I made a cleaning mistake.

G

groverdill

New member
I bought a Henry lever action .22 last year. Incidentally, it was my first gun, so I have no experience cleaning a firearm. I read the instruction manual before using the gun, and I reread the section on cleaning before doing the actual cleaning. However, I did something wrong and I'm wondering if there will be repercussions. When I pushed the bore brush through the barrel, I failed to push it all the way out the other end, and instead reversed direction while it was still inside the barrel. It was extremely difficult to do. I thought it was stuck for some reason and just pulled very hard until the brush came out. Obviously I forced the bristles to change direction while inside the barrel, so I'm wondering if the metal in the barrel is soft enough to get damaged from a boneheaded maneuver like this. What do you guys think? And is it safe to fire, or should I have it checked out by some one more knowledgeable than myself? Thanks.

Mike
 
You shortened the life of the brush a bit. But at $1.98 a brush... cheap. (In fact many
folks actually "scrub" the brush back & forth, then throw it away after 4-5 sessions.)
 
I wouldn't worry about it now that it's done. I really don't think you'll ever note any ill effects.

I wouldn't make a practice of it for 3 reasons:

1. It is very hard on the brush.
2. In some cases the brush can stick firmly enough that you'll need help from a gunsmith to remove it.
3. .22LR barrels can be surprisingly soft** and .22LR rifling can be very small and relatively delicate.

**Sometimes .22LR barrels have hardnesses in the mid 20s on the Rockwell C scale. That's in the same range as some of the harder bronze alloys. Phosphor bronze grade III can have a Vickers hardness of up to 240 which is approximately equal to 23 on the Rockwell C scale.
 
You're in good shape. I would go to a nylon brush if I were you. I've used both over the years and prefer the nylon.
 
So long as the brush came out your in good shape Mike._

Besides I occasionally do the same when not wanting to push that dirty powder impregnated brush into the action on my Winchester lever gun. Harder to clean the Action workings of that splattered around brush crud than it is to clean its barrel as I see it. But you need a sturdy rod and brush if you intend to do what you did >often.
Since its a 22 barrel you could put a Ink Mark or some masking tape on your cleaning rod so to purposely stop and reverse its pull before entering your rifles Action would be my suggestion. Reverse pulling may work best with a nylon bore brush verses a red brass bore brush. In either case you must be "Strong like Bull groverdill"
Anyhow good luck with that new rifle of yours Mike.
 
Since its a 22 barrel you could put a Ink Mark or some masking tape on your cleaning rod so to purposely stop and reverse its pull before entering your rifles Action would be my suggestion
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Why not unscrew the lever screw, pull the lever out and remove the bolt so you can clean the Henry from the breech instead of the muzzle?
 
You shortened the life of the brush a bit. But at $1.98 a brush... cheap. (In fact many
folks actually "scrub" the brush back & forth, then throw it away after 4-5 sessions.)
Click to expand...

Although this would not apply to a .22 bore brush, as my bore brushes wear down, I just continue using them on the next smallest calibre gun.

.30 cal. becomes 7mm, then 6.5mm.

.45 becomes .40, then .38/9mm, then .32 LOLLL!!!!!!:D

That said, you didn't hurt the bore a bit.
 
You are OK friend! Your gun is certainly not damaged from that one little incident, but it's best to push the brush all the way out the bore before going the other direction again. Also make sure you are using the proper sized brush.

If what you did would have messed up the gun, there would be millions of damaged bores out there because it's a very common mistake.

Take care!
 
Why would you bother cleaning the bore of a .22 in the first place? I never had to in the ones I have had. No drop off in accuracy from what I can tell. Gunk in the action is another matter as powder residue, etc accumulates there. Not bustin' your stones here, but I don't think bore cleaning in a 22LR is necessary.
 
^^^ +1

Clean the chamber and bolt when cruddy, but no need to clean the barrel. Plus, if you insist on doing that, realize that it may take up to a full box before the barrel is seasoned again. Likewise if you change ammo.
 
You didn't hurt anything.

Regarding, why clean a .22 in the first place, why wouldn't you clean it? There's more than accuracy in shooting. I actually clean my .22s more than my other guns actually.
 
Clean the chamber and bolt when cruddy, but no need to clean the barrel. Plus, if you insist on doing that, realize that it may take up to a full box before the barrel is seasoned again. Likewise if you change ammo.
Click to expand...
Bingo!


Regarding, why clean a .22 in the first place, why wouldn't you clean it? There's more than accuracy in shooting. I actually clean my .22s more than my other guns actually.
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A: There's no reason to.

B: .22's are notorious for doing their best shooting well-fouled.
 
Some newer .22 LR barrels will form a hard fouling ring in the barrel, just ahead of the chamber, most don't. As barrels age, they don't always retain that tendency. If you run a patch down the bore, you may be able to feel the ring, if it's there.

Rimfire benchrest shooters often use a well-worn bronze brush to get the ring out from the breech end, and run wet, then dry patches through.

Bronze won't damage bores, but primer grit imbedded in brushes will. If a bronze brush is used, brake cleaner or Gun Scrubber spray cleans the gunk out of them after use.
 
I say Otis also.
You still need a cleaning rod occasionally, but not often.

As far as reversing, I will say it probably did some minute mostly cosmetic damage to the inside of your barrel. Probably no one will ever know. Except us b/c you admitted it.

And since we are having an open discussion here, I did the same to my first few guns and there are a couple I still clean that way b/c of a complication in their design(T/C Thunderhawk for instance). I've wrecked a couple brushes on that one.
 
I haven't cleaned the bore of a 22 rimfire in 25+ years, and to no ill effect. I for darned sure wouldn't be cleaning ones that required cleaning from the muzzle end unless I plugged them with mud or something.

Action yes, bore no.
 
I have a no. of .22 RF rifles. I use a patch with WD-40 as a solvent and a lubricant. Pass the patch through the bore, then use a dry one. Cleans it up nicely. Many don't bother to ever clean a .22 RF bore; but IMHO it is quick and easy to use my method and it won't hurt anything. I never use a brush with mine.
 
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