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45LC Rifle Chamber brush Ideas


Doc Hurd #12379

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I'm looking to buy or make a chamber brush for my 73 rifle so I can clean it between stages, so I'm looking for ideas.  What have you found that works and what don't?

 

Thanks

 

Doc

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The first thing that comes to mind would be a bore snake; easy to store and easy to use between stages.  You could have two if it made you feel better, one wet followed by a pass with the dry one.

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I use a .50 cal bore brush, bent at a right angle & used with a short handle - either nylon or bronze depending on what you're trying to clean out.

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Proshot and Tipton make short  (6in) flexible cleaning rods   I used to have one made by Outers?   but have gone to Boresnakes    GW

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Hi Doc :P

 

Just thought I might stick my nose in here.  I'd like to suggest eliminating the reason for the Chamber brush altogether.  With a .45 Colt chambered rifle, your fighting Blow-By (you already know that) because the cartridge case is too thick and rigid to obturate to seal the chamber.  If your shooting an Uberti .45 Colt rifle, your also fighting with a chamber cut so generous, you and I could walk hand in hand through it.  There is light at the end of the tunnel though.  Not a Locomotive either.

 

You can mitigate if not down right completely eliminate .45 Colt Blow-By.  First method is a little costly but involves very little time.  Start with 44-40 cases.  Carefully run em through your 45 Colt dies.  "CAREFULLY"   Take your time on the loading press.  Your going to wind up with a really funny looking round, until you fire it the first time.  Then it will look like any other .45   Except the neck area will be thin like a 44-40 and expand to fit the chamber and seal it up nicely.

 

Second method is to anneal your 45 Colt cases.  Propane torch (one that stands on it's own", Cordless drill Motor, a Socket and a  kids  small beach bucket (small hardware store painters bucket).   Fill the bucket with water, fire up the torch, use the drill to turn the cases, make the case mouth turn pink then dump it inna water.  .45 case is now very soft.  Expands nicely, Eliminates Blow-By.  No need for a chamber brush.

 

Also, No Blow-By into the Carrier Block and Mortice (Uberti)  No Blow-By into the action ('92 or Fish).

 

 

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1 hour ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

If your shooting an Uberti .45 Colt rifle, your also fighting with a chamber cut so generous, you and I could walk hand in hand through it.

 

Ditto if you are shooting most Marlin's.   Those manufacturers are just following the SAAMI chambering dimension standards that the manufacturers agreed to back in the 1930s.  Those dimensions erred on the side of "chambering any 45 Colt ammo ever made" and thus ended up with very generous chambers.   Doesn't matter in revolvers, potential blowback goes out the barrel-to-cylinder gap.   This poor decision did not become apparent until we started asking for lever rifles in .45 Colt chambering (historically - that was never done).

 

Good luck, GJ

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2 hours ago, Colorado Coffinmaker said:

Hi Doc :P

 

Just thought I might stick my nose in here.  I'd like to suggest eliminating the reason for the Chamber brush altogether.  With a .45 Colt chambered rifle, your fighting Blow-By (you already know that) because the cartridge case is too thick and rigid to obturate to seal the chamber.  If your shooting an Uberti .45 Colt rifle, your also fighting with a chamber cut so generous, you and I could walk hand in hand through it.  There is light at the end of the tunnel though.  Not a Locomotive either.

 

You can mitigate if not down right completely eliminate .45 Colt Blow-By.  First method is a little costly but involves very little time.  Start with 44-40 cases.  Carefully run em through your 45 Colt dies.  "CAREFULLY"   Take your time on the loading press.  Your going to wind up with a really funny looking round, until you fire it the first time.  Then it will look like any other .45   Except the neck area will be thin like a 44-40 and expand to fit the chamber and seal it up nicely.

 

Second method is to anneal your 45 Colt cases.  Propane torch (one that stands on it's own", Cordless drill Motor, a Socket and a  kids  small beach bucket (small hardware store painters bucket).   Fill the bucket with water, fire up the torch, use the drill to turn the cases, make the case mouth turn pink then dump it inna water.  .45 case is now very soft.  Expands nicely, Eliminates Blow-By.  No need for a chamber brush.

 

Also, No Blow-By into the Carrier Block and Mortice (Uberti)  No Blow-By into the action ('92 or Fish).

 

 

Colorado, how often do you anneal your 45 colt brass?

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26 minutes ago, Catlow4697 said:

What is the socket for?

You use the socket to hold the case while you turn it.

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I remembered this video.

 

Doc,  I use a bore snake on rifle and shotgun.   You may have seen me sneak off to an unused stage after I shoot to pull the snake through.  

 

At Sunday's match at Higgensville,  I just pulled the dry snake through my shotgun. 

 

Between matches, I wash out the snakes. 

 

Anyone try fire-forming 44WCF to 45Colt?  Intentionally? 

