OH NO! I ruined my barrel with a bronze brush!!!

OH NO! I ruined my barrel with a bronze brush!!!
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[@trevorkolmatycki4042]

Thank you for this... and let us all take a moment of silence to pray for all those poor lonely bronze brushaphobes out there who are so heinously tortured by their fear of their preciously fragile rifle bores... May God deliver these poor souls from their torturous mental bondage. 🙏🏼

[@raybede]

😄 good man Al uk

[@lumumbandi6463]

Bronze, all i ever encounter is brass brushes

[@tedbrown1535]

Amen! 😂

[@No_Fuse8771]

Bronz is softer than steel so if the brush does do damage.... Maybe you don't need to buy a gun, or find a new place to purchase guns. Just my 2c ante.

[@donkeziah2564]

Bronze / brass will wear steel!!!

[@wallyrossow3141]

I was a machinist in my younger years and there’s no way anybody can convince me that a brass or bronze bore brush will harm a gun barrel. The forces generated when a bullet is shot through a barrel are much greater than any human can generate while cleaning a barrel. I think your video proved that as well. Good job😎

[@garmancathotmailcom]

It's about the hardness of the materials not the force.

[@user-xx5zl8dz1v]

@@garmancathotmailcom then that has more issues then

[@John..556]

Exactly what I thought the first time I heard that claim

[@randylahey2242]

@@garmancathotmailcom agreed and it’s not the pure bronze brush that does the damage. The person who picked the brush metal purposely choose one that is much softer than barrel steel. The problem comes when you have a dirty brush. If you rake a piece of plastic over your car it will never scratch it, but if you put a small rock between the paint and plastic…

[@paulf7803]

Yeah because car paint is the same hardness as a cold hammer forged 4150 steel barrel meant to take 55,000psi thousands of times. Dragging some carbon along with the brush isn’t going to do shit. Jesus man he used a drill and you still have these phobias.

[@dlkline27]

I'm 84 years old and I've done a lot of shooting with a lot of different firearms which naturally led to a lot of cleaning. In my time I've worn out dozens of bronze brushes but never, ever did any bore damage using them. This video is spot on.

[@2pugman]

I'm 82 and also never damage a bore with a bronze brush.

[@mattedwards4533]

@@2pugman Its not that a brush damages barrels.What I have found is a brush is not needed if a barrel is cleaned properly. I have and have had as fine a rifles one could purchase and yes, years ago I used a brush when cleaning them. It never hurt one at all. I now don't use them and get excellent results. What I do know is a neglected barrel may benefit from using a brush .

[@Stonehombre1]

And NO ONE would ever use a power drill to clean their barrel !!! You've proved a GREAT POINT. Thanks !!

[@HerculesEinstein]

now that i see i done, it is a good idea....

[@gary952]

That's the only way to clean. Power drill brush and shit ton of clp.. all of mine look mirror polished.

[@oakridgereview1359]

Lmao I have ABSOLUTELY used a drill 😂 shit goes like butter ❤

[@dereksteele2284]

I had to do it on a rifle that I bought. It looked like it had never been cleaned, and I even cleaned it before I shot it, and it wasn't accurate at all because of the heavy pitting and rust in the riflings, so I used a drill and it took all the pitting and rust out. The rifle is a tac driver now. I also polish my turkey gun like this too for tighter patterns

[@attrezzopox]

I mean... being able to see yourself in the bore... Seems like the best idea ever...

[@TheRealWindlePoons]

When I studied engineering at college, we were taught that a material which is harder than another will leave a scratch. If your *steel* barrel is softer than your *bronze* brush then that's some soft steel. You can however scratch your barrel with a bronze brush if the brush is coated in some kind of abrasive like lapping paste. A clean bronze brush on a decent barrel will only *clean* it.

[@Acemechanicalservices]

Ever seen a brass or copper hammer? They’re made for hammering steel without damaging it, so that should tell you something.

[@lifepolicy]

Clean bronze brushes will wear the barrel down. It just takes a lot of them. But on a serious note: you can ruin a barrel with chemicals and dirt really quick.

[@FlyingVFan]

Mohs Scale of Hardness

[@CM-xr9oq]

@@lifepolicy impossible

[@lifepolicy]

@@CM-xr9oq Just learn something about engineering and you will find out that soft materials wear down harder materials. Or just find out why your knife gets dull when you slice bread or your sharpening stone wears down when you sharpen said knife.

[@PolenarTactical]

This is my experience also. There sure are ways you can damage a barrel but not with normal cleaning implements and techniques

[@snicklefritzd3612]

Well put

[@michaelpratt3142]

Overall, I agree with this analysis. Steel is harder than bronze or practically anything else we clean with, and I don't sweat this stuff. I watched your cleaning video yesterday (good stuff) and dude posted Rex's link from sniper 101 videos with talk of the CAZ and HAZ and brittleness which can occur. We saw this in the bore scope here at the throat where much of that wear is taking place. I don't think this video proves anything when he avoids the area of the barrel where the real damage occurs and the barrel is actually becoming embrittled. I suspect there are a few rifles this matters and most it doesn't. I get the premise, but why didn't he attack the throat like that? I think we're better served to point out the "what-not-to" in this case, if they're few. It would have been great to see a before and after bore scope of the throat cleaning in this video, including shooting groups like you guys did. That would have been useful.

[@wannabecarguy]

One day I tested a gun. Maybe got 20 rounds off. Gun was short stroking. I put it away and forgot to clean it. 2 years later I found out I used corrosive primered ammo.

[@Charon-5582]

@@wannabecarguy RIP

[@cagneybillingsley2165]

probably the new gun owners the past few years who don't understand basic metallurgy. why would people be using bronze brushes on their barrels for decades if it was capable of damaging it? these people can't ask themselves basic questions or use common sense about metal softness

[@brownells]

We too did a video on the topic, our finding was the same as yours! Great video!

