highly unpredictable. Having so many products on the shelf I just had to mix a few together and drop some bullets in and the results were frightening, I now have some bullets with ‘scorched’ black marks on that will not come off with water, acetone or in an Ultrasonic cleaner. They are a mess.
Finally, please do remember these were my tests and my findings in my test environment so you may find your findings and results are different. All I can do is report back on what I saw and if you have a particular cleaning solvent that out performs all else then stick with it, we are all different, as are our rifles and cleaning regimes. What I will say is I will be using C2R in future, it has worked incredibly well on all of the rifles I have tested and importantly to me it is UK produced.
So thank you all that have persevered with my extended ramblings on the subject of these tests and am I finished now?
OF COURSE NOT! Next (Final) test is to section some barrels and coat them in C2R for a few weeks to see what happens.
To be continued...