Cleaning a Glock's bore

[KJS]

Glock includes a cute little plastic toy that allegedly provides for all the cleaning needs one may ever need.

Am I the only one to find the need to break out the "real" stuff to get all the crud out? In my case the "real" stuff would be a carbon fiber rod with a bronze brush on the end of it, same as I clean my .38 & .357 with.

It does seem Glock barrels don't get as dirty as conventional rifling (and the rod doesn't turn to follow Glock's hexagonal rifling the way it does with conventional) though seems more than their nylon brush on the end of a little plastic rod is needed at times.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I rarely ever brush the bore of my Glock duty weapon. About all I do is push a few wet/dry patches thru. It must work. Mine gets the seal of approval every year when it is inspected by an armorer.

 

[gunnutter]

KJS I'm right there with you. I use my own real stuff. It might not be necessary but I just can't use that junk it comes with.

 

[Waywatcher]

Yes, to all of what you said, KJS.

I have only used a bronze brush for one cleaning on my Glock .40, in over 1500 rounds, fwiw.

 

[9mmepiphany]

While the Glock factory barrel doesn't have true polygonal rifling as seen in the H&K or Kahr line of pistols, if you are shooting jacketed ammo through them, it shouldn't really need much cleaning.

I usually just run a swab through the bore...but a tight patch would work just as well.

The only folks I've seen who really should be using a brass brush to clean their Glock barrels are those who are shooting lead bullets through their guns...you really need to get all the smeared lead out of the barrel

 

[coalman]

I can't recall the last time I used the Glock brush.

 

[wildehond]

I only shoot jacketed bullets also in my reloads. I have not once used a brush on my bore. I just use a .40 jag and a few wet and the a few dry cotton pathces trought the bore. Comes out clean every time.

If you shoot lead bullets then you will probably need a bronze brush to clean the bore.

 

[777TRUTH]

I rarely use a brush when shooting FMJ or plated bullets.

 

[hentown]

While the Glock factory barrel doesn't have true polygonal rifling as seen in the H&K or Kahr line of pistols, if you are shooting jacketed ammo through them, it shouldn't really need much cleaning.

If Glocks don't use a "true polygonal rifling," then what do they use. They look like they're polygonal to me.

 

[9mmepiphany]

H&K and Kahr use true polygonal rifling. Take a look and compare them to see the difference. Glock rifling doesn't use a regular, all angles being equal, polygon which rotates down the bore...this causes different leading issues

 

[hentown]

Thanks for the information. I don't have HK or Kahr barrels with which to compare. I guess those guys at Glock are just prevaricators, huh?

 

[EBShooting]

I only use the Glock brush when I haven't had a chance to go to the LGS and replace a real brush. Most of the Glock brushes I have had have gone to a buddy of mine who is a jeweler and uses them in his business.

 

[AK103K]

It does seem Glock barrels don't get as dirty as conventional rifling

Ive found just the oposite to be true. It talkes me a lot longer to get my Glocks clean than it does my Colts, SIG's, S&W's, etc.

I always found it to be strange, but it is what it is.

I use bronze brushes and patches to clean all my guns. Guns get cleaned no matter what, 1 round or 500+, and for the most part, while the patches never come out completely clean, they come out pretty close.

I have to wonder about what some consider "clean". Id be willing to bet that if I put a wet brush down most peoples guns, and let it set a few minutes, the gun woudnt be as clean as many seem to think they are.

Judging from most of the used guns Ive bought, people dont clean them at all.

 

[LiveLife]

Glock factory barrel doesn't have true polygonal rifling as seen in the H&K or Kahr line of pistols ... Take a look and compare them to see the difference. Glock rifling doesn't use a regular, all angles being equal, polygon which rotates down the bore...this causes different leading issues

+1. As you can see in the picture below, Glock barrels are round with hexagonal rifling (meaning six rifling, not the polygonal shape of the bore) that are rounded instead of square cut - http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=8116849#post8116849

Conventional land/groove rifling and "true" polygonal rifling - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygonal_rifling


Here's more simplified comparison picture of Glock, conventional land/groove and polygonal barrels - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_barrel

Glock barrels with hexagonal rifling - as you can see, the bore is round and not polygon in shape.