[@lylehutchins916]

When I turned 13, I received a .22rifle, A single-shot. I just turned 76 and that rifle still holds true to its aiming. Colt built the barrel prolly in the '50s (???). I as a young kid didn't know they sold cleaning kits! So my mom drove me to Alamosa Welding supply store. I bought a brass welding rod that would easily go down the barrel for cleaning. So for 63 years, I've cleaned that .22 with brass involvement. Even I knew way back then I knew it wouldn't scratch the bore! You reiterated my thoughts. BTW I have a 30-06 Springfield built in 1911 and cleaned the full bore with a drill and brass brush because it hasn't seen a damn thing in the bore for probably 75/or more years. The brass cleaned like Mr. Clean!!

[@justacentrist4147]

22s are a bad example the pressures are so low and with modern non corrosive ammo you won't shoot one out in a lifetime unless you are shooting millions of rounds. iv owned 22 rifles that were over 100 years old and they still shot true and had gorgeous bores

[@SH1974]

I absolutely have no doubt in Your experience: Firearms can last for Decades, Generations or even Centuries... Some of my guns are also really old (not few are older as I am) and used and cleaned often, but: Did You frequently, (over decades?) clean Your barrels like he does in that Video? I don't. Not even once.

[@christiankent280]

This had me dying 🤣 "oh no reverse" lmfao. Appreciate somebody putting this straight.

[@johnknouse8846]

I’m not a metallurgist, but how in the hell would it even be possible to hurt steel with bronze? If you could, imagine what a jacketed bullet would do! You’d have a smooth bore after 1 box of ammo!

[@elenoe8]

same way you use a stone to sharp a steel knife and the wrong direction makes it worse. The point is not to "reshape it". Same as you don't harm "the barrel". Just sharpen/dull the outer edge that matters most. And no, it won't make any difference for some "hunting rifle" that doesn't need to be exactly precise in the first place. It however changes properties of benchrest grade rifles. Also related to video, what he is doing is not the danger. But you need to go all way down the barrel. And the rod bumping the barrel edge is the danger, not the "brush". Brush itself cleans the barrel. And as said the barrel inside doesn't really matter at all as long as it's well fabricated it's only purpose is to give rotation, doesn't affect precision, even if you did pretty serious harm. Only the outer edge does. And that's what you are trying to not alter by cleaning it from inside out. Consistency >>> technique. Do you think you would notice a difference with mag.glass between ordinary Mosin and Sniper grade Mosin? How do you think they differ? They all left the exatly same line. Once you find the answer to that, you may try to understand what happens if you do what the video did :) And most importantly when it matters and when it doesn't.

[@Dr.Unsteady]

@@elenoe8 I don’t think you understand how abrasives work..

[@ricksanchez9669]

@@elenoe8 so you think that the gentle bumping of the soft metal rod can damage a hardened, probably chrome molly coated barrel? The same barrel that sees thousands of hot projectiles forced through at 2000+ fps? There are 2 ways to damage something. Use a harder object, or use a softer object that's moving really fast. Its why you can shoot through a cement block with a lead bullet. Try scratching the cement with the same lead bullet, it will work like chalk. Also if you want to sound smart, learn to write. I had to read your little essay up there multiple times, and the only thing i learned was that you write at 4th grade level.

[@davidwilson1107]

@@elenoe8 my cleaning rod is carbon fiber so I'm good!

[@garmancathotmailcom]

@@elenoe8 Last paragraph is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen on the internet.

[@happyhankjr]

THANK YOU...I'm 70 and have been cleaning guns with a bronze brush for 60 years (which includes years of bullseye competition) and NEVER saw any harm to the barrel by using them.

[@stellarpod]

Thank you! Just, thank you! I am so tired of hearing lame stories on KZbin by individuals who clearly have no understanding of metallurgy or engineering spewing nonsense about damage from bronze brushes. It's refreshing to see someone refuting that nonsense in such a graphic way. As always, thank you for sharing. Steve

[@adamchristenson8017]

Thank you for making this video! I’ve heard so many people on KZbin say all these things will ruin your barrel. I always thought steel was harder than bronze…

[@TurningGuns]

Not to mention the 1000s of rifles still around from decades ago when nylon wasn't used,hmmm.

[@nathanielgray4235]

Exactly so many people talk about it but how can that be if it's not even equally hard

[@kcstott]

What about the .010" oversize copper clad projectile being forced down the bore at 65KPSI? if a bronze brush ruins your barrel it would be shot out the first shot.

[@tajituck888]

@@kcstott lmao exactly. common sense aint so common anymore.

[@mikelong9638]

@@kcstott Bingo!

[@hardball107]

Your so right. Long story short I bought a CMP M1 and the bore was so fouled after 3 weeks of scrubbing the copper looked like silly putty on the lands, it shot patterns not groups at 50 yards. I was about to replace the barrel so I figured for one last try I took a lightly worn 35 caliber brass bore brush, wrapped it with patches loaded with JB Bore Polish, locked it into an electric drill and went to town. 10 MINUTES later I cleaned the bore and it looked like yours, almost polished, no gouges, roughness or grooves and the brush was still snug. I took that rifle out and all I'll say it is the most accurate Garand of the 4 I own. That brush never hurt anything.

[@greyveteran7007]

JB Bore Polish is Magic! I coat my AR trigger contact points with is and dry fire it for hours (with my hand over the hammer). An old (and I mean old) gunsmith told me to do it. Over time it really was smoother. But it took a while. But what else are you going to do while watching old movies.

[@18echo]

I did the same thing but used blue magic paste and a heavy duty rubber hose cut in half half an inch tall as a rubber bumper so my lower didn’t get damage , it was the best hack ever for a factory trigger.

[@chrisgabbert658]

Works well on chambers too 😊.

[@justindunlap1235]

The electric drill trick is great for removing heavy fouling, especially on old single shots that fired enough 22 shorts to make it impossible to chamber 22lr

[@lostpyper6973]

@@justindunlap1235 I learned that the hard way recently....I was putting .22shorts in a Rascal for my kid. The ring of crud made .22lr completely impossible to chamber. Sooooo much Hoppes and a brass brush in a drill.....

