Cleaning first rifle - Damaged barrel?

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the_shepherd

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Hi all,

I just bought my first rifle (bolt action .22) and after taking it out for a spin with my buddy, decided to clean it. I bought one of those cheapo Hoppe's rifle and shotgun cleaning kits with the aluminum rods with a bronze brush and made a couple of passes through the bore, breech to muzzle. The fit of the brush felt very tight (normal for new brushes?) and after looking at the rod, I noticed that it was scratched up. I looked down thebarrel and I think I may have seen some scratching. Can aluminum rods cause damage that quickly? After doing a little bit of research it seems as those segmented aluminum rods are frowned upon and that a single-unit piece seems to be the way to go. The name Dewey keeps popping up.

Anywho, just wondering if you guys think these rods may have caused damage after only a couple of passes, or if I'm just going a little nutty over my new baby. Any general cleaning tips for newb would also be appreciated.

Thanks for any advice you may have.
 
It will be fine, but get yourself a decent one piece cleaning rod such as a Tipton or a Dewey, Ive broken a few of those cheap aluminium or brass sectional rods over the years.
 
Aluminum rods will never cause damage to steel. You don't need high priced brand name stuff for cleaning either.
Brushes can be a bit tight when new. Really tight means it's the wrong brush.
 
Thanks for the reply. After posting this I decided to look up the comparative hardnesses of steel and aluminum and realised I had nothing to worry about. And I bought a CZ455 Lux in .22LR.
 
Did you push the brush through dry? You should always push a patch wet with solvent first, and even then put some solvent on the brush, then clean again with patches until patches come out clean.
 
Magellann said:
It will be fine, but get yourself a decent one piece cleaning rod such as a Tipton or a Dewey, Ive broken a few of those cheap aluminium or brass sectional rods over the years.
Click to expand...

^^ This ^^

The biggest issue is if you accidentally end up with a too tight patch: I have snapped a rod off one (only once - I learned) cheap aluminum rod at the connection point mid rod. I have, I believe, four Tipton coated rods with guides and I like them a lot: the closer to proper size and length for the calibre the better.
 
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My understanding is that you hardly ever have to clean .22 calibre rifles.

That said; I got an aluminum rod stuck in a .22 once when I gave it its one-in-10-year cleaning and it never shot the same since.
 
CZ are known for having a tight bore, so you do need to be careful. There is also an extractor in there that may be what is scratching your rod....get a bore guide. I bought an Otis pull through kit and will never go back to using a rod, I highly recommend it.
 
Never use aluminum rods in any rifle or pistol barrel. Although as mentioned the rod is softer than the steel, if you do not get the little bits and pieces of aluminum out then fire the gun, you can push that aluminum into the steel and it will be a ##### to get out later. Also, CZ's have very, very right bores, you are better off using a good solvent and a patch, one way only, to clean it.

Scott
 
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