Bronze vs Brass Bore Brushes

Mike Fontaine · Mar 21, 2008

I was recently told (by a gunsmith) to use only brass brushes on my new high end 22lr. He said using bronze with scratch he barrel. I do have both but always thought the brass was too soft (especially for cleaning after using copper jacketed bullets). So, I thought I would ask the experts :wink:
Mike

russ808 · Mar 21, 2008

Not an expert in any way, but I use Brass and Nylon.
Haven't had any problems yet.

onlybrowning · Mar 21, 2008

There should be no need to ever put any brush in a high end .22, because in a true high end .22lr, I would not shoot any jacketed bullets. I used to run 1 dry patch down the bore of my Walther GX1 every 2,500 rounds. Seriously.

To get all the lead out (haha) I would use a mild powder and lead solvent about every 5,000 rounds. Accuracy was "terrible" for about 200 rounds until it fouled up.

Mike Fontaine · Mar 21, 2008

onlybrowning":361vz90t said:
There should be no need to ever put any brush in a high end .22, because in a true high end .22lr, I would not shoot any jacketed bullets. I used to run 1 dry patch down the bore of my Walther GX1 every 2,500 rounds. Seriously.

To get all the lead out (haha) I would use a mild powder and lead solvent about every 5,000 rounds. Accuracy was "terrible" for about 200 rounds until it fouled up.

That explains the grouping problem I've had with my Walther SSP pistol. I clean it every 100 rounds.

dcopp75 · Mar 22, 2008

I only run lead through my Springfield 22lr. It has the 25.5" barrel and is a good shooter as long as I do not get too agressive when I clean it. A couple dry patches every 500 rounds and it is fine, but if I try to use a bore solvent on it, good luck for at least the next 50 rounds. I have found that a fauled 22lr is the best way to go if you are shooting lead. I just have iron sites on mine and I have no difficuity shooting thumb tacks pushed into my wood pill at 25 yrs in my back yard.

The only thing that I can guess is that only so much lead can get caught up in the barrel. The lead fauling is smoothed out in a way that coats the barrel and fills in any imperfections.

Mike Fontaine · Mar 22, 2008

Thanks for the info on the 22LR and I will make changes to my frequency and type of cleaning on those firearms. But what about using bronze on non-22lr firearms (firearms using copper bullets)? I guess the question is using bronze brushes going to "hurt" the barrel? Should one only use brass? Is brass hard enough to remove copper? Why are brass brushes so hard to find? Is nylon a good choice? I guess the gunsmith's comment about bronze brushes "scratching" the barrel started me thinking and questioning my cleaning methods. Has anyone ever heard of on experience barrel damage from a bronze brush. How can bronze (being much softer) damage steel? Help :?

HunterJim · Mar 22, 2008

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. I don't use them around any jacket metal solvent.

I don't use a brush on .22 LR bores either, and don't clean them much as the posters above say.

Both brass and bronze are much softer than barrel steels, I would be careful not to use any of the stainless steel brushes. I have used nylon brushes for some applications. My contribution to the folklore is from benchrest: don't reverse the cleaning rod and bronze brush inside the bore.

jim