BACO Bore Wipes Update

[desert deuce]

Originally obtained 60 .45 Caliber BACO Bore Wipe Squeegees complete with O ring and bronze tips several years ago.

Tried several different solutions on the felts and have settled on M-Pro7 cleaner with the in place on the tip 2 felts quickly dipped, (not soaked), in the solution with a slightly damp 2.25" square cotton patch pushed through at the base of the squeegee in the 45-90 loaded up for Long Range. Mop the chamber, load and shoot.

I noticed occasionally that it would be hard or impossible to start a squeegee into the rifling from the chamber, solved this by cutting off the O ring and using the squeegee as is without the O ring which seemed to work OK in a pinch but did not answer the question of why 44 worked just fine and 16 did not.

I eventually sorted out 16 of the 60 squeegees as problematic and called Dave Gullo at Buffalo Arms about the problem. I then sent him three of the offending 16 to examine. The long and the short of it was measure with micrometer or good dial caliper the diameter of the O ring while installed on the Squeegee .465" and under should work just fine. If the measurement is much over .465" "AND" is hard, difficult or impossible to start into the rifling then the squeegee is out of specifications and needs replacement.

It seems the O rings don't wear out after several years of use. How long unknown as of this writing.

Another advisory on the felts, NEVER , subject them to artificial heat like hair dryer or clothes dryer. They are wool. I wash mine in a laundry bag for ladies stockings in a load of laundry with my jeans, cold water only, then air dry on clothes line with felts in the same bag.

[firefighter1990]

Good to hear that someone else is giving these a go. For my 45 & 44 caliber rifles, I built my own "bore pigs" with stainless steel core nylon brushes and a .462" or .450" rubber grommet. I put a patch over the brush and stage them in 30-06 sized ammo box that I fill with a solution of water and a drop or two of simple green. Drain all the water out so the pigs aren't super saturated and it's match time. Push them down the bore with a derlin rod and a dry patch, mop the chamber, and its ready for another shot.

I bought the 40 cal baco system to try out and prepare them the same way but in 44mag ammo box. I don't over saturate those as I found the felt wads hold too much fluid. The first couple uses were a snug fit! And problematic in a match setting. Now that those felt pellets have been used some; they fit much better. I never experienced the o-ring side of things to be out of specs though. I use mine for ppb shooting and only need to clean the fouling off so a cold soapy water wash and cold rinse is all they need. I let them air dry on a towel.

To be honest with you, I prefer the homemade bore-pigs because they can only hold so much solution (which is substantial less than the felt wads but damn near perfect), the bristles provide a scrubbing action, and I feel the grommets squeegee better than the o-ring. But the bore wipe system is still faster than 3-4 patches so I'm not going to stop using them in my silhouette matches.

[desert deuce]

So far no problems with either the .40 or the .44 BACO Squeegees.

With Swiss1.5, 2F & 3F and Goex, so far, with the .40 Caliber I only use one felt pellet.

.44 & .45 still use two felt pellets

[desert deuce]

Forgot to mention a way to install the O rings on the .45 Squeegee that works fairly well.
A wooden dowel about six inches long the same diameter of the squeegee body or very slightly larger.
Blunt on one end, on the other end sharpen in pencil sharpener until the pointed end fits into the unstretched O ring.
Roll the O ring up the sharpened end and onto the unaltered part of the dowel.
Place the squeegee on a very stable flat surface with the O ring seat side up.
Roll the O ring down almost to the blunt end.
Place the blunt end against the flat on the squeegee and with thumb and forefinger quickly roll the O ring down onto the squeegee.

[bruce m]

if you push them (or bore pigs) with a dry patch, that can be used to dry the chamber.
it will however leave the bore dryer than using a slightly moist patch.
bruce.