Brass rods and bore guides

[Terry1]

I am looking for the best way to clean my Rem 7600. Are solid brass cleaning rods, jags, and bore guides ok for your barrel? Can they do damage? I am especially concerned about the bore guide. Seems like a brass funnel stuck in my crown could be hazardous. Thanks for your time.

[gunnut69]

First you are right that putting things in contact with a barrel is dngerous but if we think a bit it can be minimized and cleaning is a very important part of maintenance. First one needs to remember that when 2 differing materials come together and there is any grit introduced the soft material will embed the grit and cut or wear aay the harder material. The steel of a barrel is fairly soft but both aluminum and brass are softer. If the is any grit they will embed the grit and damage the last inch or so of the bore. A bore guide SHOULD be softer than the steel as they don't move very much (of at least shouldn't) and the hold the cleaning rod away from that last inch of the bore...the most important inch in the bore. Bore guides save bores by centering the rod and keeping it there.. Use rods and guides from the rear of the barrel if possible but in your case that's hard to do.  Coated rods all claim that they won't embed grit but are just nylon or other thermoplastic coatings.. In my experiemce they DO embed and that can indeed cause damage. The best material I've found is stainless steel. It doesn't rust very much at all and rust is a very dangerous abrasive. They also are generally harder than barrel steel and so produce almost no danger of lapping damage.  I use stainless rods with bore guides (muzzle or breach) and wipe the rod as it's withdrawn from the bore.. The last note..bore snakes.. After the first pss it is contaminated with grit and metal particles and so it is a bit like cleaning ones bore with a dirty patch.. They are handy and easy to carry but there are pack rods that do the same and add the ability to punch out a stuck case(maybe) and or a dirty/snow plug..

[oneoldsap]

            A brass bore guide is the proper tool on your rod for your 7600 , and any other rifle that has to be cleaned from the muzzle ! The steel in the barrel is harder than brass and will not be damaged .