Oh No!!! I ruined my barrel with a bronze brush!

[Swinehunt74]

FYI! Have to use plastic bushes on melonited barrels cause they eat the brass off bushes....Or not, too each his own. Other than that, use common sense and let each barrel tell u what they need.

 

[RidgeTop]

I actually do that on my shotgun... I get the plastic residue out of my choke by pulling the choke and hitting it with a drill and brush/solvent... a LOT quicker than ****ing around for a half hour trying to get the last bit of crap from your choke... I wouldn't do it on a rifle... the brush skipping over the rifling wouldn't clean a dang thing... I'm sure you could try it though if you want to...

A friend who shoots a lot of shotgun says there is a build up of plasstic just ahead of the chamber. I believe he uses Gumout and a brush. (keep away from wood)

 

[RidgeTop]

I thought my rifles were clean after my conventional process, until, I got a bore scope. There was/is much to be desired in the conventional process.
I have found J-B does a good job on cleaning the carbon and the bore with a patch wrapped around a brush. They have a different one for SS barrels. Simichrome is also good. Alternatives are the Outters FoulOut - it plates the copper on a anode inserted in the barrel immersed in the proper electrolyte to attract only the copper.
I have a Wheeler compound three grit set to coat a bullet and fire it. Have not tried that yet.
I have found on new firearms, If I break in the barrel properly, I can fire more rounds before accuracy is affected, and when cleaning it, it takes less time and effort to make it like new.
If you use a oversize brush the bristles will lay over and the tips will not be doing the cleaning like they should.

 

[Lefty7mmstw]

A friend who shoots a lot of shotgun says there is a build up of plasstic just ahead of the chamber. I believe he uses Gumout and a brush. (keep away from wood)

haven't noticed that too much in my backbored barrels, but that could be a gun to gun thing... If she's really dirty I give her the full monty and hit it with a steel rod and a 10 g brush...

 

[Mowgli Terry]

Many years back we had stainless steel brushes in our stock where I worked. We had experiences with devastated barrels from over use of these brushes. Not seeing the damage, I would suspect a stainless steel brush was used.

To remove any doubt about brass brushes I have gone happily to nylon brushes. This has been a happy swap on this end. I'm thinking the instructions on my T3 said no brushes. I do not feel uncomfortable using a nylon brush is any of my barrels.

All along in my shooting career I have heard variations of it was all perfect then it exploded. In most of these stories some vital information has been omitted.

 

[The Oregonian]

For carbon ring cleaning I get an oversized nylon brush (maybe one step up in caliber), wrap with a patch, put on iosso, and get to work with the drill where the crbon is just in front of the neck. Works well and makes quicker work of the garçon than anything else I have tried.

 

[Bwana Barry]

So when, where or how did the story begin about copper brushes "damaging" a barrel ?

 

[General RE LEE]

I use a bore guide and carbon Tipton rod. I brush the bore with a bronze brush fully exiting the bore and pulling it back. I do this brushing several times. Never had an issue. If bores are that fragile how the heck could it withstand heat and pressure?

 

[Raghole]

I think I saw the same picture. Maybe someone else reposted it with no context. The original photo was shared by Frank Green of Bartlein Barrels. The info on it was someone used an abrasive in conjunction with the bronze brush, not a bronze brush alone. Context matters.

 

[orkan]

The gouges are from the bristles of the brush and the brush is trying to rotate with the twist of the rifling but there is no way every bristle is going to follow/stay in the grooves. - Frank Green

There it is. Your context, in no uncertain terms... a direct quote from a post.

.... and here's the picture of the destruction supposedly caused by the brush:

 

[Raghole]

Not really, that was while using abrasives in the barrel and a brush. Will it do that, I don't know. But the post was specific to using abrasives with a brush, not a brush alone.

 

[orkan]

Not really, that was while using abrasives in the barrel and a brush. Will it do that, I don't know. But the post was specific to using abrasives with a brush, not a brush alone.

Directly from bartleins website:

I don't use a brush for this reason as well. The hard carbon deposits lay in the brush and can scratch the bore.

If you insist on using a brush. I suggest one caliber smaller or an old worn our one and roll patch around it like a cigarette. Push it breech to muzzle and come all the way out. Remove the brush from the rod before pulling the rod back thru. Why? The crown is the last thing the bullet sees/touches when leaving the barrel. And damage to the crown effects the accuracy right away. Pulling the brush back over the crown the bristles have to fold very abruptly and this will wear the crown unevenly and damage it etc… (a lot of people say the bronze brushes are softer than the barrel steel.

There it is again... the claim that a brush will damage a barrel. So lets stop trying to act like he didn't mean EXACTLY what he said. ...and since you're a brand new account, I'll assume you're either looking for an argument, or a somebody with an agenda. Either way, I won't so much as acknowledge your existence again.

 

[Raghole]

You really blow this out of context. And the rest of the post that was posted with the picture for context:

"This is what happens when you use a brush with an abrasive cleaner! I've posted this picture several times and it never gets old as to what can happen!

This was a 7mm (284W) F class barrel. At 100 rounds accuracy started to suffer. The picture is at 800 rounds. The bore and groove should measure .277" x .284". It now measures .279" x .2855"! So basically polished a full .002" out of the bore and .0015" out of the grooves. The lands (the bore) sticks up so it will take the brunt of the damage from improper cleaning.

The gouges are from the bristles of the brush and the brush is trying to rotate with the twist of the rifling but there is no way every bristle is going to follow/stay in the grooves. So the bristles will ride up and over the top of the lands and down the trailing side of the land.

Later, Frank"

 

[Andrew Cowling]

You really blow this out of context. And the post that was posted with the picture the picture for context:

"This is what happens when you use a brush with an abrasive cleaner! I've posted this picture several times and it never gets old as to what can happen!

This was a 7mm (284W) F class barrel. At 100 rounds accuracy started to suffer. The picture is at 800 rounds. The bore and groove should measure .277" x .284". It now measures .279" x .2855"! So basically polished a full .002" out of the bore and .0015" out of the grooves. The lands (the bore) sticks up so it will take the brunt of the damage from improper cleaning.

The gouges are from the bristles of the brush and the brush is trying to rotate with the twist of the rifling but there is no way every bristle is going to follow/stay in the grooves. So the bristles will ride up and over the top of the lands and down the trailing side of the land.

Later, Frank"

I call BS on the cause of the damage using a copper/bronze brush. Even with an abrasive the brush will wear out way before the barrel will.
It may be possible if a stainless steel brush was used but even then I would be expectong to see corresponding damage of some degree in the grooves.