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SC, USA
Posted: 7/4/2026 2:09:24 PM EDT
| I desperately need to upgrade my cleaning tools. What is the best one to go with? I have no clue on this topic! |
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Originally Posted By tc2129: I use a Dewey pistol cleaning rod. I’ve got the appropriate caliber jags as well. I use Dewey rods for both my pistols and rifles. I’m happy with them https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-cleaning/gun-cleaning-rods/pistolservice-rifle-rod/?sku=234000008 I really like Brownell's Cotton Twill patches too. https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-cleaning/cleaning-patches-mops/100-cotton-twill-patches/ |
Joined:
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239
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SC, USA
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Originally Posted By dmk0210: I do the same. I use a 9" Dewey rod for pistols. https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-cleaning/gun-cleaning-rods/pistolservice-rifle-rod/?sku=234000008 I really like Brownell's Cotton Twill patches too. https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-cleaning/cleaning-patches-mops/100-cotton-twill-patches/ What size patches for 9mm? Seems like a stupid question but... |
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Originally Posted By Turbo30cal: What size patches for 9mm? Seems like a stupid question but... I buy two sizes and they work for everything I have except for 12ga shotguns (22LR-45ACP, plus 7.62 and 5.56 rifles) Round Cotton Twill Patches, 1.125", .22-.25 Cal, 1000 Pack Brownells # 084050112 Round Cotton Twill Patches, .35 Cal, 1000 Pack Brownells # 084050175 UPC 050806025097 |
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Whatever you buy, buy a one-piece stainless steel rod, not brass or aluminum and not screw togeher. Way back in the late 70's I bought two Pro-shot stainless pistol rods with brass cone shaped muzzle protectors, one for .22 and one for up to .45. They're still in perfect condition. One trick for patches.... go to a Walmart or fabric shop and buy a yard of white cotton flannel. Cut your own patches as needed. Otherwise buy cotton patches in bulk from Brownell's. Last time I bought patches I bought round shape. |
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I have a couple rods I use when I clean barrels, which is not very frequently. One is stainless, the other is some coated brand. I don’t use jags anymore, I just wrap a patch (I cut up old t shirts) around an old worn out bronze brush. Mostly I just scrub out the chamber with solvent and then dry patch it. When I’m feeling like giving it the Cadillac treatment, out comes the bore snake. |
https://www.guntechtips.com
| Just a bore snake. My primary competition gun (bought last year, g47 gen 5) hasn't opened up in over 12k rounds this season. I can still hit a 6" plate at 50 yd consistently. I've snaked it maybe 6 times in that time. Just my opinion as a guy who cares about performance, cleaning pistol barrels as if they're precision rifle barrels is a waste of time. |
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Originally Posted By BrandonP: Just my opinion as a guy who cares about performance, cleaning pistol barrels as if they're precision rifle barrels is a waste of time. I just can not put a gun away dirty. I also own a lot of guns so I never know when I'll shoot that particular gun again. It could be next week or it literally could be a few years. Mostly I'm concerned with rust and corrosion. I live in a temperate rain forest, humidity is high and rust is a problem here. |
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Originally Posted By dmk0210: Maybe I'm a bit old school mixed with a little OCD, but I clean my guns every time I shoot them, even if it's just a quick wipe down and swab with CLP. I just can not put a gun away dirty. I also own a lot of guns so I never know when I'll shoot that particular gun again. It could be next week or it literally could be a few years. Mostly I'm concerned with rust and corrosion. I live in a temperate rain forest, humidity is high and rust is a problem here. Originally Posted By dmk0210: Originally Posted By BrandonP: Just my opinion as a guy who cares about performance, cleaning pistol barrels as if they're precision rifle barrels is a waste of time. I just can not put a gun away dirty. I also own a lot of guns so I never know when I'll shoot that particular gun again. It could be next week or it literally could be a few years. Mostly I'm concerned with rust and corrosion. I live in a temperate rain forest, humidity is high and rust is a problem here. Nothing wrong with that. At least Wil Schuemann (renowned match barrel maker) often recommended against cleaning the bore too often or using overly aggressive solvents, or at all, if possible. With nitrided or melonited barrels I’d say you’re safer, but I personally don’t believe it’s worthwhile to clean the bore down to factory metal. I do keep my chamber and feedramp clean frequently. |
