Things I've learned--about cleaning rods, etc.
--Chamber to muzzle is The Right Way To Go. Bore snakes help with this in guns that won't allow a cleaning rod. But with some guns it is still impossible and those guns continue to shoot well even with wrong-end-to cleaning.
--Aluminum cleaning rods shouldn't be used except as a last resort. Dave R covered the "why" on this. ANY jointed cleaning rod can pick up grit in the joints, so these have to be cleaned after using such a rod.
--Universal rods can be used; you just get different sized jags to hold the patches. However IMHO it is better to use a rod as close to bore diameter as practical. (One rod for .17's, one for .22 through .25, one for .30 and up.) The rod is more confined and can whip less from side to side. There is a limit to this, however: Nobody uses much above a .30 rod, which is plenty stiff, and one rod made for shotgun use is stiff enough to do all the shotties. Come to think of it, I think I'd even use an aluminum rod for shotguns, since it is quite stiff, and since it is so much smaller than the bore, under normal circumstances it couldn't flex enough to touch the bore! A plastic-coated rod such as the Dewey makes the material of the rod itself unimportant. With ANY rod, wipe it off after every few trips through the bbl.
--One-piece rods are better than jointed because there are no joints to cactch and hold grit, or have their threads damaged so they can't be assembled. I make cases for each of my one-piece rods out of PVC pipe and fittings; each case costs about $6 which beats a rod bent in the car any day. Jointed rods have the great advantage of taking down and fitting into a cleaning kit, and my kit contains a steel one which I will use at need.
--Brushes should go all the way through the bore before being reversed; don't change directions while the brush is in the bore. BTW, use nylon brushes unless they can't get the job done, then go to bronze brushes. The core of the brush should be bronze or brass, not steel, so it has less chance to scratch the bore, with one exception: When you are using copper-fouling cleaner, you need a non-copper brush with a non-copper core, then clear the bore with a patch on a non-copper jag--otherwise you will get a false positive, blue, patch, every time, and you can never tell when you are done cleaning the bore! (Bronze and brass both contain lots of copper, so use steel, aluminum, or plastic materials here, as appropriate.)
--Leading is the worst to get out of a bbl. Heavy leading has to be picked/scraped/scratched out. I haven't yet found a solvent that will help much. In this case, a steel brush is called for. There is one called a "Tornado" which is a coil of fine steel wire, and works great on bore lead. I've used it when nothing else will move the gol-durn lead, while shuddering to think of what I was doing to the rifling. But a few passes will usually do the job and then it is done. And if the rifling is leaded up, it can't grip the bullet anyhow.
--When cleaning from the breech end, a rod guide is a great help in getting the solvent-soppy patches down the bore instead of dripping into the action. I use one with every gun that will allow it, except (obviously) break-actions. When cleaning from the muzzle end, a muzzle protector is called for, to (obviously) protect the lands of the rifling right at the muzzle.
