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Cleaning - brushes, patches, etc.

MAG00

Sergeant
Full Member
Minuteman
Apr 9, 2012
209
6
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NE Texas
1. Does it make much of a difference you think to use a nylon brush instead of a typical brass brush? How important do you think the difference is?

2. How much of a difference does it make on the brand/material of your cleaning patches?

3. Has anybody had experience with Hoppes Elite solvent and oil? Thoughts on these products i.e. good, bad, etc.?
 
I've used Hoppes Elite Bore Gel and Elite Cleaner on my AR15 a lot. The bore gel has been very good vs powder and the elite cleaner has made cleaning the usual trouble spot on the back of the bolt go a lot quicker.
 
I use both bronze and nylon brushes. I like nylon for .25-.26 caliber and smaller because I find the bristles hold up longer. I find the bronze bristles flatten out quicker the shorter they are for the bore size. You would think they would be stiffer but that hasn't been my experience and I use pretty much all Dewey brand which is good stuff. For larger bore diameters I use bronze because it seems they clean the barrel up with fewer passes, nylons work too, I'm just lazy.

I've found patches make relatively no difference at all. I just use the hoppes brand ones in appropriate size in the bulk pack, you get a few years worth of patches for about $5/pack.

I've never used hoppes elite, but I used to use regular no.9 until I found better solvents, now thats solely used as cologne. My main stay is butches boreshine, it will clean the copper and carbon out of anything. If I have a lot of copper buildup and not much carbon I use M-Pro 7 copper solvent as its a lot less potent smelling and some say easier on the metal, it removes copper extremely well but sucks at taking out any sort of carbon. I'm sure hoppes elite works well, no. 9 does, I just have my preference and I know it works great so no reason to change.

IMO the most critical components is a quality ones piece rod and bore guide. I would worry about these long before I worry about whether my bore brush is nylon or bronze. It's important to have a rod that's not going to scratch your bore if it bends and makes contact as well as have a good bore guide. I would pick up a Sinclair guide and Dewey rod.
 
I like the cotton flannel patches from Sinclair , and also butches patches, they are a bit tighter fitting , I have tried "cheaper" patches over the years and feel the cotton flannel does a good job absorbing or applying the product
 
I used to use only bronze brushes. Then I was instructed by my rifle manufacturer to use only nylon. After changing my cleaning procedures, I found that the nylon works better than the bronze ones because I am forced to let the solvents and cleaners due the work. This is much easier on the barrel.

Do not forget to use a bore guide. This is VERY important if you are cleaning rifles. The throat of the rifle barrel will thank you for it.
 
After switching to bore-tech solvents, I no longer use brushes. Get some Eliminator (all in one) and C4 (carbon). For really tough copper CU+2. I use all 3 and they are fantastic. No smell except the C4 smells like oranges. Their Bore Stix rods are great to. I prefer Butch's triple twill patches, they are tough and won't frey.
 
Depending on what I'm using for a solvent/cleaner, I will or will not use a brush.

For quicker cleaning (i.e., not overnight), I prefer a bore foam, and brushes are not really part of my regimen with these cleaners.

For Liquid solvents, (Hoppe's original #9, or Butch's Bore Shine), I will use a nylon brush to ensure the solvent application reaches to the full depth of the rifling grooves. I don't use bronze brushes because they deteriorate in the presence of copper removers, and because experience with hard fouling deposits has left me with very little faith in the idea that a brush can mechanically dislodge such deposits in any meaningful way. IMHO, the solvent does the work, and only time can make it work better.

I try to use the largest and most absorbent patch that will reasonably fit into the bore. I figure more solvent in, and more dirty solvent out, the better. I don't use a jag, but prefer a long slotted tip, the longest and skinniest I can find, and stainless or plastic whenever possible. By avoiding bronze/brass/copper in the bore, I can be more confident that color evidence of a copper presence is accurate. By using the long, thin, non-cuprous implement, there is more room far a bigger patch.

Generally, I can manage to clean all my bores with Winchester brand white cotton patches from Wal-Mart, and only use .22 caliber patches for .22 caliber bores, and .30 caliber for all the rest of my bores (.264, .284, .308-311).

Greg
 
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I no longer use ammonia based cleaners in my rifles and have found the Bore Tech products do the job well. Mostly use Dewey nylon brushes but occasionally use a bronze one. My first step is to use the carbon remover and then the CU+2. AB Dick non woven cotton pads work great in lieu of patches when used with a Parker Hale style jag. As for bore guides, I would highly recommend Lucas.