How easy is it to ruin a barrel crown?

[LAKEMASTER]

I mentioned to someone the other day that i use marvel mystery oil and full synthetic motor oil to keep up on my guns and they asked me What method i use to clean barrels. They told me that using cleaning rods will destroy the crown and throw accuracy out the door.

I've watched Youtube videos talking about this matter but now I'm curious how to tell if you've already done damage to a rifle barrel.

[shoot-n-lead]

I am not really sure of what constitutes damage. I have had rifles for the 45yrs that I have been hunting. I have hauled them, muzzle down and resting on the floorboards of trucks for all of these years...with the exception of a couple of really nice rifles...and I have never noticed any difference in the way the rifles shoot. Now, the damage that I see, is primarily finish wear on the crown, with small, gritty type areas.

The damage that will be done by most cleaning rods would probably be no worse than the muzzle rubbing against a dirty floor board. At any rate, it is very easy to protect your barrel from cleaning rod damage...don't bang the handle into the muzzle.

[JSnover]

It's not hard if you clean from the muzzle but unless you're a caveman you probably won't "ruin" your barrel. Cleaning rods used properly won't ruin your barrel, what kind of rifle and rod do you have?

[Omega]

The crown can be damaged by a cleaning rod if you jam it into the barrel and hit the crown with the lip of the rod. But if done slowly, and straight in, it should not be an issue. In the military, they "rod" you on and off the range by dropping a cleaning rod into your barrel, most times hard enough to release the bolt. I seldom seen any M4s going to 3rd shop for crown issues. But, to be on the safe side it's best to go in from the chamber instead of the muzzle.

[country gent]

Alot depends on the equipment and care used cleaning. A cheap jointed rod where the attachments and joints dont match is one cause of crown damage. Another is allowing a rod to "slide on the muzzle when the firearm has to be cleaned from the muzzle. Usig a rog guide to keep it centered in the bore and being carefull goes along ways. Some military muzzles were washed out and crowns bad before the throat was. Garands were known for this, cleaned with jointed rods from the muzzle at the end of the day when troops were tired. The M14 M1a faired better with the flash hider. A good one piece rod, proper rod guide, well fitting brushes and jags will make a crown muzzle last much longer. Also wiping the rod every pass the first few passes to remove grit and crude helps. Other wise the big source of crown damage is getting hit banged when handled.

[jsn]

If you must clean from the muzzle end, you can frequently use a spent casing or some other cheaply machined piece of something with the center drilled out to guide the cleaning rod through the muzzle and have no contact with the lands. For example, you could use a spent 20 gauge shell for an M1 Garand, a spent 12 gauge shell fits over the flash hider of the M1A, etc.

Just measure the diameter of the muzzle and find something cheap to use.

Anodized aluminum is hardened, and I doubt if any of the aluminum cleaning rods are soft metal. They can scratch and eventually start to wear whatever they come in contact with. I never use the jointed rods anymore, expecially on 22 RF's, they are too imprecise and frequently have edges sticking out at the joint.

[44man]

I make muzzle protectors for all my rods. It is not the crown but you can wallow out rifling fast. Jointed rods are death. Even from the breech, keep from touching the bore with a rod.

[Blackwater]

If a gun needs to be cleaned from the muzzle, then 44man has the right idea. I recently cleaned a repeater that way, and just stuck the brush in about an inch or two, then slid the cone shaped muzzle protector/centering aligner down, and eased the brush in as I aligned the protector with the bore. Once the protector is centered in the bore, I hold that with my left hand as I push the rod in with my right. Very easy, and no muzzle damage that way.

