Rifle Competition Events Cleaning for Competitions

[Boomhauer_lives]

I clean as little as possible i swear my gun shoots better when its dirty . I clean carbon every 400-500 rounds . And strip copper once about halfway thru a barrels life . If im at a match where my rifle got dirty though i will clean the barrel when i clean the rest of the rifle just because .

 

[CK1.0]

Someone needs to invent a proper fucking tool to remove carbon rings already!

I swear it takes me ~5mins to clean my bore… then another hour+ to remove the carbon ring (sometimes requiring me to soak it with wet patches soaked in Boretech Eliminator stuffed in the chamber overnight).

 

[JerkyFreak]

Someone needs to invent a proper fucking tool to remove carbon rings already!

I swear it takes me ~5mins to clean my bore… then another hour+ to remove the carbon ring (sometimes requiring me to soak it with wet patches soaked in Boretech Eliminator stuffed in the chamber overnight).

Called a phosphor-bronze brush. Works very fast when combined with a petroleum based bore cleaner. If it takes longer than 5 minutes you're doing it wrong.

 

[Holliday]

@Nik H I ran across the instructions for the VFG pellets. I think this is where I got the idea that the nut is really only for when cleaning shotguns.

View attachment 8709063
Step 4 doesn’t reference using the nut for rifles. In the shotgun instructions (not pictured) they specifically mention using the nut.

Anyway, thought I’d pass that along.

I have been using VFG pellets for 12 years or so (recommended to me by @Zak Smith) . I use this on my Dewey Rod (pictured below). You can use one pellet either screwed on or just slipped on. You can also use two pellets where the first one drops off at the muzzle while the other stays put for scrubbing.

Choose in drop down menu:

Dewey Cleaning Rod Thread Adapter Converts 8-36 Male to Use 8-36

This Dewey Specialty Thread Adapter gives a cleaning rod and brush even more versatility by allowing the shooter to interchange accessories and even use...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[carbonbased]

Someone needs to invent a proper fucking tool to remove carbon rings already!

Rifle Competition Events - Cleaning for Competitions

Everyone and their mother has a different cleaning regime. Different products, different process and different definitions of what cleaning is. For many years my cleaning process for precision rifles has been follow boretech instructions. Maybe do a cycle or 2. Gun shoots well again and is...

www.snipershide.com

This is what I stumbled upon and man, it fucking works fast.

 

[carbonbased]

@CK1.0 look at page 1 on this thread for more pellet discussion and where to buy them more cheaply (and usually in stock!).

 

[memilanuk]

I have been using VFG pellets for 12 years or so (recommended to me by @Zak Smith) . I use this on my Dewey Rod (pictured below). You can use one pellet either screwed on or just slipped on. You can also use two pellets where the first one drops off at the muzzle while the other stays put for scrubbing.

Choose in drop down menu:

Dewey Cleaning Rod Thread Adapter Converts 8-36 Male to Use 8-36

This Dewey Specialty Thread Adapter gives a cleaning rod and brush even more versatility by allowing the shooter to interchange accessories and even use...

www.midwayusa.com

View attachment 8714727

I used to use those a bunch for 30 cal. Kinda lost interest in them due to the smaller calibers only having enough thread for one pellet. The 30 cal holds two (and a half) pretty easily.

I seem to recall finding a newer jag for the smaller calibers that held at least two pellets, but I don't recall where.

 

[Holliday]

I used to use those a bunch for 30 cal. Kinda lost interest in them due to the smaller calibers only having enough thread for one pellet. The 30 cal holds two (and a half) pretty easily.

I seem to recall finding a newer jag for the smaller calibers that held at least two pellets, but I don't recall where.

I have the smaller 22 cal. one too, which I use for 6.5 and smaller. It holds two.

