I am reposting my review from TFL here. Apologies to Dexter, Spark, Mike and all non-gunnies that it's not knife related. If this causes a problem, feel free to lock or delete at will.
Background:
Kevin Mad Dog McClung of Mad Dog Knives has done it again. For those who may not know it, Kevin is not just a scientist and premier knife maker, but a highly qualified gunsmith in his own right.
Mad Dog is currently putting together a specialized .308 hunting rifle for me...much more on that later. In discussing barrel break-in, Kevin made a strong pitch for Sentry Solutions' products. Seeing as how Kevin is not easily impressed by products (or people
), when he recommends something, it's worth looking into.
Review:
Sentry produces two specific products for bores: Smooth-Kote and BP2000 Powder. Both are based on solid lubricant and dry film technologies beyond my limited comprehension. Essentially, the products create a dry, layered crystal coating that is intended to create a nonstick surface.
Smooth-Kote is a dry lubricant suspended in an alcohol carrier. When the alcohol evaporates it leaves a dry molecular coating in a pre-cleaned and degreased barrel. The product takes a bit of work to use, as the barrel must be completely clean and heated with a hair dryer. That done, Smooth-Kote is claimed to *replace* gun oils and barrel treatments.
BP2000 Powder is a black, graphite looking dry powder that is used to "fine tune" the lubrication process. The powder is applied to a tight fitting patch, wrapped to a jag and used to "burnish" the barrel interior with 40 or 50 strokes.
Upon application of the two products, the manufacturer claims that the bore may be maintained by a few strokes of a *dry* nylon brush and touch up with the (original saved) BP impregnated patch. Bore cleaners are not recommended as they will actually remove the dry lubricant requiring the entire process to be repeated.
I recently used these two products to treat a new-in-box Ruger Model 77/22. As most know, nothing fouls a barrel worse than .22 rimfire lead bullets. Over the past week, I have run 1,000 rounds of nonjacketed .22LR thru the gun. I used the nylon brush method 3 times: 3 or four passes with the brush; one pass with a clean patch; 4-5 passes with the BP2000 patch.
I failed to find a glimmer of lead on the clean patches....they continued to come out coated with the BP2000 powder and some normal powder fouling. A bore light revealed no trace of fouling after the "cleaning" process.
Being charitable and cautious, I subjected the barrel to the Outers Electrochemical system, using Outer's Lead Removal solution. I first ran an alcohol soaked patch thru the barrel to remove the Sentry Solutions' products. The Outer's system failed miserably to find any trace of lead in the barrel and showed it "clean" within about 10 minutes.
Tests will continue, but I think these products may be the ultimate bore conditioner for new and used rifles...clearly, the lack of lead would indicate less friction, higher velocity, lower heat and extended barrel life.
Mad Dog Knives may be viewed and ordered at http://www.mdenterprise.com/
For more on Sentry Solutions products try http://www.sentrysolutions.com/ .
Sentry Solutions products may be purchased from our sister site at http://www.bladeforums.com
Rich Lucibella
Background:
Kevin Mad Dog McClung of Mad Dog Knives has done it again. For those who may not know it, Kevin is not just a scientist and premier knife maker, but a highly qualified gunsmith in his own right.
Mad Dog is currently putting together a specialized .308 hunting rifle for me...much more on that later. In discussing barrel break-in, Kevin made a strong pitch for Sentry Solutions' products. Seeing as how Kevin is not easily impressed by products (or people
Review:
Sentry produces two specific products for bores: Smooth-Kote and BP2000 Powder. Both are based on solid lubricant and dry film technologies beyond my limited comprehension. Essentially, the products create a dry, layered crystal coating that is intended to create a nonstick surface.
Smooth-Kote is a dry lubricant suspended in an alcohol carrier. When the alcohol evaporates it leaves a dry molecular coating in a pre-cleaned and degreased barrel. The product takes a bit of work to use, as the barrel must be completely clean and heated with a hair dryer. That done, Smooth-Kote is claimed to *replace* gun oils and barrel treatments.
BP2000 Powder is a black, graphite looking dry powder that is used to "fine tune" the lubrication process. The powder is applied to a tight fitting patch, wrapped to a jag and used to "burnish" the barrel interior with 40 or 50 strokes.
Upon application of the two products, the manufacturer claims that the bore may be maintained by a few strokes of a *dry* nylon brush and touch up with the (original saved) BP impregnated patch. Bore cleaners are not recommended as they will actually remove the dry lubricant requiring the entire process to be repeated.
I recently used these two products to treat a new-in-box Ruger Model 77/22. As most know, nothing fouls a barrel worse than .22 rimfire lead bullets. Over the past week, I have run 1,000 rounds of nonjacketed .22LR thru the gun. I used the nylon brush method 3 times: 3 or four passes with the brush; one pass with a clean patch; 4-5 passes with the BP2000 patch.
I failed to find a glimmer of lead on the clean patches....they continued to come out coated with the BP2000 powder and some normal powder fouling. A bore light revealed no trace of fouling after the "cleaning" process.
Being charitable and cautious, I subjected the barrel to the Outers Electrochemical system, using Outer's Lead Removal solution. I first ran an alcohol soaked patch thru the barrel to remove the Sentry Solutions' products. The Outer's system failed miserably to find any trace of lead in the barrel and showed it "clean" within about 10 minutes.
Tests will continue, but I think these products may be the ultimate bore conditioner for new and used rifles...clearly, the lack of lead would indicate less friction, higher velocity, lower heat and extended barrel life.
Mad Dog Knives may be viewed and ordered at http://www.mdenterprise.com/
For more on Sentry Solutions products try http://www.sentrysolutions.com/ .
Sentry Solutions products may be purchased from our sister site at http://www.bladeforums.com
Rich Lucibella