Military Bore Cleaner

Just a quick question about this bore cleaner I just picked up. Any good for corrosive ammo? Anyone have any input on this is appreciated.



Attachment 70594

I have never encountered that stuff before, so my interest fed it to google and came back with a MSDA:

MSDA Name: Rifle Bore Cleaner,6oz.cans

Catalog Number: Spec.RIXS 205 Rev.1


Chemical Name-Percent

Kerosene 18-22%

Hydrotreated Light Napthenic Distillate 1-3%

Oxygenated Hydrocarbons 1-3%

Dipropylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether 55-60%

1,2-Propanediol 4-6%

2-Aminoethanol 2-5%

9-Octadecanoic Acid 9-11%

No idea about using it for corrosive ammo, internet lore says it's good, I just use liberal amounts of Break-Free CLP, personally, although boiling water is supposed to be the go to.

I'll second the above comment regarding the smell. It is very strong and should only be used out of doors. I suspect prolonged exposure to the fumes could be detrimental to one's health. I know of one person who had an asthma attack from walking into a workshop in which it was being used to clean rifles.

Yes, it works on corrosive primers, but as said above, there are better (possibly healthier) ways.

This is the earlier stuff and is milky and has a bit of water.

The later stuff is pretty much just like Young 303 oil, great stuff but a strong scent. Very oily. That said it smells very nice to me, after 35 years of use.

It is good stuff and... I like the smell. :) It was designed for corrosive primers but so was water - of any temperature. I quit using boiling water as unnecessary years ago, but, whatever floats your boat. Cold water, room temperature water hot to the point of boiling water, they all work. The cleaner shown does a good job, I have at least a dozen cans of it (large and small) and likely will never use all of it in my remaining years.

There was an article in the American Rifleman many years ago that recommended against the use of this gun cleaner. I have used it and the smell is not that bad but maybe others have more sensitive olfactory equipment that I do. My father used all kinds of paints and lacquers in his Navy Civil Service job and I occasionally went with him to his shop. I suppose because I was hungry any strong smell like I experienced there and this GI bore cleaner makes me hungry now. BTW the can is purposefully sized to fit into the rifle cartridge belt pocket.

I have more recently used Break Free as that is what was issued by the military and is readily available.

Many years ago my primary high school ROTC instructor shared that he found Coca-Cola was a satisfactory field expedient bore cleaner, but I have to report I never tried soda pop. I think the point is that just about anything will dissolve those pesky salts deposited by corrosive primed ammunition, so use what works for you. Whatever you use the sage advice from the Army was to clean the bore three consecutive days after firing corrosive primed cartridges. What ever you use to clean the bore it should be followed by a dry patch and then a preservative. I suggest a patch with preservative once a month thereafter.

I accidentally dropped a rifle M1903 in the swimming pool, and after disassembly and through cleaning I was surprised how many patches run through the bore came out black, and that was a rifle I thought well cleaned and preserved.