The "PROPER" way to clean a barrel?

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Well HOWDY!

I'm sure there are lots of people here with plenty of knowledge!

I was just reading . . . and wondering . . . is there a "best" way to clean a barrel?

1. Alum or brass rod?

2. One piece rod? (compared to one that screws together)

3. What are those stainless bore brushes for? (are they safe to put in your barrel?)

4. Nylon, brass or stainless brush, or don't use one?

5. What about those "snakes" do they really work?

6. How do you clean a snake?

7. What about those muzzle crown protector things that muzzle loaders use?

8. What kind of solevent?

9. How about oil when your done?

10. How often?

[Adam10mm]

I use a boresnake with Hoppe's Elite foam cleaner. Couple passes and it's spotless. Doesn't have to be more of a chore than it already is.

[Wayne Smith]

Bore snakes work. Except to get serious lead out. And they are washable. I will oil every time I clean because I clean all the lube out.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

6. How do you clean a snake?

And . . . what about #3?
(3. What are those stainless bore brushes for? (are they safe to put in your barrel?))

[RobS]

Well HOWDY!

I'm sure there are lots of people here with plenty of knowledge!

I was just reading . . . and wondering . . . is there a "best" way to clean a barrel?

1. Alum or brass rod? I use brass, Carbon Fiber or the Otis system with the lever actions

2. One piece rod? (compared to one that screws together) Once piece usually

3. What are those stainless bore brushes for? (are they safe to put in your barrel?) I don't use them

4. Nylon, brass or stainless brush, or don't use one? I don't use but copper brushes for rifle and handguns but use nylon on shotguns

5. What about those "snakes" do they really work? they work well for powder fowling but not so well for lead other than slight streaking etc.

6. How do you clean a snake? hand wash with hot water and dawn

7. What about those muzzle crown protector things that muzzle loaders use?
never have used one but they are ment so a person doesn't bugger up the crown

8. What kind of solevent? I make my own Ed's Red


9. How about oil when your done? Ed's Red

10. How often? I usually shoot my guns enough that I don't worry about it; although the shotguns don't get as much service so they will get wiped down a few times a year (other than the times when I use them) when I'm bored

....................

[RobS]

(3. What are those stainless bore brushes for? (are they safe to put in your barrel?))

I am a bit hesitant to put something down my bore that is as hard as it is.

[montana_charlie]

When the borescope indicates a need to 'clean out the corners' better, I will use a bore brush...but not a metal brush. Hoppes used to sell a nylon brush made of 'Tynex'.
The bristles are quite stiff...almost like bronze. You can still find them around if you look hard enough. That's what I use when patches aren't enough.
CM

[Recluse]

You guys are all pikers.

The BEST way to clean a gun's barrel is to hand the gun(s) to your (now) nineteen-year-old daughter (or son, if you have one) and remind them where the Hoppes and rags and patches and stuff are at, and to be sure and get everything nice and clean.

Then you come back into the air-conditioned house and fall asleep on the sofa while watching your favorite outdoor show on tv.

You guys certainly know how to overcomplicate things.

[AZ-Stew]

Stainless or carbon fiber rod, one piece. I prefer stainless because it won't embed with grit. Not sure about the carbon fiber, but it's claimed it doesn't embed, either. One piece rod. No joints to impact on rifling on either end of the barrel.

Hoppe's #9 works OK for cast shooting. It will take out the powder fouling. There are a number of ways to get lead out, so I won't say mine's "the best". Surely someone else will make the same claim.

For jacketed bullet cleaning, I prefer Montana X-Treme Copper Killer or their Bore Solvent. Both contain lots of ammonia to dissolve the copper fouling. DO NOT open the bottle, bring it to your nose and take a big sniff with either of these! I believe they will remove nose hair.

With the strong ammonia content of the Montana X-Treme solvents, nylon brushes are better than bronze. The bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) bristles will be eaten away by the solvent. Look for ones that have brass wire for the core, rather than steel. Yes, the solvents will attack the brass because it's a copper alloy, too, but you'll wear out the nylon bristles long before the brass core wires deteriorate enough to be noticed. Avoid the stainless steel brushes.

