Cleaning lever guns, semi autos, pumps without ruining your barrel

https://i.imgur.com/668FtNJh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/WKYNWzph.jpg


Cleaning rods (including pull through cords) have probably ruined more barrels than shooting them thousands of rounds.

As you can see I took 30.06 cases and made these and they fit are best made with a lathe when it comes to opening the bottom of the case.

I purposely made the necks longer than the 30.06 length so it would go into muzzles further. I wrap patches around bronze or nylon brushs coated with what I will be cleaning with and ease the brush/patch into muzzle gently making sure not to drag rod on inside of bore and then ease the case guide into place and while holding the guide with left hand I run the rod back and forth multiple times.

So if you have tired 270, 280, 30.06 cases you can recycle them for your friends if you happen to have a lathe or a buddy with one.

Oh yes I also determined the work well on 35 cal bores and larger though they are originally made for 30 cal. Remember the barrel you care for today will take care of you for many years if treated with TLC.

I believe that more wear and tear can be inflicted on a barrel with a cleaning rod than by shooting a lot of rounds. I haven't seen this occur with a pull through cord, but the metal on the cord could definitely damage the barrel crown if enough force is applied.

I had a few cleaning rod guides that I made from spent brass, but have made the new ones I used from scratch. Over the past several years I've made them from Delrin and they slip over the outside of the muzzle.

You are definitely on point about caring for your barrel. I've taken M1 Garands that shot large groups and made the groups significantly smaller by recutting the barrel crown. The use of a good cleaning rod guide would have protected the crowns.

Why not just cut off the rim?

I guess you could cut off back but I think it looked more exotic to drill it out. Also you have to cut case off enough to clear the inside and that can be upwards of .400" before you get rid of the inside dimension reduction.

There is a Swiss Rifle Cleaning Manual on internet that shows a picture of a muzzle ruined by a pull through cord. I have them but never use them.

CIP ever seen someone fall in field in ram muzzle full of dirt? Try getting that out with a cord? Also if you get a stuck case in chamber you are going to need a rod. A cord is kind of like driving a car with tires worn to the limit and no spare tire. You might get away with it for years but soon or later you are going to need a spare.

Then there is Murphy's Law, if you are properly prepared chances are you will never need a spare part. Remember Murphy was a optimist. haha.

The Swiss Rifle Cleaning Manual post has me interested. I'll have to dig for it. I will not use an old GI pull through cord, like the cords I've found in the buttstocks of old 1903 Springfields I've bought over the past few decades.

I have a friend who shoots 1,000 matches with me a few times each year and he uses a BoreSnake to clean his .308 barrel. We did not have to replace the barrel on his rifle until he logged over 6,000 rounds. The rifle still shot well out to 300 yards, but we noticed a difference in accuracy from 600 yards to 1,000 yards. He pulls the BoreSnake from the chamber to the muzzle, never the other direction.

It is the dragging of the cord that is not kept in perfect alignment with the bore center line that allows it to rub on the inside of the muzzle that removes material from the crown.

Your friend may have been able to get more miles out of his barrel had he recrowned the muzzle removing the last 1/8". I once got a good deal on a Rem 700 Varmint and obviously had very few rounds on it but I noted there was a very slight imperfection on the crown. I got it, loaded up five different loads and took it to the range and it shot 1.5" at 100. I called my contact at Remington and he told me that was acceptance dispersion and I told him about the crown.

I pulled it down, recrowned it with 11 degree crown and went out and shot remaining ammo and the worst group I had was 5/8" at 100 yards.

Also do some research and get a write up by a good friend Bruce Woodford about muzzle erosion gages. Bruce was the instructor at the National Match Armorer School at Rock Island for years and a high master rifleman to boot. He died about two years ago. Miss his emails.

Here it is.

http://www.fulton-armory.com/%5Cfaqs...%5CTEGauge.htm

I had already known about Bruce's work, his gathering of support data that supported his theory that is not covered in the above article to the detail he told me.

I enjoy reading your posts Humpy.

We have muzzle erosion gauges and track wear in our logbooks. We also have the ability to recut muzzle crowns on a lathe.

Throat erosion increased 0.007" since the barrel was new due to shooting hot loads and I suspect that's what caused the accuracy to deteriorate.

For you wood and steel M1A types, guess you know the shotgun hull trick? slips over the flash hider with the center drilled out like above. If using a pull through such as an Otis one, use your thumb and finger to "pinch" the cable, keeping it centered in the bore as you pull, avoiding crown contact.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Humpy70

There is a Swiss Rifle Cleaning Manual on internet that shows a picture of a muzzle ruined by a pull through cord.

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Thanks for mentioning that, pretty cool manual. I still regret not buying one of the $100 K31 due to not wanting another caliber.

If this works(?) it will open a PDF of a translated K11/K31 manual including scoped variants. The whole thing is interesting, but the muzzle damage pic Humpy70 referenced is on page 79/82.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sour...hQltJunNg4Xhxd

What the manual doesn't say is those that do this have their rifle removed during inspection, sent to Armory, rebarreled and returned with a bill for the cost of new barrel. I met some Swiss shooters that told me how their rifles and ammo are inspected in their homes by a officer and armorer and what the requirements are.

I jumped on the 31s early and got a good one and when the crunch hit I laid in several hundred new unprimed cases. Got it all set up to shoot at Camp Perry and then had my wreck which ended my shooting career. I even have a 7.5 Match reamer.

I also have a K31 single shot free rifle in 308 built by a top Swiss Gunsmith back in 50s unfired.