SWEETS 7.62--Not advised by gunsmith

J

jsr75

New member
Hello all,

Still a newbie here at TFL and still excited at the wealth of information available! Thank you all!

So, today I brought in my Rem 700 LTR to a highly respectable gunsmith (who has been around forever) to lighten the stock lawyer trigger. Barrel break in procedure was brought up and I mentioned the use of Sweets and Hoppes. He strongly discouraged me from using it on this particular rifle, saying that it's too powerful a cleaner and should only be used in extreme cases. I trust this gunsmith who has probably the best reputation for American made firearms in the state. He's got a lot of experience and history behind him, but I've heard such great things about Sweets from many here on the boards. Just thought I'd bring this up for all to read. Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Best Regards,

-jsr75
 
Some folks like apples, others like oranges. That said, there are a bunch of ways to clean during the break in process. The British break their barrels in chemically, using strong solvents. The guys I shoot with break in with Sweets, and use that pretty much to clean the rifle. Their rifles are about as accurate as one could ask, routinely holding 1/2 MOA.
True, it is a powerful cleaner, I think Blue Goop is stronger, hence the importance for getting it completely out of the barrel, in addition to not letting set too long. Properly used, one should not have any major concerns over damage to the barrel.
Personaly, I use it in extreme cases, like the Enfield I restored. I don't think that the bore had been punched in decades. It got more gunk out than anything else I had tried, and now I can see the rifling. Only in that case I used about 30 patches of it, the first ten or so were goopy and a nice dark blue.
An alternative to using Sweets is to try Butch's Bore Shine. Works pretty good and is not too harsh on the nose.
 
No Sweet's

jsr 75,
All due respect to your smith.....
But, what did he suggest you use???
Shooters choice is too slow, Butch's's is too slow.....( These 2 will work ok, on a CUSTOM tube).
If you don't use Sweet's.....you will be FOREVER cleaning your tube.(factory Rem's are baaad news).
Use Hoppe's 9 , to get out powder fouling, and use Sweet's, after that to remove the Copper.
DO NOT leave it in the tube for over 15-20 minutes at a time.
Make sure you clean it out, and follow with alcohol, and then dry, and follow with a wet patch of Hoppe's 9 for storage.
Try it his way .........first.....then see if you have forever to wait, and elbow bursitis from brushing.
It's tough stuff....but it's better than the alternative.
 
The thing with Sweets is to not leave it in your bore for longer than 15 mins. Aside from that, opinions are like a$$holes, everyone has one :)
 
Isn't Sweet's an ammonia based bore solvent? I believe it is a 5% concentration. I wonder if regular household ammonia, when properly diluted, would achieve the same results. Any thoughts?
 
General it will. On my surplus guns I use a 2 part water to one part sudsy amonia to nutilize and clean out the corrosive salts from the ammo but it also goes to work on the copper fouling. I'm not sure if this is a little too strong for normal cleaning but if you cut it down a little more it should be fine.

As far as Sweet's, I would definately use it on the factory barrel. It is too rough to use anything else. Your smith is probably overly cautious.
 
I've used Sweets on all of my rifle and pistol barrels for years with no ill effects, even on chrome-lined barrels. It does a great job of removing copper fouling. To me, controlled chemical cleaning is better than brushes and abrasives.
 
My gunsmith, one of the preeminent benchrest smiths in the country, says that Sweet's is okay. The recommended method for one of his tubes:

Three patches wet with Butch's.

Brush, wetting the brush, for about 10 passes.

Three wet Butch's patches.

Two dry patches.

1 Sweets patch to check for copper. If copper color is found, you may want to consider another Sweet's patch, and letting it rest for a few minutes. When through, flush the Sweet's out with a couple of wet Butch's patches, then a couple of dry patches, followed by a light oil patch.

Just curious - Did your gunsmith recommend that you purchase a one-piece cleaning rod? Pro-Shot, Dewey or Bore Tech all are okay - It's just that more bores have been ruined by jointed rods than you'll ever believe...
 
Hopes no. 9 will remove copper and is much easier on your barrel than Sweets. Sweets is much faster and harsher. Although Hopes does have oil in it according to Hopes use a gun oil or grease for long term storage. Also Hopes does contain Ammonia so that is another reason not to leave it in the bore indefinately. Standard Hopes 9 has 6 per cent ammonia and Hopes bench rest has 3 per cent ammonia. W.R.
 
Thank you all for your input. I'm gonna go with the majority on this one and use Sweet's and Hoppe's or Butch's as recommended in previous posts. I'll be sure not to leave the Sweet's in the bore greater than 10 minutes at a time. Thanks again for putting my mind at ease.

BTW, Although the gunsmith did not recommend the Sweet's he did highly recommend Butch's and/or Hoppe's. He also said a light swab of JB wouldn't be such a bad idea, but I just don't know what to make of all this anymore!

-jsr75
 
IMHFO Sweets is fine as used above. The main thing to remember is to follow the printed instructions. Tshoes hit it on the head by reiterating the instructions as to clean it out before putting something else into the bore.
Unless you are a chemist I would suggest you not mix any chemical compounds or solutions together anywhere including your bore. I am not a chemist and after turning a stainless barrels bore black:( I always clean it out before trying a different cleaner. BTW The barrel in question still shot fine and is looking better as time goes by.
 
Cleaning solutions............

jsr 75,
U R 1 lucky dudeski..........
How fortuitous, if you want go to http://www.SniperCountry.com.......
read the current "Duty Roster", postings...jus so happens this near exact same discussion is goin' on there as I type........
And I might add........again...."JB"s, PSP, Rem Clean R NO NO's..........
Unless, U got a factory tube.((((;
 
Tshoes,
When you say Shooter's Choice is too slow, do you you refer to the MC7 bore cleaner or the extra strength copper remover? I have had good results using a combination of the bore cleaner and then the copper remover after.Thx
 
It should be obvious...

But DON'T use Sweet's with a bronze-wire brush. It will literally dissolve it, bit at a time. Use nylon bristle, or in really, really extreme cases (gulp) stainless steel.
 
Bore cleaning ..............102

D-Sec,
the combo you mention works well, and will do a nice job.

Hutch, (Gulp!), indeed...........NEVER, EVER use a SS brush in your bore.............less you wanna replace it.....QUICK.
On the bore brushes (copper, brass), right on....eat em' right up.
 
I have an empty windex squirt bottle and i am thinking about putting sudsy ammonia and water in their for the corrosive ammo shooting. I want to know what is the best mix for that bottle? should i fill it half with sudsy ammonia and the rest with water? fill it quarter and rest water?

please let me know.

Thank You,
 
Shooter's choice works just fine for me. After the normal cleaning I run a patch soaked with it through the bore, then leave it overnight. The next morning, I run dry patches until the bore is dry. Works fine for my rifles. By the way, asking a man how he cleans his barrels is akin to asking him how he drives his car or makes love. We all have our own techniques and we all swear it's the best way.
 
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