A cleaning "Can of worms" question

[BillB]

I was going to post this in the precision AR section since this is what Im cleaning but figured here might work. Im in no way new to guns, cleaning guns, shooting or much else really, Im getting on in years. My dad bought me my first gun for my 12th birthday, a Ruger Redhawk .357 (my how our world has changed) and Ive been hooked since and really even before that, hence the present, he knew I would love it.
Served 8 years in the Army as an 11B and carrued, shot and cleaned my share of weapons but Uve recently invested a sizable chunk of money in a few precision ARs and want to treat them well.
Both are SS barreled guns. One is a BCM 410SS 20" tube and the other is a 416 SS 18" from Centurion Arms.
Here is my cleaning schedule. Hoppes #9 soaked patches down the barrel using a Wheeler bore guide, Dewey ProShot ss rod. Push the patches through and remove at the muzzle, let soak while I clean everything else. When the rest of the gun is vleaned Ill run one more Hoppes soaked patch through and then use a nylon bore brush for about 10 to 15 strokes goung both directions. Ill then switch to my Dewey coated rod and either flannel patches or felt plugs ( that I make myself) and pudh through to the muzzle and remove, wiping the rod well between each pass until clean. A light coat of oil and done.
This is normal cleaning.
Am I wasting effort by removing patches at the muzzle? Am I damaging anything by pulling the brush ( or anythin for that matter) both directions through the bore?
Also, I do use a chamber brush on the chambers as that really the only way I know to get in there. Does anyone know of other ways? I bought a Pro Shot chamber kit that has a short rod with a black plastic " barrel" around it to git in the receiver, a brush, mop and another piece that I have no freakin idea what it is. It threads into the rod, about 1 1/2" long, about 1/2" diameter and has one large hole through the end of it. Please enlighten me.
Thanks for any insight.

[ABNAK]

I too do the push-pull from the chamber end. Damaging the crown on the muzzle is much more likely to happen when trying to insert the rod from the muzzle end. As long as you aren't pushing down (or to the side) of the end of the rod as it pokes out of the muzzle---and why would you do that?---it should re-enter the barrel fine.

Yes, keeping the chamber clean is a good idea. One of the fatal malfunctions early on in the M16's life was failures to extract. The USGI chamber brush should be more than sufficient for that task. That piece of equipment you mention sounds like a locking lug recess tool. You put those little cotton rolls through the hole, slide the little cover forward over it to compress the roll so it fits through the barrel extension teeth, and give it a push once it comes to a stop. That pushes the cotton roll forward out of the sheath and it pops open (expands) to clean the area between the teeth and chamber which is had to get at otherwise.

[mack7.62]

How many rounds between cleanings? An AR does not need to be cleaned every time you put 20 rounds down the tube.

[Artos]

I used to shoot a lot of short range benchrest & was pretty picky about how I cleaned my good ppc tubes & no need to go through all the details from the past, but when I saw the winning guys were moving to the foam cleaner & getting away from rods i gave it shot and haven't gone back.

The stuff works & is so painless...I take a piece of weed whacker string about 1 foot longer than the bbl & burn one end with a lighter till it starts to melt & then tap in down on a wet flat surface. This side grabs the patch. Cut the other end to a sharp point to help pierce the patch. I'll pull a couple of wet patches soaked in the wipe Out Accelerator through & then shoot the foam Wipe Out from the muzzle end. Do short bursts as it doesn't take much & can go everywhere. Let is sit for a while & then pull dry patches through & finish up with damp kroil patch or whatever you like.

I also keep these strings & a few patches in my hunting bags...great insurance case bbl gets some crude on the muzzle / wet. Pick it out & pull a patch. Anyway, FWIW...works for me.

[PattonWasRight]

Just a thought ... I use a wooden dowel rod to push brushes, wads of solvent soaked cloth etc ... 0 chance of scratching anything.

Also, I find these clean a lot better than brass or nylon brushes. They do a better job of scrapping crud and pivot sideways under pressure.

Tornado-Rifle-Brush.jpg

[Dienekes]

I thought I was the only weed whacker line user around. I still like it, but went to this: https://www.redi-mag.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=7

Same idea but with coated wire cable and a threaded tip for brushes and a brass loop tip. I pull a patch of Ed's Red through, hang the rifle muzzle down for a while, and pull the brush through 3X. Then 3-4 patches, using each side, then a couple of clean ones. Then use whatever oil was on sale with final patch. Don't keep a close count but after 350-400 rounds I get ambitious and do a full cleanup to include BCG. Don't use the bore brush in between. Zero issues. Don't see a down side, and I'm hard to satisfy.

[tom12.7]

I normally think of carbon or copper cleaning in the barrel as separate operations as required for the bore. Chamber and lug cleaning can be considered a different application. Action system maintenance and the rest can sometimes be grouped into another one. Same with basic lubrication, or a longer term storage solution.
I rarely sterilize the whole system usually, but sometimes its warranted.

[BillB]

How many rounds between cleanings? An AR does not need to be cleaned every time you put 20 rounds down the tube.

When I shoot, Im there gor a while. Its nothing for me to send 200 to 300 rounds downrange. Its just what I like to do and Ill spend an entire day or a weekend shooting. Its also how I rotate my ammo. I always have PLENTY on hand of each caliber. This weekend for example I had bought 200 rounds of IMI 77gr OTM I wanted to try out. So I burnt those plus 6 30 round mags of LC 193. 20 rounds to foul the barrel. ��

[BillB]

Artos, sounds like a hell of an idea. I may have to give this a serious look.
I always clean the bolt after a shoot.
I just wanted to know what you guys thought about my going back and forth through the bore the way I do.
Sorry I havent been checking in, had jury duty for the past 3 days. A self defense case, though no firearms were used.

[mark5pt56]

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Keep the good rods and do it right from above