Cleaning and avoiding the muzzle crown

[jeepmor]

All,

I've read in quite a few posts and webpages about how important it is to be careful around the muzzle crown. How sensitive is this area to damage from cleaning specifically. If I drop it and it lands on the muzzle, I can fathom that one. Will just rubbing the crown with the shaft of the cleaning rod cause alarm with you guys, if so, please explain why.

I have a pistol cleaning kit from Hoppes or affiliates (brand name eludes me at the moment) and beleive it is a stainless or aluminum shaft. Should I take some soft poly tubing of some sort and slip the proper size over the cleaning rod to fit neatly. My wife and I only own a 9mm and 45., so it won't impede any 22lr pistol cleaning just yet. I'm thinking tygon or polyethylene tubing should do the trick.

But I still don't unerstand how much effect this particular feature of the gun has on it's performance. Again, please elaborate. I learn so much in here, it's cool.

jeepmor

 

[Ala Dan]

So much so that I use a Dewey coated rod from Brownell's on all firearms~!

 

[kkramer673]

I clean with an Otis kit to avoid any damage to the crown. It does a great job.

 

[SemiAutoMan]

The crown is the last part of the gun a bullet touches before it leaves the barrel a nick,scrape, or crack can cause the projectile to shoot off to the side not spin right just basically it screws the guns accuracy is what i think if i'm wrong sorry but that's the way I understood it.

 

[dfariswheel]

The best method of insuring there's no possibility of wearing or damaging the muzzle is to use either a stainless steel or synthetic coated rod, WITH a cone-shaped muzzle protector.

These protectors often come with better rods, and can be bought extra for most others.

These are either plastic or brass cones that fit over the rod, and are inserted into the muzzle to act as a spacer to keep the rod from contacting it.

I personally would NOT put any kind of tubing over the rod.
The reason for stainless or coated rods is, they prevent grit from embedding in the rod and acting as a lapping rod on the muzzle or bore.

The special synthetics used to coat rods prevents grit from embedding.
Tygon, polyethylene, or other materials would likely embed WORSE.
Stainless is too hard for the grit to embed.

The problem with embidding of grit is also why today, smart shooters never use aluminum, wood, or brass rods.

 

[gudel]

Clean from the chamber end, not from the muzzle end.
Never had problems with damaging the crown in all my HK.

you can also use boresnake, then you don't have to worry what rod to use.