Routine cleaning after shooting session or nights during hunting trip:  Pull proper size Boresnake down the bore from breech to muzzle 1 or 2 times.

Deep cleaning after hunting trips or every 200 rounds or so for big game calibers or 300-500 rounds for varmint calibers:

1. Remove bolt from gun.  Place bore guide in the action.  Using a correct caliber pierce type jag (we recommend Bore Tech Proof Positive) on a high quality rod (we recommend Tipton Deluxe Carbon Fiber), push a tight patch (we recommend Butch’s Triple Twill) soaked in Bore Tech Carbon C4 down the bore from breech to muzzle.  Repeat until patches come out clean to slightly grey.
2. For stubborn carbon build-up or if patches are still dirty after 10 passes, screw a correct caliber nylon brush (we recommend Bore Tech Proof Positive) into the cleaning rod and push it through the bore and out the muzzle.  Drizzle the brush with Bore Tech Carbon C4.  Pull it back through the barrel and repeat for several passes to break-up the carbon.  Switch back Step 1 until patches come out clean to slightly grey.  You have now removed most of the powder fouling but virtually none of the copper fouling.
3. With a bright flashlight, inspect the bore from the muzzle end and you should see bright orange streaks in the bore.  This is the copper fouling and what must be removed.  Switch back to the nylon brush and push it through the bore and out the muzzle.  Drizzle some Bore Tech Copper Cu+2 on the brush until saturated.  We recommend this solvent because it is very good on copper and completely safe in your barrel.  It is so good on copper, that it will dissolve the bristles of a bronze brush, which is why we recommend nylon.  Nylon will also not give you false blue color while cleaning.  Pull the brush back through the barrel and repeat several times.  The idea is not to scrub the copper out, but to get the solvent to the copper and let it work.
4. Wait 10 min.  Repeat step 3.
5. Wait 10 min.  Repeat step 3 a third time.
6. After the third 10 min wait, switch back to the jag with a dry patch.  Push the patch down the barrel.  Blue liquid should come out of the muzzle.  The blue liquid is the solvent with copper dissolved in it.  Again, inspect the muzzle with the flashlight looking for the orange streaks.  They should be smaller or gone completely.
7. Repeat steps 3-6, even if you don’t see any more copper in the barrel.  If you really got it all, the patch at the end of the process will come out white and not blue.
8. Continue cycling steps 3-6 until the patch in step 6 comes out white.
9. When all the copper is out, push 2 dry patches.  The barrel is now clean and ready to shoot.  Remove the bore guide.  Use a large patch or paper towel to clean any solvent out of the chamber.  If you are putting the rifle away for more than a month, replace the bore guide and run a patch soaked in Bore Tech Shield or other gun oil down the bore.  Remove the bore guide.  Apply Bore Tech Grease to the back of the bolt lugs and replace the bolt.  When you get back to shooting, run a couple patches of brake cleaner or Gun Scrubber to get the oil out.  If you don’t do this before shooting, the first couple shots will be unpredictable.

This process is not the only way to clean a bore, nor are these products the only products that will clean a bore.  They are what we have found to be the best for reliably cleaning the bore down to base metal and, therefore, keeping your rifle shooting as accurately as the day it was delivered.

Things to definitely not do:

NEVER clean your rifle without a bore guide.

NEVER use a bare steel or aluminum rod.

NEVER leave any ammonia based solvent in the barrel longer than the manufacturer recommends.  Ammonia can and will erode your barrel.  Note:  BoreTech Cu+2 is completely safe to leave in your barrel indefinitely.

Like many shooters, my go to cleaning chemicals were Hoppes when it came to cleaning my rifles and pistols. And why not? One can find Hoppes on the shelves of every sports store or any department store with a camping and hunting section. After talking with Chris at Alliance Custom Armory, he convinced me to give the Bore Tech chemicals a try. So I bought a kit and headed to the range with a friend to break in a rifle. I was blown away! After only six passes with the patches, one could see only the slightest hint of gray. Even after breaking in the barrel and doing a good 15 rounds, the Bore Tech C4 cleaner was clearing out the carbon build up in less than 10 passes of the patches. This is something I have never been able to achieve with Hoppes. Even the Copper cleaner was amazing. Every time I sent a patch down the barrel, it looked like smurf’s blood on the other end.

Out of curiosity, I took a rifle that I had previously cleaned with Hoppes out and started to run Bore Tech’s C4 cleaner down the barrel. The patches were coming out black. That sold me right there. I will never buy anything but Bore Tech again and I already have three of my shooting friends converted. Hands down, it is the best chemical out there!

Travis K.

Visalia, CA