cleaning your rifle's barrel
Is it ok to push and pull the cleaning brush through the barrel? I clean from the chamber end with a guide, but the last time I was at the range a guy told me I should only push the brush through...then take the brush off and then put the brush back on and push through again, he said if I pulled the back through I will damage the crown on the muzzle...True? False?
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Why would you want to pull the garp you just pushed out the end back in?
The other thing to worry about is (slight) crown damage.
I push only, dropping patches off when they exit the muzzle.
For a 30cal (scale accordingly to your bore size):
1) Push through a wet patch on a 270 jag, and leave he bore wet for 30 minutes
2) Than push through a patch on a 30cal jag.
3) 1 pass with a brush
4) 1 pass with a dry patch
5) Than back to the wet patch on a 270 Jag
6) Repeat until the patch in step 2 comes out clean (wet but no staining).0 -
5mmgunguy,
This is true and I thought I posted a picture of the damage a few threads ago...
Cleaning rods need to be used from the chamber end when possible and pushed only towards the muzzle. Slowly push it out of the muzzle, remove the jag or brush, then pull the rod back through the barrel and repeat.
Yes, I know it will add a little more work to an already despicable task but if you intend to maintain the quality of your barrel for the life of the barrel then this is the procedure to follow. Picture follows:
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Thanks tailgunner and nononsense. I am convinced and will change how I clean a bore. Thanks!! Happy new year! 0 -
Going 2 directions crown to chamber then chamber to crown is hard on bore brushes because the bristles brake easier. Wet bronze brushes seem the best for scrubbing without hurting the bore. Some cleaning rods have a crown guard that you push against the crown as the rod is cycled, but your bristles will suffer. Cleaning rods are usually round and can dull a crown's crispy edge. You may never see an accuracy difference unless you are a marksman. Dings on the crispy edge will case a noticeable accuracy problem the bullet when scrapped by a burr or ding will cause the bullet to become unstable in flight spinning it out at a very short distance. Many barrel crowns are uneven even from factory so the idea of concentric pressure release on the back of a bullet causing more stable external ballistics may have tolerances, therefor trivial unlike a speed bump(ding)on the crown. Some bullet loads yawn in spite of a precision crown. So in my opinion use an Otis cleaning cable system, the cables are encased in plastic and the tips are brass you can only damage the cleaning kit & never the gun making sure to have the bronze brushes always wet before insertion into the bore. Brushes pushed & pulled across a bore can't hurt the rifling any worse than slivers off the fired case's crimp getting in the bore and another shot fired forcing the shard into the surface of the bore. With an Otis cleaning kit it's like sowing the cable through the chamber out the muzzle, like a very long stitch. Bet you'll love it. It's the easiest way to clean a revolver cylinder in a alloy gun. Also when an under powered load is heard and it's uncertain if a bullet is stopped within the bore you can set your mind at ease with the Otis cable you've brought to the range coiled up in your pocket slipping it through the bore to check is totally awesome, try that with any other cleaning system. One other thing I'd totally stay away from steel loop cleaning rods/tips as they seem to cause accuracy problems causing bullets to spray from scratched, marred, or gouged bores. Always use the correct bore brush, too big can cause the bristles to brake and score and wear the crown. Best of luck. 0 -
Two principles I've been taught about cleaning barrels:
a. Whenever possible (which is usually always) go from the breech to the muzzle.
b. Never reverse the direction of a brush within the barrel. One you start the thing moving, pull (or push) it all the way through.
For what its worth, I've always used the cone-shaped muzzle protector/guide, inserted the rod through the muzzle (with the guide in place), put the brush/patch on at the breech end then pulled the rod out through the muzzle.
The direction is always from breech to muzzle; I'm just pulling rather than pushing.
Wouldn't try this without the muzzle protector, but with it in place, I really don't see how its possible to damage the crown, since the thing a. plugs up the crown protecting the rifling and b. centers the cleaning rod so that it doesn't touch the barrel on insertion anyway.
For Nononsense and the others, is it wrong to do it this way?
And if this is wrong, then why does the manufacturer even give you a muzzle protector at all?0 -
5mm,
One more thing, when the barrel is rifled, it also pulls the grain structure of the metal in the direction from the breech to the muzzle. Pushing it back down could trap stuff in the grain structure of the metal in your rifling. That and on top of un needed wear on the crown are all good reasons to di it one way...breech to muzzle.
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beantownshootah,
"For Nononsense and the others, is it wrong to do it this way?"
I am certainly not so stodgy as to ascertain that there is an absolute right or wrong way to do something, especially here where the exceptions want to become the rule. I see no reason to start at the muzzle only to draw the brush back through the bore from the chamber. It seems like a waste of motion to me but I really don't need a motion study discussion as proof otherwise, either. The potential for damage still exists if only as an accident or misstep. If I push the brush from the chamber to the muzzle and remove the brush before drawing the rod back, I eliminate the potential. As I have stated before, it's your rifle and your decision as to how to treat it. Barrels will continue to be ruined no matter what opinions we have and the gunsmiths will continue to make money by cutting new crowns, cutting barrels back and re-barreling for those that don't get it.
Your two observations at the beginning of your post are worthwhile as being practical and correct in my opinion. The only disclaimer I can add would be that many of our opinions are driven by new information, new products and new processes, which, as a result, are constantly changing with the added input. Witness Moly coating which was all the rage but has been put towards the back of most discussions. Now we have a new Boron product and even the Nano-technology stuff, which are all supposed to improve our barrel life and short cut the cleaning processes. The newest best-of-the-best is the Salt Nitriding Process for barrels.
The solution I'm using currently involves some squirt in cleaners that do a superb job of cleaning and only require a patch or two for the final step. No brushes.
I have the tremendous opportunity to examine hundreds (if not a few thousand) of barrels in great detail, both as new barrels in the process of being made, after some shooting and after a lot of shooting and cleaning. This includes both factory and custom. I also have dozens of photographs of new and damaged muzzles, which I use for reference, often to show folks who ask about such things. Occasionally, the client insists that they know better so we agree to disagree and part company.
This discussion ranks right up there with a few others (45 vs 9mm, etc) that get polarized in our minds so it doesn't behoove us to continue to cover the same ground again. I can only state what I have found through observation, testing and production. If folks choose another opinion, so be it.
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i never pull the brush back through when cleaning. use a good bore solvent and give it plenty of time to work. i have been using shooters choice solvent for years and it works well for me. very important to use a high quality one piece plastic coated rod like dewey to protect barrel when cleaning. 0 -
nononsense...I just have to ask what squirt in cleaner do you use? 0
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