Watch out what brush you grab...

[AJMD429]

I guess the good-old 'bronze brush' can cause problems if you grab the wrong one...

http://www.loaddata.com/articles/detail ... ticleID=61

[J Miller]

Yep, use the brush that matches the caliber.

Or, keep your calibers to a minimum. All I got in rifles is 30 and .45 cal.

K.I.S.S.

Joe

[Borregos]

OUCH

[Sixgun]

An old saying-------"more barrels have been ruined from over cleaning than under cleaning"

I never could understand why so many people think a bronze (or any kind) brush is needed for cleaning. Maybe if you are a 1,000 yard competitor or some kind of a "one hole guy" or maybe the dude who has to get out leading from a pitted bore.

When we run that bronze brush through the bore after we "think" its clean and then find more crud, we tend to think we have not done our job. This way of thinking is perpetrated by the gun rags and their advertisers. Experiment sometime---a hot barrel or a bad hold will make things a lot worse than a "somewhat dirty bore".

I actually find a super clean barrel to be a pain as it takes an extra 3 rounds to dirty up the barrel so it starts shooting 'right".

What do we have here, a generation of men who have to keep their barrels as clean as their wives keep the kitchen?

(You think I'm beginning to sound like good 'ole Terry )----------Sixgun

[AJMD429]

I never could understand why so many people think a bronze (or any kind) brush is needed for cleaning.

I find myself using NO brushes most of the time, because I have gotten to liking 'bore snakes'. When I do use a brush, I find the nylon ones work pretty well for sloshing around cleaner inside the barrel, and giving it a bit of a 'scrub'. I've also taken bronze-wool (which I only recently found out Ace Hardware sells) and just wrapped a thin bit of it around a 'bore mop' for a really good scouring.

I actually find a super clean barrel to be a pain as it takes an extra 3 rounds to dirty up the barrel so it starts shooting 'right".

That is kind of ironic, isn't it.....

You think I'm beginning to sound like good 'ole Terry?

YES I DO THINK YOU ARE BEGINNING TO SOUND LIKE TERRY...

[Ysabel Kid]

I don't know whether it was shooting a lot of blackpowder, or just my Dad hammering into my head that a "clean gun is a happy gun" (something hammered into his head when he was in the Army), but I just like to clean my guns after shooting them - IF I don't think I'll shoot that one again for some time. Of course, if I've shot black powder or anything that might have a corrosive primer, they will get cleaned immediately. Most others get wiped down, and put away, with the name and date shot added to the list for me to clean when I get a chance.

[J Miller]

I was trained by ..... um ..... hmmmm ..... honestly I do not remember who trained me how to clean my guns, what tools to use or how to use them.
The one always mentioned thing was to always use hot water and some form of soap for corrosive mil surp ammo or black powder.

To brush or not to brush; well that subject has been beat to death. There are know-it-alls on both sides of brush use and I generally ignore them both.
I believe that to break loose the powder fouling and crud you need to brush the bore some. Not a lot, not excessively, but some. That is what I do. Mostly I let the solvent do the work.

I was once told that if I cleaned the bore of my .22 I'd ruin it. Well I tried that, for an entire summer I shot it a lot and didn't clean it at all. Just wiped the action down. I ended up with a rifle with pits in the bore. So to those who say: "don't clean them" I say: "Bullshiq"!

Clean 'em and maintain them and they'll last forever. Don't clean them and ..... well, maybe.

Joe

[rimrock]

something I've observed with my .45C revolver, YMMV--

shooting Blackhorn 209 in it has removed most of the carbon build up on the front of the cylinder.

Yep, I brush some. And use Ed's Red as my solvent.

rimrock

[handirifle]

I think many of us "older guys" were trained by Uncle Sam, and the M-16 NEEDED to be cleaned. Not too many leverguns blow hot powder gases back into the receiver area, not unless there's some serious issues.

I clean mine when they're gettin put away for a period, and mostly use nylon brushes before patching. I tried a bore snake once in my 223, and it felt like it was going to break any moment. That sucker was so hard to pull through, that I have no doubt, eventually it would break.

Used it once, that was enough for me. Good idea, WAY too tight for my liking.

[donw]

i use a nylon brush of the correct caliber to clean the chamber and run numerous patches thru the bore to clean and use a light gun oil for the final patch the the bore.