Brass Cleaning Rods

[CCantu357]

I remember always being told and read to use brass rods when cleaning gun, especially if the gun was not stainless. Aluminum and stainless rods are not good for the barrel. But now I see many articles that mentions brass is one of the worst cleaning rods a person can use. Is this bunk, or did I miss some anti-brass revolution at some point?

 

[scooter123]

I don't know anything about an "anti brass" revolution. But after finding how "tight" the 223 is in regards to patching the barrel I went looking for something better than those multi section cleaning rods so common today.

What I found was the Tipton Carbon Fiber Cleaning Rod. They are NOT cheap by any stretch, currently they are on sale at Midway for 26.99 which is a real bargain compared to the 39.99 normal price. However, Tipton makes these as one piece cleaning rods in a variety of lengths, they make them specific to a range of calibers down to 0.17, and all feature a ball bearing mounted handle that allows the rod to spin freely so the jag doesn't work loose. All in all it's a superb product worth every penny spent on one even when you pay full price like I did.

 

[chief38]

I use a Dewey Brass Cleaning Rod ONLY on Shotguns. The large diameter of a 12 Gauge smooth barrel will not chip or scrape any particles of Brass from the rod. The rod is also soft enough that no harm to the Chromed barrel will ever occur.

For rifles and pistols my rods of choice are Dewey Stainless Steel. I would not use Brass or Aluminum as the would be scratched and chipped from the rifling. I do not like the coated rods because after a while the coating does get scratched, chipped and actually picks up more crud and dirt which is going back and forth through the barrel of the gun causing harm. The stainless is very smooth, hard and will not chip or scratch easily. It does not collect crud and dirt. If properly used, they will never harm your firearm. If in the unlikely event a stainless rod is scratched, a couple of strokes with 600 - 1000 grit emory will fix it right up.

Do NOT use a segmented rod of ANY material! The joints are where the problems lie as they come loose and never quite come together perfectly. Segmented rods have probably ruined more barrels than any other type of cleaning rods.

Cleaning a gun is just like other things in life - a technique must be mastered and when using my Stainless Steel Dewey Rods, they hardly touch the rifling at all (proper diameter rods always used). When I clean target quality .22 rifles I use a .17 caliber rod. Again, a technique must be developed and no harm has ever come to any of my firearms. You would be surprised how straight and friction-free a rod can be pushed and pulled through a bore with some practice.

I have not yet tried any of the Tipton Carbon Fiber Rods and so I can not comment on them. Many who own them swear by them. Because my Dewey Rods have performed so well for so long I've never even given thought to buying any of the Tiptons.

 

[MichiganScott]

I use one piece stainless steel or Tipton carbon fiber in my rifles and one piece brass in my pistols. It is important to note that I use a bore guide in the rifles and a muzzle protector in my pistols.

I'm not anal about cleaning the barrel every time I shoot. I have a Model 28 that has had tens of thousands of rounds down the tube since it was purchased used in 1972. Aside from some spitting at the forcing one, it still shoots as well as it ever did.

Grit does not imbed in stainless or carbon fiber. It will imbed in brass, but it's very easy to keep the rod from touching the muzzle.

 

[-db-]

The cleaning rod debate is funny. There are guys who will tell you aluminum and brass or any of the rubber/plastic-coated rods are no good because these softer materials pick up grit which will damage the bore and other guys will tell you steel, stainless or otherwise, rods are also no good because they're too hard and will also scratch the bore, so apparently the only good cleaning rod is one made of the same exact material the barrel is made of, one that's not so soft it will pick up abrasive debris and not so hard as to scratch the barrel. Good luck finding one of those.

 

[armorer951]

caution - cleaning rant

The most important thing about your cleaning rod of choice is that YOU USE IT.

From an armorer's perspective, I can't tell you the number of times over the last 40 years I've had to actually clean a firearm before I could even run a safety/function check or evaluate it for a perceived problem. Most of the problems and reliability issues with mechanical devices, including firearms, can be traced to one thing.....ok two things.....user neglect and/or abuse.
It's always amazed me that officers and civilians who depend on their firearms to always function, whether at the range or in potential life threatening events, don't take care of them.
Spend a little money and time to take good care of your firearms......your life may depend on it.

end of rant

 

[CCantu357]

Thanks for all the replies. I think I'll stick with a good old-school brass rod and bore guide, at least for my blue guns, and maybe get a coated rod down the line. My friends pick on me on how much I clean my clean guns, but it is something instilled in my from a young age. My grandfather would do a full on police roll call inspection whenever I cleaned the guns after we spent a day at the range.

 

[LittleCooner]

Since you are using bore guides and cleaning a lot, sounds like you are taking care of your guns and not creating damage with the rods. Old bench rest shooter here, so yes, I would be considered a nut on keeping bore clean. I have coated, stainless steel and one brass rod. Mostly use the coated rods.

If one uses a bore guide, a rag to keep the surface of the rod clean and its a one piece rod, I do not think any one rod has any advantage over another rod. Its all about not damaging the beginning and end of the rifling in the bore, yet keeping copper, lead and powder residue out of the bore so it keeps shooting to peak accuracy.

 

[Bozz10mm]

I don't see how a brass or aluminum rod is going to cause any more damage to the barrel than the next round you fire. Rule of thumb is to always clean from the bore to the muzzle. With many firearms, that is not possible using a rod. That's where something like the Otis cable systems comes in handy.

 

[chief38]

More important than what material the rod is made of is that you DO NOT USE a segmented screw together rod of any material!! I have an old Outers segmented aluminum rod in my possibles bag that I always have when hunting or camping but ONLY for emergency purposes and have not actually used it in over 30 years. I only have it in the bag in the unlikely event that I and all my Hunting Bud's forget the Dewey one piece rods which we all use.

 

[ModernRifle]

One of the thoughts on 'softer' rods, such as brass or aluminum, is that it picks up debris during the cleaning process. If the debris embed the rod, then you have a file or rasp.

Since I shoot modern ammunition, I usually run patches on a loop, soaked with CLP... I don't scrub.. no need to.

 

[armorer951]

cleaning

Alas.... I've been cleaning my guns wrong all these years. Been using segmented, brass cleaning rods, and other horrible things like Hoppes, brass brushes, oil, and cotton patches in all of my gun barrels since I was a kid. Also regularly use several of those horrible little aluminum rods S&W shipped with their handguns.

Admittedly, I know very little about metallurgy, but it seems to me careful use of a clean, high quality brass cleaning rod, segmented or no, to clean a barrel would not cause any harm.
Frankly, all the hype about one piece, coated gun cleaning rods seems like nothing more than a marketing ploy. Saw a Tipton one piece, carbon fiber cleaning rod the other day that was $75.00. What?

I'm just old school and stupid, I guess.

 

[CCantu357]

I still believe that brass on steel is much better than steel on steel. And while I hate correcting myself, I have to. I use what the catalogs call a "muzzle guard", not a bore guide. To me they are the same thing.