Bore Brush

[Bryontrantham]

I use a Hope's 9mm brass brush with a handle that turns as you push it through the barrel. I've watched several "how to" videos for cleaning. Some of the guys say it is necessary to remove the brush before pulling the rod out to keep from damaging the bore. My question is this, is this necessary since the rod turns backwards as well as forward?

 

[ClayM]

To prevent damage to crown... To me, yes, necessary...

 

[mgunderson]

I am not a br expert. If you aren't shooting br don't bother. Barrels in most shooting are a consumable. What most consider to be peak accuracy is not extended or shortened by pulling the brush back past the muzzle.

That being said, I am cleaning less or going longer on my round count than I was a few years ago for rifles that see regular use.

 

[D-4297]

As someone once said ; "If you think it helps , then by all means , do so ". You can get 10,000 different answers to that question from the same number of shooters . Like ; Will a Brass Brush hurt a Stainless barrel , but these same guys wouldn't pull that Brass Brush back through that barrel for fear of damage ? Makes sense , Right ? Or does it ? Not trying to start anything . Just pulled that out of thin air .

 

[K22]

As said by D-4297, you are likely to get many different opinions of this issue.

9mm - handgun, right? No, in my opinion it is not necessary especially for a handgun.

I feel the same way about rifles but if makes you feel better removing it, by all means remove it. Besides being extremely tedious, I never saw the need for doing it assuming you are using a bore guide.

The only concern I would have is regarding the core of the brush. I haven't use Hoppe's brushes in a very long time. I use Dewey no harm brushes which have brass cores. What is the composition of the Hoppe's brush cores? If steel, I wouldn't use them.

 

[Rob01]

Not necessary. Just pull back in slowly until the brush clears the crown and you will be fine.

 

[Webster]

I use a Hope's 9mm brass brush with a handle that turns as you push it through the barrel. I've watched several "how to" videos for cleaning. Some of the guys say it is necessary to remove the brush before pulling the rod out to keep from damaging the bore. My question is this, is this necessary since the rod turns backwards as well as forward?

I asked Tony Boyer that question about 5 years ago at the Super Shoot. He said he brushes both ways. Then he said the people that say otherwise are internet shooters.

 

[DShortt]

I'll tell you this much. I took a janky barrel and put it in the cleaning cradle. Then I took a new bronze bore brush and chucked it up in my cordless drill. Then I stuck it in the bore and let'er rip for 5 minutes. Back, forth, in and around. My borescope showed no significant damage. Brush marks? Sure. You get those under the magnification of a borescope without a cordless drill.

Try it for yourself and draw your own conclusions. That's my opinion.

If it bothers you then don't do it.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I asked Tony Boyer that question about 5 years ago at the Super Shoot. He said he brushes both ways. Then he said the people that say otherwise are internet shooters.

Well Tony thinks a barrel is wore out at 300 rounds or so. Maybe it was from brushing both ways. That brush dragging back across the crown is not helping it. My answer has been, I do almost no brushing. A lot of thing get written off, or justified just because people Don't want to do the work. Thats ok, we need contributors.

 

[DShortt]

Well Tony thinks a barrel is wore out at 300 rounds or so. Maybe it was from brushing both ways. That brush dragging back across the crown is not helping it. My answer has been, I do almost no brushing. A lot of thing get written off, or justified just because people Don't want to do the work. Thats ok, we need contributors.

I don't think Tony ever said it was worn out. I think he discovered that the best way for him to achieve consistency was to replace the barrel much more often than most shooters did.

Was this necessary? Was it just to improve his confidence? I've no idea. But the man shot very well very often. So whatever it was, it worked FOR HIM.

