nylon brush or metal brush... or no brush at all?

[sleepyone]

I just started using nylon bore brushes after seeing pieces of my metal brushes break off while running them through the bore. But I was wondering if I should be using brushes at all. Should not a good solvent and patches do just as well? we are talking handguns and centerfire rifles.

 

[THE DARK KNIGHT]

Bore Snake changed my life! lol

 

[TankHand]

I've always heard that you have to brush at first to manually remove the copper and lead fouling that accumulates in your barrel. That said, there are great products available for just that like Barnes CR10 and the like that help to make quick work of the job. I always brush first, and then use a brass, spearpointed jig with the proper size patch.

 

[sleepyone]

Bore Snake. i keep hearing about this product. need to give it a go.

 

[sleepyone]

I only run the brush through once or twice depending on how much shooting i did that day, then i go to patches until it is dry. then i start using Corrosion x to continue cleaning and lubing at the same time.

 

[Offfhand]

Noone is more particular about their barrels than Bench Rest shooters. Go to a bench Rest tournament and you'll see lots of bronze brushes in use.

 

[Orlando]

Persoanlly dont care for the bore snakes, would rather use a coated Dewey cleaning rod
I use both nylon and bronze brushes, just whatever I happen to have on hand.
I dont use them every cleaning, just dont think its needed. Nornally just a patch soaked with Hoppes, let set a few minutes, then run a few dry patches then another slightly wet patch with Hoppes, then more dry patches, then lightly oil
Will use a brush every third or fourth cleaning. Just the way I do it, others opinions may vary

 

[jcwit]

I would say alot depends what kind of rifle or handgun discipline you're into. If you're using the rifle say for casual target shooting, hunting, plinking ect. using a boresnake/nylon/brass brush would be OK. I've watched the Marine Gunnery Sgt. 9 times National Champion use a bore snake on the line, even uses it now that he's no longer active duty, so it must be OK.

Now if you have a custom action, custom barreled, custom stocked, thousand dollar plus benchrest rig, I doubt very much a bore snake is the way to go. Highly polished hardned steel rods ie; made by Ivy Rods, with a bronze brush or nylon brush is more likely what you'd see being used.

Myself for casual shooting I like the patch worm and have never had any problems, but its always in the back of my mind, "what if the dern thing breaks", never has, but I always wonder. Sorta like if you operate a dangerous piece of equipment, you wonder is today the day it bites back. The old saying, if you walk thru the pasture long enough, sooner or later you'll step--------

BTW that thousand dollar phrase is used VERY loosely.

 

[dirtyjim]

i only use tipton bronze brushes & i buy them in 10 packs. bore brushes do not last very longe & the cheap wally world type will not even go one cleaning before they are toast.
once you start using quality brushes you will never go back to the cheaper ones.

i do use a bore snake occasionally. i use it to clean any chips out of a barrel when i'm cutting a new chamber. i would never use one to clean a bore, its just like using the same patch over & over again in my opinion.

 

[scythefwd]

What ever you decide to use, please don't reverse directions in the bore. If you are going from breech to muzzle... exit the muzzle if you plan on going back through muzzle to breech. Not doing so will actually leave copper in your bore (that was worn off the tips of the brush).

 

[Slamfire]

Your copper cleaner may be eating your Bronze bristle brush.

Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin.

I dip my bristle brushes in GI bore cleaner. GI bore cleaner is a powder solvent only, does not attack copper. (Ed's Red is a powder solvent only).

While my brushes don't last forever, they last longer than if I dipped them in copper solvent.

 

[Walkalong]

Bronze brushes work much better than nylon. I use a spray on my rod, brushes, and jags every time out of the bore to clean off grit and solvent. They get a good spray before being put away. This will minimize the solvents eating your brushes and jags.

Strong copper solvents do eat up brushes, but they work so much better at getting powder fouling that is what I use. For a really dirty bore I like to use something for powder/carbon, and something else for copper. For my Bench gun that got casually cleaned after every group I liked Butches Bore Shine or Shooters Choice. Both work really well on well maintained bores.

 

[sleepyone]

good info. thanks. i buy quality solvent and oil. Gun Scrubber and Corrosion X, but I have to admit I get my brushes at Wally World. I need to look at some better quality.

 

[rcmodel]

Bore-Snakes do little to nothing at all about chamber fouling, or copper fouling.

Use a quality cleaning rod with quality bronze brushes & cotton patches.

Nylon brushes are only good for applying copper solvent that would eat up bronze brushes.

rc

 

[chevyforlife21]

i love bore snakes pour hoppes onto the brush run it threw a few times, then put oil at the very end for just one pass. ive only used em on shottys though.

 

[SwampWolf]

I prefer using nylon brushes for "light" work; bronze for heavy duty applications.

 

[DannySeesUSMC]

Another vote for Bore Snakes....people do bad things with metal brushes and too much cleaning in general. 3x bore snake, 2x dry patch, 2x bore snake, 2x dry patch and 2x wet patch.

 

[Atroxus]

Feel free to correct me if I am doing wrong here. Last few times I went shooting I examined the barrel before cleaning and did not see anything that looked like copper in the barrel(using FMJ or JHP) so I just cleaned using Gunzilla soaked cloth on a rod and then ran several dry cloths through until they came out clean. My thoughts are if there is nothing in the barrel besides powder fouling there is no needs to put an abrasive brush down the barrel when just a cloth on a rod will work. I have never used a bore snake, but from the previous posts I am now tempted to get one for those times when I do see copper or lead fouling in my barrel.

PS anyone know where to get some good rags/large cloths for wipedown of slide and rest of gun that will not leave lint all over the place?

 

[Orlando]

As I stated in my post earlier, no need for a brush for every cleaning. JMO

 

[jcwit]

PS anyone know where to get some good rags/large cloths for wipedown of slide and rest of gun that will not leave lint all over the place?

Microfiber towels, the hot pink ones work great.

Seriously now, I use a cut up Sham-Wow. Holds oil real good, doesn't leave lint, made in Germany and you know the German's always make good stuff.

 

[Mags]

I use Bore Snakes out at the range and in the field. Then I use brushes, mops, and the little square pad cloths at the house. I use nylon brushes if I can find them I notice they last longer but if I can't find them the metal brushes are fine.

 

[Horsemany]

PS anyone know where to get some good rags/large cloths for wipedown of slide and rest of gun that will not leave lint all over the place?

Microfiber towels, the hot pink ones work great.

Agreed. Get the 6 pack of microfibers in the auto section of walmart. I apply oil or silicone with a rag. Then wipe away the excess with a microfiber and your gun will look as good as humanly possible. Microfiber cloths suck up all the little dust flecks and smears an oil rag leaves behind.

 

[redneck2]

I have a local dealer that shoots a lot of competition. He got me started on the foaming bore cleaner.

Take your "clean" barrel. Shoot in some of the foam and let it sit for 30-60 minutes, then wipe with a clean patch. You'll be amazed at the amount of blue that comes out.

This stuff is SUPER easy to use. Shoot it in the barrel, let it sit, and run a couple of clean patches thru. I'm done with the endless scrubbing. If you have to grind out the fouling, what's that doing to your barrel?

Always clean from the breech (if possible). Always use a coated rod. I'd second the Dewey's thing.