https://www.guntechtips.com
Joined:
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EE: 100% (1)
SC, USA
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Originally Posted By dmk0210: Maybe I'm a bit old school mixed with a little OCD, but I clean my guns every time I shoot them, even if it's just a quick wipe down and swab with CLP. I just can not put a gun away dirty. I also own a lot of guns so I never know when I'll shoot that particular gun again. It could be next week or it literally could be a few years. Mostly I'm concerned with rust and corrosion. I live in a temperate rain forest, humidity is high and rust is a problem here. I'm the same way. If I shoot it, I have to clean it and put it away. I simply cannot shoot a gun and then just put it away. |
| I don’t clean pistol barrel bores. I use paper towels and aerosol carb cleaner most often for everywhere else in a gun. I use a brass brush when there is visible carbon built up on the feed ramp and/or chamber. I use a dental pick and patches or q-tips for hard to reach places every so often. |
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Originally Posted By dfariswheel: Whatever you buy, buy a one-piece stainless steel rod, not brass or aluminum and not screw togeher. Way back in the late 70's I bought two Pro-shot stainless pistol rods with brass cone shaped muzzle protectors, one for .22 and one for up to .45. They're still in perfect condition. One trick for patches.... go to a Walmart or fabric shop and buy a yard of white cotton flannel. Cut your own patches as needed. Otherwise buy cotton patches in bulk from Brownell's. Last time I bought patches I bought round shape. I was a Dewey one piece rod fan for decades. I am now a huge ProShot fan now. The ball bearing handles are much smoother. My Dewey rods ball bearings are not that good under pressure. Half the reason for changing rods was to ditch the coated rod style that I had with the Dewey and switch to the high polish bare stainless. I still use the Dewey’s in certain calibers but every new purchase is ProShot. I think I have four proShot pistol rods…… .22 cal, pistol that covers .32 and some longer and shorter lengths. For the money to get a much better product than what Hoppes makes now, Kleenbore makes a pretty similar product but of much higher than Hoppes quality. Better bronze brushes too. Not as good as ProShot but adequate without being disposable grade like Hoppes. I still have a perfectly serviceable Kleenbore pistol rod that work issued me in the police academy in 1996. They have nice brass patch jags and I’ve bought several for that rod through the years. Still, I say buy the ProShot stuff, bare polished stainless, you’ll only nick up any brand coated rods anyhow, plus for precision guns they say dirt embeds in the surface of the coated rods and isn’t good for the bore. For me coated rods fell out of favor when I attempted to use a Dewey coated rod in a CZ .22 rifle and the coating scraped on the extractor. (CZ shooters……get a .20 cal rod of the bare polished stainless type) |
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Originally Posted By SteelonSteel:I was a Dewey one piece rod fan for decades. I am now a huge ProShot fan now. The ball bearing handles are much smoother. My Dewey rods ball bearings are not that good under pressure. Half the reason for changing rods was to ditch the coated rod style that I had with the Dewey and switch to the high polish bare stainless. My old 30 cal Dewey rod is plastic coated and you're right about the ball bearings, it works fine but the bearings are a little clunky on it. But it was my first good quality cleaning rod, it's old, and saw a lot of hard use cleaning up old C&R rifles. I need to look into replacing it with a ProShot maybe. |
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Originally Posted By dmk0210: Dewey has stainless rods too. Both my pistol and 22 rifle rods are stainless and very smooth. They are very nice to work with. My old 30 cal Dewey rod is plastic coated and you're right about the ball bearings, it works fine but the bearings are a little clunky on it. But it was my first good quality cleaning rod, it's old, and saw a lot of hard use cleaning up old C&R rifles. I need to look into replacing it with a ProShot maybe. Originally Posted By dmk0210: Originally Posted By SteelonSteel:I was a Dewey one piece rod fan for decades. I am now a huge ProShot fan now. The ball bearing handles are much smoother. My Dewey rods ball bearings are not that good under pressure. Half the reason for changing rods was to ditch the coated rod style that I had with the Dewey and switch to the high polish bare stainless. My old 30 cal Dewey rod is plastic coated and you're right about the ball bearings, it works fine but the bearings are a little clunky on it. But it was my first good quality cleaning rod, it's old, and saw a lot of hard use cleaning up old C&R rifles. I need to look into replacing it with a ProShot maybe. +1 I think I bought one stainless un coated Dewey rod before changing preference. I forgot which direction the ball bearings quit turning in. Iirc some fail to turn when pushed not pulled. Zero pressure they feel fine. I also keep an assortment of better brushes around. ProShot nylon brushes, Brownells Heavy Duty Bronze Brushes or ProShot bronze. Hoppes are a lousy investment, their 1970’s brushes were good, now they’re so thinly bristled they are a joke. A few uses and they’re junk. Nylon brushes for copper solvents. Don’t get me wrong…..I haven’t thrown the Dewey rods away. In my home shop I often set up a pair of rods for a cleaning job, one brush and one with a jag. I had to buy extra long rods for precision rifles to use good bore guides, they also work better for my long barrelled guns like the HiWall and the M39 and Swede Mauser. |
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Originally Posted By ken_mays:Nothing wrong with that. At least Wil Schuemann (renowned match barrel maker) often recommended against cleaning the bore too often or using overly aggressive solvents, or at all, if possible. With nitrided or melonited barrels I’d say you’re safer, but I personally don’t believe it’s worthwhile to clean the bore down to factory metal. I suspect the barrel makers often quoted are talking about high precision rifle barrels and extreme accuracy potential. I don't think that advice applies to an OEM CCW or service pistol barrel unless the owner is doing something out of the ordinary, and very aggressively cleaning/abusing the barrel. If you have an expensive Bar-Sto in a match pistol, then maybe that's a different situation, like how Ferrari maintenance would be very different than maintenance on a Camry. Cleaning often doesn't necessarily mean using aggressive solvents or abrasive tools. Despite how the Internet forums and government want to portray society, there are competent people out there who do the things methodically and carefully. |
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Good ol' Hoppe's ain't so good anymore.....they've gone Chinese and metric threads. Last year I bought new Hoppe's 9mm and 12 gauge Tornado brushes. The package labels SAID standard USA threads, but they were really metric and won't fit American rods. So, buyer beware, and better to buy a real American made brand. |
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Originally Posted By harpua: I just usually end up using the pile of Glock cleaning rods that have built up over the years. I have some solid steel rods as well. I use up old ratty t-shirts for patches. Ha! shotguns almost always get old T shirt patches, even old socks cut up after their final wash of course. The socks take up more of the big bore. My shotgun rod is an old Marbles that my dad had. I may also have a jointed Hoppes rod from the eighties in a tool box. I hated the shotgun adapters for the universal kits that had a .22 cal rod. You couldn’t easily pull the rad back through without stopping on the adapter. |
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Originally Posted By colklink: I use one of the Glock plastic rods and nylon brushes. Been using the same one for 25 years or so. The brush was originally for a 40, its pretty worn down. |
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Dewey coated rod for rifle. Brass 9” rod for pistol. Plated jags, bronze and nylon brushes, square Cottenmyre patches of several sizes. Boretech eliminator, Kroil, some good lube for the pistol….maybe Slip2000EWL, but there may be others. I’m still stuck on Weaponshield! |
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2 surplus 1911 cleaning rods; one for a brass brush, and one to hold .30 patches from the Souther Bloomers bulk bag. Spray 525 degreaser on a patch, run it through, then brush, then wet patch, then brush, etc until clean. Old toothbrush and Q tips for the rest of the pistol. Lube with EWL. Or just lube with EWL. |