SmallCaliberCentral

Hello everyone. I have a Savage predator hunter in 204. the thing is a tack driver as long as the barrel is spotless. After 20 rounds it starts shooting like a shotgun. the rifle has about 600 rounds through it so it should be broke in by now. Here are a couple pics of the bore. What can I do? I'm getting sick of cleaning it after every 20 rounds. Does not make a very good hunting rifle like this.

Thanks
Kris

It may just be the light, but it looks like you can see a pretty good layer of copper at the muzzle. Near the throat may be even thicker. Do you clean for copper once in a while or only for carbon? Could try a copper solvent and see if that improves things. There's many brands of copper solvent, and different techniques on using each one. The main differences in them are whether they contain ammonia or not. Maybe some in here will post their routine on cleaning for copper, but you can find them all over the net. I'd post my routine, but I'd rather hear some of everyone else's routines myself.

I'm not sure why having a heavy coating of copper would shoot fine for 20 then go bad, but maybe with all the copper, it just can't handle much carbon before it's effected in a negative way. ?

I have lapped the barrel twice now. and yes I copper clean it after every 20-30 rounds or it just flat out won't shoot. The layer of copper you are seeing in the bore is after 20 rounds on a freshly scoured Barrel. I am using Sweets 7.62 solvent for the copper with a nylon brush.

Thanks for the replies Guys!!!

i would contact Savage and see what they recommend. A friend of mine had a similar problem and it ended up being some sort of rough spot in the barrel that was collecting copper and making the rifle shoot terrrible after only a few shots. He sent it back to Savage and they replaced the barrel. That seemed to solve the problem. In addition i would consider using a coating like SPL on the bullets, that will reduce your fouling.

stealthshooter

Do you reload or just factory ammo?
If you roll your own give me the particulars.

How'd you lap the barrel?

I called Savage and they said to send it back as is with the fouled Barrel. Guess we will see what Happens.

I do load my own. It happens the same with factory ammo also.

Load Data:
Hornady cases
32 GR vmax
29.1 GR H4895
full length size.
2.375" COAL
6000 foot elevation
3950 FPS

I lapped it with a barrel mop using JB Non embedding Bore cleaning compound. I swabbed it about 50 strokes both times.

Thanks for any help.
Kris

OK, send it to Savage and see what they say. That is a very nasty copper problem you have there.
If the problem persists let us know. Theres a few methods to keep copper under control.

Very frustrated. this is my only Varm gun. Even thought about selling it and getting a 6mm BR.

I know exactly how frustrating that can be
Every ACCURATE Savage 204R barrel I've owned acted like that until I figured out how to tame them. Takes quite a bit of work and effort. Too much perhaps. I grow weary of the effort.
The Sav tubes i've had that did'nt copper up ended up not being that accurate either. Makes no sense I know.
You find out quick they shoot horrible with copper. Find one that does'nt and its good for .5moa at best.

On the bright side you now have a Savage platform. Get a nut wrench and barrel vice and you can put a nice handlapped custom tube on that setup for relatively cheap. You can have a gun that shoots like a Cooper but you can trek the forest and chuck it in your truck without crying

so what are the techniques for getting this thing to shoot if Savage does not do anything about it?

Thanks
Kris

Shooting coated bullets (moly, WS2 or hBN) will reduce the cleaning interval. It also reduces barrel walk so on both counts, coated bullets are ideal for varmint shooting.

Thumbs up on the coated bullet suggestion. If Savage doesn't have a satisfactory solution for you, I'd suggest you start coating your bullets with hBN. It really cuts down on coppering in my barrels and I can shoot many more bullets down the tube without cleaning compared to bare bullets.

I heard, but don't have any scientific evidence, that Hornady bullets will copper up a barrel faster than many other brands. Have you tried switching to Sierras or Noslers to see if the barrel coppers up just as fast with them as it does with the Hornadys??

I have shot some Bergers and they didn't seem to foul as badly. I have also thought about trying the Calhoon bullets that are coated with the Quick silver stuff. Has anybody tried these Bullets?

Thanks
Kris

The Calhoon "slick silver" bullets should reduce copper fouling. Can't say about powder residue.

The thing about regular (non-slick silver) coated bullets is that a bit of the coating rubs off on the barrel 's bore making it slicker, too, up until the time when the bore is as slick as the bullets. By the time the barrel is fully "conditioned," it's hard even for burning powder to stick to it. Most home bullet coaters also coat the barrel, which cuts down on -- or altogether eliminates -- the number of shots needed for conditioning. Slick Silver is electrically bonded to the bullet so I can't say whether it rubs off (or slicks up the bore) but my hunch is it doesn't.

There's an industrial company in Colorado that has a great introductory offer on hBN. One pound is $49. Mine was $58, delivered. That compares pretty well to Lower Friction of Toronto's one pound which is $99, shipping extra, which used to have a monopoly on the non-industrial/hobbyist market before ISI.

Industrial Supply Inc is selling the pound as an introductory offer hoping to attract industrial business (hBN is an amazing hi-temp, hi-pressure lubricant) and they even have to fill out ISO9000 paperwork for every pound they sell. Once enough shooters/reloaders have cashed in on their offer, I fear they'll realize it was a marketing mistake and start requiring proof that you're an industrial concern. Bottom line, get it before it's gone.

A pound is a lifetime's supply for four or five people so you can buy a pound, sell three ounces to each of four of your buddies for $20 per, pocket $20 to cover your time and labor, keep your four ounces free, and all of you actually got a good deal.