caliber labeled jags, brushes, etc?

I have some brass brushes that are stamped with the caliber, but it's nearly worthless as I can't see it, even with magnification. It's just too small of a surface to make the marking legible. I had a set of jags that had the markings on the case in which they were stored like you indicated. Others may have better experience than I.

Some bronze bore brushes will be oversize. If you start a fat one into the rifle bore, its nearly impossible to pull it back out. The brush has to be pushed to the end of the muzzle. This may bend a steel coated cleaning rod.

I now measure the diameter before i use it. A 243 brush should not be larger that a few thousandths. The nylon brush is more forgiving, but may be oversize also.

The Hoppes brushes and the brass jags I got at academy sports are all engraved with their size.

mainecoon said:

It would be really nice if jags and other rod ends came with a caliber label inscribed on them. ...

Click to expand...

Keep an eye peeled for fingernail polish sales. Since acetone is usually the release agent for these, they weather things like Mineral Spirits & Hoppes with ease.

mainecoon said:

It would be really nice if jags and other rod ends came with a caliber label inscribed on them. There's no way to tell what caliber a piece is for unless you keep it in the box it comes in. Do any companies make brass jags marked by caliber?

Click to expand...

I bought a $3 Plano lure box that has 6 sections and used a marker to label each for the caliber. Simple and cheap, I can keep brushes, jags, etc. all in one section.

If you only have a few, significantly different calibers (like say, .22, 9mm, and .45), your eyeball can keep them separate.
But, even then, some sort of divided tray makes sense (see tackle box solutions noted above).

Now, I lucked into a closeout of auto body touchup paints at an auto parts store, so I picked up 5-6 contrasting colors. Just a dab above the threaded end is retty handy for sorting out the .32acp items from the .357 bore stuff.

While I had all that out, I put a dab on the trays I use in my toolbox with drawers so that they all match.

The possibilities are as endless as imagination.

I have a comadre who winds wire on the bit, with the number of turns (and type of wire) keeping them together. (He's also some sort of microsoldering magician who makes that work look easy, too)

243winxb said:

Some bronze bore brushes will be oversize. If you start a fat one into the rifle bore, its nearly impossible to pull it back out. The brush has to be pushed to the end of the muzzle. This may bend a steel coated cleaning rod.

I now measure the diameter before i use it. A 243 brush should not be larger that a few thousandths. The nylon brush is more forgiving, but may be oversize also.

Click to expand...

I don't understand why brushes are made oversized unless it's poor quality control or not understanding how a cleaning brush works. It's the tips, not the sides of the bristles, that do the work.

doubleh said:

poor quality control

Click to expand...

Exactly.

The Smith and Wesson branded cleaning kits are marked at the base. Mine is in a blue plastic box with a clear lid.

doubleh said:

I don't understand why brushes are made oversized

Click to expand...

Necessity. Copper-bronze brushes erode from contact from copper solvent cleaners. Made oversize, there is more use out ofthem until they shrink down to less than bore diameter.

I bought a cleaning jag kit from Sportsman's Warehouse (I think!?!?) that has a bunch of jags in it, and each cleaning jag goes into it's own caliber-marked slot in the case.

Makes it easy to tell a .264 from a .277 and a .323 from a .338 when your eyes are aging like mine are .

Stay safe!

I got the Tipton set , they make them bras or nickel plated to resist cleaning solvents. Was only 2 bucks more for the nickel vs brass. The case is marked with the size since there isn't room on the mag to mark them.
https://ads.midwayusa.com/product/8...uz_4_nQsX_VDZKOpA9r835gAfrDfjcOhoC2HAQAvD_BwE

mainecoon said:

There's no way to tell what caliber a piece is for unless you keep it in the box it comes in.

Click to expand...

Sure there is; calipers. Diameter +(2x) patch thickness should be slightly more than actual groove diameter. Some of us old guys 'eyeball it', and the method I mostly use is to keep the jag on the rod used for that caliber, because you'll run the jag down the bore before the brush anyway, and reattach it to store when done.

If you buy a set of cleaning jags or brushes, often it will come in a box that will size them for you and be marked (Tipton for example). The loose stuff I keep in a fishing tackle box with the different bins marked as to what it is.

BTW, do not throw out your old undersized bore brushes--they can be used with a patch for example for something like JB Bore bright or to handle cleaning solvents/oil patches. Avoid plastic jags for obvious reasons--they are cheap for a reason. If you prefer using certain bore cleaners, you might also want to invest in a set of nylon bore brushes that are impervious to most if not all copper removal solvents.

Thanks for a quick tip Entropy on using calipers. Occasionally my fishing tackle box storing this stuff has got turned over which requires resorting this stuff. You just made it easier as my eyeball Mk. 1 measuring device is a bit wobbly now.

Simple enough for me:.
The big 'uns are .45-44
The middle ones are .38-9mm
The itty-bittys are .22
Everything else is .30

Parker-Hale ones usually had the calibre stamped on the shank, but few others seem to do this. I used paint on the brush of Pro-Shot ones, here with an adaptor which I made.

I have some plastic boxes, about wallet size, that I keep my brushes and jags in. I put them in there immediately after opening up the package. I mark them with a Sharpie. I got the boxes from Sinclair.