Cleaning Tips and Tricks

[Fang]

While cleaning some guns, it occurred to me that my cleaning regimen includes a bunch of little time- and effort-saving tricks that I had to figure out on my own, and I'm certainly not alone in this regard. Therefore, let's share our shortcuts and nifty pet techniques for taking a gun from filthy to spotless.

Jags

These are the little plugs of brass that fit atop a standard cleaning rod. A patch is placed atop the jag and then shoved down the bore. The jag pushes the patch against the barrel walls, wiping off solvent and fouling with great force. Jags accelerate and enhance cleaning so much that once you start using them you'll wonder how you ever survived without.

It should be noted that .44 caliber handguns (e.g. .44 Special and Magnum) use a slightly smaller jag than .45 caliber guns (.45 ACP, Colt, etc.). While brushes can be used interchangeably due to the springy bristles, the jag is unyielding enough to make one sized for .452" bores far too tight for the .429" diameter bore used for .44 Special and Magnum.

However, this difference can come in handy. When cleaning a .44 revolver, a patch atop a .45 jag works great for mopping out the chambers.


Bronze Brushes

For areas where the finish doesn't matter too much, bronze or brass bristled scrub brushes and some solvent are second to none. Bronze bristles make nylon brushes 1ook like wet spaghetti noodles, while remaining much softer than handgun metals and therefore safe to scrub with. In fact, you can see a residue of bronze rubbing off the bristles onto the harder gunmetal surface. (It wipes right off.)

Where bronze brushes really come into their own is removing carbon rings from revolvers' cylinder faces. No more hours of labor with nylon brushes or icky lead wipe: A little solvent sprayed on to soak and some vigorous work with the brush takes it right off. (I avoid doing this on blued, parked, or highly-polished surfaces as it does tend to wear the finish slightly.)


Fun with Incorrect Brush Sizes

It's boring restricting one's self to only appropriately-sized brushes when a little iconclastic behavior can enhance the cleaning experience so much. Generally, it's a good idea to stick with the right size brush, as the bristles are sized to bend just enough to scrape with maximum effectiveness. However, there are times when using a brush in a way it's not intended can pay huge dividends.

Take revolver chambers: These can get pretty nasty (especially if you shoot shorter cartridges that leave carbon rings), but the standard bore brush is too undersized to clean effectively. However, by going up one bore diameter in brushes (e.g. .38/.357 to .40, .44 to .480, etc.), you get a brush that can be forced into the chamber with a screwing motion, scouring out the carbon.

Then there are .410 shotgun brushes. These things are long and heavy-duty, which makes them second to none for really scraping out recalcitrant fouling from a .45 ACP or Colt barrel--provided you don't mind using a lot of force. They also work very well on .44 Magnum chambers.

[Scarecrow411]

Boresnakes, q-tips, dental picks (or "probes" if you find them at a hardware store.) Also, clean your bronze brushes! Dip them in some hoppes and then wipe them off on a rag. Repeat until the brushes wipe clean.

[Clinotus]

I mentioned this in another cleaning thread but will agree that q-tips and toothpicks with go a long way with a good cleaning.

[Bob La]

I use bamboo skewers for pushing patches thru my Buckmark.
No scratchy barrel.

[Fang]

I use bamboo skewers for pushing patches thru my Buckmark.
No scratchy barrel.

That's a really good idea, and reminds me of something I've been meaning to post for a while: Take a length of weed whacker cord and use a lighter to fuse one end into a little ball. Take a couple .22 patches and poke a hole in the center, then thread them onto the cord and use it as a pull-through for .22 rifle barrels.

[Fang]

Yet another set of cleaning tricks I recently discovered. This set's theme is Death to Lint.

Microfiber Towels

These are the towels normally sold in automative stores for lint-free cleaning. Well, the neat part about being lint-free is that it allows wiping oil over large areas without also applying unsightly bits of lint, a common problem when using shop towels or even rags to oil the finish on a gun.


Flux Brushes

These are the inexpensive brushes with the tubular metal handles sold in the same area of the hardware store where you get your soldering gear. I use these to brush on grease. It's a good upgrade from q-tips, which like to leave bits of themselves behind in the action.

[Fang]

And now, time for a question: How often and thoroughly would you clean your rifle in this situation?

I shoot my M1A primary at high power rifle matches, which I attend at most once a month. High Power matches use 56 rounds, so I end up shooting about 50 round a month through this gun. It occurred to me that cleaning after such a small round count might be a bit excessive, but I could also see how leaving fouling in a match barrel could be considered A Bad Thing. What sort of cleaning regimen would you follow if this were your gun?

[Clinotus]

And now, time for a question: How often and thoroughly would you clean your rifle in this situation?

I shoot my M1A primary at high power rifle matches, which I attend at most once a month. High Power matches use 56 rounds, so I end up shooting about 50 round a month through this gun. It occurred to me that cleaning after such a small round count might be a bit excessive, but I could also see how leaving fouling in a match barrel could be considered A Bad Thing. What sort of cleaning regimen would you follow if this were your gun?

This is interesting as for a casual approach shooting just 50 rounds pretty much in my book equates to a non cleaning, except for my carry firearm. But in following the logic that the most depended on firearms must maintain operational status above and beyond normal to ensure extreme performance™. I would go ahead with the cleaning after each use.