metal cleaning rods

[tpw]

i can see where a steel rod would not be good but mine is alluminum and dont see how that can hurt but i may be wrong.

[JonnyReb]

  I've wondered that as well, i wonder also if a lot of the hype about not cleaning AG barrels comes from back when lots of them were made of brass, with german steel(or chinese) i can't see it being an issue.   J

[redsoxvw]

Im very curious as well.....Im SUPER new to the AG scene....I just figured AL rods would be safe?

[tpw]

you shouldnt clean the barrel alot because it removes the lead that has filled in all the imperfections inside the barrel. which helps in accuracy. i have both steel and brass barrels and the most i will do is run an oiled patch thru it and then dry cause i dont want to remove the leading. and i dont use steel rods and the alluminum is alot softer than brass or steel so it shouldnt and hasnt been a problem

[MichaelM]

Do a google search on reasons NOT to use a ALU rod on any barrel.... I know I have not used one for 15+ years now... brass is ok though I wouldnt worry about it if you needed to do a scrubbing... other then that a pullthrough type is the best

[Jay]

The only rod that goes down my rifle's is high end DEWEY's an that is only if I can use a bore guide, on the AG's I use pullthrough's only. If anybody shoot's powder as well as air I suggest a kit from OTIS it's only $35 an can clean anything from .177 to .50 cal an .410 to 12 gauge an is only a small round bag to hold every thing,you can toss it even in a small shooting bag without taking up alot of room? I would rate it as the best cleaning kit on the market even has a life time warranty on it.  P.S. I wish I had found it before I had spent really like 2 or 3 hundred dollar's on cleaning rod's over the year's, they just gather dust on my bench now for the last 4 year's.

[Progun]

You know, the only risks I can think of when using a cleaning rod on any barrel is the propensity to flex and cause abrasions to the rifiling and especially to the crown when not used carefully. On barrels that have visible tooling marks  that could benefit from a bore lapping/polishing I don't see how you can get around not using a rod.A lot of Gamo barrels used to routinely have obvious tooling marks that necessitated aggressive cleaning to remove the build up in those machine imperfections. I pretty much just use the pull through method(I like the Hoppe's Bore Snake) for those now rare occasions when I clean an air rifle barrel.

[shadow]

Just say no to metal rod's cause it only takes one time to damage a  airgun barrel's soft rifling with it. Ed

[MichaelM]

Its not so muuch using a cleaning rod (except for the reasons you mentioned) its the material of the rods... ALU actualy doesnt work real good with alot of steels there is alot of info out there that can explain it better then me lol

You know, the only risks I can think of when using a cleaning rod on any barrel is the propensity to flex and cause abrasions to the rifiling and especially to the crown when not used carefully. On barrels that have visible tooling marks  that could benefit from a bore lapping/polishing I don't see how you can get around not using a rod.A lot of Gamo barrels used to routinely have obvious tooling marks that necessitated aggressive cleaning to remove the build up in those machine imperfections. I pretty much just use the pull through method(I like the Hoppe's Bore Snake) for those now rare occasions when I clean an air rifle barrel.

[TCups]

Aluminum tends to oxidize and aluminum oxide is abrasive.  Also, the inexpensive aluminum rods are typically multi-section rods screwed together.  Each joint has the potential to get a small burr if the threads at the tip are wallowed out in the least.  Bottom line:  Aluminum rods are OK for shotguns.  Don't put one down a rifle barrel.

Stainless steel is actually the preferred material for rifle cleaning rods.  It doesn't oxidize, roughen or abrade easily.  The rod should be wiped down and cleaned thoroughly before each pass, though.  If any grit accumulates on the side of the rod, you are essentially pushing a rat-tail file down the bore.  

Bore guides are also essential to prevent damage to the critical ares of the rifle barrel's chamber and the zone where the grooves and lands begin.  It is easy to be misaligned a bit when you start a rod down the bore.  One small gouge and the accuracy of the rifle suffers as much or more than a rough spot on the crown . . . forever.

