Gun cleaning. (Time to get Serious)

No worries here,everyone has a way of doing things.
I do believe me and some includes here are talkin about the same thing on diff terms. I'm talking of a chamber guide ,that helps get the cleaning rod centered from the start. I might have said bore guide following along.

The rod rubbing the barrel is what is trying to be avoided. A GOOD barrel will with a lot of rounds down it,should not clean any harder than a "ok" barrel with just a few shots down it.
I've talked with guys that shoot alot and I've found this to be true.... Cleaning is overrated , much like barrel break in. Your barrel will tell you when it's time to be cleaned. Poor cleaning habits,or over cleaning will do more barrel damage than good.


 
I really didn't read this whole thread, Gary.

However, I HIGHLY recommend a carbon fiber rod, such as a Tipton, over a Dewey. I used to use Dewey rods and only have one left. The coating is flaking off of it just as all the others did. CF is much superior, IME......
 
Originally Posted By: fw707Originally Posted By: AtomIs the Tetra grease white. I have a tube of that here that is at least 15 years old, my got it with a over under tikka that he bought. I'll have to give it a try

Yes, it's white.
My son uses it on the hinge area of his BT 99.

Seems to be good stuff!

Thanks 707
 
If you try the Tetra grease, don't get carried away with the amount you use...When I first started using it, I did and as the pistol I was using in a competition got really heated up, it started running down onto my hand, and I'd just used in to lube the rails in the slide area..It's kind of like that old Brylcreme ad..."A little dab will do you"...
 
I really like using this grease.............Wilson Combat Ultima-Lube Gun Grease 10cc Syringe

I've gone thru a lot of different cleaning rods. Ran Dewey's for many years and still have them, but Pro Shot rods are what I use now.
My cleaning routine is to use a mixture of Kroil Oil and Montana Extreme on a couple of patches, then a nylon brush, followed by the Kroil/Montana mixture, then dry patches. Next I do a patch of Wipe Out Accelerator, followed by Wipe Out foam. Leave set for about 30 min. then follow up with dry patches until bore is dry. Then I use a patch of Lock-Ease, let set until the liquid evaporates, run a dry patch down the bore to get out any excess and I'm done. Since I started using the Lock-Ease, cleaning is super easy.
Needless to say, Sinclair or other bore guides are a must.
 
I saw several references for using nylon brushes verses brass ones.

Are brass brushes bad? Or just personal preference not to use them...

Great info in this thread - but it's making me paranoid that I will ruin my guns by not using a bore guide and nylon..LOL
 
Originally Posted By: gman2153I saw several references for using nylon brushes verses brass ones.

Are brass brushes bad? Or just personal preference not to use them...

Great info in this thread - but it's making me paranoid that I will ruin my guns by not using a bore guide and nylon..LOL

Copper solvent is hard on bronze brushes and will leave junk in the barrel IME. Nylon don't leave residue from the brush its self. Plus you can wash em up and they don't poke yer fingers.
 
Originally Posted By: gman2153I saw several references for using nylon brushes verses brass ones.

Are brass brushes bad? Or just personal preference not to use them...

Great info in this thread - but it's making me paranoid that I will ruin my guns by not using a bore guide and nylon..LOL

I don't know if brass brushes will ruin your bore, but many of the custom barrel makers do not recommend them.
By not using a bore guide, you can and will start oblonging your chamber area and barrel throat. Accuracy will start going away. Besides, using a bore guide makes cleaning a lot easier and in the smaller calibers, you won't bend a cleaning rod as easy as without a bore guide.
 
Thanks for answers on the brass brushes . Just preventing the nicks on my fingers makes me want to change over to nylon..

I'm not afraid to ask a dumb question, so here goes..

Besides the possibility of getting yuck in the chamber area, is there anything wrong with starting the rod from the muzzle end?

Yes I do that..

Am I completely bass - ackwards?

just tryin to learn, appreciate the feedback.





