I stopped using Sweets some time ago- after reading Merril Martin's articles in Precision Shooter magazine back in the 90's. I still have over 1/2 bottle, just sitting on the shelf.

For what it's worth!

Merril had been practicing using a brand new Hawkeye bore scope, looking inside his hunting rifles, his match rifles and bench rest rifles along with any other barrels his friends would allow him to examine - along with brand new rifles before and after use of ammonia cleaners - the standard for bad copper fouling for many decades.

Merril noted that any barrel that you have started to use Sweets or any other high ammonia product in, you'd have to keep using it in that barrel due to the chemical's reaction to the steel of the barrel - presumably making it rough- only visible through the bore scope and the barrel would always a fouler.

Don't know if it's true, but do know my old match .308 barrel, always cleaned with sweets, continued to foul badly until retired after 15,000 rounds. Actually, it was only retired from match shooting - was replace with another .30 barrel, this one running 2,900fps with 110's (.30BR) and it has never seen Sweets. It barely picks up a spec of copper and that is easily handled by a 50:50 mix of Butches Bore Shine and Kroil.

The 'old' .308 barrel was cut back 6", rechambered with the top 1.5" of a .30/06 reamer to give me a 1.6" case using .303 brass cut to 1.6". I've heard that one called the .303 Pygmy, and I call mine the .30/03. .35 Rem brass trimmed to 1.6" works in this chamber with a standard bolt face. The old barrel, still 22" long and has no rifling for about 4" ahead of the chamber, still shoots under an inch with it's new chamber, 130's at 2,900fps. It needs an overnight soak in Wipe Out to get the copper out, but one night is all it needs. The .303 brass fits my Mauser magnum bolt face, just fine.

My .30/03 compared to a .30BR.

Well done, Gryphon. The Norma Mag shines! No flies on that one.