BROWNELLS VFG® TWO PELLET ADAPTER

Check out BROWNELLS VFG® TWO PELLET ADAPTER available Online at Brownells Today and many more Gun Cleaning Jags products are available in our Tools & Cleaning Department.

www.brownells.com

 

[carbonbased]

Here are the Proshot versions. They also hold two pellets, plus they have a shotgun one too.

Welcome to Pro-Shot Products - Since 1982, World's #1 Brand of American Made Firearms Cleaning Accessories

 

[CK1.0]

Called a phosphor-bronze brush. Works very fast when combined with a petroleum based bore cleaner. If it takes longer than 5 minutes you're doing it wrong.

You either have no idea what I'm talking about, are rolling around with carbon rings and don't know it, don't own/use a borescope, or all of the above.

If it only takes you 5 minutes, you might be doing it wrong lol.

 

[CK1.0]

Thanks for the pellet suggestions... I'm going to order some and see how those work out.

Currently, and for the last 2 barrels or so, I've been using the Francis Colon/Chad Heckler trick that they talked about on their podcast a while back... which is taking a Boretech Action Wiper tool, and sacrificing it by trimming/stripping the rubber off of it so you end up with a "carbon ring jag" that nearly matches the neck OD of a 6mm and is too big to enter the chamber. After first soaking the area in Boretech Eliminator for a while, I then use the McGuyver'd tool on a rigid 10" chamber rod with as many patches as it takes and Iosso paste until the carbon ring is gone.

It's the best method I've found, but still kind of sucks.

 

[JerkyFreak]

Some of us put a short rod with the bronze brush on the end in a drill, put some Hoppe's or Ballistol on there and brush it out on medium speed. Takes about a minute or two.

Others use Ilosso and a nylon brush. Same result.

 

[hairy_pineapple588]

Some of us put a short rod with the bronze brush on the end in a drill, put some Hoppe's or Ballistol on there and brush it out on medium speed. Takes about a minute or two.

Others use Ilosso and a nylon brush. Same result.

I do this but I have a Zeus so I just take the barrel off and do it.

 

[CK1.0]

Some of us put a short rod with the bronze brush on the end in a drill, put some Hoppe's or Ballistol on there and brush it out on medium speed. Takes about a minute or two.

Others use Ilosso and a nylon brush. Same result.

What size brush would you recommend for a 6mm..?

I actually already bought a rod to try the drill method. But I still need to cut down the rod in order to be able to go in straight with my stock, and all I had on hand larger than .243/6mm brushes was a 9mm brush (that still didn’t stop me from trying it though lol, luckily it didn’t work out at all and the brush came apart before I bubba’d my shit lol).

As an aside, I’m starting to believe penetrating oil is the cheat code for hard carbon… I stuffed some patches soaked with penetrating oil in the throat for 30mins and the last remaining bitch of my carbon ring came out easy peezy (after Boretech Eliminator not doing shit soaking overnight).

I flush my barrels out with IPA until they squeak when I’m done cleaning like a lot of you, so whatever it takes is what it takes as far as I’m concerned.

 

[JerkyFreak]

Others recomend one size larger so in your case probably a .260/6.5mm size or even a pistol .25/6.5mm. Don't go larger. Personally I use same as bore size. Fight the temptation to stick it deeper than the chamber neck and don't use abrasive cleaners.

I have heard people complain that a bronze brush does not clean in the corner of the lands. These are the people that use the same brush for months, if not years...

Bronze brushes are consumables and wear quite fast. I get around 4 cleaning sessions per brush before I replace it. They are the cost of 2 to 3 shots, so won't break the bank.

 

[CK1.0]

Others recomend one size larger so in your case probably a .260/6.5mm size or even a pistol .25/6.5mm. Don't go larger. Personally I use same as bore size. Fight the temptation to stick it deeper than the chamber neck and don't use abrasive cleaners.

I have heard people complain that a bronze brush does not clean in the corner of the lands. These are the people that use the same brush for months, if not years...

