Gun Cleaning

[jacklord]

I've heard people say never clean a barrel by pushing the bore brush through the muzzle end(the opposite direction that a bullet would travel).
In most of my gun manuals, it's recommended that you start cleaning the barrel by "pushing" the bore brush through the barrel starting from the breech end out through the muzzle (the direction a bullet would travel). But in that same process, you'd be 'pulling' that brush back through the barrel from the muzzle end towards the breech end (the opposite direction that a bullet would travel. So in every "push/pull stroke," you'd be pulling that brush through the barrel from the muzzle end towards the breech.

So what's the difference if you started cleaning from the muzzle end or from the breech end? Either way, you'd be either "pushing" or "pulling" the brush through the barrel in the opposite direction that a bullet would travel.

This is particularly relevant when cleaning revolvers because without a bore snake, I can never get the brush through the barrel from the breech end and have to start by 'pushing' the brush through the barrel from the muzzle end.

It seems that regardless of which end you start cleaning the barrel from, you're going to be either 'pushing' or 'pulling' that brush through the barrel in the opposite direction that a bullet would travel.

 

[rustymaggot]

they remove the brush and pull out the rod.

 

[1911 guy]

Not so much the brush.

It's about the rod. Notice how many times the rod knocks against the chamber end of a barrel the next time you clean a rifle. Do you really want to do that to your barrel crown? With very accurate rifles, it's often smart to use a thing called a chamber guide. This centers the rod so it doesn't contact anywhere.

As far as pulling the brush or patch back through the muzzle, don't push it all the way out. This way, you don't have the rod flopping against your crown.

 

[nonquixote]

The way I understand it the reason brushing is recommended from the breech end is that there is less chance of dinging or wearing on the barrel crown with the cleaning rod that way. A slight ding in the muzzle crown can affect accuracy to some extent. How much this really matters is anybody's guess. If the revolver issue worries you, you might try a bore snake, which is flexible and can be pulled through from the cylinder end of the barrel.

ETA: D'oh! Just a bit late.

 

[swingcatt]

If I am cleaning with a rod, I use a bore guide that slips over the muzzle and protects it from getting buggered up. Personally I use bore snakes for 90% of my cleaning, however you have to watch those....they can get stuck in the bore, but that's a story for another day.

If you don't think you'll totally mess up the accuracy of a firearm by cleaning, I have a perfect, if a bit extreme, example of how bad you can mess one up. One of my work friends cleaned his muzzle loader once by putting the cleaning rod in a drill and working it back and forth in the barrel. Needless to say, he bumped the crown a few times with the chuck and overnight he went from good 2" groups to 6" groups. SC

 

[Walkalong]

Use a bore guide and clean from the breech end. The bore guide helps keep solvents from getting in the trigger group, bedding etc. where we do not want it and most importantly it protects the critical "throat" area of the bore from the rod "peening" the lands where the bullet first enters the rifling. I prefer coated rods from Dewey. Some prefer the Stainless steel ones. Never use a multi piece rod as where it goes together can harm your bore. In benchrest we push the brush all the way through and draw it back through without removing the brush. The relatively soft bronze bristols will not damage your crown. Cheap brushes with steel middles instead of brass should not be used. What damages your crown is when peple clean from the muzzle end and the brush/rod connection bangs into the crown and the rod drags along the crown as it is carelessly pushed through in less than a straight manner. We use jags ( most of us ) with sharp tips to push patches through the barrel and take them off the jag after it exits the barrel before we draw the rod back. Never push a dirty rod through a barrel. Wipe it off every time it is pulled out. Don't use cheap aluminum rods as they are bad to hold grit which will damage your bore.(polished hard stainless is not likely to hold grit/ the stainless crowd)(coated rods are soft and should not damage your bore, but wipe em off every pass/the coated rod crowd) Wipe off any rod every pass no matter what kind.

Oh Yea. Never reverse a brush in your barrel! Push it all the way through!

I have a great link to some cleaning techniques by the "Big Dogs" in the benchrest shooting and barrel making community. I will post it when I am home. I cannot find it right now.

 

[CountGlockula]

Check out the OTIS website on how/why cleaning the barrel http://www.otisgun.com/cgistore/store.cgi?page=/new/fcatalog.html&setup=1&cart_id=and pick up a flex cleaning rod: