Carbon fiber vs coated cleaning rods

M

Model700

New member
Hi all. New to this forum, not new to shooting - but I don't know everything about it (shooting). Still and always learning :).
I lost my last one piece stainless steel cleaning rod - I think I left it at the range :mad:. I've been carefully using an old 3 piece rod, but want to go back to a one piece. From what I've read here (and elsewhere), the extra money for a carbon fiber or coated rod is worth it. Now I don't shoot benchrest competitions etc., but I do like to take care of my rifles and am trying to get them to shoot as good as they can with minor mods - trigger work, eventual glass bedding, barrel free floating and doing my own handloading . So I think that I want one of the above mentioned type of cleaning rod. I've did a search here to see if this comparison has been discussed already, and didn't find much (I might have not put in the right search words). I don't want to beat a 'dead horse'. So what are some comments regarding the advantages/disadvantages compared to each other. I did see that one member said that his Dewey coated rod was beginning to flake. BTW, the 2 rods I am considering are the Tipton Deluxe Carbon Fiber rod and the Dewey Nylon Coated rod.

Kevin
 
skip both of them and get a barrel snake for every gun you own (once you get just one, you will anyway, trust me, i've got 4 now). Barrel snakes are king!
 
Eventually I will get into the BoreSnakes - especially for my lever gun and shotgun. I've been doing some reading on barrel break-in and I don't think my barrels have been broke in properly. So I'm gonna give them a good cleaning using Shooter's Choice Bore Cleaner, and then if there's still copper fouling, I'll use Sweets 7.62. To do this properly, I want to use a one piece cleaning rod. I'll get BoreSnakes for quick cleanings later.

Kevin
 
IMHO - Carbon fiber (or something else) is the future but

IMHO - Carbon fiber (or something else) is the future but maybe not yet.

I use Dewey (have Parker Hale with a yellow coating and some others as well). I've seen user comments (MidwayUSA) suggesting the quality control - especially bonding of threaded fittings - on the Tipton is such that some rods are great and some aren't. Sinclair suggests in its publications that there are more comfortable or at least hand filling handles with better bearings than the Dewey from other specialty makers.

For myself I mostly use Dewey because they come in the diameters and lengths I want and because I think the Dewey brushes are the best in any case so I'm content to go Dewey all the way. Tipton seems to offer fewer sizes - forcing the use of smaller diameters on larger bores which I think is properly avoided whenever possible. I expect that one of these days I'll find carbon fiber or some successor is better.

As a practical matter I think wiping the rod down matters more than the material.
 
Model 700,
I use the Tipton carbon fiber rods and quit using my Deweys. I have been breaking in a 300wsm and a 270wsm and powder fouling is incredible. When a rod is run down the barrel with a tight fitting brush or patch, all cleaning rods will flex and touch the barrel. When the rod hits the barrel, it can peen the rifling or it can be abrasive and scratch the rifling.

A coated rod will help until the coating starts to wear. The carbon fiber will not damage the barrel and will not abrade the rifling. That is the reason that bench rest shooters who pay for expensive barrels use carbon fiber rods.
 
hoghunting,
Thanks for your reply. This is the type of info I was looking for. Even though I am not a benchrest shooter, I feel the extra cost of a carbon fiber rod will be worth it. From what I've seen advertised, there's not much difference in cost between the coated and carbon fiber rods. I want a 'protected' rod that will last me a long, long time without the 'protection' on the rod failing.

Kevin
 
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