For rifled barrels, the handle of the rod should rotate on bearings so that the rod's jag or brush follows the rotation of the rifling without scrubbing against the twist of the lands and grooves.

Dewey stainless steel rods and Gunslick carbon fiber rods are pretty good, but you should probably avoid using plastic coated rods.  The plastics can degrade from the solvents used in cleaning, and the softer plastics can also get grit embedded in the plastic which, again, is abrasive to the bore and not good.

If you want a really great rod (the one that many of the competitive BenchRest types prefer), check out the Ivy Rods.  These come precisely sized and can be mated with precisely sized bore guides.  See for example the custom bore guieds made by M. Werks, LLC.

http://www.ivyrods.com/
http://www.mwerksllc.com/boreguides.php

I don't clean my air rifles very much as they seldom need it.  I use a pull through jag and flannel cotton patches with GooGone followed by dry patches.  You obviously don't need powder solvent or copper solvent.  Any residual lead is a natural lubricant.  What you are cleaning is accumulated tar and oxidation from the dieseling of very small amounts of lubricants and tar that makes its way into the compression chamber.  This is the brown looking residue you see on the first few dirty patches.

[tpw]

i didnt know that about al.

[airgunandy]

Fortunately airgun barrels don't get filthy like firearm barrels. I've tried the weedwacker line a few times. If I get the nub on the end small enough to fit the barrel with a patch over it, the patch seems to always come off (or nub breaks off). I seldom clean my airgun barrels but when I do I end up having to use a brass cleaning rod for .17 cal firearms (from the breach if possible). A drop or two of Remoil and Q-tips work great in .177 and sometimes for .20 too. I use a .22 cotton barrel mop for the .22s. Brass barrels get extra care and fewer cleanings. I bought my Benji 392 (brass barrel) in 2008 and haven't cleaned the barrel since I first got it. Still shooting great.

[tpw]

ill continue to use the al. one. im very careful not to let it scrape the sides

[Rodents Rapture]

 I do what i call a soft-scrub. I use small chunks, 3/8 or so from one of those green dish scrubber pads on a peice of fiberglass fishing pole. i melted a hole in the end of the rod and used a small screw from my dremmel to hold the pad. The screw countersinks in the rod tip and is smaller than the barrel ID so it never touches the inner wall. Then i just push the cloth pads through and remove them from the breech. Then i go in and out with a clean green to remove any remaining fibers. I think fiberglass is best

 My father showed me that many years ago with his 30-06

[tpw]

mine did too.

[airgunandy]

Aren't those green pads abrasive? We use them like a steel wool alternative to clean baked on gunk off the pans.
Maybe there are different types of green pads?

I like the fiberglass fishing pole idea though. Since I don't fish my wife will think, "Why in the world did he buy a fishing pole? To clean his guns? RIIIIIIGHT!"

[airiscool]

As you know, aluminum is much softer than steel, but it oxidizes (the dull coating it gets) and it's oxides are VERY hard. Ever hear of aluminum oxide sand paper ?  It's used alot in the metal finishing industry because it's harder/longer lasting than many other types of abrasives.

Fiberglass, obviously has glass fibers in it. If you've ever worked around fiberglass alot you'll know that it can also be abrasive.

I only use aluminum rods on my shotguns.

All my rifled barrels, when they need a good scrubbing, I use a good quality swivel, brass cleaning rod with a good quality brass brush. With a swivel type rod, the brush will follow the rifling, instead of dragging the brush bristles across the edges of the rifling like a non swivel type does. 

Paul.

[Rodents Rapture]

 You're dead-on about the swivel. The non-swivel types were designed for smooth bore.
I don't think what you clean with plays a noticable role in accuracy provided you don't cause permenant marring to the inners of the barrel. Keeping the barrel clean is more important.
 When your barrel gets fouled and your shots become 1" chilli-peppers a good cleaning will make the difference.
If you want to get down to the smallest micron then even a fingernail will do some damage to steel and keep you from putting 10 .22 pells through one .25 hole @ 60ft. Then try it at 20ft and see if the accuracy gets any better.