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Cleaning causes crown damage?


xtian999

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This can’t be right: I read somewhere that cleaning the bore from the muzzle can cause damage to the crown and first inch of the bore. I will not always clean the bore of my firearms from the breech, but if this notion is true, I will feel a little sad when I do.

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Barrels cleaned from the muzzle with uncoated, metal rods can cause a lot of damage. Rifles need a bore guide. Pistol barrels do not need a guide, but if you clean from the chamber end it is easy to guide the rod down the barrel and minimize bore contact and unwanted contact with the crown.

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Bore guides and Stainless Steel rods are my preference, and cleaning from the breech.

Push the rod slow enough so that the patch, or brush, has time to work. If using a brush be careful when it pops out of the muzzle. Go slow here so that the metal parts don't make contact with the muzzle. 

Also, when using a patch, push the rod out the muzzle end and then unscrew the patch and holder before you pull the rod back through.

Inspect your muzzle after cleaning.

 

I'm more like Jack, though. The older I get the less I clean. Especially handgun barrels.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Coated rods are common in the precision rifle community because metal rods can cause a fair bit of damage. Nylon brushes instead of metal as well. Let the chemicals do the work for you. I rarely clean my pistol barrels, but when I do my process is:

 

Wrap a brush with a patch and soak it in KG carbon remover. Put it through the bore a couple times and let it sit for a few minutes. Take a few passes with a nylon brush, then wrap the brush with a dry patch and send it through the barrel. Repeat with a clean patch. Fill the barrel with WipeOut, let it sit 24 hours, then patch it a few more times to get it clean and dry. 

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On 4/6/2018 at 4:27 PM, dvc4you said:

Per Shuemann’s instructions the only thing that goes through my pistol barrels is bullets.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

 

I think Adam, at Atlas Gunworks, says the same thing.

Edited by MikieM
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I don't push a rod/tip/brush through a barrel.  I pull it.  

 

A rod in tension (pulling) stays straight unless you intentionally (or carelessly) angle it so it contacts the lands and bend it.

 

A rod in compression (pushing) bends and contacts the lands somewhere in the barrel and you can't stop it from bending (the rods just aren't large enough in diameter to be strong enough to resist the force).

 

I never use a jag (have to push them through the barrel).  I use the patch tips and brushes.

 

I clean from the muzzle end by pulling the patches/brushes from chamber to muzzle.  I'm trying to "clean" the barrel of the crud created from firing ammo through it.  Why would I want to push that crud back into the chamber/receiver area?  The last time I used a chamber brush was when I was cleaning an M1 Garand I'd gotten from the CMP.  Once I get the chamber on  a newly acquired rifle clean my normal cleaning of pulling solvent and dry patches through the chamber to the muzzle seems to keep the chambers clean.

 

Been doing it that way for over 40 years now.  Won't be changing it for the next 10 or 15 years.

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I've gotten 15k rounds down my pistols since Adam/Atlas did that "jacketed bullets are enough" nothing else down the barrel video. I do have a Dremel with polishing cones and some compound for polishing the feed ramp, it's semi-permanent on my bench. No complaints. I also hose the pistol lower with a spray solvent CLP that emphasizes the C-lean (I think it's Brake Free Spray Blast something). I only break down the rear of the slide once a year and I've never even gotten into my lowers otherwise. Oil on the barrel lugs and rails, light oil wipe on other wear spots, firing area left dry. 

 

For rifles I use a chamber brush first, then a Bore Snake after casual shooting, a hit of Ballistol that soaks for a few minutes then 3-5 pulls. On my PRS rig I'm more diligent but I only use nylon brushes and patch until they're drying up and fairly clean, not perfectly clean. I'll use a coated rod from the chamber with a bore guide and remove brush/patch from the rod after it emerges from the muzzle. I'll also blast the trigger group with that solvent spray CLP. The BCG gets the most attention, frequently broken down and scrubbed (and scrapped on the AR) then run wet. It would be hard to run an AR too wet, the only downside is it would attract dirt if it's soaked.  

