Quick release bore brush

[Odawgpw/204]

Maybe im just a NEWBIE, I have been shooting and cleaning rifles for 15yrs now and have never heard this. if a brass brush is damaging my barrel crowns I can not tell one way or another. I'll buy a new brush when the 30cal fits in the 243 and the 243 fits the 22 and the 22 fits the 204 and when the 204 fits the 17 ect. then again I am NO exspert.

I have worked as an ironworker and can tell you that a brass brush or wire wheel is way softer than regular plain mild steel. mild steel will wear out a brass wire grinding wheel spining 9000rpms in 15 minutes. Or a brass tooth brush in about a week if i am really welding and cleaning my butt off.

[skipper]

Yes, brass is softer than steel but, friction is friction. Imporper cleaning methods have ruined many an otherwise good rifle. The crown is especially important to the accuracy of a rifle. If the crown and base of the bullet are in good shape the base of the bullet exits the crown square relative to the crown. The expanding gasses behind the bullet are vented evenly around the outside edge of the base without disturbing its flight. If the crown becomes damaged the gasses behind the bullet will start venting unevenly where the damage is, deflecting the base of the bullet as it exits. The deflection will disturb the flight of the bullet. This is why I don't care to pull the brush back through the bore. I'm afraid that the brush will dull the sharp edges of the crown and ruin accuracy.

Besides the brush dragging backwards over the sharp edge of the crown, the threaded end of the brush is sometimes a larger diameter than the cleaning rod. That difference in diameters will cause an edge where the brush screws into the end of the rod. That edge might get caught on the crown as the brush was pulled backward across the crown and cause a chip or gouge. Either way the accuracy of the barrel can be ruined.

Bowing the rod as it goes down the bore can abraid the sharp edges of the lands or the throat of the barrel. This is why you need a good bore guide when you clean your rifle. It seems that there are many ways to destroy a good rifle without even trying. Do yourself a favor and read some of the threads on this and other forums discussing cleaning techniques that work without damaging your rifle. You'll thank yourself later.

[Lyn]

So how do you guys feel about nylon brushes. Will they do the same thing to a crown?

[rogern]

In my humble opinion, nylon will not effectivly remove fouling, but to answer your question it wouldnt damage the bore/crown either.

So you end up with a fouled barrel and and an undamaged crown

[Hawkeye Joe]

I didn't care for the nylon brushes either.

[glenn asher]

Nylon is good if you're using some of the more aggressive solvents, like .50BMG or Shooter's Choice copper remover, or Sweets. Those solvents will ruin a brass brush, but not nylon. The nylon will help loosen up the copper while using the stronger solvents (actually, I think the nylon brushes just help areate the bore by moving the solvents around a little, I doubt they do any real good except moving the solvent around some). I DO use the nylon brushes for that purpose. I try not to use any brushes at all, though.

[Rick in Oregon]

Well said Glenn. I use nylon brushes too with copper solvent like CR-10 or Sweets after a few patches, as using a bronze brush with those solvents will just eat the brush in short order, and you'll never tell if you've still got copper in the bore, or residue from the brush you just destroyed.

As for damaging the crown, if you have your barrels crowned with the 60 degree brush entry bit that I mentioned earlier, no possible damage can occur. I'd know, as I've been specifying my crowns to be machined in that manner now for many years, and even under magnification, there is no wear or damage to the crowns to be seen at all from bronze brush re-entry. I think many make a big deal out of this. It it damaged the crown, I'd be the first NOT to bring the brush back down the bore, believe me.

[Hawkeye Joe]

I try not to use any brushes at all, though.

I tried that. Didn't work very well for me. Although I don't use strong solvents. Just Gunslick bore foam, Hoppe's Benchrest copper solvent and a brush.

[contender hunter]

Hey guys , Iv'e been away awhile , I saw this thread and was wondering if anybody heard of this -- I took my T/C 204 bbl. and my 7x30 bbl to a very well known barrel maker to have a look inside the bore to see how much copper was inside , there wasn't a bad build up and I thought everything was ok , well before I new what he was doing he had grabbed a pilot shaft slipped it inside the bore and ran a cutter over the pilot and taken a few quick turns leaving a perfect cut bevel on the crown !!! He explained that the factory crown was very ruff and that I wouldn't get any accuracy the way it was , it took about 30 seconds for him to do this and I was a little set back that he handled my baby so ruff , but it shoots great and all is good , is anyone familiar with this procedure ?? Had me a bit rattled at first , he didn't even charge me !! Do you guys agree with what he did ?

