I finally got tired of never finding any 9mm ammo (except some no-name junk at sky high prices) so I decided to take advantage of the good price currently available on the SD40VE and buy one. (I've owned a M&P VTAC in .40 before, but when I sold it I threw in the brushes with it.) Now, in the logic of the times we live in, I can find .40 ammo in the local shops (even Wal-Mart) but no .40 caliber cleaning brushes. I can find 9mm cleaning brushes but no 9mm ammo.

I know I can order brushes online, but I want to wait until I have some more items to order, since it makes no sense to pay shipping for a few brushes. I have .45 caliber brushes on hand that I've used...and some new ones that are labeled .44/.45 on the package.

Any reason I can't use the .45 brushes until I can order some .40 caliber specific brushes?

I use them all the time in my 40 cal. Never had any problems.Seems to clean the bore better.

Nope, they work fine. They may curl/wear faster, but shouldn't have any adverse effects on your barrel.

Sent from somewhere between the Ohio territory & the neutral zone.

Thanks for the replies! I didn't figure it would really hurt anything, since the bristles will compress, and the diameter of the wire part is much less than the barrel. Never hurts to ask, though, as long as you don't mind people knowing what you don't know!

I've bought brushes packaged in ".40/10mm" packages that were actually marked 45 on the shank when I took them out.

I think that this happened with me with Hoppes branded bronze brushes.

Although I don't own a 40, I do use this size brush to the chambers on my 357 magnums. A 45 brush works great in this role too!

My 45 brushes are tight in my 45's. I don't know how you guys use them in a 40. Unless you mean nylon brushes maybe.