what cleaning rods are you using?

[WARDY91]

+1 on the proshot stainless for the bigger cals not so keen on the 17 cal stainless ones.

[The Raven]

Proshot................I will not purchase or own a plastic coated or graphite/carbon rod.

You've laid the bait, will anyone take it?

[Jacko9]

I have a few pro shots and a few deweys, both work well enough for me, but I can see the merit in a carbon fibre rod.

[chris.tyne]

Proshot................I will not purchase or own a plastic coated or graphite/carbon rod.

You've laid the bait, will anyone take it?

Who me................................never

[Camel]

Proshot................I will not purchase or own a plastic coated or graphite/carbon rod.

You've laid the bait, will anyone take it?

Who me................................never

[chris.tyne]

Hey dont be making me out to be a shit stirring prick................ ,I use Pro shot rods cause they work for me,well made,good pricing and I get to deal with BRT when I purchase them........................and of course buy other stuff as well .
I have a setup that well may be a bit strange to some,I have one rod for each of my target rifles that has a jag that is tightened on so as not to come loose and I have another one that is used for the brush.I find the right jag /patch combo so its not so tight as to require to much force to push through the bore yet not easy if you know what I mean and it stays on the rod and I clean them with brake cleaner,I have seen patches stuck,jammed in the bore before and it aint cool or good for the blood pressure.
I dont like plastic coated rods due to the possible delamination over time and the debris that can and does at times become embeded in the coating,I dont like the carbon ones due to a few breakages that I have seen and the flexing,yeah cool they flex and dont break..................but they can,I hate the thought of that flexed rod touching the bore as I push the patch through as well,carbon is some hard and pretty abrasive shit.
Also I will mention bore guides...................................most of them in my mind are crap,yep shoot me down but if it isnt a two piece guide that the body fits the race way with little clearance and a section that is a very close fit to the rod and main body then it really is a claytons guide,better than nothing..... sure but only just.
Just my quirky ways , observations and experiences over a period of time,and no I wasnt really baiting anyone either so I thought I best explain what I said earlier.

Regards Chris.

[bigfellascott]

Speaking of cleaning rods, what patches are people using and why? I find some are real size sensitive and others that aren't as sensitive to the size I cut them at - I guess some materials are more forgiving than others?

[chris.tyne]

I use....................yes you guessed it Proshot patches as well,for what a 1000 cost and for the uniformity I wouldnt even think of cutting my own.Funny story........well at the time it was,first big rimfire shoot I went to was the NSW state group shoot,went with a older bloke whom was the shit hot shot at the local range and even though he carried on a bit he was an alright bloke.Anyway after our first detail we went back to the reloading/equipment tables where we were setup and noticed everyone I mean every single person was cleaning their barrel.
Well we looked at one another and I asked if he was going to clean his barrel,he asked me the same thing,I replied when in rome do as the romans do so yes we better be lookin like we mean business and know our shit .So while I am rumaging around in my range box old mate has screwed his 3 piece kleen bore together and gone to town......well I heard a grunt,a rifle cradle scratch the tabletop a bit and a muffled "fucking things stuck",followed by a bit more of a push and shove followed buy a "fuck me".
Now I was next to him but hadnt looked side ways yet,out of the corner of my eye I could see him franticly struggling to get the rod to move.....no chance.
He whispered in a rather loud voice "what am I going to do" this flannel patch I cut seems a bit big I finally turned and looked at him and said do ...I know you!!!!,I tried so hard not to laugh.......but couldnt help ,he had the shits big time and I had tears running down my cheeks,I said how embarrassing,us big timers sure know our stuff ,you ya idiot have everyones attention now,which he did cause others were trying not to laugh.
I walked away and this bloke came over and said hmmmm looks like a bit of a problem ya got there buddy but I have a tool to get that out,seriously have you old mate said,he went and got a can of inox and sprayed it down the barrel and walked away for 5 or so minutes,he came back and said it should be right now,I was keen to see how he done this,he walked past us to the BBQ lifted up one end and took a timber chock from out under the legs,it may have been a bit of 3x4 and about 18 inches long and gave the rod about 3 good hits and thank you grandma for the rabbits, it was out.
I looked at his bent and crumpled rod,the Im stupid look on his face and said well that was a great start to the day,you sure impressed everyone with that little show, I never have and never will advocate using home cut patches ,that was one of those days that you never forget,sorry for taking the thread off topic.


Regards Chris.

