Do you clean your Barrel???

[timcalhoun]

A very interesting read on SS barrels.

http://www.schuemann.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=3zZ4oir3t50=&tabid=67&mid=445

[I_Like_Pie]

Brings up some interesting thoughts, but the guy is putting way too much thought into it.

My Personal Practice has become to never clean the bore of my barrels. I do use a brass rod

to scrape the deposits out of the chamber. But, I've learned to leave the bore alone and it very

slowly becomes shinier and cleaner all by itself.

This guys sounds strikingly like the people who argue that paying taxes is optional, that magnets can be used to magically cure illness, and that hypermile their Prius. Or the benchrest shooters that have rituals not unlike the superstitions that baseball stars have to "improve their game"

One could get a brass brush and rig it up to piston that automatically scrubs a steel barrel...leave it running for 10 years and it would not materially cause any accuracy reducing damage. Unless it is impregnated with something other than brass...it is simple metallurgy.

"illustrate the impact that improper use of some cleaning

materials and methods can have on barrel steel. The barrel in the picture had somewhere between

150 and 350 rounds through it when it was retired - it quit shooting well and was very difficult to

pass a patch through. Note the gross pitting and cracking evident on the surface of the barrel..."

If after 150 rounds someone screwed up their barrel that they couldn't even pass a patch through it....they need to sell all their guns and take up golf. This is a fail of epic proportions not at all related to the use of Sweet's bore solvent.

[DavidD]

I too am very skeptical. Doesn't the build up of lead and/or copper present a much larger problem? I really doubt Hoppes #9 is really bad for steel, much less stainless.

[Guest louderthebetter]

Been using Hoppes #9 for years with a brass brush and I can't tell its ever hurt anything I shoot be it stainless or blue steel.

[leroy]

Brings up some interesting thoughts, but the guy is putting way too much thought into it.

.

I agree. Done lots of shooting and have buddied around with others who did too. Never seen damage to a barrel from using the usual barrel solvents and brass brushes. The old bench rest guys need to wade in on this one; along with the highpower match shooters.

LEROY

[Guest Hi Point]

I use cast boolits so I clean my barrel every time I shoot. I have seen no ill effects from it, neither have any of my buddies that use my reloads or my other reloading friends.

[Oh Shoot]

I use cast boolits so I clean my barrel every time I shoot. I have seen no ill effects from it, neither have any of my buddies that use my reloads or my other reloading friends.

You don't have to clean a Hi-Point, just shoot it till it locks up or the barrel rusts in two. Then send it back to BeeMiller for a free refurb. Cheaper than buying the Hopps over time.

- OS

[LagerHead]

I qualified expert (39/40) in basic training with a Vietnam era M16A1 that had been cleaned thousands of times. Heck, I probably cleaned it at least 100 times. Sounds a bit suspicious to me too.

[glockster157]

I make a lot of my own stuff, they I do like #9 and Shooters Choice. I have also been trying some of these foaming cleaners with some good results. Never tried Sweets but I plan too when I can get a bottle.

Homemade Firearm Related Products

[Tacblack]

I do not run any thing through the barrel for cleaning. If I run some lead I let the jacketed rounds clean it out for me, I usually shoot Montana Gold bullets.

The Bar-sto in my SV 40cal 2011 had 7000+, the old gun 11000. They looked great only cleaning was wipe the old off with a dry rag.

Now if I could only shoot like Tim with it, I would be dangerous!!

[VERO1]

I clean my barrels after shooting. Usually with Hoppes or Shooters Choice with a brass or stainless brush. Sometimes just for kicks I use an oversized brush!

If I wear out the barrel I figure I'll just use the next caliber bullet. If not then I'll send the gun back asking the manufacture to honor thir lifetime guarantee.

[Guest FroggyOne2]

My palma rifle will get cleaned after about 80 rounds have been shot through it. I don't use copper brushes.. I use Montana Extreme Nylon brushes, they are as stiff as a copper brush. You need to use a good bore guide and cleaning rod.. those inexpensive three piece cleaning rods are the wrong kind to use. Get you a good one piece rod, pref a stainless steel one of at least 38 Rockwell or higher (40 is better) or a Carbon rod.. The best rods made are here Ivy Rods, custom crafted for all your shooting needs don't fool with those coated rods.. they are soft and the coating will come off. The best bore guides made are made by Lucas 6mmBR.com Reviews of Reloading tools, Bipods Harris Pod-loc, Cleaning Supplies, Redding Wilson Dies, K&M Tools, Neck turning Tools, Shooting Accessories and supplies.

[Guest motonut]

Bringing back up the subject of cleaning barrels, I saw a YouTube vid. on cleaning a Buck Mark. What I found curious is he stated to only run the brush one way, from the chamber out, then unscrew the brush, pull the rod back out, reattach brush and do it again. Now I'm no expert but I've been pushing my brushes all the way through and then pulling them back for many years. is there something wrong with that? I just don't see how a brass brush is going to damage a SS (or other) barrel.

No, I don't take everything I see or read on the interwebs as gospel, that's why I'm asking.

[glockster157]

Bringing back up the subject of cleaning barrels, I saw a YouTube vid. on cleaning a Buck Mark. What I found curious is he stated to only run the brush one way, from the chamber out, then unscrew the brush, pull the rod back out, reattach brush and do it again. Now I'm no expert but I've been pushing my brushes all the way through and then pulling them back for many years. is there something wrong with that? I just don't see how a brass brush is going to damage a SS (or other) barrel.

No, I don't take everything I see or read on the interwebs as gospel, that's why I'm asking.

Completely unnecessary, with a brush you just don't want to change the direction of the brush inside the barrel. For slotted tips it is proper to push the rod and tip thru, put on a patch, then pull it thru. I see a lot of guys use a slotted tip like a jag or a mop. A jag is best, just push thru one direction and take it off when it comes out the other. I am anal about wiping the rod between passes, not sure that it is really needed but I like to do it. I used to use all coated rods but I am switching to all stainless. I am afraid after all those passes that grit may be embedded in the plastic coating and do more harm than good.

[Guest motonut]

That's what I thought. It's pretty hard to try and change direction in the middle of a barrel but I wouldn't do it anyway.

[Guest HvyMtl]

After seeing what Soviet Conscripts did with the cleaning rods given with their rifles, I will go with softer metal cleaning rods... brass rods are fine. +1 on the guide.

[DaveTN]

I’m a Toolmaker by trade and know a little about metallurgy. Unless you are a bumbling moron you won’t hurt your barrels by cleaning them. Yes, if you use a steel rod and whaller it around like your trying to get a fence post out; you could damage the rifling.

Brass rods are fine, carbon fiber is better. But no matter what you use, keeping them clean is as important as the material they are made from. Wipe them down as you go so you aren’t dragging abrasives residue up and down the bore. A bore guide can’t hurt, if you think you need it.

I would bet all the barrels you see that look terrible got that way from being stored dirty; not from being cleaned.

Proper maintenance, cleaning and lubrication of your weapon will help it last a lifetime. Neglecting it, storing it dirty, and dry firing it at the TV all night will result in mechanical failure.