Clean from the breech whenever possible. Use a bore guide.

Use patches and jags properly sized for your barrel. The patch should have a snug fit with the bore. Too tight and you'll flex the rod. Too loose and you don't get good patch contact with the bore. Slotted tips are, in my opinion, worthless.

Run a brush, wet with solvent, through the bore. Leave the gun sit for 15-20 minutes to give the solvent time to work. Watch TV or do something useful, but give the solvent time. Wiping it out right after you put it in doesn't work. After the wait, run a dry patch through the bore. I will come out dirty, and if you're cleaning a barrel fired with jacketed rounds, it will have bluish green streaks on it from the reduced copper. Repeat. Repeat again, but from now on until the bore is clean, you don't need the brush. You can run wet patches through the bore, followed by dry ones after you wait for the solvent to work. When the patches come out clean, run a couple of dry patches through to clean out all solvent, followed by a patch with some very thin oil on it to protect the bore.

I clean my AR after 100 rounds. It's broken in well enough now that it only takes 2-3 passes with wet and dry patches to clean it. My others are cleaned after each range trip, regardless of round count.

I don't have any snakes, so I can't comment.

Regards,

Stew

[JeffinNZ]

HHHMMMM. I'll come back to you. I will have to ask Sheryl how she does mine rifles after I go to bed.............

[excavman]

I usually wait until I have several to clean, that's not long since I do shoot a lot. I run a well worn solvent soaked brass brush in each gun and let them set a while. The real dirty ones get a swab with a newer, less worn brush then I run patches through each one until the patch comes out clean, usually three patches in each. I don't oil the bore. I don't have a problem with leading and I seldom use any j-bullets. At this moment all my guns are clean but one, been too hot to shoot.

Larry

[Wayne Smith]

As to cleaning a bore snake, toss it in a bag and throw it in with the laundry. Make sure you tie the bag shut. I use a steel small multi-piece rod with a muzzle protector for most serious cleaning - by that I mean getting the lead out. Normal cleaning is a pass or two with a snake. I put a few drops of oil on the end.

[S.R.Custom]

3. What are those stainless bore brushes for? (are they safe to put in your barrel?)

Not really, but that's about the only way I know of to get the aluminum fouling out of the bore of your Walther PPK after you've gone through three boxes of Winchester Silver Tips...

[HeavyMetal]

When I was competing heavily I detail stripped my 1911's twice a year and cleaned them. As for the barrel if the bore needed it a soft "mop" soaked in original Hoppes fed in from the chamber end of the barrel and never allowed to exit the muzzle.

Then dryed with patch's using the same technique.

The only time this has changed is if very poor lads were shot and the barrel leaded. As I've gained experience over the years this has happened less and less.

I am a firm believer in the fact that most shooter's "Over Clean" thier guns!

The endless examples at gun shows with the rifling missing from the last 2 inchs of the bore pretty much will be used to prove my point.

[GabbyM]

Ditto on the stainless steel rods so to not embed particles in the rod turning it into a lap.
One piece rod with a ball bearing handle. The sectioned steel rods such as military cleaning kit rods can murder a barrel. If you do use one of those out in the field check all sections for screw tight after every pass. A gap in the rod acts like a paint scraper. You'd not do that to the outside of a barrel more less the inside. Bore snakes are better for a field kit but be careful not to get them kinked up and stuck. Also a snake can't drive out a stuck case so they are a tad lacking for emergency field kit. Just my opinions.

[AzShooter]

Brass rod with MPro-7 on it and then patches until they come out clean.

After reading Veral Smith's book " How To Get Jacketed Accuracy From Cast Bullets" I no longer clean the barrel. If there is lead in it I shoot it out I still use the MPro -7 on the outside of the gun and the cylinders. They used to sponsor me and I still think it's the best stuff on the market.

We'd demonstrate it by having someone clean their pistol/revolver with whatever they wanted, then use some MPro-7 and see how much more dirt was left on the gun. Patches would come out black after Hoppies and other solvents.

