Sq. or Round Cleaning Patches??

Originally posted by Nick_C_S : I can't believe a thread on round vs square patches is 9 days old and still going strong lol.
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Same here.

I ain't bought a commercial made cleanin' patch in my life. Either cut one to size or ripped it to size from a clean rag, just as my grandpa taught me 60 years ago. Have done the paper towel thing a time or two also. I always preferred rectangle.......:rolleyes:
 
I wasn't so particular until I started using lead bullets and a lot more old tee shirt patches...stopping to cut one every time. I bought a bag of rectangular, all cotton flannel by Pro-Shot and intend to buy more.

Last time back from the range, I had (2) 1911s and (4) revolvers to clean, some with minor leading. At some point, the quality and supply of patches is not a trivial matter.
 
For those that make your own patches.-Question-WHY??. Seems it would be more effort than it's worth. I mean patches are like what--500 for $10.00. Seems to me that you are putting more work into it than just picking up a bag.
I shoot at least 5 different rifles a weekend. I could not fathom sitting there cutting patches for all them. Now if you have some secret on cutting 100 patches in a short time-Then I bow to you all. But for $10.00 bucks (considering I am at gun store 2 times a week ) I will continue to buy. I don't have rags laying around and I don't think you can get 500 patches fromm one shirt:D
 
For those that make your own patches.-Question-WHY??. Seems it would be more effort than it's worth. I mean patches are like what--500 for $10.00. Seems to me that you are putting more work into it than just picking up a bag
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Why not? Why reload one's own ammo? Must be more work than it's worth there also.:rolleyes: Why pay good money for sumthin' when you already have something at home for free? When I clean guns I may have everything from .17 rimfire to 12 ga. shotgun and everything in between. I can do that either from one piece of scrap cotton from the rag bag or 4 DIFFERENT bags of commercial patches. BTW......a bag of 1000 12 ga. patches is almost $50. If I only shot .30 caliber rifle than maybe buying one bag of patches would be fine. Cuttin' or rippin' a patch takes no more time than puttin' it on the jag. Exact size is not that crucial, but it does take a different patch for the .44s and .45s as it does for the .30 cals or the shotguns. Makes no real difference what the exact shape is. If buyin' patches works for you good....which do you prefer, square or round?
 
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Not Round or Square Cleaning patch

I use this one http://www.midwayuk.com/Dewey-Parker-Hale-Style-Rifle-Cleaning-Jag-24-to-26-Caliber-8-x-36-Female-Thread-Brass and cut a piece of cotton cloth about 1/4" wide & 3" long. Put on like a piece of tape. Roll it on, roll it off.
DeweyParkerHaleStyleRifleCleaningJAG.jpg
Dewey Parker Hale Style Rifle Cleaning Jag The grooves in the patch will remove the dirt & keep it below the bearing surface, not directly rubbing on the bore. For a larger bore, overlap the cotton more.
 
Ok Buck460. That makes sense. Was just wondering. I have no shotguns anymore,just rifles. My patches have to be square as I have a Square Barrel:p
 
For those wondering why I left the cleaning thread in the Handloading forum, it's because posts on removing fouling and particularly methods of removing leading as they effect accuracy and load choices are not uncommon here. We also get cleaning threads—particularly those on tough cleaning—in the gunsmithing forum and leave them in place there. It's hard to draw a line against the overlap between cleaning and these disciplines.

But I'm willing to share, if someone wants to see this somewhere else. Just make a suggestion and a reason for it. Just don't make it a rifles-only or handguns-only forum. I can move it.


I think Serf 'rett has made the best suggestion on patch shapes for long rifle jags. Even with the Dewey style jag, what you are really winding around it is a long strip (though that made me consider surgical gauze for about half a second). You could buy your favorite patch material as large square patches for a larger bore, then use scissors to cut the appropriate width strip. That way you'd both get to buy and make your own, satisfying both schools of thought.

For a few years there was an outfit making patches from a waffle pattern material that I really liked. They seem to have disappeared, though. Flannel patches are nice. T-shirt cloth is too stretchy for me. But lots of schools of thought out there.

Maybe you could buy a file card and use it to card denim to make it into flannel on one side. Now there's a project for the determined do-it-your-selfer.
 
4runnerman said:
For those that make your own patches.-Question-WHY??. Seems it would be more effort than it's worth. I mean patches are like what--500 for $10.00. Seems to me that you are putting more work into it than just picking up a bag.
I shoot at least 5 different rifles a weekend. I could not fathom sitting there cutting patches for all them. Now if you have some secret on cutting 100 patches in a short time-Then I bow to you all. But for $10.00 bucks (considering I am at gun store 2 times a week ) I will continue to buy. I don't have rags laying around and I don't think you can get 500 patches fromm one shirt:D
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I agree. Buying patches is cheap enough. You can get the type, size, and shape that you need with little or no hassle. Why bother cutting up old clothes for patches? I buy specific patches for specific jobs, calibers, barrel lengths, jags, etc.

I use old clothes for rags. I go through far more rags than I do clothes though, so I end up buying rags too.
 