Bronze brushes are consumables and wear quite fast. I get around 4 cleaning sessions per brush before I replace it. They are the cost of 2 to 3 shots, so won't break the bank.

Thanks, I'll try a 6.5 brush next time and see how it works out...

I agree about the brushes. I use a brand-new minty brass brush every time I clean. It's what I use for my initial scrub out (with a little penetrating oil) following a few patches of Boretech Eliminator (which I wish was as good at cleaning as it is at turning patches blue lol). The once-used brush from the last cleaning cycle becomes my host for wrapping a few patches of Iosso around and does the lion's share of the work and heavy lifting as far as my cleaning regime is concerned.

It goes quick and doesn't take a whole lot of effort for me to get my bore looking really good with just a few Iosso patches wrapped around the semi-fresh brass brush. I do 10-20 passes back and forth per patch, and it makes for quick work of getting out all the hard carbon and copper without me having to go too overboard with the abrasives to the point where I might bubba some shit.

FWIW, I take my barrels back to nearly bare metal, clean but not too clean. I'm looking for the right amount of "alligator skin" (taking normal wear and expected fire-cracking into account) without going too OCD, I purposely don't go further than that (which might be too far).

I'm still working on a carbon ring cleaning regime that's as fast and efficient... hopefully, the drill method does the trick.

 

[kingston]

OP read this thread.

Cleaning for Carbon

Had my first carbon ring cause issues and of course, now am paranoid. Got the borescope gave it a thorough cleaning. What the F am I looking for? Here'a pic with and without a piece of brass Which area am I trying to scrub out--when i was getting marks on bullets, im guessing it was in...

www.snipershide.com

You're making it things too complicated. While a bronze brush can be very helpful for removing a carbon ring from the throat, you shouldn't need a bronze brush to clean the bore.

 

[JerkyFreak]

You might not need a bronze brush to clean the bore, but it sure helps to speed up the process.

 

[ToddM]

Question for those using the VFG pellets cause I must be doing something wrong So I thought I'd try them in 6.5 and .308, so my first mistake it would seem is thinking the 6.5mm pellets were for a 6.5mm, cause they are sloppy loose, the 7.5mm pellets fit fairly snug in my 6.5 but not crazy tight, a smooth push, even though they say the 7.5mm are for .30. I'd say the 6.5mm in my 6.5 is way looser than a patch on a jag, the 7.5 is tighter. Clearly I'll need to get a size larger for .308 which I guess would be the 8mm.

However, the bigger issue I'm running into is jag/rod fit. So I've tried both the pro-tech version and brownells version, and neither fit on my boretech rods. The pro-tech version won't screw in all the way since they appear not to thread the last 1/16" or so of the jag post and the brownells version did not match up with any of my rod sizes so you end up with a sharp ledge at the ferrel or the jag.

 

[carbonbased]

Question for those using the VFG pellets cause I must be doing something wrong So I thought I'd try them in 6.5 and .308, so my first mistake it would seem is thinking the 6.5mm pellets were for a 6.5mm, cause they are sloppy loose, the 7.5mm pellets fit fairly snug in my 6.5 but not crazy tight, a smooth push, even though they say the 7.5mm are for .30. I'd say the 6.5mm in my 6.5 is way looser than a patch on a jag, the 7.5 is tighter. Clearly I'll need to get a size larger for .308 which I guess would be the 8mm.

However, the bigger issue I'm running into is jag/rod fit. So I've tried both the pro-tech version and brownells version, and neither fit on my boretech rods. The pro-tech version won't screw in all the way since they appear not to thread the last 1/16" or so of the jag post and the brownells version did not match up with any of my rod sizes so you end up with a sharp ledge at the ferrel or the jag.

How you adjust the pellet-to-bore fit is how far you screw them on. It can be sorta tricky to get a feel for it. Sometimes it’s too tight, and you barely back the pellet off and it fits well.

I’d use the correct size pellet for the bore (6.5 for 6.5).

