I've heard on here about CR10 eating brass brushes and now I've seen it first hand. I've gone through two brushes for my 25/06 on my first bottle. The diametre gets smaller with every cleaning.

Brass brushes are all thats available where I am. What should I get my shop to order me so I don't have to replace so many brushes?

I use synthetic brushes for ammonia based cleaners - as stiff as possible, preferably. I wrap the brush with a patch soaked with the cleaner - you need a tightish fit in the bore.

You can get synthetic brushes from many of the web-based reloading supply houses, Midsouth springs to mind. I seem to remember that Hoppe's make stiff synthetic brushes?? Brownell's also has very good synthetic brushes, they are not quite as stiff as the Hoppe's, but otherwise of better quality.

- mike

[ 05-02-2003, 12:03: Message edited by: mho ]

Nylon brushes work very well as mho stated. I also use bore mops available from Sinclair.

If you have a heavily fouled bore, the trick with CR-10, Sweets, or Montana X-Treme (my favorite) is to scrub the bore with a bronze brush and Hoppe's or Butch's to remove powder fouling and expose the copper fouling. Patch out the powder solvent and then hit the bore with the copper solvent and a nylon brush/bore mop.

Always flood out any remaining copper solvent with lots of oil patches. Protect the bore with a quality preservative when storing. I use Butch�s gun oil and store the rifle muzzle down for a few days to ensure nothing migrates back into the action/magazine.

I have good success when using Barnes CR-10 by using the nylon brushes available from Sinclair International. They work quite well and the CR-10 does not attack them like it does the bronze brushes.

R F

When you get a nylon brush, get one calbre larger. That CR-10 is aggressive stuff, but it allows you to clean things up pretty fast. Mine usually takes 7 patches after a long day at the range.

Turok

Like Zero Drift, I always get the powder fouling out first. I use a mixture of Shooters Choice and Kroil for that and then I'm ready to get after the copper. I use a bore mop (or swab if you want to call it that) to apply CR-10. A patch will not hold nearly as much and a lot is squeezed out as the patch enters the bore. A bore mop, even the cheap ones you get at Walmart, seem to do a much better job of applying CR-10. I usually run it back and forth in the bore a few times.

After applying the CR-10 with the mop and letting it sit 5 or 10 minutes, I then apply it to a nylon brush and scrub the bore a few times. Then I wait a few more minutes and patch that out, checking for blue coloration on the patch of course. If the patch comes out blue I start over with the procedure and continue applying CR-10 until I don't have any blue on the patches.

After that, you need to get the CR-10 out of the bore as best as possible. I run 3 or 4 patches (100% cotton flannel, of course) down the bore. Then I usually apply some Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber, which is an alcohol, to a patch and run that down the bore. I follow that up with a couple patches of Butch's gun oil. It's very important to oil the bore good after using CR-10 and Gun Scrubber.

One more thing I do is to use a chamber mop (or sometimes an oversized patch on a plastic loop style jag) to get out any of these solvents that might have leaked back into the chamber. Then I apply some oil to the chamber. Before taking the gun out again, however, I always remember to remove any excess oil from the bore and chamber.

[ 05-03-2003, 00:58: Message edited by: Delta Hunter ]

Case neck brushes work very well and they are cheap. They are not as stiff as the bronze, so you might want to get a .30 cal for a 7mm rifle etc.

Barnes CR-10 and Sweets are also good for removing unwanted nose hair. God but that stuff is strong. I just ordered some nylon brushes from Sinclair. Midway will probably carry them also but I'm not certain. I think the important thing to remember is that we're dealing in layers. We may get much of the copper out only to discover there is more buried in the barrel. Every so often I'll do a number on the barrel with JB Compound between applications of copper remover. When finished with the ammonia solvents, I make sure the barrel is well oiled to ensure against damage, and stand it barrel down for a couple of days. Best wishes.

Cal - Montreal

Hey boilerroom, I use both brass brushes and the Synthetic brushes, both have their uses.

Here is what I do to extend the life of my Brushes. As soon as I remove the Brass(or Synthetic - force of habit) Brush from the barrel, I spray it clean with the cheapest Brake Cleaner or Carb Cleaner I can find. I do it before it even comes off the cleaning rod. Works great!

I ran a short test on the various El Cheapo Brake/Carb Cleaners using spent 22LR cases in small jars with lids. Put in a case, sprayed enough in to have the case completely covered in liquid and let them set. Checked every week or so for 3 months and saw no change in the cases. But you might want to try whatever kind you get.

Much, much cheaper than Gun Scrubber. And it even rips the finish off some Termite Food Stocks. So, do be careful where you go spraying it.