Tornado cleaning brush, that's the one consisting of several spiral-wound wires that interleaf among themselves. I've had some of these for many years, one marked "made in France" acquired as long ago as the 1960's. I know I've got 12 ga., that's the French one. Somewhere along the line, a 20 ga. came my way, and I think I've got one in .410 bore. None of which I've ever used. Because I've never had to clean a shotgun barrel that was all that dirty and never one that couldn't easily be cleaned with just patches. I've got some bronze wire brushes that I use, just because but I don't think they've really been necessary.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I bought a cheap shotgun that had a dirty barrel. I didn't realize just how dirty. I started with the bronze brush and some Hoppe's #9, which was ineffective, but enough to let me see that this barrel was severely leaded. That's when I remembered the Tornado brushes. I got out the 20 ga., and in relays of about 10 strokes, got it cleaned out in six relays. It was pretty bad but that Tornado brush and bore cleaning solvent kept shaving lead out until it was clean. I can't see any scratching that resulted from the cleaning, either.
I've seen the Tornado brushes made for rifle calibers, but what with raised lands in bores, I wonder how effective this brush design might be. Meaning, it seems the brush would ride the lands but lead would still remain in the grooves.
Over the years, I've never leaded up a shotgun barrel. Shooting either birdshot or slugs. So it makes me wonder how this particular barrel became thus. Maybe they were using home-made shot that wasn't hard like store-bought.
Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I bought a cheap shotgun that had a dirty barrel. I didn't realize just how dirty. I started with the bronze brush and some Hoppe's #9, which was ineffective, but enough to let me see that this barrel was severely leaded. That's when I remembered the Tornado brushes. I got out the 20 ga., and in relays of about 10 strokes, got it cleaned out in six relays. It was pretty bad but that Tornado brush and bore cleaning solvent kept shaving lead out until it was clean. I can't see any scratching that resulted from the cleaning, either.
I've seen the Tornado brushes made for rifle calibers, but what with raised lands in bores, I wonder how effective this brush design might be. Meaning, it seems the brush would ride the lands but lead would still remain in the grooves.
Over the years, I've never leaded up a shotgun barrel. Shooting either birdshot or slugs. So it makes me wonder how this particular barrel became thus. Maybe they were using home-made shot that wasn't hard like store-bought.