What brand jag are you running?

I decided to just use the same brand jag and rod so everything threads on correctly and has a smooth jag/rod junction.

I use Proshot Vfg jags and rods. Kinda hard to find the Vfg jags on their site.

Welcome to Pro-Shot Products - Since 1982, World's #1 Brand of American Made Firearms Cleaning Accessories

 

[ToddM]

Ah so maybe that's it, is the idea that you screw the pellet on far enough that the taper at the end then "expands" it at the rear? I guess I hoped the whole pellet would be tight in the bore, just not the rear of it.

So I've tried the pro-shot and the brownells jags, the brownells version uses a larger threaded section, without any taper, so pellets are harder to get on, but seem to fit a bit tighter on that, but there's no taper to "expand" it as you thread it on. Sounds like some guys grind a point on the brownells version to aid in getting the pellets started.

So the below pictures are all the 6.5 pellets on the 3 jags I have (2 are proshot but just different dia.) If I'm understanding correctly I need to thread these on further so they expand more? The two on the proshot jags have almost zero resistance at all in my 6.5 barrel. I'm pretty sure the weight of the rod would move them. The brownells version is a little tighter, maybe what I'd call a fairly loose patch, but none of these even come close to what i'd consider a snug patch.

Maybe my expectation is wrong, I expected these would be pretty snug in the barrel since they are supposed to get solid contact with the entire barrel. I even dug the package back to make sure it really said 6.5mm and it does. If I use them in the manner shown below the 7.5mm .30 cal pellet takes a nice solid push to go through the barrel, not crazy hard to bend/flex the rod, just a good solid smooth push which is what I kind of expected.

I should probably read the instructions that came with them too (which I just did and didn't see anything helpful really)

 

[carbonbased]

Ah so maybe that's it, is the idea that you screw the pellet on far enough that the taper at the end then "expands" it at the rear? I guess I hoped the whole pellet would be tight in the bore, just not the rear of it.

So I've tried the pro-shot and the brownells jags, the brownells version uses a larger threaded section, without any taper, so pellets are harder to get on, but seem to fit a bit tighter on that, but there's no taper to "expand" it as you thread it on. Sounds like some guys grind a point on the brownells version to aid in getting the pellets started.

So the below pictures are all the 6.5 pellets on the 3 jags I have (2 are proshot but just different dia.) If I'm understanding correctly I need to thread these on further so they expand more? The two on the proshot jags have almost zero resistance at all in my 6.5 barrel. I'm pretty sure the weight of the rod would move them. The brownells version is a little tighter, maybe what I'd call a fairly loose patch, but none of these even come close to what i'd consider a snug patch.

Maybe my expectation is wrong, I expected these would be pretty snug in the barrel since they are supposed to get solid contact with the entire barrel.

View attachment 8756988

Yep, the taper is the secret. I screw the pellets far enough onto the Proshot jag so you can’t really see the taper. I can easily screw far enough so I cannot even start the pellet down the bore as it’s too fat.

In that case, I retract the rod, unscrew the pellet a scooch, and try again.

Personally, I think the Brownells pellet jag sucks.

You are using the VFG brand pellets, right? The Tipton ones are utter trash.

 

[carbonbased]

One tip is if you want a tighter fit, be careful to not mash the pellet down into the jag when screwing it on.

If you want a looser fit, before even screwing it on, gently roll the pellet between your fingers a little to spread it out a bit.

Pellets are also great when using the blue JB paste.

 

[CK1.0]

See, I’m still completely confused about the pellet thing and was on the verge of buying every different brand/version and a bunch of different sized pellets and just dicking around with it to figure out what legit works.

But I’d rather lean on you guys who’ve already been down that road if I can… so: what would be the best combo of jag and pellet brand/size for it to be tight as shit in a 6mm chamber and allow one to get right up against the “wall” before the bore starts, for kicking the shit out of carbon rings?