As to OP, Glock's barrels are surface hardened like the slide and won't be harmed by softer metal bore brushes. I use bronze, copper and even stainless steel bore brush with no damage to the surface. The barrels above have tens and thousands of jacketed, plated and lead rounds shot through and cleaned with Hoppes #9 solvent and copper/stainless steel bore brush. Do you see any scratches? Nope, close inspection will show the surfaces are in like-new condition.

 

[Ben86]

I find Glock barrels to be some of the easiest to clean, in due no small part to the hexogonal rifling that which fouling fails to adhere to as much as it does to conventional rifling. I don't use the Glock cleaning tools, my other cleaning tools are superior. I find nylon brushes don't work that well and their cleaning rod doesn't have the same threading as the bronze brushes I use.

My cleaning tools:

cleaning rod with handle
bronze brush
cotton patches
hoppes elite oil
hard tooth brush
Q-tips
rag

 

[KJS]

As a novice Glock owner I found how Glock's nylon brush doesn't fully do the job after I cleaned my G34 using it and produced nice clean patches. I'd cleaned it numerous times this way & it had seemed to work fine.

Then one day I clean it as usual & I held the barrel up to a light & it looked dirty. I then brought out the "real" cleaning supplies and soon I found lots of dirt, producing one black patch after another after a good scrub down with a bronze brush broke the filth loose.

BTW, I only use FMJ ammo in it. I realize one isn't supposed to use lead ammo in a Glock, unless they replace the factory barrel with one that has conventional rifling.

 

[dprice3844444]

hey,i qualify once a year shooting 150rounds.cleaning involves removing the slide,seperating barrel from slide,dropping it in utensil tray of dishwasher,putting in soap in dispenser,letting it fly.lube when dry

 

[hentown]

Some of my Glocks don't have hexagonal barrels!

 

[19-3Ben]

in due no small part to the hexogonal rifling that which fouling fails to adhere to as much as it does to conventional rifling.

I have to say, I hear this a lot. But in my experience, a bore snake does wonders. After a shooting session with my .357 mag revolvers, or my (traditional land/groove) 9mm pistols, I break out the 9mm bore snake, and after two passes through each bore, they come out good as new. It's so easy that it feels like cheating. Land/groove rifling cleans up in no time with it.

 

[LiveLife]

Some of my Glocks don't have hexagonal barrels!

Well, then you may have pentagonal (5), heptagonal (7), octagonal (8) etc. rifling barrels.

 

[easyg]

My Glock barrels are definitely easier to clean than my more traditionally grooved barrels.
But I don't usually use the Glock brush.

 

[GCBurner]

I just swab the bore with Ballistol every few hundred rounds. Nothing seems to stick to the Glock's bore, and it still looks shiney as new. I only shoot jacketed bullets through it, though.

 

[rcw320]

I must be some kind of mutant, because the factory brush and Hoppe's Love Potion #9 make a shiny bore for me.

My G26 shoots about 90% lead too

 

[LiveLife]

rcw320, not at all.

When I shoot jacketed/plated loads in my Glocks, mopping the barrel with Hoppes #9 will dissolve almost all the fouling so very little brushing is needed (sometimes none) and pushing a paper towel wad will clear the barrel (I use Kleenex Viva).

When I shoot lead loads, I get more fouling that's crusty along the rifling (I do not get leading using Missouri 18 BHN bullets in 9mm/40S&W) that requires longer soak in Hoppes #9, but little brushing will clear the barrel.

I think the key is allowing Hoppes #9 solvent to soften/dissolve the fouling before brushing (even with soft nylon bristle brush).

 

[GLOOB]

nylon brush << bronze brush << bronze brush with a little bit of bronze or copper wool wrapped around it

I don't even bother with Hoppe's anymore, ever since I started shooting cast lead bullets. Regular CLP on a patch, followed with a brush wrapped with a few wisps of bronze wool, finished with a dry patch on a jag. It's almost nonsensical how well this works. Hoppe's slowly eats copper/bronze. I stick with the CLP so my brushes don't wear out as fast.* I reserve Hoppe's for my 22's, where I use only patches.

*Even when the bristles do get a bit undersized, a little more wool bulks up the brush and keeps it in service.