[@freakygardener8033]

Good information! When I had my firearms, I had plastic, brass, and stainless loop brushes, but heard from lots of people NOT to use ANY in an air gun! Now I can rest at ease.

[@MrBadger]

I got a good chuckle from your attempt to damage that barrel. OH NO! LMAO!

[@Dave839]

Part of my cleaning process for "barn find" pre-war guns is to carding wheel the finish after boiling them out, then running a brush through the bore on a drill like that. It does actually improve the bore, even getting corrosion out of the pits from 100 year old black powder grime. I have an S&W Model 3 from the 1880's that went from 14" sized groups at 15 yards to 2" sized groups. Granted, late 19th century rifling lathes didn't produce anything close to what we'd call a precision bore today. But the metallurgy was poor and I'd think if a bronze brush would damage a bore it'd be from that era. I've heard that extremely precise barrels should only be cleaned with nylon bore brushes and patches before using a crown protector, but never from someone that uses an extremely precise barrel. I think all this reduces down to internet autism, with a healthy influence of fudd lore.

[@BlackKnight-ll8qh]

HA! "Internet autism" I like that new term lol

[@ausername7470]

@@BlackKnight-ll8qh just wait until you find out about weaponized autism.

[@jamesgiffordiv6606]

If you think the internet autism is bad, try the old men at a gun club. They are borderline superstitious about it. I met a guy the other day with an $6,000 .22 lr. He cleans his barrel with nylon brushes, bore guide, fiberglass rods only, and a bore mop to soak just the chamber and the crown of the barrel, but not the bulk of the barrel. Then he wipes it with dry patches until they come out perfectly clean. None of these guys can agree about what actually works. I read a book about long range shooting, and ignored the random advice unless everyone was saying the same thing about something. I've been doing this for 2 months now. That guy with the $6,000 gun? He's been doing it for decades, and his 50yd groups are only marginally better than my own, and my gun cost $200. Reason beats superstition every time guys. Listen to what the actual professionals are saying: Army Rangers, special forces, etc.

[@sunnesonne]

@@jamesgiffordiv6606 I have a vudoo v22 and you would be surprised how much i heard of the "marginally better groups" after 10 shots in 0.33-0.36 inches consistently, without flyers and then I am shown those marginally worse groups and they are 0.6 inch 3 shot group with a flyer that makes it 1+ inch. I clean my 22 with a nylon brush and bore tech rimfire blend (won in comp), with a fiberglass rod and vudoo guide that I also won in a competition, nothing too goofy like selective cleaner application. It's all just a precaution, I don't want to accidentally hit and possibly damage the crown, can I clean it with a breakdown rod and hoppes 9? Sure, but I only paid for nylon brushes, as everything else was basically free and I would rather be safe then sorry with expensive 22lr, the only way to destroy those barrels is by improper storage/cleaning, no way 40 grain projectile traveling at 1040fps can create any stress.

[@michamichaowski8375]

​@@sunnesonnewell a 22lr is probably i mean probably softer steel than say 223 rem. Much less pressure and velocity so it is understable that you dont need that hard of a metal

[@Don.E.63]

I tried to tell people years ago bronze will NOT scratch steel unless you have a pot metal barrel haha! Thanks for proving my point!

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

I know someone who wont even use a brushless boresnake for fear of stripping the chrome off. I gave up trying to explain how any bullet going down the barrel at 2500 FPS will do more damage.

[@bilbo_gamers6417]

"my barrel was made in Spain to be sold to France at the absolute very end of World War 1, and this bronze brush totally took the rifling off! Come to think of it, there might not have been any to begin with, but still!"

[@randalhuffman8827]

@@bilbo_gamers6417 lol.....

[@stevespanos75]

To see barreling in such detail. Very nice explanation and clarification. It all makes sense, good job.

[@squiretomasie7003]

Thank you Sir! Ive always thought that was BS!

[@gabemando7823]

Imagine being built to withstand 10s of thousands of PSI, temperatures as hot as the surface of the sun and have a piece of copper travel through you at 2000-3000fps only to be defeated by a bronze brush and a drill.

[@TerminalM193]

A bronze brush will fuck up a barrels crown REAL fast if forced or even minor bend pressure applied. I'd rather have a pitted barrel than a damaged crown. Damaged crowns are the number 1 accuracy killer.

[@StuninRub]

@@nvlaser9084 the surface of the sun is not millions of degrees, go back to school.

[@StuninRub]

@@TerminalM193 A bronze brush can not hurt the crown of a barrel.

[@StuninRub]

@@nvlaser9084 Wow I didn't know you have extra chromosomes, this changes everything.

[@Mikzone-zb6jk]

Actually defeated by a casual bore cleaning with a bronze brush is the topic

[@ikesquirrel]

I started laughing so hard when I saw the drill/brush. Then you went all out nuts and I almost fell on the floor laughing. I said out loud "that's gonna be super polished now!" Great demo and perfect example. I hear this stuff all the time and that more barrels are destroyed by cleaning.....I have no idea how that happens unless someone has NO idea what they are doing with a steel chisel and hammer...

[@andypeterson8013]

When I saw him go after the barrel with a drill I was thinking, "....that is genius, I'm going to start drill cleaning my bore from now on." But just ramming the brush back and forth does the job just fine. What have the other nay sayers been doing to clean their bores?

[@martinz.4852]

🤔🤣🤣SAME HERE👍👍

[@EdBert]

That's the crap that people who do not clean their tools say.

