Cleaning with brushes?

[Vaino]

What stress?.....Fred

 

[Elkeater]

With this thread I am inspired to try brushes, dry and wet methods. Is a 50 cal brush fitting for a 54 rifle?

 

[Vaino]

Buy quality wire brushes and buy the caliber stated on the pkg that matches the caliber of your gun.

Ensure that the RR tip is at least pinned and the tapped hole is the right size for the brush. Also that the threads aren't buggered up.

As the brush is being with drawn, the brush is rotated clockwise.

Personally, I don't care what one uses to clean the bores .....it's just that a wire brush makes cleaning so much easier and faster.....Fred

 

[Snakebite]

There is no described and perfect manner of cleaning or preparing for the next shot.
There's 15-20-1000 ways to clean and prepare.
Pick one. Stick with it / learn it / and continue doing it that way.

Truer words have never been spoken. I've never seen a need to use a brush, some people do, that's great.

I take it back, a friend of my son had a rifle that he didn't realize he needed to clean after he shot blackpowder. I tried to salvage it somewhat, I used a bronze brush, green scrubs pads and anything else I could think of to get rid of the rust. But that was the only time in over 38 years I've used a brush for cleaning a muzzleloading rifle.

But for cleaning my guns after shooting, patches and cleaning jags work for me. There are many ways to skin that cat so whatever works for you, go for it.

This was actually in response to the OP

 

[Elkeater]

Where do you get rr tip pinning material?

 

[Vaino]

I use lengths cut from .050 paper clips. Peen a head on one end, ctsk both ends of the .052 dia hole {#55 drill} , push the pin in and leave approx. .04 sticking out and peen this into a rivet head. File both heads flush and it's done. Don't ctsk too deep.....it doesn't take much of a head to retain the pin....Fred

 

[Elkeater]

Thank you Fred.

 

[fleener]

for pinning the RR tip, simply use a finishing nail, drill the hole, glue it and cut off the head. Finish to flush, I like to pean the ends a little

Fleener

 

[mooman76]

Where do you get rr tip pinning material?

You can get brass rod from a hardware store. Cut it to the length you need.

 

[Okie Hog]

i seldom use a brush.

 

[robinsroost]

I use nylon brushes. Never got one stuck and they get the powder fouling out.

:metoo:

 

[smoothshooter]

To carry that line of thought a bit further, if you can find the brushes that are secured to the threaded shank with a heavy wire loop instead of just a crimp, it virtually eliminates any chance of twisting the shank off of the brush.

Brownell's is one of the few sources for that kind of brush that I know of.

 

[smoothshooter]

Be sure to drill your hole ACROSS THE GRAIN of the ramrod.

 

[smoothshooter]

WAS a paid author.

Been dead a long time.

 

[fleener]

I will often put a piece of solder on the brush where it is attached to the crimped area.

Fleener

 

[Artificer]

To carry that line of thought a bit further, if you can find the brushes that are secured to the threaded shank with a heavy wire loop instead of just a crimp, it virtually eliminates any chance of twisting the shank off of the brush.

Brownell's is one of the few sources for that kind of brush that I know of.

Excellent Advice! Also, Military Bore Brushes are made that way and they don't come apart.

Beware the CHEAP bore brushes that have a CUT wire end on the very front of the brush and have a threaded aluminum base!! These are often for sale at gun shows by folks who stock a huge amount of cleaning materials/brushes, but don't know any better. They often come apart in modern guns, let alone muzzle loading guns.

Finally, Also Beware of using the Military Brushes that were commonly issued to clean M1911 Pistols!! Though these ARE excellent bore brushes, they were/are a "Dual Purpose Bore Brush" that was also used for .50 Caliber Ma Duece Machine Guns. As such, they are going to OFTEN GET STUCK in a Muzzleloader with bore sizes UNDER .50 caliber!!

Gus

 

[Artificer]

First a disclaimer, I don't work for Brownells, though I have been a loyal customer since the early 1970's.

After trying many of the commercially available bronze bore brushes with varied/mixed results, I have forgotten how many dozens of Brownells "BROWNELLS - "SPECIAL LINE"â„¢ BRASS CORE BORE BRUSH's" I have bought and used over the years. The price seems a bit high, BUT they come in either "3 Packs" or "Dozen Packs" and are thus very economical, especially when ordering something else from Brownells.

Scroll down to find the size that best fits your gun's bore size.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-clea...cial-line-brass-core-bore-brush-prod1281.aspx

Gus

 

[fleener]

Gus

thanks for the info on the brownell brushes.

I dont think I have tried them yet.

Will pick up a 12 pack.

Fleener

 

[Elkeater]

I'm re-reading Ned Roberts' 'The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle'.

Interesting to say the least to read how the old boys did things.

In it, he describes how he was instructed to clean a rifle. Brushes were used in the bore.

I seldom use a brush, how about you all. Maybe brushing would speed a cleaning up, or perhaps, do a better job versus not brushing.

What say you?

Best regards, Skychief.

Thanks Skychief, Friday I dry brushed between shots at the range. Lot's of half burnt charcoal was removed. And the book is on it's way.

 

[Skychief]

That's great Elkeater. :thumbsup:

Let me know what you think of the book when you get a chance.

Best regards, Skychief.