Opinions on brass cleaning rod

[Machine Shop Dude]

I am in need of a batch of new cleaning rods for my small gun collection, I am considering going the brass rod route. I have used sticks made from wood, plastic, aluminum, and various steels with good luck. I understand brass has wonderful properties that prevent damage to sensitive steel features. What are your thoughts of the subject of the brass rods?

 

[nettlle]

Not all guns can be cleaned from the breach but all the ones I own can be. It really doesn't matter what rod material to me when cleaning from the breach although I do prefer brass or coated rods.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

I use brass rods on my benchrest guns.

 

[FROGO207]

I always prefer something that is softer than the gun barrel. For some reason I started out with a brass one and liked it so much that it has become the only type I use. I worry about steel being hard, aluminum being brittle and breaking when being bent, and don't even get me started on the bore snakes!!

 

[GarySTL]

Personally I like the carbon fiber rods with the ball bearing handles. They do flex a little, but not enough that you worry about them breaking if you need to rap the handle to start a patch through the bore. I believe mine are Tipton.

 

[FL-NC]

What we issued in the sniper school (and what I use on good rifles) are the plastic coated rods from Dewey or Outers, with the free-spinning handles. I use jags made of brass (parker-hale type) and nylon brushes. For rifles that can't be cleaned from breach to muzzle, use the otis pull through cable system.

 

[entropy]

I use Dewey coated rods, and have an Otis kit also, as well as bore snakes for field quick work.

 

[boom boom]

First, no segmented rods are recommended by most folks for serious cleaning nor using a rod too small for the bore size that you are cleaning (allows too much flex in the rod to use a .22 rod in a .30 bore). Second, you should always use a bore guide for the rod-it keeps the rod centered (assuming that you are using the correct sized rod) and from rubbing the sides of the bore. Can also keep crud out of your breech if you use those designed to go into the chamber.

After that, regarding rod composition, it depends on how dirty your rifle gets. The negative about some coated/painted rods (not all), brass, and aluminum, is that sometimes grit from cleaning the dirty rifles can get embedded into rod. For that reason, you need to clean your rods frequently especially if you are cleaning guns used in field conditions. Sand is particularly bad about embedding and then has the potential to leave that crud in the barrel or worse yet scraping the barrel (if not using a bore guide or an improperly sized cleaning rod or you are using a tight fitting jag to clean). Personally, I use stainless steel rods for heavy duty cleaning on old milsurp barrels, but have some Dewey coated rods, a carbon rod, and some brass rods. Only segmented rods are those in butt kits for recreation. I also use the Otis system for AR's and their ripcord design is superior to Hoppe's bore snake if cleaning is needed in the field.

 

[JohnKSa]

One-piece, plastic-coated steel rods are the way to go. Uncoated one-piece steel rods are second best.

Aluminum oxide (which forms on the outside of aluminum rods or anodized aluminum rods) is very hard and, worse yet, it is abrasive. It will certainly damage a bore if rubbed against it.

Brass/bronze rods are soft, but surprisingly, brass and bronze can be as hard as the steel used in firearm barrels--especially rimfire barrels which can be quite soft. But that's not the reason I avoid brass rods. I avoid them because they are often soft enough that material/contaminants embed in them. When that happens they become a lap and can wear the steel just like sandpaper wears steel even though paper is much softer than steel or a lead lap wears steel even though lead is much softer than steel.

Uncoated steel rods are hard, but they are not abrasive unless they are rusted. It's less likely that material will embed in them. Keep them oiled so that they don't rust because iron oxide is abrasive and wipe them down before, and while, using them to keep dust/grit from building up on them.

I don't like screw-together rods because every one I've ever used has eventually broken at one of the joins . When they break, they can damage the bore or cause injury. If you really need to use a screw-together rod, chose one that is high-quality and made of steel--and keep a very close eye on it. If it starts to bend or loosen up at the joins, discard it and get another.

Whatever I use, I clean from the breech if at all possible, I wipe the rod frequently to remove any contaminants/particles from it and I try my best to prevent the cleaning rod from ever coming into contact with the bore.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Yep, I have heard the embedded brass theory. Because of it, I wipe my brass rods after every pass and polish them with metal polish every so often.

I have also heard the same theory of coated rods getting things embedded in them, too.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I've had good results using smooth-polished stainless steel rods on ball-bearing handles, bronze jags and brushes, and chamber guides or bore guides, depending on the gun's configuration.

 

[JohnKSa]

... polish them with metal polish...

Most metal polishes contain abrasives--even some, like Flitz, which claim to be "non-abrasive". Be sure to remove all traces of the polish from the cleaning rod.

Flitz, apparently, can make the claim to be non-abrasive because the abrasive in their formula is so fine that it is not classed as an abrasive by "government standard" whatever that means. But it certainly is an abrasive. It can remove steel (albeit very small amounts) with very little effort.