[@alexugorcak6159]

Hahahaha yes major miss use

[@joshdenison3598]

You just gave me so much peace of mind. Thank you

[@fredwilliams7551]

spot on i am new to reloading and there are so many "opinions" and taboos that are in the reloading universe and what i have learned as I move forward I have learned to just use my head and what is reasonable and one of them is the bronze brush nonsense love your channel because u call BS on alot of these so-called opinions

[@jacobbowling6247]

Yeah, as someone who works with metals all day (machinist) I knew this was always a bunch of BS superstition. A soft metal will not cut a harder metal, and most barrels are made of 4140 steel

[@blue03r6]

I was a machinist and one of my jobs was to polish molds after they were machined. Even steel brushes will only polish the metal at best. I think these guys see engine builders using brushes with aluminum oxide coated brushes to home the cylinders and think that's what their brass brush is doing

[@muninrob]

I always thought the advice was because of the brush "bronze plating" the inside of the barrel the same way I lay the brass layer on my knife pommels. (I use a brass wire wheel brush and lightly heat a steel pommel - quick and dirty "gold" look for bits of hardware like pommels and crossguards)

[@bartimisfoul3459]

Imagine explaining Rockwell Hardness to some of these "experts".

[@jacktheaviator4938]

Actually, both materials, the harder and the softer, both wear when rubbed together. Even air can erode steel if you give it enough time.

[@blue03r6]

@@jacktheaviator4938 have you ever worked as a machinist? I know you have not. Only Harder materials are used to cut softer materials Thats machinist 101. Seriously. Thats like the first thing taught in a trade school. They are not using plain water to cut stuff. It has sand etc in it.

[@theguess7]

Thanks for clearing this up. I could never understand how a soft material can significantly damage a harder material like a steel barrel.

[@joelee2371]

It's "possible" but only under extreme forces which cannot be generated by hand or even a power drill. For instance, a tornado will blast straws through tree trunks, and a 12 ga shotgun will drive a wax dinner candle through a 1X6 pine board. But you aren't going to hurt a barrel with a bronze brush, and sometimes you need it to get out really bad fouling.

[@TWilson-fo7je]

Great video have been cleaning rifles for 50 years with bronze brushes. Never had any issue, barrels never rust or show any imperfections. Thanks!

[@bluzharpin20]

This made me laugh so hard. Thanks for sharing!

[@zaca952]

I'm happy you demonstrated this, I have heard this so many times. I think a lot if this stems back to the statement of "more guns are ruined by overcleaning than shooting" which I think is just an excuse for laziness, I can tell you one thing for sure is more barrels are ruined by neglect than proper cleaning.

[@garypersons9320]

I would tend to agree with the "overcleaning" statement. We are taught, when we first start shooting, that the white patch should come out of the barrel after you think it is clean, white. This of course is not true. So, given that statement, most people still believe that," the white must be white" after you clean, and will stroke the barrel until the white does in fact come out white. I very seldom have a completely white patch when I get though cleaning. Normally there is a light coat of black on the patch. And how many people clean from the muzzle without a muzzle guide? That being said, yes, I think people tend to over clean their barrels.

[@whiplash636]

Lmao, you just ruined all the expensive nylon brush manufacturers' day.

[@nominalvelocity]

The nice thing about nylon is gun solvent like Hoppes is savage on bronze bristles. It eats em right up making the life of the brush short, and you're always chasing green black shmoo out of your barrel thinking it's copper fouling. It's copper alright, just from the bronze alloy of your brush. I'll only use bronze with some kerosene for lube for that reason. But nylon...Just dunk that bitch in Hoppes and go to town.

[@jaydunbar7538]

I wouldn't label any of the brushes nylon or otherwise expensive, cleaning supplies are cheap.

[@StanMills]

I am so glad to see this video. People have been using bronze brushes for hundreds of years, now suddenly we were suppose to believe they damage our barrel! Thanks for the good video.

[@erikwilson7622]

Not worried about a bronze brush, but the 4,500 rounds sent down that barrel! Had a 22-250 that I figure I managed to get around 3,000 through. It looked like the first few inches of the barrel all the way to it's 26" length. It amazed me that it would still shoot until it got worn out to the last 8 or 9 inches of the barrel.

[@joer3198]

Glad I'm not the only one who's tested this. It had never made sense to me. If a bronze/brass patch harms a barrel. Brass, bronze, is used as bearing and bushing material for steel on steel surfaces everywhere, and a lot of it isn't hardened or as hard as barrel steel. Also glad I'm not the only one who has chucked up a brush in a drill, my muzzleloaders get abused because I am forgetful.

[@JubileeValence]

@Joe R Thanks for bringing me back to reality as I was loving this vid & the crazy comments lol!...But my heavy class 8 truck has a solid steel Hendrickson R suspension with the single center bronze bushing centered in each rear beam and...one of them has a plug in half of the grease pathway so I only get lubed on the bottom half of the bronze bushing. Arrrggghhhh!!!!! There's really no fix; only riding it out for a few more years. Cheers!

[@rhcockrum8746]

Awesome information. Thanks for taking the time to share your testing and results. I really appreciate it!

[@hawaiiangunner]

😂😂😂😂😂 I've heard this before at the range. Got to be one of the things that makes me laugh the hardest!!!

[@-Rome-]

Well, heck, I'm converted now. Thank you for educating, brother!

[@edhalson3154]

Never heard such bollocks! I wonder if the steel wire twist which holds the bronze filaments is bent and this is the cause of the scratches. I've used countless bronze and nylon brushes and never had any scratching issues on many different rifles over the last 45 years. Someone's doing something drastically odd if they're badly scratching their bores! A really good and well presented counter argument to the problem! Kudos.

[@allywilkeforsenate]

I think the steel or what ever metal they use to hold the bronz Bristol’s cheap and softer metal.Barrels are really hard.

[@LinusScrubTips]

Nah. If steel case ammo can’t hurt a chamber no way the steel bendy wire is hurting the bore.

[@Troy_Built]

I'd never heard of it until this video.

[@jeffpickard5548]

Well, there’s always a “special” person in every group. Thanks for the laughs. Much needed today!

[@brianmurray1395]

THANKS A TON for your video. I was always told not to use them … lol AWESOME!!

[@tomsherwood4650]

My brushes are always dipped in solvent so they are lubed which would reduce friction even more than a dry brush. Your steel rod can damage the edge of the muzzle if you go nuts with scrubbing and not use a brass guard. Some rimfires as well as muzzle loaders are probably made with steels that are not as hard or strong as for powerful centerfire rifles. If in doubt you could run a solvent patch thru before brushing to remove anything that is loose that could be abrasive, like primer residues maybe.