 

My only concern is that I do pull the rod back through the barrel in the reverse, without brush or patch, where the metal tip could contact the barrel momentarily as the rod shakes and vibrates. But the method of "pulling" means you're still pushing an unsupported rod down the barrel from the chamber end before you pull, without any brush or patch to center it so 6 and 1, same issue. 

 

Shotguns get a bore snake when I'm in a hurry and just want to get crud out but you really have to scrub to get the plastic residue, I'll use a foaming cleaner with 10g brass brushes in my 12g and a heavy coated rod. It is hard to overdo it, some guys chuck the rods into electric drills and wind away but the idea is to get rid of all that plastic mid-barrel (although it would have to get really bad to actually affect anything so perhaps I need to rethink this?) Chokes get tossed into a full jar of citrus choke cleaner and left to soak, then scrubbed clean with a short brush that's like a mini cleaning rod. Otherwise everything gets wiped with CLP and the bolt scrubbed clean. 

 

I am a bit paranoid about muzzle damage but worse case is you get it repaired, it's just metal. 

 

I have a bottle of copper solvent and foam cleaners for when patches come out with funky colors or accuracy drops (it takes a lot of shooting and neglect to get that far) but I mainly use Ballistrol all around, with 5-30 Mobil One on my pistols and something like Brake Free Spray Blast CLP. I only use grease on the threads of chokes or on the action of my clays over-under shotgun. 

 

I run my collection of Boresnakes through the dishwasher (without eating utensils) once in a while. If you have two you can keep one for dirty stuff and another for simply polishing. But I'm not convinced Boresnakes are the be all end all, they're just utilitarian better than nothing and out at the range tools. 

 

I still think I'm a newbie but I think I'm doing OK. 

Edited by Frankly
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I always cleaned the bore when I used lead bullets. So did everyone else I knew. Now, however, not so much what with jacketed bullets and all. 

But, if you want to know how to really clean a bore check with the Benchrest guys. They have barrel cleaning down to a fine art.

 

Coated rods are no good for fine barrels. The coating can, over time, pick up dirt and debris that can abrade the barrel. Better to use a one-piece stainless steel rod that has been polished, and one that can swivel in it's handle. Don't go any further out the bore than necessary.

 

 

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So contact with the rod will degrade the crown, muzzle, and bore. That makes sense. I was always taught that spent powder was corrosive and would eat away at the internal components and ruin the rifling. I have actually lost sleep on when there was a gun that had not been cleaned sitting around.

 

I am thinking that some bore damage comes from rust forming in the bore between cleanings. Not from residue, but just raw metal and air. I usually shoot some remoil down the bore after cleaning to prevent this. Is that wrong too? 

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16 minutes ago, xtian999 said:

So contact with the rod will degrade the crown, muzzle, and bore. That makes sense. I was always taught that spent powder was corrosive and would eat away at the internal components and ruin the rifling. I have actually lost sleep on when there was a gun that had not been cleaned sitting around.

 

I am thinking that some bore damage comes from rust forming in the bore between cleanings. Not from residue, but just raw metal and air. I usually shoot some remoil down the bore after cleaning to prevent this. Is that wrong too? 

 

If you're going to shoot it again in a week then no reason to but if it's going to sit then for sure. 

 

I'm no expert or benchrest shooter but I'd imagine the first shot outs of a heavily oiled barrel might be affected. 

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Burnt oil is probably worse than spent powder. I guess running a patch or two before shooting is a good idea. I have some felt wads that go through my pellet guns after shooting, maybe something like that in a lightly loaded cartridge would be cool.

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If the point of not cleaning is to avoid barrel and crown damage due to Autozone purchased solvents and rough treatment with a metal cleaning rod, then I can see the advantage for those who are in that group. However, a bit of bore solvent once in a while and some patches will have negligible negative effect if care is taken. Also, if you are cleaning the chamber with solvent, some amount of solvent will enter the barrel and should be removed with a patch or two. I cannot imagine how a patch with solvent is worse for a barrel than having a FMJ plow carbon fouling and junk that has been left over from thousands of fired rounds. If some believe that it is a wash between the two techniques, then I will clean the barrel once in a while.

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