Has anyone ever tried conditioning a shotgun barrel to improve shot patterns? Maybe something like the old T/C Natural Lube Bore Butter or their T17 patches. Supposedly these type solutions permeate into the small pores of the metal and make it easier to load and clean. The barrel actually becomes conditioned after repeated use.
Sounds a little hokie but it might be worth a try. If the weather was nicer I'd go to the range and give it a try.
never heard of anybody trying it. let us know if it makes a difference
I dont believe it would work. Never did buy into it for muzzleloaders either. Bore butter will rust your barrel also if left in. IMO the wad would travel down the barrel better in a dry clean barrel. I get my best patterns by cleaning really
good with shooters choice mc#7 then running a alcohol patch afterwards to remove the solvent.
Isn't the reason you clean it to get the crud out and make it slick? I mean we even polish the barrels to make them smooth and shiney. Why not give it a good cleaning then put a little something in it to make it slicker.
Quote from: turkey_slayer on March 27, 2011, 04:38:20 PM
I dont believe it would work. Never did buy into it for muzzleloaders either. Bore butter will rust your barrel also if left in. IMO the wad would travel down the barrel better in a dry clean barrel. I get my best patterns by cleaning really
good with shooters choice mc#7 then running a alcohol patch afterwards to remove the solvent.
X2
BRIAN
I'd just run me a patch loaded with Kroil through the barrel before I used Bore Butter. I clean mine and then alcohol it, patterns better that way.
i have never used bore butter or any oil what soever in any of my guns even my muzzleloaders and never have had rust, my friends use the butter and oils and always seem to get rust in or on their guns
bore butter is bad news for muzzleloaders so im sure it would be the same for shotguns.you could try it if you want but i wouldnt recommend it
Now I know that muzzle loaders don't have a lot in common but I used the T/C Natural Lube (Bore Butter) in my muzzle loading rifles right up until the time I switched away from black powder and Pyrodex and went to the Buckhorn 209 substitute. It was almost like smokeless powder and had to be cleaned with Hoppe's or some bore cleaner made for smokeless powders. I even used it in my black powder shotgun when I dove or turkey hunted with it. Before I started using it on the ML shotgun, every time I fired it with a regular shotgun wad, it would leave a skim of melted wad smeared inside the shotgun barrel. When you reloaded it the melted plastic would push back to the bottom of the barrel. After enough shots it would actually form a plastic donut in the bottom of the barrel that had to be removed with a stuck patch remover. When I started using the Natural Lube it no longer left the melted plastic in the bore.
It may not do a bit of good on turkey gun patterns but it should at least be worth a try. Nothing to loose by trying it. I'll let you know what happens.