I have 2 M70 Classic Safari Express rifles in 416 Rem Mag and plan to rebarrel one of them to 470 Capstick. I have had no problem locating bullets, brass, reloading dies and loading data. But, I cannot locate any cleaning jags or bronze brushes larger than 45 cal, except for shotgun brushes and 480 pistol brushes. Does anyone have a source for these items?? If not, what do you use to clean your bore??

Plenty-o-Patches out of Saskatchewan makes them. I just bought a .50 Cal brush from them, through Russell Sports (www.russellsports.com).

There is probably an easier source in the US, however.

Canuck

David,
I have been using Wipe-Out and plastic (nylon) bristle brushes or Jags for .458" bores.

I put a large patch over the plastic bristle brush and it makes a snug fit to patch out the Wipe-Out foam after it has done all the work.

With Wipe-Out, they clean up to virgin. I have been forgetting to look for the .475" jag and brush, since I don't need it. Thanks for reminding me to look.

Nothing works better than Wipe-Out. They ought to call it Whip-Out, since it allows one to avoid the flogging suffered otherwise in barrel cleaning chores. Best thing since sliced sex, er, bread.

Thanks for the info. I found some bronze brushes for 480 Ruger pistols and those bores are .475 so that would probably work. I was also thinking that 28ga shotgun brushes might be pretty close to the correct size. Dewey makes a shotgun brush adapter for thier cleaning rods for just a few $$. Now if I could only find a pistol jag for one of those large pistol calibers like 475 Linbaugh or 480 Ruger, that would work.

I haven't tried wipeout yet, but I have some one the way. I should have it early next week.

David,
The 28 guage brush is a good fit for 50 BMG or other .510" bores. The 28 guage Bore Snake is what Armalite sends with the AR-50, along with a couple of tablets of Tylenol and ear plugs. Really, they have a sense of humor too.

David,
My experience agrees with Dagga's, once you get the Wipeout you will need your brushes a lot less often,
Ron

Hi David,

I used 458 nylon brushes and jags to clean my 470 NE. That was before I started using Wipeout. I hardly EVER brush anything anymore--the Wipeout is just too good! If you haven't tried some of it you are cheating yourself out of a really clean bore and a lot of time! Good luck with your 470 Capstick--I think that is a heck of a cartridge and the brass won't cause you to have to get a 2nd mortgage on the house! Oh yeah, just get a trimmer pilot for the 480 Ruger to trim your cases with!

Good Hunting,

[ 09-01-2002, 21:38: Message edited by: ACRecurve ]

ACRecurve

Thanks for the info. Did you have to double up on the patches to get a good fit in the barrel when using the 45 cal jags?? I would think the 45 cal brushes would be pretty loose in the bore.

David,

I used some heavy duty patches that I got from Brownell's but I usually doubled them just to get a good tight fit. The 45 cal brushes are a bit loose but that point became moot when I began to use Wipeout.

Good Hunting,

I just tried making my own jag for 470 starting with a 50 cal jag. I made several measurements of jags of various calibers 375 and above. I found that most jags are about .050 smaller in diameter than the bore (not groove) diamater. So I took the 50 cal jag and chucked it in my drill press, started the jag spinning and carefully with a file, reduced the diameter to .420 inch. Since I don't have a 470 barrel yet to test with, I used a new case in place of a barrel, and with a 2 1/4 square patch, the fit seems pretty good.

It will be about 3 or more months before I have my rifle completed and can test this jag out, but if it's too large, I'll just make it smaller, if I took too much off, oh well, it was only $3. I can buy another 50 cal jag and start over.

David,
Good idea! I will do the same if need be. I have made .416 case trimming pilots similarly from .430"/44 pilots before I found the proper sized ones. I have been using the 28 guage nylon bristle brushes too, and that is a very snug fit with a patch over it, for pusing Wipe-Out out of .475 barrels. The soft nylon bristles are harmless and easy to shove along. Sure glad I found out about Whip-Out.