Barrel cleaning question

[valnar]

Cleaning newbie questions follow:

I see all these products that help with running brass brush through a barrel in one direction. My God that would take too long to have to do it 20 times. What is the downside of just "scrubbing" a brush in the barrel back and forth? I did it tonight on a revolver, but haven't shot it yet to see if it makes a difference.

Also, why do I read posts about being careful not to let the brush rod touch the sides when I push it through? How is that not possible? It will touch no matter what. This isn't the game Operation! And why would they make the rod out of a material that could hurt the rifling or barrel anyway?! It shoots a bullet through it at 1000+ fps. I don't understand these posts about being careful with the rod.

I guess it seems silly, some of these caveats. Any care to enlighten me? Following the "rules" of cleaning makes me take 45 minutes to clean one gun. I could probably do it in 15 if I weren't so careful, so it begs the question - Do I have to be?

-Robert

 

[romulus]

Aluminum rods will wear awy barrel steel, as the aluminum oxide naturally present on the rod is abrasive...same material in fact as used in sandpaper. The concern with other materials is the embedded grit (in brass rods for example) or adsorbed grit on a coated rod (that's why wiping is recommended with each pass.) So it's all about abrasive contamination of the rods...I use a clean rag to wipe the rod after each pass. Of course the part of the rod that does not peek throug the crown remains gritted up...oh well.

 

[valnar]

Why don't they just make cleaning rods out of hardened nylon or some other non-metal substance?

So is it bad to scrub a barrel back and forth? I never understood how a rod can be used front to back only. You have to pull it out right?

-Robert

 

[Walt Sherrill]

Any rod soft enough to NOT damage the metal of the barrel is going to be soft enough to collect abrasive material which can then rub against the barrel during the cleaning process.

Wood or hard nylon is still soft enough to "capture" gitty stuff and some of it might scratch the barrel. Harder metal will wear down the barrel.

There's no free lunch.

One pass with the cleaning rod and "refreshed" cleaning media minimizes the possiblities of additional wear or damage.

(Hard nylon and wood might not be strong enough, in the small calibres, to push tight-fitting patches through a bore. With larger bores its probably not an issue.)

 

[sm]

Walt Sherrill ,
makes very good points. I use to make lapping tools with coated and uncoated soft metals. I also have noted the "wear" of nylon fishing line on various materials of guide rods. Nylon "cuts". NO free lunch is correct. I only go in one direction, I protect muzzle , I use uncoated steel rods, but I have used brass, Al , coated, graphite...I still one direction, wipe b/t passes with clean patch. I have also used the OTIS pull through system for years, handy for lever and revos.

Personally more concerned with chambering and extraction. Depends on platform caliber. loads for me. I don't clean bores a bunch. I do inspect and maintain. It does not take that long to clean for me.
This cleaning gets real personal, debated, and hashed a bunch. Additional thoughts here:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=60102&highlight=gale+mcmillan

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=124412#post124412

 

[bountyhunter]

If you want to scrub instead of pull, switch to nylon bore brushes. Get a rubber "centering plug" to go on the rod to protect the crown of the barrel and scrub away.

As for bore cleaning: pro shooters do it once per season. They clean the guns frequently, do not scrub the bores so they will maintain consistent accuracy. If you shoot reasonably clean FMJ ammo, a patch dipped in solvent is sufficient to clean the bore about nine times out of ten. If you really want to go after the fouling in the grooves, I usually use a bit of chrome polish on the nylon bore brush. Then run with an oil patch.

FWIW: a little fouling in the grooves has no effect on accuracy. Scrubbing a bore mirror clean after every usage will accelerate wear by a large factor. I think most of us over clean the bores and under clean the guns.

 

[C.R.Sam]

Bullet passing through bore wears evenly and does not distort bore.

Not so with rods, strings etc. unless a lot of care is excercised to keep em off of bore.

Caution when cleaning.

Sam

 

[sm]

Thanks Sam,
I agree and have advocated same for a long time. Besides I rather shoot ...than clean...wouldn't want the bore getting distorted from lack of shooting/attention.