Removing stuck brush from barrel

[Darto]

Pardon if this is well known already. :surrender:

I recall years ago not being able to remove broken off bronze cleaning brush after trying different things. Had to remove breach plug and push it out (not easy at all for me as I'm not an amateur smith).

Anyway I saw a thread this morning with an ingenious method suggested that everyone thought would work. It came in the middle of many other folks suggesting things. Everyone thought that the suggestion was brilliant. So the guy tried it and it worked.

The method was uploaded by user named Roundballer.
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"Find a spent .270 or 30-06 case.
Cut the case off at the shoulder.
Use a pair of needle nose pliers as a forcing wedge and bell the open end of the case a little
Find a nail and a rock, punch the primer out.
Find a length of strong string and feed it through the primer hole.
Tie a large knot in the end of the string, and pull it into the case so the string extends from the base of the case.
Drop the case open-end first into the barrel with the string extending out the muzzle.
Use the ram rod to drive the case over the brush.
Use the string to pull the case (with the brush) back out.
I have done this on the range with nothing else but what I could scrounge and the Leatherman on my belt. "
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http://www.migunowners.org/forum/archive/index.php/t-111563.html


So, anyways 9 months after the thread happened roundballer added to the old thread this:

" Just an update on this subject, since you guys won't let a year old thread die.
I have received no less than six e-mails in the last year from all over the west and south about this "tip". I believe that "boxcar" is one of them. This is six people that have read this thread and used the tip, then bothered to drop me a note. "

 

[spudnut]

then go out and buy a tornado brush

 

[Stumpkiller]

Or quit using brushes in muzzleloaders. ;-)

 

[AZbpBurner]

then go out and buy a tornado brush

Why? Are they easier to remove when they get stuck?

 

[Zonie]

Tornado style brushes aren't likely to get stuck.

Rather than having stiff pointed bristles they are kinda like a metal sieve that is twisted. Hard to explain unless you see one.

Follow this link to see what I mean
http://shop.opticsplanet.com/hoppe...plusbox-beta&gclid=CK2-kryyqNQCFYRmfgod1QILAg

 

[Vaino]

Judging from the info on the website, Tornado brushes are mainly for CF guns. Very few, if any sizes would be suitable for MLers.

This post is about a broken off wire brush and in all the yrs I've used wire brushes on my MLers, have never had one break off...also haven't had one just get stuck.

I don't buy a particular brand of wire brushes but do pay attention to the caliber stated on the pkg. Trying to use an oversized wire brush is just asking for complications.

Either on the range or when hunting and when the PRBs become hard to load, a couple of strokes w/ a wire brush produces a lot of debris which is then dumped. Using a wire brush eliminates faulty ignition after wet swabs are used because of clogged THs.

Send the wire brush down in the bore and when bottomed out and just as the brush is being w/drawn, give it a clockwise twist and continue pulling. The clockwise twist does 2 things....if the brush has unscrewed itself by a couple of threads, the clockwise twist screws it back in and it also enables the wire bristles to change direction gradually.

Have been using wire brushes and the above procedure since 1977 w/o any complications......but always have used the proper sized wire brush....Fred

 

[coloradoclyde]

I don't recommend any brush for a muzzleloader....with exception of a revolver.

I don't recommend using "Tornado brushes" on any gun with rifling....Muzzleloader or modern cartridge.

Tornado brushes are made of stainless steel....and will accelerate barrel wear with each pass of the brush....

 

[1860 Army]

I just shot my stuck brush out.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I wouldn't use a tornado brush for a muzzleloader. Colorado Clyde sums it up well.

 

[smo]

Sometime back someone posted using a small pipe or arrow shaft to push down the barrel . The idea is to push it down which forces the wires on the brush to fold downward and enter the pipe then just pull the pipe back out . Large bores I can see how it would work on small bores copper tubing might be a better answer :idunno:

 

[kansas_volunteer]

I don't buy a particular brand of wire brushes but do pay attention to the caliber stated on the pkg. Trying to use an oversized wire brush is just asking for complications. ....Fred

I found that by turning a rifle muzzle end down and sliding it down over a brush on a rod resting on the ground I could get tons of crud out even after just a single shot. After about five shots my process would make a little pile on the ground if the wind wasn't blowing much. It sure made the balls much easier to load, even after just one shot. Of course this made others on the range nervous, so it's something to be done in the privacy of your own where ever.

A bunch of dudes are going to jump on me and say just to wipe after every shot. That works, but not near as well as upside down brushing. Brushing gets darned near everything out. In my view wiping just pushes some of the crud down the barrel rather than getting it all out.

Has anyone found in the primary sources anything that says nary a single flintlock Hawkin was ever cleaned this way before 1842?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Has anyone found in the primary sources anything that says nary a single flintlock Hawkin was ever cleaned this way before 1842?

The burden of proof falls upon the user.

 

[Darto]

The part of the brush that fits (screws) on the rod will not come off the rod. But the brush connection to it is weak on the various brands of brushes. That's were it breaks.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Yes and that's the problem....brushes are designed to be pushed not pulled or twisted.

Pulling or twisting will break many brushes..

 

[mooman76]

With the idea behind wiping, the jag/cleaning patch combo should fit a little loose, that way when you pull it out, the patch bunches up to pull out the crud and going in loose, it doesn't push the crud down the barrel. There is no way to prove it(brush upside down) was never done even if so stated. Not everything was written down. If it works for you, keep doing it. Just be prepared for it to get stuck. Also I might suggest using a well worn brush so it doesn't fi so tight as to get stuck and when you push the brush into the bottom, turn the brush sideways some so the bristles aren't reversed any more and it will come out easier.

 

[azmntman]

Never done it yet but thanks to the forum I think I can deal with it (dont use one often). Wonder if putting a patch down tight first would allow to easily shoot it out? Patch can be retrieved with a worm when done?

 

[Golfswithwolves]

Sometime back someone posted using a small pipe or arrow shaft to push down the barrel . The idea is to push it down which forces the wires on the brush to fold downward and enter the pipe then just pull the pipe back out . Large bores I can see how it would work on small bores copper tubing might be a better answer :idunno:

This tube technique works like magic! I too learned about it on this fine forum.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Tornado style brushes aren't likely to get stuck.

Rather than having stiff pointed bristles they are kinda like a metal sieve that is twisted. Hard to explain unless you see one.

Follow this link to see what I mean
http://shop.opticsplanet.com/hoppe...plusbox-beta&gclid=CK2-kryyqNQCFYRmfgod1QILAg

I know what a Tornado Brush is, in fact, I have a couple of them in the drawer of seldom-used stuff. While they may be best used in shotgun or smoothbore, I never found them to be of any use in rifled bores, since the rounded wire doesn't get into the bore grooves worth a darn..

 

[Zonie]

then go out and buy a tornado brush

Why? Are they easier to remove when they get stuck?

I was answering your question with the idea that you did not know what a Tornado Brush is.

Had you answered with the comment you just made about those brushes instead of asking the question, I would have never responded.

 

[azmntman]

I'm sure many of us were glad to read your response! Thank you!