Video-will bronze bristle brushes harm a barrel?

[K22]

What about crown damage using bronze? I heard so many horror stories (about ruining a good barrel) when I first started shooting matches that I changed my routine. I only push a brush one direction- then unscrew and repeat, rather than have it exit and then pull it back toward the chamber. Is this still good, solid advice or just an old wives tale?
Dan

Semi wife's tale in my opinion.

First, you want to be careful dragging the brush back through the crown after it exits the muzzle. Meaning slowly pull it through the crown so the brush aligns with the bore. Of course, you should be using a quality rod guide at the breech. Also make sure the brush is not crooked in the rod. Using a square can help assist in assessing straightness of the brush inserted in the rod. Sometimes brushes come from the mfg. with a slight bend in them and need to be straightened.

Also, bronze brushes with brass cores will help prevent damage to the crown. I like the Dewey "no harm" brushes. Of course, the correct size for the bore you are cleaning.

I like the Dewey coated rods because they are a softer material that the bore / crown and won't damage either if it contacts those areas.

I've always pulled the brush back through the bore because I don't want to make the cleaning process any longer than necessary. Cleaning is painful enough for me, I don't want to extend the process. I've never detected any crown damage using this method.

However, if you have the time and inclination, certainly removing the brush won't hurt and may allow you sleep better at night.

 

[Doom]

What about crown damage using bronze? I heard so many horror stories (about ruining a good barrel) when I first started shooting matches that I changed my routine. I only push a brush one direction- then unscrew and repeat, rather than have it exit and then pull it back toward the chamber. Is this still good, solid advice or just an old wives tale?
Dan

While I cannot say for sure I believe this goes back to military rifles and the steel cleaning rods that were supplied with the rifles. The Garand was supplied with a steel rod and was cleaned from the muzzle, hence the muzzle erosion issue.

 

[rancher5]

No when used properly. , back brushing isn't going to hurt anything if your slow and methodical. IMOP , little common since goes a long way.

 

[dryhumor]

I’ve never had any issues with bronze brushes. I’m not one to pull it backward from the muzzle though.

A tidbit passed on to me was to use the bronze brushes to burnish an unfired barrel. While there is a dissimilar hardness, it’s likely that it would help at the transition between chamber and bore. I use one caliber larger brushes.

There is actually a lot of machining residue that shows up on alcohol patches after every 8-10 strokes.

Does it work? No idea, but I can afford the 15 minutes.

 

[dgeesaman]

I’ve worked with metal all my working life. As a mechanic, machinist, welder, I’m very familiar with metal and hardness. I need to understand metals and hardnesses every day in my job.
The only reason i say this is because I’ve read here a few times that a bronze brush will damage your barrel. And then there is the deadly Aluminum cleaning rod dragging down the barrel as you clean it with your bronze brush. Oh my the horror of this! Others say that you should only use a plastic brush and plastic rod only once in a while so they don’t damage their barrel.
Well folks don’t listen to these people that say this because it’s totally wrong. There is a great reason that the warriors of old in the Bronze Age won battles, because bronze was stronger than copper swords. When steel blades can around they sliced right though the bronze blades. Then better steels we’re made and the cheap steel blades were now inferior.
The same thing is with your barrel. Your barrel is made of some of the best steel today. Do you really think a bronze brush, or aluminum rod is going to damage it? To damage a steel barrel by cleaning you need a material that is harder than the barrel, and bronze or aluminum ain’t that metal.

I agree that bronze is fairly safe. I used them extensively.

Aluminum is a little less clear - the way aluminum dulls over time after you machine or grind it is caused by various oxides that form a very thin layer all over the aluminum surface. While the crystalline structure is not the same as aluminum oxide used in abrasives (carborundum), it’s not soft like the aluminum metal underneath. So that suggests coated cleaning rods are safer than pure aluminum. It’s not that simple though.

Coated rods collect dirt and dust much like a lapping plug. If something abrasive gets on the coating it can embed and abrade the bore. And it will stay embedded in the coating.

The good news is that a cleaning rod barely pushes on the bore, and by not using too tight of brush or patch the rod won’t bow and rub unnecessarily. And of course a good rod guide to keep it centered. Coated or not, centering and not bowing the rod is probably the most important thing.

 

[Capt. Oblivious]

Nylon brush is like alcohol free beer