[skipper]

Sounds like you got your barrel re-crowned for cheap. If the crown is damaged re-cutting it can give new life to your gun.

[contender hunter]

Hey Skipper how you doing , I saw a pic of your custom 204 , was always wondering how it turned out , That was quite a project and I no you enjoyed every minute of it . I'd like to see some of your targets some time , you probably have it shooting into one hole by now !!!

I thought most crowning work was done with a lathe , this was just a simple hand tool that put a nice bevel on the end of the bore , I didn't get a good look at it but I think it resembled the cutter thats on the end of most case mouth deburring tools .

Hey Rick how you doing , man it seems like I have been away for 10 years!!! Did you guys put a dent in the p-dogs this summer !!! Man I'd love to get out there some day , to bad its so far !!!!!

[Rick in Oregon]

ch: Welcome back! First off, 'yes' that is a quick and easy way to touch up a crown, as long as you have the proper tool. Another way is to use a blackpowder round ball of a suitable size to the bore, put some JB or valve lapping compound on it, and work it into the crown using hand pressure in a circular, lapping motion. This removes small imperfections or burrs, and can also restore accuracy. For 20, and 22 bore size, a .36 caliber lead ball works well. Quick, easy, and no lathe required.

The 2007 rat season was a good one for us. We hammered Skippy and his pals here in Oregon, and Northern California, but did not venture to the PD states. The shooting is actually better here, more cooperative (read: stupid) targets, and with the price of fuel these days, much cheaper and less driving involved, which translates into more shooting.

Here's a shot of my crew shooting from our rancher's flatbed semi-trailer he set up for us to get some elevation above the alfalfa to better see Skippy at long range. It worked great, and gave a nice stable platform to set up our benches for precise work past 300 yards.



This shot is from our California adventure, showing the firing line one day. We shot from just after dawn until almost 8:00 pm, and never ran out of targets. A guy could melt a barrel in such conditions. This particular day, there was almost zero wind, and shots out past 500 yards was possible with our 204's, 223's, and 223 Improved. We even had good shooting with our rimfire handguns and 17 HMR's because of lack of wind; a great shoot to remember.



Everybody had a great season, except for Skippy of course (below). But I suppose a quick demise via a speeding varmint bullet beats an agonizing three day death down in the burrow from poison, right? The only thing I can say is......"is it spring yet?"



It's good to see you back again, don't be a stranger.

[futuretrades]

hey rick, your 2nd picture looks like 1 of the alfalfa fields we shoot in california. was that picture taken in california?
just curious!

[contender hunter]

Rick , Thanks for the update !!! Nice shot of the firing line , Looks like those pesky little critters are in trouble when you guys roll in . Looks like really nice country , your lucky to be so close to a critter rich area !!!!!

Skipper , if you have time, how about a pic of the 204 panda and a target !!!

[skipper]

contender hunter

It's good to have you back. I did get the rifle finished and she's a beauty. I drove all the way to Fort Worth to pick it up. That was the most anxious four hours I've spent in a long time. Here's a couple of picture of her and here's some of my best targets to date. I didn't fair so well in our Postal Shoot. Oh well, I've got a dozen good excuses why I shot so poorly and they all stink. I just couldn't manage to put it together that day. Hawkeye took home the top honors and Robert Harrell shot a really small group. Those two had better watch out 'cause I'm gunnin' for 'em the next shoot. You just have to sign up. Watch for the Postal Shoot.

Here is a picture of her at Speedy Gonzales' shop the day I picked it up. Sorry about the 1 megapixel camera.





Here is a different angle.



Here is a picture of her with a better camera.



Here are the best groups I've managed with her. I have these mounted on the wall of my garage where my reloading bench is. You need to get you a tight neck rifle you can jam the bullets into the lands with. It sure makes a difference.