[bigfellascott]

I use....................yes you guessed it Proshot patches as well,for what a 1000 cost and for the uniformity I wouldnt even think of cutting my own.Funny story........well at the time it was,first big rimfire shoot I went to was the NSW state group shoot,went with a older bloke whom was the shit hot shot at the local range and even though he carried on a bit he was an alright bloke.Anyway after our first detail we went back to the reloading/equipment tables where we were setup and noticed everyone I mean every single person was cleaning their barrel.
Well we looked at one another and I asked if he was going to clean his barrel,he asked me the same thing,I replied when in rome do as the romans do so yes we better be lookin like we mean business and know our shit .So while I am rumaging around in my range box old mate has screwed his 3 piece kleen bore together and gone to town......well I heard a grunt,a rifle cradle scratch the tabletop a bit and a muffled "fucking things stuck",followed by a bit more of a push and shove followed buy a "fuck me".
Now I was next to him but hadnt looked side ways yet,out of the corner of my eye I could see him franticly struggling to get the rod to move.....no chance.
He whispered in a rather loud voice "what am I going to do" this flannel patch I cut seems a bit big I finally turned and looked at him and said do ...I know you!!!!,I tried so hard not to laugh.......but couldnt help ,he had the shits big time and I had tears running down my cheeks,I said how embarrassing,us big timers sure know our stuff ,you ya idiot have everyones attention now,which he did cause others were trying not to laugh.
I walked away and this bloke came over and said hmmmm looks like a bit of a problem ya got there buddy but I have a tool to get that out,seriously have you old mate said,he went and got a can of inox and sprayed it down the barrel and walked away for 5 or so minutes,he came back and said it should be right now,I was keen to see how he done this,he walked past us to the BBQ lifted up one end and took a timber chock from out under the legs,it may have been a bit of 3x4 and about 18 inches long and gave the rod about 3 good hits and thank you grandma for the rabbits, it was out.
I looked at his bent and crumpled rod,the Im stupid look on his face and said well that was a great start to the day,you sure impressed everyone with that little show, I never have and never will advocate using home cut patches ,that was one of those days that you never forget,sorry for taking the thread off topic.


Regards Chris.

A mate of mine did a similar thing with his new Sako, although I think he was using pre cut patches - turns out the Sako had a prob with the rifling (high spots) but bloody hell it was funny watching him trying to bash the rod out with another rod only to destroy it too - I wish I had of taken photos of it!

[Dr G]

Proshot and Dewey rods for me. I get all my rod guides made by Sinclairs.

Only use pre cut patches except for the 45/70.

Regarding the coating on the Dewey rods I keep it clean and in a plastic tube when not in use. So far I have only a couple of small dent in the plastic and no embedded shit. I have had one of they Dewey rods since 2008. If your careful they last, but like anything to do with barrels ultimately they are consumables.

That said I can't fault the Proshot at all

[Curtley78]

I use Pro Shot and Dewey. I also have a few of the old Parker hale and a couple of Hoppe single piece rods that I use for the hunting rifles.

Not all Dewey rods are plastic coated - they do make rods that are stainless steel - albeit they are a little difficult to source. I also think they manufacture rods with a female thread as opposed to having the compressed brass and male fitting.

I prefer the Pro Shot on basis that they are stainless steel and readily available. I believe these are far superior as they do not have any brass fittings compressed onto the end of the rod. They are also finished nicely with the anodised and machined handle and as Chris inferred - they're not plastic coated (although I don't think my 17 cal Dewey is plastic coated) and lastly they're not made in China.

I now only use alloy jags and nylon brushes that have the nylon bristles entwined with an aluminium wire and I use the Pro Shot for scrubbing and if I'm short on time will have a Dewey set up with a jag for patching out.

Unfortunately being at the end of the world and equipment being sold almost as soon as it's on the shelves (if not before) there are times where the preferred rod is not available and you end up with a compromise.

I'm now at the stage where the rods are taking up a bit of space in the safe and will need to be relocated somewhere on the reloading bench.

[Brad Y]

I hear ya there sean... got rods everywhere. Might be time for a cull of them buggers too!

Ive worn two pro shots out- they bound up in the handle and didnt rotate smoothly back and forth. I cut one open to think that there were bearings in there and there wasnt. No amount of oil was going to smooth it up as the metal inside had galled and when I lost another for the same reason I just threw it out. For the price they need to perform better than that. Scrubbing after a day of 60-80 shots trying to get rid of carbon killed it. After trying the first carbon fibre one, I slowly started to change them out. The only problem with the gunslick ones is the brass end shows false copper with boretech eliminator. Aside from that, they dont kink from bending. Once a rod is bent its generally useless. I do have a boretech stainless rod here as well- that thing is about as smooth as a handful of gravel in a washing machine. The only reason Im persisting with it is I cant get a long 22-26 cal carbon fibre one at the moment. If I do ever get the stainless ones again they will only ever stay with a jag on them for pushing through one way. Back and forth with a stiff nylon brush working JB's or iosso they arent up to the task.

