Brent's Excellent Bore Gophers

Brent's .45 bore gophers work Great. Wiping between shots is really the better way to go for PPBs and greaser alike. Just a post on how I make these critters and the parts used.

Getting the forward felt onto the Dewey brush is just an easy push, but getting on the rear felt to go over the threaded end of the brush and the swedge will be a real chore if that felt hole isn't opened up. Two ways that help heaps is to either expand the felt's hole using a greased BBQ skewer or using a leather punch to open it up. Maybe drilling out the hole would work, too.

I soak the gophers in plain water before using, then flick off the excess just before inserting them into the chamber. I use a 3/8" plain delrin rod to push them past the chamber, then push a 2" patch to meet the gopher and push them both out the barrel and into a pan of water. The initial push on the gopher when it's past the chamber can be quite stiff, but then it usually eases up a lot for the final push down the bore. I like that the stiff push really cleans out the barrel like new. After the shooting day is over, the gophers go into the brass jug which is just plain water with a little dish soap. Back at the ranch, the gophers are rinsed in plain water, then laid out on a few sheets of newspaper to dry off - I'd never leave 'em in the sun - no further cleaning is needed.

Hope this helps for some folks.

https://i.imgur.com/Mr0OvRO.jpg

Brent’s gophers work like a charm.


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I ran felts over a running drill in my drill press to open them
up to go over the 8-32 shank of the brushes
beltfed/arnie

Great idea! I need to make myself a bunch of those.

I made some of those with a different Mcmaster carr washer. Mine are the EPDM #9013A012. Same size. I found them quite stiff to push through, although they worked well enough.

Just for kicks I made up a few with silicone baking sheet material. Punched them out by hand, and sort of centered the middle hole by eye. Not perfect, but for a test they were really good. I used two of them, as they are quite thin, and they work better than the stiffer rubber for this purpose. I think they will last longer too. Time will tell.

i think you'll find the #90133A017 oil resistant washers to be not as stiff as the #9013A012 weather resistant ones, and afford a better squeegee action in the tube.

I just made a batch of these up, but had a lot of trouble pushing them through the bore. Do they get any easier with use?


Bob

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Originally Posted by Boz330

I just made a batch of these up, but had a lot of trouble pushing them through the bore. Do they get any easier with use?

Bob

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exactly what components did you use? if the ones i've listed, there will Always be some stiff resistance, which is a good thing as the bristles and felts are scrubbing away, and the washer squeegees the resulting mud through the grooves. i use a plain 3/8" derlin rod and choke up about 6" or so away from the chamber mouth for the initial push (or slam!) into the bore itself. once the gopher is fully into the bore i'll back out the rod, lay a dry 2" patch over the chamber mouth and push it up to the gopher, then for the stiff push down the muzzle and out, and into a pan of water. perhaps a stiffer 7/16" rod would be easier, but i've never had a problem with 3/8".

Where did you get the washers? My first go around I got them from Lowe’s and I had a hell of a time with them. The washers from ace hardware work good for me.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by ian45662

Where did you get the washers? My first go around I got them from Lowe’s and I had a hell of a time with them. The washers from ace hardware work good for me.


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The washers are the ones rfd lists at the top from Mcmaster-Carr. I checked the local Ace for the washers that you recommended but they were package individually at $.79 and they didn't have them in bulk. I figured $11 bucks for 100 compared to $79 I could afford to replace them if they wore too fast.
I'm using a 3/8 nylon rod to push, same rod I used for patches.

Bob

Well I’ll be darned.

So... you soak those in water...and push them through the bore between shots instead of blow tubing, right?

I think I saw a fella using those on YouTube...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH7RHS2QB5I

I'd like to make some gophers for my .44-77 (Green Mountain barrel .4375/.446"). Would the number 10 neoprene washers listed above for .45 cal be OK for this slightly smaller barrel or would they bind? Is there a better size to use? Thanks, Steve

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Originally Posted by ndnchf

I'd like to make some gophers for my .44-77 (Green Mountain barrel .4375/.446"). Would the number 10 neoprene washers listed above for .45 cal be OK for this slightly smaller barrel or would they bind? Is there a better size to use? Thanks, Steve

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I don't know. My guess is that they should work well enuf.

I push the bore gophers out the muzzle and into a tray of water, to keep the powder residue soft. When the shooting's done, I dump the gophers into the spent brass jug that's filled with water and a dash of dawn liquid soap.

Back at the ranch, the brass and gophers get rinsed with tap water and while the brass goes into an ultra sonic cleaner, the gophers go back into a jug of clean tap water that has a heaping tablespoon full of OxiClean powder added. This really cleans up the felts to almost like new.

OK thanks. Is there any place in particular to get the felts and brushes - BACO?

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Originally Posted by ndnchf

OK thanks. Is there any place in particular to get the felts and brushes - BACO?

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I would do web searches for both and find the best price for each.

OK - thanks.

So for a 20-shot relay, you'd need 20 gophers, eh?

Don’t forget sighters.

KW

Maybe the new Goex will come up with a less dry powder than all of them.

Not likely. They've signed an agreement with DOD or some such for like 3 million USD.

Fuze train and booster charge material for smokeless. Yes they still use BP. The old school small arms moist burning powder was really a western European thing anyway.

The US never traditionally used wet burning small arms powder, preferring to wipe between shots or as with the Trapdoor, use bullets with monster grease grooves.

I would equate Goex characteristics to match those known of American powder circa 1850 and perhaps into the Civil War period. It is known that those who could get British powder preferred to use it. Softer fouling.

Estes needs propellant, military needs fuze and booster material. Those formulas that work best ($$) for those needs will absolutely come first.