CLEANING A 20 CALIBER RIFLE! QUICK QUESTION

[jonbearman]

I have a dewey rod with a dewey jag. Now for the problem,I am using 20 caliber patch's on the jag and it seize's up in the bore immediately.I am wondering what patch's you use for a .20.I used to use my 17 cal jag on a different coated rod,worked ok but not a dewey. The dewey measured .184 thou in diameter and the jag measured 184 with the tip being 164 thou in diameter.The patch is 7/8 th's of an inch square. Any suggestion's?

 

[areaone]

Have a Rem 700 in 204, shoots great and is a super PD rifle. I hardly ever shoot it tho, HATE to clean it. Have the same Dewey rod and jag, Have to soak the patches in Kroil and sovent to get them thru, or I can trim the patches even smaller, what a pain. Never ever know if the barrel is really clean. Also, my fingers are to bulky to hold those tiny 20 cal bullets for reloading, More of a project than enjoyment. Just stay with my 222 Rem or 223 AI and live with the outcome. Have no clue how those .17 shooters do it.
Got to be a labor of love.

 

[hogpatrol]

Jon, Did you try rolling the patch around the jag instead of pushing it through the center of the patch? I have to do that on my .17s even with the small 1/2" patches and depending on the jag diameter sometimes have to do it on my .20s.

 

[Ole]

I use a Pro-Shot .20 cal SS rod with a Pro-Shot .17 cal jag and Pro-Shot 6mm patches, works like a charm for me.

Tom

 

[Rick in Oregon]

All my .20 and .22 cal rifles use Dewey rods with Pro Shot spear-point jags SIZED TO THE CALIBER. Patches are Pro-Shot square 1-1/8" and work perfectly in .20 and 22 cal bores as long as you use a spear-point jag sized for the rifles caliber.

This method works for all 21 of my varmint rifles, from .17 to 6mm, and my game rifles from 6mm to .338. The "secret" is the spear-point jags with the patch stabbed in the middle. Forget the silly jags that you roll the patch onto....worthless and eventually a jag will contact your bore using that method.

 

[Multitoes]

You might try the 7/8 " round patches from Sinclair/Brownells.
They work great in my .17 barrel with a pro-shot .17 jag.
I have to offset them a bit for the first couple of patches until the fouling thins out ; or just pull a few strands off from the side of the patch to make them smaller.
These also work very well in .224 bores with the appropriate jag.

I have always found that round patches jam up less when cleaning.

 

[snowpro440]

Buy the gun slick brand jag , as you will see that they are a little longer and skinnier than most other brands such as tiptons. I use a gun slick brand for my .17 fireball , works well with the standard .17 patches were as tipton and dewey jag would not.

 

[jonbearman]

I put one on a dewey 20 cal jag and it wont even start with 7/8ths patches that are square.What is the difference with the pro-shot 20 cal jag?

 

[LHSmith]

All patches are not created equal...the Pro-Shot and Sinclair patches maintain a consistent material thickness, the bargain basement patches (Midway)- not so much. As was suggested, did you try spearing the patch in the corner vs. dead- center? Using a bore guide also helps.

 

[jonbearman]

I will try spearing off center and I just ordered their(proshot) jags as they have a way better design. Thanks for all the help everyone!

 

[jonbearman]

My order from proshot arrived and I am pleased with their rapid shipping,will do business with them again for just that reason.The jag's look way better. Rick in Oregon,thanks for that suggestion as now I can clean easier.

 

[SS427]

Had a similar problem with a 6mm Tipon jag and the patches I like to use. I measured the jag with my mirometer and put it in a drill chuck. Sanded off a few thousands at a time until it fit snuggly without undue pressure on the rod. Put some JB on a patch and polished it up nice and smooth. If I ever change patches it might need some more sanding or might be too loose, but jags are cheap and I have thousands of the patches I use.

 

[Jim Butler]

Patches, in my mind. are expensive and a throw away item. I buy as big a patch that I can find, and thru trial and error I have learned how to cut the large patches to fit my jags in 17 and 20 cal, (I cut some in 1/2" or 3/4" squares and others I cut into triangles, on my .17 I use a Qtip for putting Sweets in the bbl. break the Q in two, remove the jag and the Q will fit right in. sometimes I will put a patch over the Q to get a tighter fit, don't know if this is an approved method, but it seems to work for me Jim

 

[17VLD]

I have always used the Pro-Shot 1" round patches for all my .20's and have never had any trouble with them.
I do have trouble sometimes with square patches that are marked for 22-6mm in a 6mm though.
Matt

 

[Dvldawg]

I also use a Pro-Shot 20 cal. rod and jag and the designated 20 cal. patches that they offer and have never had a problem on any of my 20's.. 20 VT 20 Practical 20 BR

 

[searcher]

Cleaning my.20 with two different 7/8" patches - I noticed the Sinclair patches are a bit thinner than the pro-shot. Also, until I got a dedicated .20 rod, I used my .17 rod with two sinclair 7/8" patches on the jag or one pro-shot patch. Worked good and no hang-ups - just use more patches.