.22 cal rods in .30 cal bore?

How do you guys feel about using a .2" cleaning rod (.22 cal) in a .308 bore? The "30 cal" rods are typically only around .25". I recently bent a cheap .22 cal multi-segment rod on a very dirty .308 bore and am going to replace it with a single piece coated tipton rod. I'm trying to decide if I can get away with a single .2" rod or need both a .2" and .25".

Thats why I try to avoid using a .22 rod in a .30 as they tend to bend and get all out of being not wavy.

I never "push" a brush or patch through a bore,I "pull" the patch through.Much easier on the rod,and puts all the force in a straight line,instead of bouncing a flexible rod off both sides of the barrel.Try it,you'll like it.

Been pushing with a one-piece stainless .22 rod through rifles since 1950. Never has hurt group sizes...

I finally broke my 1981-vintage Hoppes aluminum .22 rod, but I did it in a 12 Gauge, trying to remove built up wad fouling.

Those one-piece rods are great. But I'm guessing the .20 will work fine in a rifle.

And I've learned to like boresnakes a lot. A few passes of the boresnake, and you can do your final cleaning with a rod if you're really picky. If I start with a solvent patch and a rod, I pass about 3,000,000 patches through the barrel before they come out clean. With a preliminary boresnaking, I can lower that number to about 150,000.

I have two carbon fiber tipton rods - one for all my rifles and one for all my pistols. they're both .22 caliber, and they work great in all my guns, especially the .30 caliber ones. since they're one-piece AND coated, you would have to try real hard to cause any damage cleaning with them! They're not quite as strong as the steel ones, but they're still very tough, and you can't bend of break them. I still use a standard steel rod in my shotgun though.

I see no problem using a 22 rod. I do it all the time. My take is that your choice depends on how many rifles you clean and how often. It is clearly easier to use a larger diameter rod if it fits. Try to pull your brushes through rather than pushing them. Patches don't seem to be a problem for me either way as long as you're careful.

I agree with "wayne",( and have said this on other related threads) that pulling rather than pushing eliminates any possibility of the problem you're describing.

Get a quality one-piece 33" stainless steel .22 rod.

You can pound brushes down a bore with them and they don't bend, or break.

I've been using the same Kleen-Bore SS .22 rod on everything for years, and it now appears it will last far longer then I will.

http://secure.armorholdings.com/kleen-bore/product386.html

rcmodel

I use a one piece .22 rod for all my rifles. Its stainless steel.

Another .20" (.22 cal) rod it is then. Thanks folks.

Count another for the pulling rather than pushing school of thought.

Advantages:

1)You can pull a much tighter brush or patch than you can push.

2) Allows chamber to muzzle cleaning of rifles like the M1.

you mileage may vary...

I have two carbon fiber tipton rods.......and you can't bend of break them.

That's what I thought, until I broke my Tipton that I only had a month or so. Snapped off at the handle.

i see no immediate issue (other than potential crown-damage). but it does remind me of the time i wasn't thinking (read as: not paying close attention) and ended up trying to clean one of my .22s with my .30cal plastic nib-thing. somehow i actualy got it about 3-4 inches down the muzzle before it got stuck beyond home removal. plus, while trying to get it out myself, the rod came out and the nib stayed inside! :uhoh:

took it to my smith, had it back in about 2 weeks good as new. i never have quite figured out how he got it out...