[@brettinnj]

I think a bullet traveling at 3000 fps down the barrel will do more harm than a bronze brush ever would.

[@shierraalpha893]

Yes, i believed that discharge bullet is more than harm the groove cos speed and heat involve while bronze brush upon use cleaning it never damage coz no heat no pressure involed thats it

[@joelee2371]

You bet your bones it will; rifles which operate at 4000 fps go through barrels like underwear.

[@whereswaldo6085]

Thank you for clarifying the question about using bronze brushes that other videos made a case against them. I was almost convinced to not use bronze brushes. Although I was skeptical due to the fact that gun cleaning kits almost all include bronze brushes. Why would they even sell them if they were so damaging to barrels?

[@lawofliberty3517]

😂brass hurting hardened steel meant for thousands of lbs of pressure, almost had me🤣

[@JG54206]

What amazes me even more that the lack of damage from the bronze brush is that you were doing all that from the muzzle end which is also something people will tell you is catastrophic and will instantly ruin a barrel. I have some old 3 piece rods of undetermined metal and I don’t own a bore guide and I’ve always been worried about doing damage so I usually just go gently and carefully but meanwhile in the back of my head I know that to damage a gun barrel it would probably take a much harder material than whatever steel the 3 piece rod may be made out of and a severe regiment of scrubbing the shit out of the barrel. This has assuaged my concerns.

[@johnmogon8662]

Thank you! They taught us in high school metal shop 50 years ago, that bronze is softer than any barrel steel. I don't think that has changed!

[@joerivas9847]

Blasphemy!!! It has changed, just like the climate!!!

[@MattGluntVideos]

I dunno, science has been changing a lot lately.

[@fraomedinaii2095]

Back when there was only 2 genders

[@AFreeThinkingDawg09]

@@MattGluntVideos yeh bruh there’s 80 genders and male and female dont exist anymore. Men also have babies now

[@normkeller2405]

An issue which is generally ignored is that of edibility. Anyone who has repaired a few dozen worn engines will have noticed that the crankshaft (usually forged steel) wears more than do the connecting rod and main bearings (which are a softer, lead-like alloy). The reason is that harder materials such as dirt particles will embed into the surface of the (softer)brass, bronze, main or rod bearing, and act like sandpaper against the crankshaft. The factor isn't that the steel crankshaft is softer, because it isn't softer. It is because the softer bearing carries dirt. The paper part of sandpaper is softer than the steel one can smooth by use of sandpaper. What is overlooked with brass, bronze, babbit and other alloy friction bearing materials is the effect of embedded dirt, polishing abrasives, etc. Does anyone remember the abrasive disks which were instantly popular for cleaning gasket surfaces about 25 years ago? Not long after they became popular, the vehicle and engine manufacturers forbade their use on any engine internals without follow-up cleaning procedures which weren't practical unless the engine was completely stripped down and chemically cleaned. Why? Embedded abrasive material from the disks. One can have a similar issue with brushes, which is why some service procedures for high precision components are so concerned to clean during the process, in order to remove any trapped dirt which might embed and create undesired wear.

[@casevideo9880]

As a former machinist, bronze brush would never hurt your barrel. On the other hand some metals like beryllium copper, if they ever made a brush from that it could. Beryllium copper can be hardened pretty hard and it work hardens fast. Nice job on the video.

[@HDSME]

It's also poisonous!

[@beetroot7486]

@@HDSME It's only dangerous if you inhale particles of it.

[@jeffrbake]

@@beetroot7486 most metals and even water are dangerous if inhaled 😂

[@akaroth7542]

​@@jeffrbake Not anywhere to the same extent. It's funny to dismiss it until you work with these materials.

[@jeffrbake]

@@akaroth7542 are you saying it's more dangerous than I think? My understating is inhaling heavy metals is very bad for you.

[@bobcowan1943]

Thank you for the informative video, truly the damage was done by something besides a bronze brush.

[@shredders3881]

GREAT video! Thanks for posting. Now we need to know what kind of damage can be done with the nasty copper removing foam. I saw a video by GunBlue (retired cop who has been into serious shooting his entire life), and he said that the very thin coating of copper that gets deposited is the best thing ever for a barrel, and shouldn't be removed. I no longer use that foam.

[@tucobenedicto1780]

You confirmed my thoughts. There's quite a lot of old wives tales in shooting. This was a big one.

[@robertfree1908]

Thank you for your attention to this issue. I guess some of us missed ore/metal basics in class! On a more serious note I think what folks might be seeing is scratches/scrapes in their carbon buildup which can appear as barrel steel with the right bullet/powder combo. Again I’m glad you made this video. Informative for all. And I enjoyed it. Thanks again

[@donaldpotter3200]

Thanks for the video! Been cleaning all my firearms for decades with a bronze brush. They are just as accurate as ever. Been seeing a lot of videos about soft nylon, etc… I’ll keep doing what I’m doing! Great video

[@ssnydess6787]

Great vid! The bronze media is supported by a steel wire structure, so keeping everything centered will probably help. Well done.

[@jimmeigel6654]

Yes, and that steel wire is looped at the end and on some brands and the steel wire is clipped at the end on other brands. I do refuse to use the latter I believe that the sharp steel ends could scratch the bore or chamber.

[@The340king]

I laughed at the claims that a brass brush would damage a hardened steel barrel, yet a copper and lead bullet being wedged through it at the speed of sound doesn’t harm it.

[@muninrob]

Brass & bronze are harder than copper - pretty sure that's why we use them for brushes made to remove copper from steel.

[@The340king]

@@muninrob you missed my point, but I am sick and tired of arguing with people that just want to argue, so have a good night.

[@muninrob]

@@The340king not sure what I said that got your panties in a bunch, but thanks for the response anyway.