Just invested in one of the sinclair white nylon with o ring type 2 piece bore guides. Its a 30 cal body and I got a 6mm insert and another one that will suit 270-7mm. With this system I expect there will be no chance what so ever of any misalignment of cleaning rod to bore which is the main problem cleaning. Its a weird experience seeing grooves cut into chambers from cleaning rods not going in straight. Regardless of type or coated/uncoated a good boreguide is essential.

[220]

I use....................yes you guessed it Proshot patches as well,for what a 1000 cost and for the uniformity I wouldnt even think of cutting my own.

Same story for me, I think the biggest thing with pre cut patches is matching the brand to your jag, there are differences in size of both between manufacturers with in calibres. Keep the brands the same and tight or loose patches aren't a problem.
I'm slowly changing over to alloy proshot jags to stop false copper readings.

[The Raven]

Hey dont be making me out to be a shit stirring prick................ ,I use Pro shot rods cause they work for me,well made,good pricing and I get to deal with BRT when I purchase them........................and of course buy other stuff as well .
I have a setup that well may be a bit strange to some,I have one rod for each of my target rifles that has a jag that is tightened on so as not to come loose and I have another one that is used for the brush.I find the right jag /patch combo so its not so tight as to require to much force to push through the bore yet not easy if you know what I mean and it stays on the rod and I clean them with brake cleaner,I have seen patches stuck,jammed in the bore before and it aint cool or good for the blood pressure.
I dont like plastic coated rods due to the possible delamination over time and the debris that can and does at times become embeded in the coating,I dont like the carbon ones due to a few breakages that I have seen and the flexing,yeah cool they flex and dont break..................but they can,I hate the thought of that flexed rod touching the bore as I push the patch through as well,carbon is some hard and pretty abrasive shit.
Also I will mention bore guides...................................most of them in my mind are crap,yep shoot me down but if it isnt a two piece guide that the body fits the race way with little clearance and a section that is a very close fit to the rod and main body then it really is a claytons guide,better than nothing..... sure but only just.
Just my quirky ways , observations and experiences over a period of time,and no I wasnt really baiting anyone either so I thought I best explain what I said earlier.

Regards Chris.

Had to call you out on that after such an obvious baiting I wanted to hear if same pro's and con's would come up....and they did.



Just got my first single piece rod (a gift, so no choice on brand) and have yet to try it. Can't be any worse than the multi-piece kits I had (which were OK when used carefully).

Given all the Q&A's on rifle cleaning I've seen, few have even bothered to tackle the points you (and I) are pondering.

1. Specific rods used for specific purposes - At the 'extreme' end of cleaning for competition etc this makes perfect sense. It eliminates any cross contamination. However, not all of us want to collect cleaning rods either....

2. Secure jags - Makes sense, particularly as this is the bit that gets damn close to the bore surface. You want it secure and aligned. My next purchase is better jags etc....but plastic ones will do fine (when used properly).

3. Bore tightness - This is the one thing that few articles ever mention. Just how tight should the patch/brush be in the bore? I think most cleaning rod accidents can be traced back to an overly tight patch in the bore. However, if it doesn't fit 'tight' enough it won't clean as effectively. How tight a patch should be is like asking what's the best bore cleaner...everyone has an opinion, much of which is not backed by any evidence.

4. Plastic coated rods - In theory, this is great provided you keep the plastic from picking up crap etc. If you keep them clean they should be fine though.

5. Carbon rods - I'm not convinced carbon fibre is the ultimate material for every application, and cleaning rods is one example. Cool! Someone has invented a flexible rod to go through a straight bore... A little flex is OK but I don't need the rod to touch the bore. I suspect a carbon rod that touches the bore will do less damage (per pass) than the carbon deposits it's pushing around.

6. Bore guides - Not decided on this. If they are meant to protect the precision chamber/bore, then shouldn't they have a better fit than the plastic adaptors supplied? I bought one to use on my centrefire but having used it for a while think it provides marginal benefit. Sure helps keep the brushes/etc from touching the receiver surfaces, and stops anything falling into the receiver and magazine well, but I don't think it protects the chamber/bore interface that much. Good technique is cheaper than a bore guide.

I'll review my new cleaning rod soon......hopefully after this long weekend.

[The Raven]

I use....................yes you guessed it Proshot patches as well,for what a 1000 cost and for the uniformity I wouldnt even think of cutting my own.

Same story for me, I think the biggest thing with pre cut patches is matching the brand to your jag, there are differences in size of both between manufacturers with in calibres. Keep the brands the same and tight or loose patches aren't a problem.
I'm slowly changing over to alloy proshot jags to stop false copper readings.

Because of my collection of cleaning kits (mostly the same brand) I have plenty of patches to use. However, when I need more I buy them from the LGS.

Uniformity is the key word here. Purchased patches will be consistently the same size, shape, thickness etc....which influences how tight it will be in the bore for every patch.

I'm using plastic jags (for the moment)... it's hard to accidentally damage a barrel with them and you'll never have a false copper reading