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I ran across this item on the Grafs website and thought it may work for a 45 chamber mop.

 

https://www.grafs.com/retail/catalog/product/productId/73295

 

I figure the mop would have to be bent some 60° or more but would leave a "knob" for a handle. 

 

At under $3 for two,  not much of a loss if it doesn't work.  

 

And note, the package says mop and snap cap.  File away the rim where the extractor would grab and have a snap cap to practice. 

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Thanks, Warden.    Nice reference for annealing cases.   I have always just used my fingers like he did towards the end of his video.  If you can't hold the case, you have it too hot.    Thanks again    GW

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Personally, if I was shooting Holy Black, for a more harmonious outcome, I would change my rifle and handguns to .44-40 and go on from there.

 

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3 hours ago, Warden Callaway said:

 

I remembered this video.

 

Doc,  I use a bore snake on rifle and shotgun.   You may have seen me sneak off to an unused stage after I shoot to pull the snake through.  

 

At Sunday's match at Higgensville,  I just pulled the dry snake through my shotgun. 

 

Between matches, I wash out the snakes. 

 

Anyone try fire-forming 44WCF to 45Colt?  Intentionally? 

That one case is ruined........:lol:

Takes 5 seconds or less to anneal a case correctly.

There is no reason to drop in water either. 

Set up a fan and are cool'em.

OLG

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THIS from JP Precision.............................

Process and Precaution

Before you getting involved in annealing, understand that it has its pitfalls. These range from just wasting your time to the possibility of catastrophic case failure due to improper technique. Some time back, the typical method for annealing was to place the cases base down in a pan with maybe an inch of water. Using a propane torch, you'd heat the upper part of the case until it changed color. As you can imagine, it was difficult to apply heat consistently over 360° doing it this way.

A better solution was to use of a variable speed drill. You'd spin a long socket wrench suitable to hold the case while applying the torch. Once it reached the appropriate temperature, you'd quench it in water. This method gave much better coverage but at the price of speed.

Thankfully, you can now buy a well-designed machine to handle multiple cases in an automated fashion. A BC automatic case annealer is the way to go if you really want to get into this. It provides a consistent result and virtually eliminates the possibility of botching the job.

The danger potential for annealing comes in over-annealing, and more so, in annealing the base. If you soften the base of your cases, they will no longer function as designed. They might rupture or split and release high-pressure gases into the action and ultimately into your face.

With careful technique, you can avoid such catastrophic failure. But the risk is always higher than a simple cracked neck when a case reaches the end of its life.

 

More than I wanted to know.....................

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R James:  So far, just once.  I'm working on two big plastic shoe boxes full of 45 Colt.  I just anneal as I need it.  Soon though, I'm going to go thru what I have already annealed and see how well it does second time through.

 

Warden:  Yepper.  I frequently form 44WCF (44-40) cases to 45 Colt,  I just carefully run them thru my 45 Colt dies set. CAREFULLY.  Take yer time.  You get a really funny looking round until you fire it, then it looks as a 45 Colt.  The thin neck expands nicely to seal the chamber.

 

The Socket question answered by the Video.  

 

Annealing pistol cases is no where near a critical as folks who prep bottle-neck rifle cases.  If you get it too hot it's no big deal.  I use the bucket of water because I'm impatient.  I don't like to wait around for the brass to cool.

 

Both methods work very well.  Both methods are far cheaper than changing calibers in rifles and hand guns.  BY A LOT!!  Oh, Annealing is mind numbing boring.  But still worth it.

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I just use a .45 caliber mop, bent at a 45 degree angle on a short handle cleaning rod.  When shooting smokeless, I dampen the mop with WD40 and wipe the chamber after each stage to clean and lube the chamber.  When shooting BP, I use Moose Milk on the mop to keep the chamber clean.  Shooting a Marlin 1894.

 

Annealing sounds good, but I don't always bring home the brass I brought. :huh:

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Doc, 

 

I’m assuming you are going to shoot smokeless in this .45 rifle for Wild Bunch, right?

 

If the bore snake isn’t working for you, I would just spritz the carrier and chamber opening with some aerosol Ballistol every other stage or so and wipe any excess off the outside of the receiver with a rag.  Even with black powder .45 loads I never got much fouling back in the toggles, so I don’t think you have to worry about smokeless blowback getting behind the carrier.  You should be able to wipe out the carrier area after the match adequately without disassembly, and clean the bore as you normally would.  Keeping the fouling soft with lube is going to be faster and easier than trying to clean the chamber after every stage, in my experience.

 

Good luck with whatever you try!

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Doc,  Atz because Blow-By is fouling the chamber.  I had a 44 Special that refused to run BP and Subs.  Chamber fouled out after 3 or four rounds.  After annealing, the rifle runs an entire match (or two or three) like grain through a goose.

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