[@The340king]

@@muninrob it was a long day. The point was force equals mass times acceleration. The brass and bronze bristles have virtually no mass each and certainly aren't accelerating much, so they impart very little force on the barrel. The copper bullet on the other hand has substantially more mass and goes from rest to 2,500 fps or so in 20". That's a lot of acceleration and hence force being applied to the barrel. I am willing to wager that you could run that bristle brush through the bore 100 times as fast as you can and not create as much heat as a single round. The heat is a representation of the friction loss in the barrel. To me that represents the wear capacity. So even if copper is softer, it wears the barrel more due to the forces acting on it and the amount of friction created. I hope that explains what I was getting at better.

[@muninrob]

@@The340king Ahh, you're looking at moment of deposition, and stress numbers, while I'm looking at deposit removal and simple rockwell hardness to get to the same place. I just always assumed the choice of metal for the bristles being harder than lead & copper, but softer than steel was the brush designers knowing what they were for and not being complete idiots. I am surprised there isn't more streaking from the brass & bronze wearing down against the steel - I was half expecting that brass brush on the drill to leave the barrel looking gold plated. (I've done that to a few rusty tire rims with brass wheel brushes and drills)

[@reece674]

I'll admit I was one of the noobs that believed the scaremongering around bronze brushes so I have used a nylon brush for a while but your video has given me confidence to go back to the bronze. I always felt it's be a sub optimal clean from a soft nylon brush. Thank you for the video 👍

[@cornwasher]

Did you ever hear the old saying, "Bronze on steel wears ideal"? It's true!

[@thomasbaker9787]

The bronze brush is wrapped with a twisted piece of steel wire... I bet the guy the ruined his barrel had a brush that was slightly bent!

[@garywinkel1831]

Couldn't agree more. I hear/read this on the internet all the time and think people just really don't understand the relative hardness principles of materials. Good video.

[@wisconsinfarmer4742]

But they do get to raise their self importance.

[@groermaik]

I've NEVER used a drill to clean my firearms, but boy am I glad to see your results. Thank you.

[@armeddiver]

Thank you for this video. It was hugely informative and really puts me at ease. I use bronze brushes and I am a huge fan of bore snakes, primarily for my gas guns. As you pointed out, if you can't ruin the barrel running the brush through the crown end of the barrel on a drill, I don't think I have much to worry about with my boresnake or guided rod coming in from the chamber end. Again, thank you.

[@TheDynamiteGuy]

Thank you for showing this! People who own firearms need to understand simple Metallurgy. Bronze brushes are way softer than your steel barrels and they WILL NEVER damage the barrel! I use them all the time and have NEVER had an issue!

[@TripleGRogerLait]

Scared the life out of me !!! Thought I was wrong to use a bronze brush . I have always used one on my Rimfire and centrefire … good video buddy 👍👍

[@cornwasher]

I remember the old saying, "bronze on steel wears ideal" and your demo proves it.

[@pstewart5443]

I just mentioned this exact scenario won't even come close to damaging steel. This particular gunsmith got extremely offended and said well I'm referring to an heirloom Model 70, and I really just had to leave it alone. If anyone thinks you can damage stainless steel with thin bronze filament, well might wanna take a metallurgy class, because it's simply BS. I use a bronze brush impregnated with Iosso and doesn't even phase 'em. I've done it to Bartlein, MPA, Krieger, Benchmark, Ruger, Mossberg, and Remington. Hasn't so much as scratched the steel. It will remove very stubborn carbon though. It's just not possible to damage Chromoly or 416 SS unless as you stated, the steel is soft and wasn't made properly.

[@brianmccormack84]

Don't know how many times over to 50 years of my shooting that I've been told I'm ruining my barrel by reversing the stroke or pulling it back over to crown never been seeing any damage here either don't know where this information comes from don't think I'd go as far as you did pretty funny LOL thanks

[@DucDNA]

Great video. It clearly proves those people who make those ignorant claims don't know anything about the hardness scale. I've used bronze brushes for cleaning all my firearms, including shotguns, and never saw any gouges or marks from doing it.

[@ronws2007]

This is my second time to watch this video and it is still important. I am not a mechanical engineer, materials specialist, or a metallurgist. However, I once stayed at a Holiday Inn Express. The type of bronze in the brush cannot damage steel. I noticed one of the comments below had said that when using a bronze brush to clean the rifle, you don't spin the brush, you just push it. As if that somehow negates the results of this video. It's as if he clicked on the title, got to the video, hit pause, and dropped his dog log on the carpet. How do you say you don't clean a rifle without saying that you don't clean a rifle? By leaving a comment that the wire brush is not going to spin. Yes, it is. My cleaning rod spins because I am pushing with the handle, not the road. So, often, the brush may also spin when interacting with the slope of the grooves to the lands.

[@kuruptedredneck9154]

The only time I have seen damage from a brass/bronze brush was when there was dirt and sand being brushed. The damage was not from the brush but sand grains hard enough to scratch the metal, this was also not a rifle barrel but a hydraulic fitting.

[@storyofmylife1000]

That's why I tell people to run a few patches with a bore cleaner on them first. Get the grit out before polishing.

[@YodaWasSith]

@@storyofmylife1000 You don't generally need to do that unless you've been in the sand and mud, and your barrel was exposed to it. Like when I go hunting and my rifle is on my 4-wheeler, it gets that special treatment because obviously there's dirt and grit in there. But if I'm just cleaning the gun powder off from taking it to a range and reapplying lubricant, it's probably just getting 3 or 4 strokes with a brush, a patch to clean it, and a patch with lube.

[@storyofmylife1000]

@@YodaWasSith Oh yea, that's generally what I meant. If you've been in an area with a lot of gritty soil or sand I recommend you at least check the firearm over.

[@YodaWasSith]

@@storyofmylife1000 I was really just being pedantic, probably not necessary. Most gun owners know. But just in case someone's new and reading this, save the patches for when your gun is really ridiculously dirty.

[@stevedouglas5443]

Yes, I've heard this BS about a bronze brush damage hardened steel. Really? Then what are the copper plated bullets doing when you shoot them at 3000 fps with a dirty barrel?

