CLEANING ROD DAMAGE

[Bob Wright]

Good photos of the crowns. I hate cleaning the rimfires from the muzzle. On the 10-22, heavy cleaning is usually a teardown to the barrel for me.

 

[Sneuses]

I read an article many years ago that grit could get imbedded in aluminum cleaning rods which would make abrasive. Supposedly, carbon fiber rods, like steel rods will not do it either.

That's all I use is a 32 inch carbon fiber rod. They were proud of it when I bought it but it beets the multi piece rods that screw together every joint is a potential problem.

 

[Dosh]

A very well regarded champion shooter and expert gunsmith once said, "if you don't use a boreguide, don't bother cleaning".
Another unknown said, "more barrels are damaged by cleaning than actual shooting".

 

[ntsqd]

Wish that I could find one for the Howa Mini. No one makes one that I've found, and no one seems interested in making one, some won't even respond to an inquiry about making one. I guess I'll have to add that to my ever growing list of stuff that I need to make.

 

[Vettepilot]

Back to the T/C muzzle loaders for a moment for those interested. I looked into it more. Apparently on many of them, the bore is far from centered in the barrel. With the "QLA" muzzle on them, this is not noticeable, and they will shoot saboted rounds fairly accurately. But they won't shoot full bore size, non-saboted rounds worth a dam. The cure is to machine off that "QLA" muzzle, then they shoot non-saboted rounds just fine.

(Guess I just side-tracked my own thread huh?) ;~)

Vettepilot

 

[25WSM]

They are very crooked. You can see how uneven they are with your eye. They shoot much better with it cut off. Sabots still load easy as heck. They seat more than half way with your finger tips.
Shep

 

[RT2506]

Here is how to re-crown your rifle. Get a round head BRASS bolt. Chuck the threaded end in a variable speed or hand crank drill. Get some valve grinding compound at your local auto parts store and place some on the head of the brass bolt. Put the rifle in a vice and with a slow speed hold the bolt head against the muzzle with light pressure for about 30 seconds. Wipe the muzzle clean and inspect. Do this until you get a smooth cut all the way around. I have fixed many scatter shooting rifles like this and made them tack drivers. Most have been old military rifles and the others have been mostly either improper cleaning rod usage or carrying them muzzle down on the carpet of an automobile which is like holding a vibratory sander against the muzzle.

I mostly do not use a cleaning rod any more to clean my firearms. I use weed eater string. Yep, weed eater string. Take a piece about a foot longer than you will need to go through the action and out the muzzle. With a flame melt one end and press it against something glass to form a button on the end. You can trim or sand it to be just a bit smaller diameter than your bore. Sharpen the other end of the line. Now just poke that sharpened end through the center of a cloth patch and push the patch down to the button end. Apply your solvent to the patch and stick the sharpened end through the action and out the muzzle and just pull the patch through. Let the solvent do it's work for a while and then follow with a dry patch. Repeat if needed. For stubborn copper deposits I use one of the foam cleaners and then wipe it out with this method. I carry one of these in my hunting pack in a ziplock bag with some patches and solvent just in case. You never know when you might stumble and stick you muzzle in the ground.

 

[25WSM]

Gonna be there an awfully long time with a brass screw to get that back to good. Just take it to a local smith and have a new crown cut.
Shep