Should I Clean S&W 460v Between Calibers?

[Evergreen]

Hey, I just got a new S&W 460v and I had a question about caliber switching. I know I read some posts where they said if you are switching from .460 to .454 or .45LC that you should clean barrel and cylinder chambers before shooting a new caliber. Does anyone know if this is necessary and, if so, why would they do this? Would there be some problem between mixing of different powders? I don't know why but I read somewhere that a guy had major problems when going from .460 to lower calibers and someone suggested this.

I am taking my gun to the range today to give it a try and I hope I don't have any problems. I'd be interested to hear people's advice on this one.

 

[buck460XVR]

When you shoot a .45LC in your .460 it will leave a small ring of carbon in the chamber in front of the case when shot. If allowed to accumulate it can lead to problems loading the longer .460 cartridges and also sticky extraction and in worse case scenarios, significant increase in pressure. Odds are, if you shoot only a few of the shorter cased shells, you won't even notice. If you shoot a lot of the shorter cased shells, you'll want a bore brush to clean the chambers with. This affects only the chambers, not the barrel. This is not a problem just with the .460, but with .357s when .38s are used and .44mags when .44 specials are used.

 

[Evergreen]

Interesting.. THanks for this information. I was told by some that you should never stick a brush down the chamber of a revolver. I was told to only use patches. Do you think it would be safe using a brush, that it would not scratch up the chambers? I am not really an expert on cleaning, but I have never used a brush in the chamber of my revolver before, so I would like to know.

 

[mikemx5]

Since brass bore brushes are softer than steel, using one to clean the chambers of a revolver will not hurt anything.