[@dallaspeterson2024]

Barrels are not hardened steel!

[@YungIroh]

@@dallaspeterson2024 they are. Very specifically as a matter of fact. Between 26-32 RCH so they have a good balance of tensile strength and toughness. Yes not as hard as some steels and metals but unless you take something with a higher rch then you won't hurt anything. 😉 obviously there are some outliers but what outlier would be inside of a gun barrel 😆

[@greybone777]

The steel in barrels is not hardened steel.

[@YungIroh]

@@greybone777 they are but alright.

[@YungIroh]

Can't help idiots I suppose

[@RJ-wx3fh]

back when i was in Cadets (kinda like jrotc), we used the standard cleaning kits, which consisted of a pullthrough/rod , oil and Bronze brushes for the bore and chamber. I know military acquisition is bad for not finding ideal products and cheaping out even at the cost of longevity, but i doubt they would have kept using them if it affected accccuracy and longevity that badly.

[@jefflanham1080]

I’ve got a brand new nice Tipton vise, 2 new big bore Henry Golden Boys, it’s winter when I take great joy in cleaning my guns and gear………….THEN I saw these videos scaring me to death of looking at my barrels much less cleaning them!!! I missed 5 good quiet winter days wondering about it and WASTING MY PRECIOUS TIME! This video helped my spidey sense that it was mostly bullshit! Lol much appreciated

[@alphazuluz]

Thank you for this. Military Arms Channel did a video recently about how bronze brushes will damage barrels. He was saying he would never put anything but nylon in his rifles. It was pretty stupid. I tried to lay out the facts in the comments about how bronze is like 1/3 the hardness of steel, but I doubt anyone even read it. I’m pretty sure I even said that you could chuck a bronze brush in a drill and go to town with it and wear the brush to a nub without damaging the barrel.

[@John_Redcorn_]

I stopped watching MAC a long long time ago.

[@jaycee30865]

Boils down to hardnesses.

[@TheTeehee11111]

Hardness determines if there will be immediate damage, clearly there isn't immediate damage. But let's not forget how water can carve stone. Overuse of a bronze brush WILL inevitably increase the wear on your barrel compared to cloth.

[@Animo2006]

Is anyone in Military Arms Channel actually associated with the military at all? The cleaning kits we used in the Marines on our M16A4's literally had bronze brush heads and steel rods for cleaning... and those barrels were older than I was at the time.

[@michaelmaston4702]

@@TheTeehee11111 :Let's not forget that it take years (Centuries) for water to "carve stone". Your argument still doesn't "hold water".

[@timgruver5932]

I've been using a variable speed drill with bronze or brass brushes for nearly 50 years. A few ago I got a bore camera setup and discovered I could not see any damage from using the drill.

[@stick2dapoint88]

Welp, that confirms that.. Thnx for posting/sharing!

[@bluracer766]

Nice vid. I've always been skeptical about the belief that if you clean a rifle without a bore guide you're going to damage or destroy your gun, this puts that myth to rest.

[@maxcopple8187]

I'll be honest. When you started drilling I threw up in my mouth a little bit. However when you scoped it at the end I felt like a jackass for wasting so many patches on my guns. You made a believer out of me sir. I'm gonna clean my 6.5 with one of these shiney brushes that have sat in the bottom of my cleaning kit untouched since they were bought.

[@gregorymckoy3179]

I totally agree! I had the aluminum and brass cleaning rods shave off small particles while pulling the brush through the mouth of the bore when not properly aligned with the bore. The particles came from the cleaning rods and not the barrels rifling. The rifling is very durable in properly heat treated barrels.

[@PetuniaIii-pd1ww]

I scrub the bore of any of our firearms usually 2-4 times with a brush after first running a solvent patch...the crap coming out is powder, shavings, lead buildup and whatever...then an oiled patch followed by dry patches...we shoot a lot of crappy ammo, but always cleaning after range time keeps our barrels clean and shiny...now if we feel lazy we will run a bore snake, it seems about 80-90% as effective, and even that is better than nothing...what can I say, we in the clean guns religion camp...

[@craftyha]

The longer length of the bronze brush is designed to travel through the bore by a rod. The one peice rod handle is made to spin slightly as the brush cleans through cleaning the lands and grooves. Not made to be spun by a drill. All brushes short and long are made for a rod.

[@ataarjomand]

Thanks a lot for this valuable information. 🙏

[@silvergrizzly316]

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I get so sick of listening to folks say you can damage a barrel with a bronze brush. I've been cleaning my CHEAP barrels for the last 40 years the same way you just did, with a cordless and bronze brush and I really ream it good back and forth and I've had a bore scope for a long time now and I check the inside of the barrels all the time and like the one on your 6.5 Creedmoor, they're all shiny and smooth. 🤦‍♂️ smh. AWESOME VIDEO btw..👍👍

[@williepelzer384]

You had a cordless drill 40 years ago, must have been the first one. 😁

[@silvergrizzly316]

@@williepelzer384 Willie, you finally made it up out of mommy and daddy's basement 👏 well congratulations hon!

[@JeffinTD]

Showing us beats telling us, hands down. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[@michaeldennehy8809]

AMEN BROTHER!

[@CM-xr9oq]

Many people believe the election was stolen, because people told them. No evidence was ever shown in court.

[@paulsimmons5726]

Great explanation and presentation, you made your point!

[@rbrtmllr]

Thank you for doing this! Mohs hardness scale: bronze 3, steel 4 (barrel steel higher again).

[@rload4374]

Lou Murdica cleans his barrel also with a cordless drill, only he uses nylon brushes. The reason he uses them is because the bronze let some bronze streek behind in the lands an fields that he afterwards needed to clean. He also let one of his barrel check at the factory, there was not any damage done to the barrel. I believe it’s in the interview with EC of

[@seeraf]

In general, such a situation could happen. I once bought a bronze (it was bronze color) brush and it was made of metal that was magnetized. Cheap сhinese brushes can be made of steel covered with bronze or brass

[@transdimensionalist]

i imagine this is what people are reporting, seen many cheap chinese bushes sold as brass/bronze that are just coated steel bristles!

