Kelly Green
Member
I have been involved in the shooting sports for five decades but after all that time I don’t claim to be an authority on all things firearm related. I’m sure that there will be some here who will disagree with my comments. The following is entirely my view.
I thought about cleaning patches recently after talking with a young fellow who was new to the shooting sports. He asked which patches were best to clean his new 9mm.
I believe that the lowly cleaning patch is the most overlooked item in the gun maintenance arsenal. Most commercial patches are sold with the claim that one size fits several different calibers. Technically this may be true but the one patch fits many is not a very effective cleaning method. We shoot a specific sized bullet down a specific sized bore and then we’re content to push or pull a close enough patch through it.
A patch that works well on one caliber may not be suitable for another caliber. Use a patch that is too big, or too tight, and you risk getting it stuck in the bore; too small, or too loose, and you risk not entirely removing all traces of fouling.
Another area of confusion is the fabric itself: synthetic, cotton, twill and other materials are sold for use as patches. These fabrics come in different weaves of different thicknesses. All of these characteristics affect the patches ability to retain or disperse cleaning solvents and oils and affects the patches ability to grab, hold and remove fouling. Those commercially sold synthetic patches, in my opinion, are worthless for cleaning. They are good for polishing though. The best patches are made form 100% cotton.
Then there is the choice of round patches or square patches. I have never seen the advantage of one over the other.
The device that holds the patch as it does its work is another factor to consider. There is the slotted type patch holder and the jag. Jags come in specific caliber sizes and are made of brass, nickel-plated brass, aluminum, polymer and nylon. The only time I use a slotted patch holder is for the first pass through the bore, with a solvent saturated patch, to remove the larger and loser bits of fouling. That first patch should never be pulled back through the bore. Personally, I don’t like the idea of pushing a metal patch holder or jag through my bore, so I rely on the nylon or polymer type. A metal slotted patch holder can accidentally scrape against the lands.
I’ve found that jags in a specific caliber differ slightly in diameter depending upon the manufacturer. Matching patch to jag to bore is vital and can only be accomplished through the process of trial and error. With the patch centered over the jag, it should fit tightly enough in the bore to provide some resistance when pushed. A tighter patch can be used if it is being pulling through the bore as opposed to pushing. A tight patch will get down into the grooves, deposit solvent and remove the fouling. The patch should be large enough to entirely cover the working area of the jag with a little extra material left to follow and sweep up behind. If a seriously fouled bore is encountered, a patch wrapped tightly around a nylon bore brush and saturated with solvent works very well.
I quit buying commercially produced patches years ago and began cutting my own from 100% unbleached single nap or double nap cotton flannel, depending upon the caliber I want to clean. This fabric is a course, open weave material that holds and distributes oils and solvents very well and aggressively grabs hold of fouling. Purchased at the discount fabric store, it is cheaper than commercially sold patches and I know exactly how large to cut my squares for each caliber and jag, again through the process of trial and error. One note, it’s best to machine wash and dry the material before cutting.
I’m sure there are those who will argue that the bore snake is the end all for cleaning. I disagree. Bore snakes are good at removing the large and loose fouling but in my experience tend to leave the small microscopic stuff behind. I had the chance to use a bore snakes on different firearms with pretty much the same results. My Winchester .22 pump action rifle is one example. As we all know, the .22 rimfire is a dirty cartridge. After using the snake, the bore looked clean and shiny. Followed up with a correctly sized patch and jag I was able to remove fouling that the bore snake had left behind.
I thought about cleaning patches recently after talking with a young fellow who was new to the shooting sports. He asked which patches were best to clean his new 9mm.
I believe that the lowly cleaning patch is the most overlooked item in the gun maintenance arsenal. Most commercial patches are sold with the claim that one size fits several different calibers. Technically this may be true but the one patch fits many is not a very effective cleaning method. We shoot a specific sized bullet down a specific sized bore and then we’re content to push or pull a close enough patch through it.
A patch that works well on one caliber may not be suitable for another caliber. Use a patch that is too big, or too tight, and you risk getting it stuck in the bore; too small, or too loose, and you risk not entirely removing all traces of fouling.
Another area of confusion is the fabric itself: synthetic, cotton, twill and other materials are sold for use as patches. These fabrics come in different weaves of different thicknesses. All of these characteristics affect the patches ability to retain or disperse cleaning solvents and oils and affects the patches ability to grab, hold and remove fouling. Those commercially sold synthetic patches, in my opinion, are worthless for cleaning. They are good for polishing though. The best patches are made form 100% cotton.
Then there is the choice of round patches or square patches. I have never seen the advantage of one over the other.
The device that holds the patch as it does its work is another factor to consider. There is the slotted type patch holder and the jag. Jags come in specific caliber sizes and are made of brass, nickel-plated brass, aluminum, polymer and nylon. The only time I use a slotted patch holder is for the first pass through the bore, with a solvent saturated patch, to remove the larger and loser bits of fouling. That first patch should never be pulled back through the bore. Personally, I don’t like the idea of pushing a metal patch holder or jag through my bore, so I rely on the nylon or polymer type. A metal slotted patch holder can accidentally scrape against the lands.
I’ve found that jags in a specific caliber differ slightly in diameter depending upon the manufacturer. Matching patch to jag to bore is vital and can only be accomplished through the process of trial and error. With the patch centered over the jag, it should fit tightly enough in the bore to provide some resistance when pushed. A tighter patch can be used if it is being pulling through the bore as opposed to pushing. A tight patch will get down into the grooves, deposit solvent and remove the fouling. The patch should be large enough to entirely cover the working area of the jag with a little extra material left to follow and sweep up behind. If a seriously fouled bore is encountered, a patch wrapped tightly around a nylon bore brush and saturated with solvent works very well.
I quit buying commercially produced patches years ago and began cutting my own from 100% unbleached single nap or double nap cotton flannel, depending upon the caliber I want to clean. This fabric is a course, open weave material that holds and distributes oils and solvents very well and aggressively grabs hold of fouling. Purchased at the discount fabric store, it is cheaper than commercially sold patches and I know exactly how large to cut my squares for each caliber and jag, again through the process of trial and error. One note, it’s best to machine wash and dry the material before cutting.
I’m sure there are those who will argue that the bore snake is the end all for cleaning. I disagree. Bore snakes are good at removing the large and loose fouling but in my experience tend to leave the small microscopic stuff behind. I had the chance to use a bore snakes on different firearms with pretty much the same results. My Winchester .22 pump action rifle is one example. As we all know, the .22 rimfire is a dirty cartridge. After using the snake, the bore looked clean and shiny. Followed up with a correctly sized patch and jag I was able to remove fouling that the bore snake had left behind.
