Bore Brush Required Every Cleaning?

[Sean Smith]

Some food for thought...

http://www.schuemann.com/clean2.htm

 

[MR.G]

I use a bore brush every time that a gun is shot. Even after a Lewis Lead Remover, when I shoot lead. I brush until the barrel is spotless.

 

[Hans Esker]

Try this: Clean to a clean patch. Then run a new bore brush through the bore some. I bet the next patch you run through with a jag will be anything but clean.

 

[Jordan85]

Since we are on the topic, B&C, Hoppes, Boresnake, or all of the above?

 

[TnShooter83]

If I put less than 100 through it, and they were jacketed than I do NOT use a brush. If more than 100 or there is visible powder residue in the barrel I will USE a brush.


If I use LEAD rounds. I DO use a brush.

Other wise I just run a few patches, then a jag, followed by a lubed patch.

That's what I do.
It may not be the right way.
But so far it works for me.

 

[easyrider604]

550 rounds 158 grain SWC cast from wheelweight, water quenched and Alox lubed, through my S&W 686 with only a very slight lead streak on two grooves. Accuracy at 25 meters is not affected. Needless to say, I have not cleaned it and do not intend to. I just may fire one (1) round with a jacketed or plated bullet to clean out that lead streak. Works well, painless and fun.

If and when accuracy drops, I will inspect and clean the barrel, otherwise I may just clean the external surfaces.

I don't like cleaning with a bore brush because the rod sometimes rubs against the rifling. Boresnaking is my favored method because it totally eliminates the possibility of this happening, as well as cleaning from the breech, which is the recommended procedure.

 

[makarovnik]

Nah. Just run a bore snake through it with some bore cleaner on it then follow up with light lube and you should be good to go unless it's really dirty or has lead or copper build up.

 

[Coyote3855]

Once upon a time, I shot a lot of IPSC Limited Matches with a 1911 and 200 grain lead semi-wadcutters. Matches and practice totaled several thousand round a month. Using loads to make major power factor, there was some leading ahead of the chamber. I used bronze brushes and/or a Lewis Lead Remover. Then tried an electronic bore cleaner. This device removed a lot of lead and other residue that remained after a thorough cleaning and which was not visable to the naked eye.

There is a question as to the effectiveness of firing a jacketed bullet to "clean out the leading." My personal experience is that leading remains in the barrel after shooting jacketed bullets, as evidenced by the gunk removed by the electronic cleaner. Just my experience. Your milage may differ.

 

[The Bushmaster]

Bore brush and copper solvent every time (I don't shoot lead)...

 

[SAWBONES]

I clean every centerfire gun after shooting it, unless it's just a few "fouling rounds".

I let rimfire guns go a long time between cleanings, sometimes.

 

[conan]

Coyote, where do you get these electronic cleaners? I have never heard of one before? Thank you.

as evidenced by the gunk removed by the electronic cleaner

 

[dleong]

Perhaps I'm too anal, but I like to keep my firearms looking "showroom clean/new," so I use a bore brush after every range session.

Typically, I'll run a patch soaked with Hoppes #9 through the bore, let it sit for about five minutes, run another patch through it, scrub the bore with the bore brush, flush the gunk out with brake cleaner, then lightly lube the bore.

 

[mattk]

Yes, but I dont clean my guns as often as many of you do.
I wipe them down but I only clean after about 1000 rounds and if its a carry gun, I shoot it after I clean it and leave it dirty.

 

[krs]

Copper is pretty hard to see. Powder residue is always visible in pistols.

Benchrest shooters use their brushes, sometimes after 5 shots but more often after 25. Go watch them stroking back and forth as many as 100 strokes per shooting session if they're especially anal. They're ALL anal, but some are more anal than others.

Copper erodes accuracy.

 

[BiggBaddWolf]

Yes I clean mine with a borebrush after every session, but that's just me....

 

[j1133s]

If, like you said, you've been cleaning your guns that way for years w/o problems, thenjust keep doing it.

I personally used to use bore brush (wrap a cleaning patch around it or not); w/o the brush, it'll probably take too long to clean. But now, I use bore snake for all my guns. It has a bore brush built in.

 

[skoro]

I use a bore brush when I'm shooting lead. And I tend to shoot a lot of lead from my .38 revolvers; semiwadcutters, mostly. I find that if I fire a few rounds of fmj right at the end of my session, it makes the cleanup a little easier, though.

 

[Coyote3855]

Conan,

Google "Outers Foul Out." There are others, but that's the system I use. I'd post a link, but it's too long. I think Midway has them. The Brownells product number is (#674-000-001).

 

[novaDAK]

If bore brushes are not necessary, why do they make the darn things?



USE THEM!!!!!!!

Same thing can be said about CCW Badges. They're completely useless, but they sure do still make them!

I don't have a CCW badge but I do have bronze bore brushes and use them after trips to the range. If not everytime, I make sure to do it every couple trips to the range. Depends on how much and what type of ammo I shot.

 

[thebaldguy]

I use a bore brush when I clean firearms. You don't need to scrub the rifling out, but it does help clean the barrel.

 

[orionengnr]

Wow, another thread from 2003 resurrected...by someone with 50 or so posts. This happens a lot lately. Not sure why.

Search is your friend.

 

[contenderman]

Caliber and type of ammunition have a lot to do with the need to use a bore brush. The amount of rounds fired per shooting session is also an important factor.

For normal (casual) use patches and solvent w/ occasional brush use should suffice.

In most situations it is really more a matter of preference rather than necessity.

 

[Walkalong]

Nope.

 

[MemphisJim1]

I guess I'm with the anal crowd. When I was a child, Dad taught me "bore cleanliness is next to Godliness." He worked for Winchester at the time and I regarded his as the word of God, so to speak. Some years later in the Army, our drill sergeants loved to dissect our M-14s with white gloves looking for evidence of misfeasance. In Vietnam, we all learned our lessons with the early M-16s. As I approach dotage, a lifetime of ingrained habits persist: all my firearms are bore brushed and completely cleaned after every session, whether 5 rounds or 500 went through it. Depending on perceived need, I'll use a brush or snake, then however many patches it takes to satisfy me the bore is clean. I go through a lot of patches, pipe cleaners and Q-Tips on a given firearm and they seem to appreciate the pampering because they work reliably every time we go to the range for some exercise.

 

[m4coyote]

My father was in the Army during the 1950's, and consequently was very strict about overall gun cleanliness. During my early teenage years, I can remember him looking down the bores and into the actions of my guns. He would literally whip me if I did not "properly" clean a gun after using it. He did not care how much I shot or used a gun, but it better be clean when I put it away!

His lessons have remained with me until this day, and I still always clean a center fire rifle or pistol bore with Hoppes, brushes, and patches until the patches no longer reveal any fouling. I also examine the bores after cleaning them, to make sure they look as they did when new. Just 50 rounds of FMJ 9mm from my Glock 26, 19, or 34 will leave some difficult to remove fouling.

My rimfires are cleaned with Hoppes & patches until the patches come out clean.