(The bore is easy IMHO and I’m not really interested in the pellets for that as I already like my usual method. The pellets seem like they could help for carbon rings though, if I can crack the code on sizing and what brand jag is the most sturdy and won’t come apart or otherwise turn to shit while trying to get some Iosso spun around in there on the end of a chamber rod.)

 

[6.5SH]

See, I’m still completely confused about the pellet thing and was on the verge of buying every different brand/version and a bunch of different sized pellets and just dicking around with it to figure out what legit works.

But I’d rather lean on you guys who’ve already been down that road if I can… so: what would be the best combo of jag and pellet brand/size for it to be tight as shit in a 6mm chamber and allow one to get right up against the “wall” before the bore starts, for kicking the shit out of carbon rings?

(The bore is easy IMHO and I’m not really interested in the pellets for that as I already like my usual method. The pellets seem like they could help for carbon rings though, if I can crack the code on sizing and what brand jag is the most sturdy and won’t come apart or otherwise turn to shit while trying to get some Iosso spun around in there on the end of a chamber rod.)

The Tipton felts and jag are fine for full contact soaking a leade with C4 or singles passes through a bore.

If you are going to be "scrubbing" get the VFG and their jag with the nut.
Read the image with the descriptions #364864 is for 8-32 female rods or adapters and works for .22 and up

Pardon Our Interruption...

ETA:
Seems the Quebecois have decided to no longer ship to the US. They were the only source I know of that had all the sizes.

 

[ToddM]

Yep I ordered VFG pellets, from a mix of Brownells/Buffalo Arms as some were hard to find, I had heard the tipton version were junk from reading various threads on them. I looked at VFG's jag with the nut but honestly the idea of having that knurled nut on the end, esp. on smaller sizes did not sit well with my brain. It appears brownells has the VFG jag with the nut as well.

The Ebay seller from Canada had notes on their actions a few days ago saying they were stopping all shipments to the US after the 26th due to tarrifs/customs if I remember right. I almost bought .22 cal pellets from them cause they were very hard to find in the states.

I'll have to play around with them and sizes, I'd rather have the pellet fit snug evenly in the barrel rather than just flared at the end because of compressing it at the taper, seems like that drastically reduces it's contact area. That said, for say working a throat/carbon ring I could see having it flared being a great option.

I was able to address the rod/jag issue, I had some pro-shot rods laying around that I have not used for awhile, I just prefer the boretech stuff, but not surprisingly the pro-tech jags fit perfectly into their rods

 

[carbonbased]

See, I’m still completely confused about the pellet thing and was on the verge of buying every different brand/version and a bunch of different sized pellets and just dicking around with it to figure out what legit works.

But I’d rather lean on you guys who’ve already been down that road if I can… so: what would be the best combo of jag and pellet brand/size for it to be tight as shit in a 6mm chamber and allow one to get right up against the “wall” before the bore starts, for kicking the shit out of carbon rings?

(The bore is easy IMHO and I’m not really interested in the pellets for that as I already like my usual method. The pellets seem like they could help for carbon rings though, if I can crack the code on sizing and what brand jag is the most sturdy and won’t come apart or otherwise turn to shit while trying to get some Iosso spun around in there on the end of a chamber rod.)

For the carbon ring, here is what I discovered:

Rifle Competition Events - Cleaning for Competitions

Everyone and their mother has a different cleaning regime. Different products, different process and different definitions of what cleaning is. For many years my cleaning process for precision rifles has been follow boretech instructions. Maybe do a cycle or 2. Gun shoots well again and is...

www.snipershide.com

Edit: sorry, it looks like you’re wondering what exact size and brand to buy.

I haven’t cleaned a carbon ring out of 6BR, or if I did I forgot to note what pellet size to use.

For a 204 I used a 223 Proshot pellet jag and a VFG 6mm pellet and twirled it. If I were you, I’d buy some 30cal pellets and either a Proshot 223 or 270 pellet jag and give it a go. They make a ton of pellet sizes, and if you’re not cleaning the bore you can be unconcerned about jag diameter not matching your rod.

