Rifle Cleaning Methods

[Rustystud]

I have cleaned rifles many different ways over the last 50 years. Over the years the chemicals have advanced some better some worse due to EPA and Health worries. Cleaning regimens have changed also. There are specific solvents for carbon and copper. There are now bronze, stainless, nylon, and boars hair brushes. There are caliber specific jags. There are foaming cleaning agents.

I have build custom rifles since the 1970s, and re-barreled literally thousands of Rifles. A few years back I bought bore scope and started studying barrels in more detail. Chambers, leads, throats, lands, grooves, and crowns.

One of the details I began to notice besides gas barrel erosion was barrel damage and deformation from barrel cleaning.

Throat and crown damage have a serious affect to rifle performance.

I have been watching videos on the internet about cleaning barrels.

I have seen knowledgeable folks running bore brushes back in forth in barrels over the throat areas and crowns to clean their barrels. I myself use to do this. I do not do this today.

Over the last few years I was told by several barrel makers not to run bore brushes but in one direction, the same path as the bullet. I have done this and see much less damage to the throats and crowns.

My thoughts today is that chemicals have improved to the point that bore brushing has all but become obsolete.

I would like to hear some others thoughts on this subject.

Nat Lambeth

 

[Lpart]

I agree. I have seen way too many conflicting reports and would myself like to find a method that is really correct to use consistently. Based on a method I found somewhere I recently I have started to use a nylon brush and work it vigorously in both directions. Some say clean very little, others say every 10-12 shots etc. What's a guy to do??

 

[Dosh]

Rusty, your post is very informative and should save a lot of barrels unnecessary wear. The addition of a good bore guide like a Lucas would help prevent undue wear also. I too have observed shooters sawing away at a barrel with no bore guide, an uncoated 3 piece rod and bronze brush. You surely will hear from many dissenters, but bore scopes don't lie.

 

[Holy Moley]

I`ve gone to using nylon brushes in one direction, from chamber to muzzle. The new chemicals really do work wonders. I usually don`t use a bore guide although I acknowledge that I probably should.

 

[gunner69]

I never really understood why you would use a bore guide on the chamber end but not on the muzzle crown end. A jag and rod will drag and strike the muzzle crown area hundreds if not thousands of times cleaning during the life of a barrel. I created a simple bore guide for the muzzle crown end and it works really well. We have numerous sizes. There are some good videos on the site too which demonstrate the issue and how the Crown Cradle works. Hope this helps and maybe is seen as a solution or least as extra insurance/precaution for the precision marksman.

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