Cleaning Rod Guide & Chamber Cleaning?

[crewchef]

I know everyone has their own way and yes I've read a ton of different articles but still some questions. I've got a new custom rifle in the works and want to make darn sure I do things right from the start with this one.

I'm currently using a Dewey coated rod with Sinclair guide. Seems the most mentioned thing around rod guides is they should be a tight fit to the rod. How tight is tight? I slid the Dewey rod through my current guide last night and it's got some wiggle room, not huge gap but some. A new brush is fairly snug trying to push it through. Is there a better choice w/ tighter fit to ensure there's no rod flex? I do wipe the rod after every pass.

My other question is around proper cleaning of chamber area. I'm just totally at a loss here and not sure I've ever cleaned my chamber correctly so any input on this appreciated. Essentially what I've been doing is trying to wrap a patch around a chamber mop and using Hoppes and then follow up with another clean mop to dry. Patches around the mop aren't working so good. Current and new rifle are both .308. I've got a AR-15 chamber cleaning brush but don't think that type of brush is the kind of thing I want to put in my new Krieger barrel. I also have Sinclair lug cleaning setup and have been using it everytime I clean bore. Should I continue with that?

Thanks!

 

[BoydAllen]

Notable benchrest gunsmith, shooter, and Benchrest Hall of Fame member "Speedy" Gonzales once opined that any guide big enough to admit a brush at the back can't be doing much guiding, and primarily serves to keep solvent out of the action. I would suggest that you pick up one of the several guide designs that feature a separate bushing that stays on the rod, that centers the rod in the guide. As to chamber cleaning, I use a Sinclair chamber rod with a retired bore brush that is wrapped with a strip of paper towel torn from the side of a sheet so that it is about 2" wide at the top and 3" at the bottom. I wrap this on the brush so that it starts in front of the brush and is tapered, and larger than the chamber, folding it back on itself to increase the diameter of the wrap in the back half. I shove this forward in the chamber with some force and while maintaining the force, give it a couple of twists. Then I remove the rod, rewrap the brush, after reversing the strip of towelling, and do it again. After that I take a look down the barrel to make sure there are no stray bits of paper left in the bore. I tend to frown on bore mops for drying chambers, because they pick up lube that can be unintentionally reapplied their subsequent use, preferring the paper towel approach. I have used this method in all of my 6PPC barrels for years with no damage whatsoever. I have inspected them with a bore scope several times.

 

[artbosco]

I've got 4 Dewey Rods [2 for my 30BR], 5 Sinclair Rod Guides and a Lucas Rod Guide. I prefer the Sinclair.

I clean all my Krieger chambers and others with an appropriate sized bore mop, with a 3"X3" patch draped over it. I stays snug that way, using Lighter Fluid [got that from Speedy] as the cleaning agent. Works very well. I use Butch's Bore Shine, 7.62, and JB for the barrels.

I also use the Sinclair Lug Cleaning Kit. It's the right tool for the job.

If you want a tighter fit for the cleaning rod, within the rod guide, try the Lucas. But, be forewarned, with the Lucas, there's a couple more steps involve with its insert use.