[@user-ez6sm5lb6t]

I did bore scope inspection on 5 inch guns on naval vessels.. its more damaging to have a piece of copper stuck in your windings and not get it out. The part you showed near the beginning of the barrel is normal also.

[@dskim5848]

I always wonder about this and cheap barrels.Thank you so much! Subscribing.

[@michaelpope7642]

Savage way of proving that point, I love it haha

[@Jeff_Seely]

HAHAHAHA Greg, you had me tearing up a bit! These are the types of demonstrations I need to see because I'm a neophyte to shooting sports. I don't know anything about these things and rely on experienced folks doing these types of articles and videos. If common sense kicked in, in my peanut brain though I wouldn't think that tiny soft strands of bronze would affect work-hardened stainless. I have wondered though, when I push the rod in and out of the muzzle, on the backstroke I hear the crimped-on brass fitting whacking against the crown as it re-enters the barrel; is this harmful to the crown at all? Thanks for the video and I am saving up for one of those awesome primer seaters.

[@primalrights]

A properly sized rod minimizes the jag/brush body hitting.

[@delsinhays6421]

If one metal is softer than the other the softer one will wear out before the harder metal ever will

[@B0BBY-Q]

Thanks for the video and info, I've got some lever action rifles and cant get a rod from the receiver down the barrel, is it safe to clean from the end if the barrel back to the receiver?

[@tommcguirk1]

Thank you I found this informative

[@raybede]

I am very impressed with how tidy your gun room is I congratulate you for being so disciplined not to say rather envious of all the space you have.!! I have been shooting for the best part of 50 years, I have never damaged any of my barrels, Shotgun or rifle in all that time and I have continually used a form of brush called the Payne Galwey Phosphor bronze brush whose filaments are very close together. Recommended to me by a gunmaker here in the UK.

[@edysinsimon8646]

Metallurgist here. utilizing a softer metal like bronze or brass for that matter will not normally cause this effect. Any barrel material used to maker the modern rifles of today simply are not attributable to the damages described. It does not work that way.

[@Or3guns]

After seeing that mirror finish would you clean your guns like this regularly? It was definitely cleaner

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

I bought a well used AR from a guy years ago that was full of copper fouling. The rifling looked indistinct. I got it clean after perhaps an hour of brushing with Sweets solvent. Rifling looked sharp and crisp and the rifle became amazingly accurate.

[@MrScissor90]

Can't help stupid people. The amount of people who dont understand how soft bronze is compared to barrel steel is amazing.

[@cannaventureseeds2909]

Alotta stupid people in the world today man.. Getting dumber by the hour.

[@drubradley8821]

DANG.... Maybe I should do that to my RPR barrel, that thing is shinny like a 1950's Buick chrome bumper... I like that...

[@SixOFord]

Saw the short video clip so I had to watch the full video. I'm amazed lol. It never did make sense to me how something softer than the barrel material could harm the barrel. I have no fear now lol.

[@GibraltarCustomBuildersNewark]

My F-I-L is a retired gun smith. Customers would regularly bring him barrels having accuracy probs. Hed clean them out using all kinds of harshness, including bronze barrel eaters lol. In extremely rough factory barrels he would roll bullets in abrasives starting with course and finish with fine. Smoothes out rough rifling and made many 2 MOA barrels 1/2 MOA over the years.

[@joshrandall3632]

Honestly, I winced a little when you started up the drill. I know it cant hurt the bore but it still felt wrong. I think I'm going to try the drill technique on the pitted areas of my Yugo SKS since nothing else has worked even a little bit. That's a good looking bore, once you get past the damaged portion up front. Great video.

[@mikhailkalashnikov4599]

Big 45 frontier metal cleaner. It's like steel wool only meant for gun barrels- pull a little off and wrap around your bore brush. It does wonder to old surplus rifle that were rode hard and put up wet. I believe it's still only $6 shipped.

[@joshrandall3632]

@@mikhailkalashnikov4599 Thanks for the tip. I'll have to check that out.

[@jaredmoss8170]

Did it work well? I was thinking the EXACT thing for my Yugo SKS, ha.

[@joshrandall3632]

@@jaredmoss8170 Haven't gotten to it yet. I've put a lot of effort into that bore and quite a few bucks as well. I'm probably putting it off because it may not work and I don't know what else I can do for it. I really like the gun and hope I can get it shooting straight. It's a shame what happened to all those old Yugos.

[@craignapoli]

G'day mate, thank you so much for your comprehensive no BS video demonstration, i love the fact that you actually tried to damage that barrel with a drill powered dry bronze brush, i personally find it hilarious that some numbskulls actually believe that poor cleaning practices will do more damage than an extremely tight fitting Full Metal Jacket projectile will do as it's forced through the lands at ballistic speed in front of an explosive charge.

[@TheRickJames]

The reverse bore thing originated from the military and it was pertaining to the correct direction to remove the debris with the bore snake/rod, because when we field strip and clean the chamber, lockup and trigger assembly are all available for that debris to make its way into. Never had anything to do with damaging the rifling as any cleaning material should be much softer than the hardened bore its self. Also forgot to add the brush will unscrew from the rod half way down the barrel when done from the other end with cheap kits, that's the reason for a lot of people.

[@gunsforevery1]

They preached that even before boresnakes were common. We were always told that cleaning from the muzzle end your steel cleaning rods could easily damage the rifles on the crown of the muzzle, destroying accuracy, and when you finally get the rod pushed all the way down, you’re putting all that carbon and debris into the receiver, instead of pushing it out of the rifle.

[@annietaylorsmith3876]

In 1981, the Marine Corps issued me a M-16 A1 rifle with cleaning gear in the butt stock including a bore and chamber brush. You would think Eugene Stoner, the US Army and Marine Corps over the preceding 20 years would know if the brush would damage the barrel.