Btw the quick clean felts at the top have no hole, and are meant to be shot out of an air gun in order to clean the bore. I wish it was that easy for us!

VFG manufacturer site: http://waffenpflege.de/
Pdf: https://www.alanrhone.com/images/products-vfg-catalogue.pdf

 

[carbonbased]

The Ebay seller from Canada had notes on their actions a few days ago saying they were stopping all shipments to the US after the 26th due to tarrifs/customs if I remember right.

Oooooofffff really? I’m running out of 22cal pellets, fuck!

I'd rather have the pellet fit snug evenly in the barrel rather than just flared at the end because of compressing it at the taper, seems like that drastically reduces its contact area.

I haven’t noticed any problems with the Proshot pellet jags. The pellets clean very well and come out uniformly dirty.

I think the flaring is a non-issue when compared to the lowered cleaning efficiency of “one time through” patches + typical spear jags (the Montana extreme jags are different, though! They allow the use of regular patches too so you can stroke back/forth).

Rifle Competition Events - Cleaning for Competitions

Everyone and their mother has a different cleaning regime. Different products, different process and different definitions of what cleaning is. For many years my cleaning process for precision rifles has been follow boretech instructions. Maybe do a cycle or 2. Gun shoots well again and is...

www.snipershide.com

 

[carbonbased]

FYI Amended my above post here with some more info @CK1.0

 

[ToddM]

Well perhaps not stopping but postponing:

"To my all US customers!
From August 25th, I will postpone US shipping by Canada Post/USPS until postal service get updated to handle these new Tariffs & Customs Duties. I'm hoping that eBaY will collect these fees at checkout to ease to package border crossing avoid delay and payment on delivery Thank you for your patience
Daily shipping Monday through Friday"

That said I ordered .22 size from Buffalo Arms, they had both versions in stock for 22 at the time. Not sure why but at leas when I was looking the .22 versions seem to be the hardest to find. Which is funny cause those are the ones I actually was originally interested in.

 

[carbonbased]

@ToddM
I took a look at some of the pellet jags out there.

VFG

PROSHOT

I think that the fact that the manufacturer of the pellets has a flare at the rear should put your mind at ease. I think getting a pellet sized perfectly so it’s tight in the bore without using an above jag would result in you not being able to insert it very easily.

After all, bullets and spear point jags are also narrower at the tip to facilitate bore entry.

The Tipton pellet jag and Brownells don’t really have much of a taper/flare at the back. Edit: which is part of the reason why I think they suck lol

 

[ToddM]

Makes sense!

Interestingly I ran across a video using these in various ways, and I had no idea that European cleaning rods were the opposite, the rod has the male end and the jags are female. That said I think in reality a lot of the rods here are as well, I know both boretech and dewey have adapters threaded on the rods that go from male to female to accept male jags. I've never really liked that, I figure the less "parts" on the end of the rod the better. Pro-shot has the right idea there, no extra parts added on, and in theory a rod with a female end should be stronger less likely to bend, and the narrower male threaded section. I know I've seen plenty of bent 8/32 jags over the years, that would mean replacing a rod.

I will say though, it was a pretty long, involved video and they never talked about using the flare on the back to get the right "fit" but when you watch him install the felts he's clearly threading them on into that taper pretty good to the point you really can't see the taper anymore. It does seem like though with the VFG jag that has the threaded nut, you could always use the nut to essentially adjust the diameter as well by compressing it. That said they also advise not to use any cleaning fluid of any type (aside their bore paste) so there's that, he also has the largest aerosol can that I've seen in a long time. They do at least advise that the rod/pellet should never go all the way out of the barrel (I admit I'm horrible about that, I push a lot of patches fully out of the barrel).

 

[carbonbased]

you could always use the nut to essentially adjust the diameter as well by compressing it.

