This is from John Kreiger
John Krieger, Krieger Barrels
"I'm not a big fan of brushes. I think brushes are more a throwback to the black powder days....We try to minimize their use. On my own guns, even with patches, I'll try to keep the patch and jag from exiting the muzzle and dragging on the crown. I like to avoid having anything dragging across the crown."
We had a chance to talk to barrel-maker John Krieger at Show Show. We discussed the use of bronze brushes for barrel cleaning. John observed that he prefers not to use bronze brushes on his barrels. He also feels that it is wise not to draw a bronze brush backwards across the crown. He explained: "The brush is soft, but the stuff it drags with it, primer residues and so on, are not soft, and they can harm the crown." Also, on his personal guns, when John cleans with a patch, he tries to avoid running the patch and the jag past the muzzle. When cleaning, he places the rifle so the muzzle butts up against a wall. When the tip of the jag hits the wall he draws it back through the bore and removes it from the breech end. John notes that damaged crowns "can make the barrel look like it's shot out when it's not." Here are two video interviews with John: Kreiger 1 min (11 megs), Krieger 2 min (23 megs).