[jr81452]

Stainless or carbon fiber rod, one piece. I prefer stainless because it won't embed with grit. Not sure about the carbon fiber, but it's claimed it doesn't embed, either. One piece rod. No joints to impact on rifling on either end of the barrel.

Hoppe's #9 works OK for cast shooting. It will take out the powder fouling. There are a number of ways to get lead out, so I won't say mine's "the best". Surely someone else will make the same claim.

For jacketed bullet cleaning, I prefer Montana X-Treme Copper Killer or their Bore Solvent. Both contain lots of ammonia to dissolve the copper fouling. DO NOT open the bottle, bring it to your nose and take a big sniff with either of these! I believe they will remove nose hair.

With the strong ammonia content of the Montana X-Treme solvents, nylon brushes are better than bronze. The bronze (an alloy of copper and tin) bristles will be eaten away by the solvent. Look for ones that have brass wire for the core, rather than steel. Yes, the solvents will attack the brass because it's a copper alloy, too, but you'll wear out the nylon bristles long before the brass core wires deteriorate enough to be noticed. Avoid the stainless steel brushes.

Clean from the breech whenever possible. Use a bore guide.

Use patches and jags properly sized for your barrel. The patch should have a snug fit with the bore. Too tight and you'll flex the rod. Too loose and you don't get good patch contact with the bore. Slotted tips are, in my opinion, worthless.

Run a brush, wet with solvent, through the bore. Leave the gun sit for 15-20 minutes to give the solvent time to work. Watch TV or do something useful, but give the solvent time. Wiping it out right after you put it in doesn't work. After the wait, run a dry patch through the bore. I will come out dirty, and if you're cleaning a barrel fired with jacketed rounds, it will have bluish green streaks on it from the reduced copper. Repeat. Repeat again, but from now on until the bore is clean, you don't need the brush. You can run wet patches through the bore, followed by dry ones after you wait for the solvent to work. When the patches come out clean, run a couple of dry patches through to clean out all solvent, followed by a patch with some very thin oil on it to protect the bore.

I clean my AR after 100 rounds. It's broken in well enough now that it only takes 2-3 passes with wet and dry patches to clean it. My others are cleaned after each range trip, regardless of round count.

I don't have any snakes, so I can't comment.

Regards,

Stew

I agree mostly with the above, except I use butches and K-12 as solvents, think slotted tips are handy for heavy oiling for long term storage, and only clean my rifles after 4-500 rounds or when accuracy degrades (though I always seem to reach the round count before accuracy problems). Pistols I clean when function dictates (i.e. leading, malfunctioning, accuracy drops off etc.).

[Mk42gunner]

You guys are all pikers.

The BEST way to clean a gun's barrel is to hand the gun(s) to your (now) nineteen-year-old daughter (or son, if you have one) and remind them where the Hoppes and rags and patches and stuff are at, and to be sure and get everything nice and clean.

Then you come back into the air-conditioned house and fall asleep on the sofa while watching your favorite outdoor show on tv.

You guys certainly know how to overcomplicate things.

I like Recluse's way; unfortunately, I can barely get my fifteen year old to feed and water the dogs.

Other than that, I pretty much go with what Stew said, except I use Ed's Red for a solvent.

Robert

[44man]

A lot of good advise and I agree about M-pro 7. Takes carbon off good. Don't even have to wipe it out of a revolver, just run hot water through the bore and cylinder, wipe and oil.
Never clean a revolver without a muzzle protector. Use one piece steel rods and snug jags.
The only place I use a slotted end is to run a small patch through the cylinder pin hole.

[Three-Fifty-Seven]

Thanks, I've learned a lot!

I always was "taught" to clean after every shooting session, and we always used a slotted end on a multi-piece aluminum rod and started from the muzzle!! (Wow, I was doing it all wrong!)

I picked up a snake for one caliber yesterday while I was in town . . . guess I need to get a one piece stainless rod and some jags.

I have been using Hoppes, and on the copper guns I also used M-pro copper, last week I just made up some Ed's Red to try, and used it on three guns!