Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Mausers and Military Rifles Cleaning rod for scrubbing bores

Broke a Tipton at the end with a cleaning brush. Did i just put to much pressure or force, or is there a better stronger option? Bore was .30 caliber

I have several J Dewey rods,never an issue with them.
https://deweyrods.com/gun-news-daily-review-of-dewey-rods-great-choice-for-cleaning-kits/

^^^^^^^ This

Had a pair of expensive Montana Extreme rods that both were stored in a PVC tube padded on both ends. Both of them the threaded end warped, couldnt thread a jag in for no explained reason. Went back to Dewey.

Been using Dewey, no disappointment.

Have to jump in and say the J Dewey rod is well worth the investment. I use them on everything from my 32" barrel Trapdoor Springfield to my 16" barrel 94 Winchester. It also has adapters so you can use 8-32 or 10-32 thread rod end accessories so you're not locked in to a particular brand or type.

We all have personal preferences for everything gun related. It's what works for you, based on experience. For me and cleaning rods, I'm a fanboy of Dewey rods but also have a couple old Parker-Hale coated rods that have served me well for 40+ years (I like their exceptionally long "jaggedy" jags.) Need a new rod? Look to Dewey and look no further.

Stainless or coated Dewey rods?
I read years ago that the coating allowed junk to become imbedded and could scratch the bore.
I have been using stainless rods pro shot I believe

The only problem I've had with Dewey rods is binding 17 caliber rods. That would be the same problem for anyone's rod though. Small caliber Jags are a little to thick for the patches I can buy around here. I just chuck them up in a drill and turn them down. There's nothing wrong with other brands, I just like Dewey products.

I have both Dewey coateds and various stainless rods, all SOLID rods, no joints, the main thing is to keep them squeaky clean and/or lubed clean and DON'T ever force them, which can be a difficult thing to guess sometimes. Also, get the right diameter rod, 30 for 30, 45 for 45, 25 for 25 (kind of a crapshoot finding one) 22 for 22, etc....it gets more critical the smaller the hole, 17 and 20 rods are pretty whippy.
As for forcing, I also keep "worn" brushes around just for that reason, especially on a barrel I've never worked before. No matter how bad a bore might be, it's stupid to start by making things WORSE. There's nothing that spells trouble more than inserting a shiny new brush and oops, it's too tight. How do you "cam over" the bristles?
Also really helps if you have a bore guide that actually fits well in the chamber. Sometimes the brush will bind first in the guide depending on the neck and you can "withdraw" before you've screwed yourself.

The first few passes I make through a really dirty bore, the brush is pulled, not pushed. Insert the rod down the bore, then screw the brush on. If it sticks, I've got a small slide hammer I use to tap on the handle. Once it's cleaned up a little, then I start doing the usual push strokes.

Like the handle on a Tipton.

Never an issue even with pushing a tight RamRodz or cloth patch.

I remember the salty old curmudgeon who ran the LGS when I was a kid (he'd be around 113 years old now) state that the best damned cleaning rod was a glass-hard polished steel one. Grit wouldn't adhere to it and it wouldn't flex in the bore to rub the rifling. Made sense back then, and still kinda makes sense, but I never followed through on his advice. Anyone here use something like that?

It's an axiom that when two substances rub together the harder one will show wear not the softer one. May apply to cleaning rods too, I don't know.