 

[Rsadams]

With rifles I go one way only with pistols I brush both directions but do pull the brush back through slowly so not to bash on the crown.... At the end I push everything out the barrel by removing the brush and going one way , then apply a few patches to get the gunk out and reapply foam or whatever cleaner I am using then patch out and oil.... Except for .22 pistols I only brush it 5-6 passes it doesn't take much.... I spend a bit of time cleaning the chamber , I find it's an area most people miss and it will get funky... I have cleaned guns EVERYTIME I shoot them for fifty years and those guns still shoot better than most people can shoot them.... I would rather make sure it's clean and oiled than anything else... Here's my thoughts on factory barrels... If pushing a brass brush through them at the speed of smell hurts them then shooting them is horrible for them... Fortunately their made to be shot soooo....

Edit... Find a better cleaner than hoppies 9 , you don't need to go to some extreme cleaners which can actually damage the bore if left in to long but there's plenty of good cleaners that actually clean so you don't need to brush so much out there... Do a little research on the subject there's plenty out there , in my opinion hoppies 9 isn't what it used to be many many moons ago....

 

[SeabeeKen]

Can someone post some pictures of a crown damaged by brushing both directions with a bronze or brass brush?

 

[Webster]

Well Tony thinks a barrel is wore out at 300 rounds or so. Maybe it was from brushing both ways. That brush dragging back across the crown is not helping it. My answer has been, I do almost no brushing. A lot of thing get written off, or justified just because people Don't want to do the work. Thats ok, we need contributors.

Has anyone documented crown damage or is it just something that people like to repeat if they see it on internet. Never saw a video on internet by a nationaly known shooter that didn't brush both ways. Tony got a lot more than 300 shots from a barrel. You mean 300 strokes won't damage but more will. I have 4500 shots down my Kreiger barrel I cannot see any damage with a magnifier.

 

[DShortt]

Don't look at the crown with a borescope. That'll ruin it for sure!

Sarcasm isn't always appreciated but neither am I.

 

[RustyInBend]

Totally unnecessary to remove the bore brush on the backstroke ... if ... (a) you have a spinning cleaning rod, (b) you use a good bore guide to ensure straight in/out pulls, and (c) you're generally careful to take smooth straight strokes. Now if you're a "gorilla" and you slam the brush and rod in an out like you're furiously jerking off your barrel ... well then ... by all means ... feel free to remove the bore brush on the backstroke.

 

[JEFFPPC]

I don't think Tony ever said it was worn out. I think he discovered that the best way for him to achieve consistency was to replace the barrel much more often than most shooters did.

Was this necessary? Was it just to improve his confidence? I've no idea. But the man shot very well very often. So whatever it was, it worked FOR HIM.

I agree. Different folks achieve the results with different means. I have never seen a crown damaged from a brush. But I don't see how dragging the brush back over what is hopefully a razor sharp edge helps it. So, pretty easy to reach out and unscrew it. Of course since I seldom use a brush for more than 3 or 4 strokes in my cleaning of a barrel its easy. In an interview in Precision Shooting I believe it was Mrs Boyer who said Tony very seldom competed with a barrel that had over 350 to 500 rounds . No, I doubt they were worn out.

 

[BoydAllen]

Not necessary. Just pull back in slowly until the brush clears the crown and you will be fine.

Agree. The potential for damage comes from the possibility of the brass part at the base of the bristles hitting the corner of a land with force. If you stop your rod as soon at the bristles clean the bore, and gently start it back into the muzzle, once you have it inside you can proceed with more speed and force. There has become a whole internet thing about the damage that pulling a brush back through is supposed to cause, and I believe that it is almost entirely promoted (in the case of CF shooting) by people who do not, have not, and will never compete. Another issue is how a barrelled crown, some styles are pretty much impervious to damage. Here is a video of a prominent French Benchrest shooter doing a between matches cleaning of one of her barrels. The language if French, but you do not need to understand to get most of what is in the video. I asked her (FB friends) and the first bottle that she shakes vigorously is half and half acetone and ATF. The other one is Butch's. The stuff that she works into the patch is IOSSO. Note how she pulls the brush back into the bore.