What is wrong If I start the rod from the muzzle end of the barrel that prevents
 
Originally Posted By: gman2153Thanks for answers on the brass brushes . Just preventing the nicks on my fingers makes me want to change over to nylon..

I'm not afraid to ask a dumb question, so here goes..

Besides the possibility of getting yuck in the chamber area, is there anything wrong with starting the rod from the muzzle end?

Yes I do that..

Am I completely bass - ackwards?

just tryin to learn, appreciate the feedback.





What is wrong If I start the rod from the muzzle end of the barrel that prevents

The same thing that happens to the chamber end will happen to the muzzle end, but the main difference is the crown, (the muzzle end), is the last thing the bullet touches before its flight. If there is a burr, or the muzzle is oblong, then the bullet will tip as it exits, hence a large drop in accuracy.
As you are pushing the cleaning rod into the barrel, there is no way you can guide it so that it stays perfectly centered with the bore. As it touches the sides of the barrel/muzzle, it will slowly wear away the metal. As you may already know, rifle barrel steel is rather soft. If you could watch a bullet traveling down the inside of the barrel it would look similar to a snake eating a mouse. You will see a moving bulge going down the barrel.
Hope this helps.
 
Quote:If you could watch a bullet traveling down the inside of the barrel it would look similar to a snake eating a mouse. You will see a moving bulge going down the barrel.


No, seriously, you won't.

If that was the case, a button rifling system would cut an undersized bore. Any amount of "bulge" a bullet causes you could never detect on the OD of the barrel.

Barrel steel might be "soft" compared to carbide, but try to drill some and tell me how it goes for you.

I had to use a carbide end mill to drill pin slots for my Mini-14 because it ate HSS drills on contact. It was still no picnic with a carbide end mill.

That ain't "soft".
 
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Here is some good info on bore cleaning.
http://www.6mmbr.com/borecleaning.html

I would also recommend reading the article in Lyman's manual by Butch Fisher of Butch's Bore Shine fame for additional info.

I have used the Bore-tech rods and the Dewey and both over time will have small patches of the coating come off but mine are holding up well after 6 to 8 years of use. I will probably give the Carbon ones a try next go round.
While I do agree that the nylon brushes are good in the sense they do not give you false readings of copper when using the de-coppering products they do not clean as well or a fast as the bronzes ones do.
 
Originally Posted By: Evil_Lurker
Barrel steel might be "soft" compared to carbide, but try to drill some and tell me how it goes for you.

I had to use a carbide end mill to drill pin slots for my Mini-14 because it ate HSS drills on contact. It was still no picnic with a carbide end mill.

That ain't "soft".

Was that a SS barrel or CM?
 
Chrome moly bro.

Stainless ain't that much "softer" though. It's got a high chromium content. Most 416 barrels are heat-treated to around 40 Hardness Rockwell C (HRC) and 4000 grades about 50 HRC after being machined. If we're talking raw material, it's not really tough (~HRC 30). That wouldn't withstand enough chamber pressure to use as a CF barrel, though.

 
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Originally Posted By: Evil_Lurker Quote:If you could watch a bullet traveling down the inside of the barrel it would look similar to a snake eating a mouse. You will see a moving bulge going down the barrel.


No, seriously, you won't.

If that was the case, a button rifling system would cut an undersized bore. Any amount of "bulge" a bullet causes you could never detect on the OD of the barrel.

Barrel steel might be "soft" compared to carbide, but try to drill some and tell me how it goes for you.

I had to use a carbide end mill to drill pin slots for my Mini-14 because it ate HSS drills on contact. It was still no picnic with a carbide end mill.

That ain't "soft".

Guess my communications skills were lacking, sorry. I was just implying that barrel steel is softer than some folks think it is.
And I have cut barrels with hacksaw blades, drilled and tapped them for open sights, and used them for pillars a time or two. I didn't mean to imply that they were super soft, but they don't make very good pry bars.
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