I suspect most crowns are damaged by cleaning rods just jammed in carelessly, and putting the rifle muzzle down in a pickup truck or whatever, and inadvertently hitting a small stone or something. Rifle barrel steel is NOT particularly hard, and CAN be damaged with less force than most realize. But fortunately, most crown damage can be repaired by the old ball bearing and grit method, or similar techniques, so it's not necessarily a job for a gunsmith. It's certainly not something someone needs to try if they don't understand the whys and wherefores, and the what-not-to-dos, though. And FWIW, polishing the crown has yielded sometimes significant improvements in accuracy in the guns I've tried it on. I had to see it done and see the results several times before I could bring myself to try it, but it often works like nothing else will.

[flounderman]

Carrying a gun muzzle down on the floorboard will hurt the end of the barrel. Grit gets into the barrel and erodes the end. cleaning from the muzzle will not help it any, either. I have seen guns with the barrel eroded that quit shooting, You can cut an inch off and they go back to shooting. Some of the military rifles were counterbored an inch or so to eliminate worn muzzles. It isn't just the crown, the barrel gets funnel shaped in the end.

[Walter Laich]

If a gun needs to be cleaned from the muzzle, then 44man has the right idea. I recently cleaned a repeater that way, and just stuck the brush in about an inch or two, then slid the cone shaped muzzle protector/centering aligner down, and eased the brush in as I aligned the protector with the bore. Once the protector is centered in the bore, I hold that with my left hand as I push the rod in with my right. Very easy, and no muzzle damage that way.


+1
easy to do and becomes automatic in short order

[fecmech]

On the rod for my .35 caliber barrels I use a cut off .308 or 3006 case,the neck fits the 35 bore perfectly. For my 30-30 I use a cut off 6mm/.243 or .223 case on the rod. Protects the crown and first 1/4-3/8" of the rifling.

[johnson1942]

a crown is very important. i put wool socks over the muzzle of a rifle carried in a car or truck with the muzzle on the floor boards. i usually recrown the rifles i have as i can do better than factory. i have the brownells recrowning kit. fire your gun at night with no moon. of course in a very safe rural place. have some one else fire it and stand back at the side of it several feet. if the fire ball is perfect all around it it is ok. if their is a finger on one part of it then it need to be recrowned as that finger will affect the accuracy of the bullet. the gasses must be the same coming off the muzzle or accuracy will be affected. it is not hard to recrown a barrel. i could do it in a few minutes better than factory if i had your gun here. it isnt rocket science. it doesnt need to be on a lathe, pilots of a recrowning tool will do the trick. you are correct in being concerned about your crown, it is a very important part of your rifle. the other important part is keeping the barrel clean just ahead of the breech area as carbon build up their can undersize a bullet and accuracy then goes in the toilet. the crown and the breech are the most critical areal of your rifle barrel. thanks for your post.

[Geezer in NH]

Uh Don't clean from the muzzle unless you have to. Then use a protector. Seems many, many, many military bores have been wiped out by cleaning from the muzzle.

[jmorris]

Not all "rods" can hurt steel but I wouldn't want a cleaning rod made from an old round file...

[bruce drake]

Just go ahead and drop the rifle barrel down onto a steel ramp or a rock and you'll see how fast you can tweak a barrel crown...Don't ask me how I know that...

[ole 5 hole group]

Just a SWAG on my part, but I don't think the average person with the average good shooting rifle will ever know the difference between a perfect crown job and having a "damaged" crown - that will also apply to rifles cleaned with a stainless steel rod or a coated cleaning rod - or rifles where one sticks a patch in the barrel and pounds hell out of the cleaning rod amongst other items (such as brass rods/wood doles or whatever else they can get into that barrel), getting the patched jag out.;)

Some cleaning methods used 60 years ago, just can't be condoned today, with all our vast knowledge on metals, solvents etc but I think most of those rifles still shoot pretty good today.

[mcdaniel.mac]

I have to disagree, a booger ed crown can cause bad accuracy and even keyholing. I mostly use a flash hider or compensator to protect the crown, and when a bore snake isn't enough I do use a guide and one-piece rod for cleaning. One rod and guide cost about the same as paying a smith to recrown a barrel, seems like a good investment to me.