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Bronze Brushes Don't Hurt Barrels.

Find a cleaning regimen that your bore scope tells you that works. Stick with it and don't reinvent the wheel every time something new comes out. I would also recommend to not read these kinds of threads, except for entertainment and when deciding your style. Good cleaning habits take a certain amount of time....put that time in. There are no shortcuts.

Edit: Unicorn sperm works great.

Later
Dave
 
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So shooters are now worried Bronze brushes are somehow messing up their bores ??.

A proper bore guide a proper Rod such as Dewy ,along with Bronze ,SS or Aluminum Jag and wet or dry patch works for Me . I use a wet Bore mop with copper remover driven down from the chamber out the muzzle ,remove mop and drop it into a small jar of solvent ( I make My own solvent ) . Put a protective polyurethane cap tip over jag pull it back , repeat . IF it's been a lengthy shoot ,I repeat #2-5 times ,before sending a Bronze brush down the bore . I then will use wet patches perhaps #2-5 down out the muzzle ,drop them in a trash container ,place protective urethane cap on my jag each and every return too the chamber .
MY final patch is Hoppes #9 down bore ,as I always run a Dry patch Before firing again .

IF it's MY CCW pistol ,it's Dry on last patch . Don't clean .22 RF any more ,as that ruined accuracy in Two of MY match Rifles . I had to literally shoot 250 rounds in each to get back close to where it was prior to cleaning them . NEVER again . Might clean action but Never the bore .

As we should all know and remember is chamber leade , becomes flame eroded . Faster in the .20's more so than .30 -40 Cal. . So if You're zinging out rounds 4350 Fps , it's gonna happen way quicker than 2650 Fps .
So I'd worry far more about that than I would what Brush or solvent I'm washing my bore with .
Just a thought .
 
Forum Boss said:
This is a controversial topic.

Just want to add three things.

1. You might be surprised at the relatively conservative cleaning done by top-level F-Class shooters and long range shooters. Short-range benchrest is a different story.

2. You will definitely benefit by cleaning your barrel as soon as possible after the day's match or relay, BEFORE you leave the range. The carbon is much easier to remove in a warm barrel before the carbon hardens.

3. I have personally seen damage to barrel crowns from guys using bronze brushes which exited the barrel then were reversed and pulled back across the muzzle. I recommend removing the brush after exiting the barrel.

Yes I know many short-range 6PPC Hall of Famer's brush back and forth. But those guys typically toss their barrels in under 1000 rounds, and they may "touch up" the crown along the way.

Note what Frank from Bartlein posted above: "At times you have to use a brush. I get it. I don't drag the brush back over the crown. I only push the brush breech to muzzle. I'll unscrew the brush before pulling the rod back thru. We see a lot of damage to the edges of the muzzle crowns and part of it is because of dragging the brush back over the edge of the crown. The crown is the last thing the bullet touches when leaving the barrel. A damaged crown can effect accuracy."

There are many reasons to remove the brush and clean it, rather than drag debris and particles back in.
Click to expand...
Could you please post a photo of the damage you describe to the edge of the crown? I’m not saying you haven’t seen it but I never have and would like to know what to look for.

Thanks.
 
When I started long range BR, 2 decades ago. Not knowing, I felt sure a bronze brush had to scratch a SS Match barrel. I tried everthing else to clean including nylon brushes with copper and carbon removers. To make a long story short, eventually I started loosing accuracy terribly. I had carbon caked in the throat.An old gunsmith told me to start using a bronze brush. Still not believing, I did an experiment. I had a SS match barrel that had been polished on the outside to a mirror finish. I took a bronze brush and scrubbed it back and forth on one small area on the barrel. Then looked at that area. I could not tell it had been touched, no scratches, no abrasions. Still a mirror finish. I then put a lot more pressure down on the bronze brush and did the same scrubbing back and forth many times. Still nothing, I could not see the slightest scratch! That experiment convinced my hard headed self that a bronze brush will not harm a barrel! Samuel Hall
 
gunsandgunsmithing said:
Look at post 66 of this thread
Click to expand...

That photo is so blurry I can’t tell what I’m looking at. I have done the same test as Sam Hall with the same result. I feel that it is simply not possible to scratch stainless with a bronze brush and don’t tell me carbon on the bronze brush causes the damage. Carbon is even softer than the bronze brush. If it wasn’t, the bronze brush could not remove it.

I would bet that any damage seen to a crown was due to some sort of abrasive being used with the brush.

I’m open to be proven wrong though. Please try.

Dave.
 
Dave Way said:
That photo is so blurry I can’t tell what I’m looking at. I have done the same test as Sam Hall with the same result. I feel that it is simply not possible to scratch stainless with a bronze brush and don’t tell me carbon on the bronze brush causes the damage. Carbon is even softer than the bronze brush. If it wasn’t, the bronze brush could not remove it.

I would bet that any damage seen to a crown was due to some sort of abrasive being used with the brush.

I’m open to be proven wrong though. Please try.

Dave.
Click to expand...
Harder vs softer means little, if anything. I've seen rubber wear a hole in steel hydraulic lines, when rubbing together over time. You're right in point but not in principle. Sorry.
 
gunsandgunsmithing said:
Harder vs softer means little, if anything. I've seen rubber wear a hole in steel hydraulic lines, when rubbing together over time. You're right in point but not in principle. Sorry.
Click to expand...
Mmmmm. Harder means a lot. The fact that with lots of use, softer things can wear out harder things means only just that - a LOT of use.

I guess the question is: How many strokes with a brass brush does it take to see any noticeable wear at, say, 5X. [Not sure if that's the appropriate magnification.]
 
gunsandgunsmithing said:
Harder vs softer means little, if anything. I've seen rubber wear a hole in steel hydraulic lines, when rubbing together over time. You're right in point but not in principle. Sorry.
Click to expand...
You should try shooting a rubber barrel by that logic. Think about it.

What do you suppose was between the rubber and steel? Grit(abrasive).
 
jelenko said:
Mmmmm. Harder means a lot. The fact that with lots of use, softer things can wear out harder things means only just that - a LOT of use.

I guess the question is: How many strokes with a brass brush does it take to see any noticeable wear at, say, 5X. [Not sure if that's the appropriate magnification.]
Click to expand...
Well..how many links to the center of a tootsie pop? I guess that depends. If your tongue is made of sandpaper...not very many. For example...aluminum oxide. Yall need to study on how abrasives work. I'm not arguing it further.
 
Anything used carelessly can damage a barrel. Maybe the discussion should be more about technique? I have used bronze brushes on every barrel I have ever owned, never hurt one. Same goes for iosso or jb. You just cant be careless or excessive. Obsessing over getting the barrel back to bare steel leads to that.
 
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