Chamber Brush Diameter

[power167]

So I've been told a good size chamber brush for .357 cleaning is .40 cal. I also have one of those .45 Colt/.410 revolvers and am looking for the right size to clean out the huge cylinders. Any idea?

 

[dfariswheel]

Just buy real chamber brushes from Brownell's.

Unlike bore brushes, chamber brushes are made with stiffer bronze bristles specifically for cleaning fouling from chambers. These work much better and faster then using over-caliber bore brushes.
Buy the same caliber as your gun.
For the .45/.410 buy the .45 brush.

BRONZE RIFLE/PISTOL CHAMBER BRUSHES | Brownells

 

[roundgunner]

I use a stainless brush made for a 50 cal. black powder rifle. It is longer and faster.

 

[dfariswheel]

I certainly don't recommend that.
Stainless steel brushes are really hard on bores and chambers, and are typically used by gunsmiths on guns that are so badly abused that you have nothing to loose.

 

[roundgunner]

So what is it that it does to chambers? On a nice blue gun I can see it wearing down the finish, on a stainless or utility gun there is no finish. How many thousands of cleanings would it take to enlarge the chamber even .001 one onethousand of an inch?

 

[wrangler5]

The Brownell's chamber brushes appear to be stainless steel. REVOLVER CHAMBER BRUSH | Brownells

 

[Dave T]

I use 35 caliber (.358) rifle brushes for cleaning chambers. They are a little longer in addition to being slightly larger and work fine for me. I don't used them in the barrel however. The slightly longer bristles fold over too far and you don't get as good a cleaning action as with a standard 38 caliber (.357) handgun brush, at least in my experience.

Dave

 

[dfariswheel]

Brownell's do sell stainless chamber brushes, but these are best used like I said: in a gun so badly neglected you have little to lose.

If you inspect a chamber under magnification then clean with a stainless chamber brush, then inspect it again, you'll see a scratched up chamber. Scratching up a chamber, even with fine scratches isn't good for the gun long term.
Bronze do just as good and fast a cleaning job with no damage.

Your guns, your choice.

 

[Nightowl]

I, too, use Brownells bronze chamber brushes, chucked in a 1/4 inch drill. Makes quick work, unless it is really cruddy. I have some stainless chamber brushes for last resort work.

 

[wrangler5]

Brownell's do sell stainless chamber brushes, but these are best used like I said: in a gun so badly neglected you have little to lose. < snip >

I mentioned the Brownell's stainless brushes because when I searched for "chamber brush" that's ALL that came up. (For handgun chambers, that is.)

 

[Dave T]

Slightly off topic but despite my being a long time fan and customer of Brownells, their web site leaves a lot to be desired. I can't recall the exact number of times I've tried to pull up something I know they sell and just can't find it through their search or even by name. I use the catalog to find things I need, write down the item number and then place an order over the internet. Avoids an enormous amount of frustration and hassle.

Dave

 

[wrangler5]

Well that's interesting. It explains why I usually find myself mildly to completely unsatisfied when looking for something at Brownell's, to the point where I rarely look at their site any more. I almost never find the parts that they're supposedly famous for carrying, but that may be because I'm just looking online and not at a paper catalog. (I recently needed parts - springs and screws - for an old Marlin 57 and found virtually nothing online at Brownell's but did manage to find 'em on a few other sites. I'll start at those other places in the future.)

I wonder if they care?

 

[El Biblioitecario]

I have a stash of GI chamber brushes for 7,62mm NATO chambers I find useful for cleaning the chambers of .45ACP pistol barrels. The front part of the brush may also be inserted into the front of a .38 or .357 revolver cylinder's chambers to clean them.

 

[Nightowl]

Slightly off topic but despite my being a long time fan and customer of Brownells, their web site leaves a lot to be desired. I can't recall the exact number of times I've tried to pull up something I know they sell and just can't find it through their search or even by name. I use the catalog to find things I need, write down the item number and then place an order over the internet. Avoids an enormous amount of frustration and hassle.

Dave

Their old software is much better, I think. I have all kinds of difficulty with the new site.