I've been wondering if the use of a bore brush can damage the bore of a rifle? I'm not talking about a stainless steel bore brush but one of the standard bronze brushes.

The brush itself shouldn't be able to damage your barrel but there are two areas where you need to be careful....keep the brush clean as dirt, grit etc WILL scratch your bore...the other is when your brush exits the muzzle you have an excellent chance to mess up and cause some uneven wear...many shooters rotate their brush a bit before they pull it back into the bore. For me, I don't ever pull a "dirty" brush back thru the bore...I unscrew it and put the jag back on.

jayloar - Precision Shooting Magazine has shown microscopic "damage" caused by bronze brushes. �Damage� is a relative term. You can see the marks that a bronze brush can leave behind. Brushes can be particularly hard on the crown of the muzzle as you draw the brush back down the bore. Does this harm the barrel - not at all. Can over cleaning lead to premature barrel wear - absolutely. Bore guides, good solvents, and coated rods all help to reducing potential cleaning damage.

Improper cleaning is the leading cause of barrel damage. Many folks rely on the brush too much. Brushes are great for removing powder fouling, however, chemical solvents should be used to remove copper fouling. I generally only make 5 passes or less with a bronze brush. Everything else is either a solvent patch, nylon brush, or bore mop.

Most premium barrels simply do not require much brushing, if at all. I have several Krieger barrels that quickly clean up with a few patches of Butches Bore Shine. They have never seen a brush before. Rougher factory barrels do need a brush to dislodge stubborn fouling.

Are there any copper solvents out there that don't eat up bronze brushes?

DB, sorry, but that really sounds "anal"!

I occasionally clean my brushes by shaking them in an old RIG grease container with a gun oil.

The duty of the brush is it gets in the edges of the grooves for quick and thorough cleaning. I hardly use brushes ( except good bristle brushes with bronze cores with loop on end ) anymore. I use Hoppe�s #9 and lots of time and patches ...

I hardly use a solvent that not definitely says: " may be left overnight or for longer in bore. "Or " will prevent rust". O.k., it will take more time, but it wont etch my barrels.

The quickest way to do damage to a barrel with a brush are:

reverse direction with brush in bore

use SS brushes

As long as you think about what you do and don�t use excessive force, you do it right. Hermann

Every time the brush comes out of the barrel it gets squirted with some brake cleaner and everytime the rod comes out I wipe it with a paper towel that I squirted with brake cleaner. I try to be very careful when cleaning a barrel as I've seen way too many shooters abushing their barrels by the way they cleaned them and then complain when accuracy dropped off.

I also go thru a lot of brushes as I won't use them after they have become worn...I like them tight in the bore if I'm going to use them.

P.S. I wear a belt and suspenders when I hunt...can't be too careful.

[ 07-22-2002, 23:51: Message edited by: DB Bill ]

Try Wipe-Out bore cleaner. No brushes or abrasives needed. I just tried it and was very impressed. Used it in a bunch of different guns - good stuff!

Bill - Be careful with the brake cleaner. The stuff is absorbed through the skin and a little tough on the ole liver. It�s a lot more fun to damage your liver with scotch.

[ 07-23-2002, 08:18: Message edited by: Zero Drift ]

I picked up my 270 with a custom barrel from the gunsmith in Colorado the day before yesterday. I asked him about cleaning. He shuddered at brushes other than nylon to spread the solvent. Patched only he told me.

One other thing he said. NEVER MIX CLEANING SOLVENTS. Mixing some of them creates a quick acting corrosive. He said he expiremented with some of them. Mixed they would corrode in a matter of seconds. I can't remember which mix he said was lethal to bores.

He also said he was a believer in breaking in a new bore. The guy is a shooting champion and should know what he's talking about.