Yeah, but I with the small bore sizes I use (.17 to .224”), the nut makes me a bit nervous. I suppose with larger bores the chances of effing something up go down pretty fast.

I found my pic of the VFG jag and nut instructions.

Rifle Competition Events - Cleaning for Competitions

Everyone and their mother has a different cleaning regime. Different products, different process and different definitions of what cleaning is. For many years my cleaning process for precision rifles has been follow boretech instructions. Maybe do a cycle or 2. Gun shoots well again and is...

www.snipershide.com

They don’t specifically say NOT to use the nut with rifles, but only discuss using it with shotguns.

They do at least advise that the rod/pellet should never go all the way out of the barrel (I admit I'm horrible about that, I push a lot of patches fully out of the barrel).

My technique around that is to use the longest jag I could find (Proshot) and use their rod stop to limit the jag/rod junction from ever exiting the muzzle. With patches, just the patch exits and a little jiggle makes it fall off. With anything else (like pellets) I stop an inch or so from the muzzle.

If you don’t use Proshot rods or don’t own their rod stop, wrap a strip of thicker tape around the rod to make a “flag”. That will bump into the bore guide and help stop the rod.

Admittedly, the Proshot rod stop can slip a little. My 30cal doesn’t but my 22cal does. I should ask for a replacement. A strip of tape behind it solves the issue, but if I have to do that, why use the rod stop? Then I just use the tape.

 

[ToddM]

Agreed, the nut, especially on smaller calibers would make me very nervous. Never tried a rod stop, or tape but that's a good idea. I used to just block the muzzle end off against something like wood etc. so the jag could not exit, but that doesn't work for guns with brakes on them, and these days I have more of those than not. Normally I'll do back and forth strokes with the boretech proof jags and patches and it works very well unless you come back a bit too far and get out of the chamber and the patch bunches up. In the past I've used used a sharpie to mark the rod (silver or black) and it works okay, but a good rod stop would obviously be better. I've always figured the rod stop would either dig into the rod, or it would slip, but I use the lucas bore guides and those fit pretty tight on the rod, so it wouldn't take much tape to make an effective stop.

 

[carbonbased]

I use the lucas bore guides and those fit pretty tight on the rod, so it wouldn't take much tape to make an effective stop.

Just to make sure you know how I’m wrapping the tape.

It’s not really dependent upon the boreguide-to-rod tightness, within reason. It’s the “flag” bit of the tape that helps stop the forward momentum of the rod. Hence why heavier/stiffer tape is needed.

I suppose if you used your cleaning rod just for one rifle, then wrapping the rod with tape until it was too thick to go through the bore guide would work. But I use the rods for many different length rifles, so I need to constantly rip off the tape and reapply it to a different spot of the rod. The “flag” method makes this relatively easy.

 

[ToddM]

Yeah that seems like the best option, as you said I use the same rod for multiple guns so a clamp on stop is probably not the best option, a tag of tape like that would easily get the job done.

 

[carbonbased]

Yeah that seems like the best option, as you said I use the same rod for multiple guns so a clamp on stop is probably not the best option, a tag of tape like that would easily get the job done.

Well, a clamp-on stop would rock if it held fast and didn’t move. I am thinking of getting something from McMaster as it does get slightly tedious to rip the tape off and reapply it. I don’t care if the rod gets marked up as that area will never go through the bore.

Or I might just buy a number of the same rods and leave the tape on them full-time! Lol as I said, I hate cleaning and any second I don’t spend cleaning is a second I can do something fun.

Btw the tape I use is high-quality gaffer tape. It’s used for movie or photo sets as it doesn’t leave goo, is fairly strong, is hand-tearable and releases pretty easily. Kinda spendy, but I use it for marking plastic bins and all sorts of other stuff, and barely use much for cleaning rods. Clear box tape or duct tape would suck to use as both would leave lots of goo.