Best Gun Cleaning Brushes

   10.22.15

Best Gun Cleaning Brushes

If anybody out there really enjoys cleaning their guns, then you need therapy. Well, not really. Some hunters and shooters not only enjoy cleaning their guns to restore accuracy and durable protection, but they also like to know their guns are inspected regularly and are kept well maintained.

Top on the list of good cleaning supplies are bore brushes that can really get the job done effectively and efficiently. I have my own thoughts on that after 50 plus years of cleaning bores from .22 rimfires up to the big bore 45-70 buffalo round I used in Kansas a few years back to take an American Bison.

I, too, like the idea of keeping my guns cleaned, especially after a shooting session or a long hunting season. Sometimes if my hunting guns were exposed to bad outdoor elements then I will clean them again mid-season or as needed. I always wipe them down at the end of a day outside with a lightly oiled rag just to keep them spot free from skin contact, dust, and exposure to the elements.

When I settle down at the work bench out in the garage or the work table I use in my indoors man cave, I break out a selection of gun cleaning supplies to get the job done right. One of the first tools I get out are the bore brushes I will use to clean the barrel, chamber, and inside the action.

Call me old school or whatever, but I only use bronze or brass brushes in the bores of my guns. I have used stainless steel and plastic bristle brushes before, but after years of experience, these simply do not get the job done as well. Why?

Neither stainless steel nor plastic brushes conform as well to the rifling of the barrel bore in order to get into the crevices of the lands and grooves to satisfy my bore light inspections. When I am done scrubbing a barrel bore, I want to see a mirror shine with no grime or goo stuck in the rifling grooves. This can take some stubborn scrubbing and elbow grease.

I also tend to use a caliber size large bore brush if it is not too tight, and of course, always clean a barrel from the action end not the muzzle. Use brass or bronze for better results.

Avatar Author ID 67 - 786411124

Award winning outdoor writer/photographer since 1978. Over 3000 articles and columns published nationally. Field & Stream Hero of Conservation in 2007. Fields of writing includes hunting most game in American, Canada, and Europe, fishing fresh and saltwater, destination travel, product reviews, industry consulting, and conservation issues. Currently VP at largest community college in Mississippi in economic development and workforce training with 40 years of experience in Higher Education. BS-MS in wildlife sciences from MO. University, and then a PhD in Industrial Psychology. Married with two children and Molly the Schnoodle.

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