What Cleaning Rods Do You Like?

[manderson]

I have to buy a new cleaning rod. Mine is just the cheap three piece universal. Anybody use the Tipton carbon fiber rods? What cleaning rod do you like and is there an advantage to the more expensive one piece rods; Tipton, Bore Tech, Montana X-Treme, Tetra? All on Midway USA.

Thanks.

[MtnSpur]

How does one have ONE cleaning rod I accumulated those things like mismatched socks. OK, serious face on, I use brass rods, bore snakes and even have an unopened OTIS cleaning system that I couldn't tell you works or not. Not much help was I? I'd heard the carbon rods are prone to bending and become brittle but if that's a fact I can't say.

Mtn

[William B.]

I mostly use Bore Snakes, but I keep some punch rods from a USGI cleaning kit on hand for stuck casings and more detailed firearms maintenance.

[manderson]

I'd heard the carbon rods are prone to bending and become brittle but if that's a fact I can't say.

Mtn

I read the same and thought I would stay away from them. Mostly I was wondering if there is really an advantage to the one piece rods. I'm just going to Dick's and get another Hoppe's three piece universal.

I use bore snakes in the field all the time.

[WIL TERRY]

Cleaning rods...??? JOHN DEWEY's in all sizes and lengths. That OTIS system is mostly silly and the so-called bore snakes are just about equally silly when you REALLY think about how they " work."

[MtnSpur]

Cleaning rods...??? JOHN DEWEY's in all sizes and lengths. That OTIS system is mostly silly and the so-called bore snakes are just about equally silly when you REALLY think about how they " work."

Just Like flossing when a toothpick will do. OTIS system was free and I've never been accused of REALLY thinking about how stuff works or else I'll tear into it, put it back together and have parts left over . For a quickie that bore snake taint bad but certainly not thorough.

[manderson]

the so-called bore snakes are just about equally silly when you REALLY think about how they " work."

The bore snakes are good for a quick slip through the barrel at the range when you're doing a lot of shooting. That's all I use them for. More of a cautionary measure.

[Colt75]

JOHN DEWEY's in all sizes and lengths. That OTIS system is mostly silly and the so-called bore snakes are just about equally silly when you REALLY think about how they " work."

I totally agree about the Dewey Cleaning rods. Just one really great product. I disagree about the Bore Snakes. I like them for a fast once through to get the big stuff out. Also for getting a nice light coat of oil on the inside of the bore for storage. They also do a nice job of removing the carbon ring in the cylinder holes from shooting .38 Specials in .357s.

[kennyb]

i like the pro shot one piece...have some dewey as well

[dfariswheel]

The best way to decide on a rod is to look at top match and benchrest shooters and see what they're using.
About all you'll see are one piece stainless steel or carbon fiber rods.
Many shooters are going to carbon fiber because they're either perfectly straight or they're broken.
Coated rods seem to be falling from favor because the coating tends to shave off.

Rods NOT to use: jointed rods, aluminum rods, and brass rods.
The common idea is that aluminum or brass are soft and won't harm the muzzle. The fact is these rods are death on a good barrel.
This is very counterintuitive.
The truth is that a soft rod will allow grit to embed into the soft metal and this turns the rod into what amounts to an abrasive lapping rod that will damage muzzles and bores.
Aluminum forms a coating of aluminum oxide. Aluminum oxide is a very hard material commonly used for synthetic sharpening and grinding stones. This is not exactly what you want to run down a good barrel.

Jointed rods are even worse.
No matter how well made the joints never match perfectly and the "step" between sections will catch on muzzles and ruin the muzzle in short order.
This is why common opinion has it that steel rods are bad for a barrel. It's not the steel, it's the joints. After seeing a well worn military rifle muzzle you can easily think it was the hard steel that did the damage.

Dewey rods seem to be the most popular among the precision shooting crowd, but any quality one piece stainless or carbon fiber rod will do well.
Pistol rods are no less important, and you should buy a pair of quality one piece rod for your guns
Years ago I bought a pair of stainless Pro-Shot rods for use on pistols and used them for customer and my own guns to this day.
I have one for .22 caliber to .38 caliber, and one for .38 to .45 caliber.
If you have to clean from the muzzle of a rifle or pistol, also buy a brass cone-shaped muzzle guide to keep the rod centered in the bore. A brass guide fits the bore better than the thicker plastic type.

For rod tips, buy brass, not plastic. Plastic tips strip the threads and break off.
The three basic tips are the loop type, the button type, and the rod type that has triangular "teeth" that you wrap a patch around. Any will do, but the button type and the rod type work the best.

As for bore snakes and the Otis kit, be careful.
The bore snake WILL eventually break off in the bore, especially in smaller caliber bores.
These snakes are intended for quick field use and are not intended to last a long time. Many people wash them over and over, which causes the snake to deteriorate.
This weakens the snake and sooner or later it'll break off. The usual attempt to remove it is to grab the other end and try to pull it back out. Very often while trying to pull it back the bristles jam and the other end breaks off.
I once contacted Uncle Mike's and asked what method they recommended for removing a broken off snake.
The responded that they had no method of extracting one.

Also, each time you pull the snake through, you're pulling all the fouling and grit back through the bore. Grit is abrasive, and even laundering won't get it all out.
In any case, no bore snake can get a bore as clean as a rod, brush, and patches.

The Otis is a high quality kit, but even it has a history of breaking and leaving the brush or patch holder stuck in the bore.
It's usually not the steel cable that snaps, it's the threads on the tips or the cable that strip. The first attempt to extract the stuck part is to screw a cleaning rod on the stuck part and extract it.
Unfortunately, with the threads on the tip stripped, this doesn't work and you're left with trying to hammer the tip out with a rod.

Pull through devices WILL break off sooner or later, which is one reason the military stopped issuing the old thong and brush cleaners. These would deteriorate or weaken and break off leaving a soldier with a useless rifle.

If you buy a quality rod, it'll last you a life time and won't harm your guns unless mis-used.