I said I make a different kind bore snakes, difference? It is impossible to get one stuck. It is adjustable, the old philosophy of the red corn cob and white corn cob no longer apply.

F. Guffey
 
I'm a RN and had access to out of date 2X2 and 4X4 gauze pads that were going to be thrown out. Brought them home have not bought a patch in years.
 
UncleNick:
For a few years there was an outfit making patches from a waffle pattern material that I really liked. They seem to have disappeared, though.
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The old cotton insulated underwear fits the bill if you're looking for the waffle texture.

Flannel patches are nice.
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Old shirt or fabric store special.

T-shirt cloth is too stretchy for me.
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The stretchy quality is why retanglar strips of T-shirt or cotton briefs are my first choice for patch material. The tightness of a patch can be easily changed by how tight or loose the material is pulled over or around the jag or brush.

But lots of schools of thought out there.
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All too true on that one. I forsook store bought patches years ago. It’s just so simple to cut up an old T-shirt, pair of underwear, rag, shirt, etc. while watching the tube (haven’t upgraded to LED or plasma yet). One good football game will yield a small mountain of custom patches.

TrueTexan - That's a whopper of an idea. My RN sister furnished me with a sack full of the blue cotton surgery cloths which she had saved, cleaned and uses for rags. I'll check the out dated gauze idea with her and my RN daughter.
 
The waffle patches were a good deal less pliant and have a finer pattern than the underwear. I found the company that used to make them and have an email in to see if they'll tell me what the material was, exactly.

My issue with the stretchy T-shirt material was that I never felt confident in how well I was controlling its tightness. That, plus I had it tear on me a couple of times. But it's probably been 25 years since I last messed with it. My cleaning procedures have all changed since then, and perhaps a wrap around the Dewey with some would be worth exploring again, particularly when using JB Bore Compound. One problem I have is that I mainly use Boretech Eliminator as a cleaning solvent now, and it eats brass jags, like the Dewey. So, I am using only non-reactive alloy and plastic jags with it to prevent false blue indications that copper is still present.
 
When done, clean brass jags & bronze brush in 91% Isopropyl rubbing alcohol. Dont know about Boretech Eliminator. May or may not help.
 
I finally realized that bore cleaners were eating away at my bore brushes, so now I don't use a bronze brush except in a wiped bore and I clean them in mineral spirits and then Dawn after each cleaning session. That same routine nicely cleans up my fleece swabs too. They go from black to virgin wool color very quickly, thanks mostly to the mineral spirits.
 
I just purchased some Boretech Eliminator last month, along with Patch Out and No Lead and a set of Tipton's nickle plated brass jags. Will be "testing" the new stuff in the following weeks.

Unclenick - I hope you get a response. I'm interested in whether the material was natural fiber, such as cotton, or perhaps man made poly whatever. I would think the upside if stiffer material would be a higher degree of bearing pressure against the bore walls; however, there may be some loss of getting into the "corners". Thinking....
 
I finally realized that bore cleaners were eating away at my bore brushes, so now I don't use a bronze brush except in a wiped bore...
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Depends on the bore cleaner. The ones marketed as nitro solvents are usually nothing but petroleum solvents and won't hurt bore brushes.

I alternate using a bore brush with a nitro solvent and patches/jag with the other bore solvents/cleaners. I think the bore cleaners do a good job on everything but breaking up the caked on residue and brushing with a nitro solvent takes care of that.
 
I only use bore cleaners that mention copper fouling, so they apparently dissolve my bronze brushes, at least making them a looser fit rather quickly.
 
John,

Get a little pump sprayer. Put some Boretech Eliminator or Gunzilla in it. At the range, while the gun is still warm (this is critical to best effect) squirt a couple of pumps into the chamber and let it run to the muzzle and coat the bore. Stick a Neoprene stopper in the muzzle and a chamber plug in the rear to protect your gun case and stock bedding and head home. I think you'll generally find the first wet patch down the bore after you get it home takes all carbon out if you use Gunzilla and gets virtually all copper and carbon if you use Eliminator.

BTW, board member Hummer90, who's done a lot of experimenting, cleans at the range with Mobil 1 0W-20W oil. He finds it does well on carbon same as it does in a car engine. As I've done with Gunzilla, he's let this oil sit for a number of days and found more carbon coming out. I am going to start an experiment with it soon.

I was influenced by this article. Subsequent to its publication, Boretech has come out with other products, including a specialized carbon remover that is very effective. The main trick is most people don't give solvents time to work. The article found 20 minutes did about all that could be done, but that doesn't count getting caked carbon off. I don't use brushes or abrasive cleaners anymore. Just time for the solvents to work, and patches. My Hawkeye Borescope tells me these things are removing all there is to remove.


243winxb,

The problem with Eliminator is it attacks copper so quickly that it turns a patch partly blue just from etching the copper in the jag brass in the time it takes to push the patch through the bore. This makes it impossible to use the patch color to tell when you've got all the copper out. Hence the need to use plastic jags or Boretech Proof Positive special non-reactive alloy jags or nickel-plated brass jags. Bronze brush? Forget about it. It becomes a blue brush whether there's anything in the bore or not.
 
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