Do over-the-counter cleaning patches offer anything that makes them perform better than those you can make yourself from old cut up T-shirts?

Thanks.

They're supposed to be lint free.

I can buy lint-free wipes for my eyeglasses. Still, plain old cotton seems to work just as well.

Cut up a white t-shirt and cut patches to fit your bore. Dont worry with all of that over the counter stuff their just trying to make money.

oh crap guys buy the patches, if you got time to cut little circles and squares from an old t-shirt. you need to get out more.


I guess it could be good therapy

This.

They're so cheap, I buy a bag every two years from Academy. I've got plenty of other work to do beside cut bore patches.

Typically use the patches you can buy. Old t-shirt will work fine. I like using the old t-shirt patches for cleaning my muzzle loader better.

Not all over-the-counter cleaning patches are the same. While some are true, cotton patches, others seem more like soft, thin paper. And even the cloth patches are usually cut to "fit" a range of calibers. When you cut your own, you get something that works better for a single caliber.

Granted, the topic is somewhat light. Still, I'm interested to know if the more serious shooters are very particular about what they push down their barrels to clean them.

I've got a set of brass jags that are caliber specific, apply one patch, with the spike centered in the patch. I'd rather the jags were plastic, but they are not. I've broken many plastic ones anyway. Anyway, the patch completely covers the jag, so I'm not reap worked about damaging the barrel. I'm going to shoot it out before I damage it by cleaning.

Which reminds me, the 6.5 Creedmoor now has 250 rounds down it. It should have sped up by now, and I think I'll clean it, just to see what I see. That barrel was installed last month.

I pretty much stick to Pro Shot, used Sinclair too but I think they are Brownells now. buy 1000 a wack,

I use the "Bag of Rags" sometimes seen in the paint department in hardware stores. What you get is a plastic bag full of clean white T-shirt material rags. - This is very inexpensive compared to buying patches or cutting up T-shirts.

I use a office-style paper cutter, the kind with the curved blade with a handle to cut the rags into 1" or 2" strips.

Then I cut the strips with scissors while cleaning. Different lengths folded for different thicknesses, as required.

Cut a 2" piece off of a 2" strip, then quarter that and you have four .22 patches, etc. etc.

Inexpensive, versatile, easy to use.

I would feel silly now, paying what they charge for pre-cut patches.

Un-cut, the "Bag of Rags" rags are very good for stock finishing projects, wiping a gun with oil, etc.. I always keep a couple of bags of them around the shop.

I use tactical patches on a high speed short throw carbon fiber cleaning rod with titanium jags. Only way to go.

Is that the rod with the Timkin thrust bearings that are teflon-coated and packed with whale oil?

Try a bore snake and forget about patches..

Those done get barrels clean.

I only use 800 thread count silk squares that are dipped in organic collared dove tears to clean my rifles.

Yes, and the handle is made from petrified mesquite that's been folded over 1000 times by the finest japanese origami craftsman.

Can't beat the 800 thread count silk patches BIL mentioned either.

If you're not using a genuine ivory cleaning rod you'll ruin your barrel by the third cleaning. Of course, it's pointless to have the right cleaning rod if your not using silk patches and palladium alloy jags.

using whale oil isn't very sportsmanlike.

I've been waiting for a whale lover to come out of the closet.
Just joshing you.

+1 on the Pro Shot patches. Buy a couple of bags and keep them in the cleaning box. Also, +1 on brass jags that are caliber specific. Run a test using one of the 'generic' patch tips then come back with a caliber specific jag and a patch and you will most likely be amazed at the amount of crap you get out of the grooves.

Patches smatches, just pull the entire t-shirt through the bore.

I read somewhere that brass jags will create false positives when using solvents that turn blue when removing copper.

I don't know.

All I know is last night I sprayed Gunslick foaming bore cleaner down the 6.5 Creedmoor, and let sit 15 minutes. Then I used the 6.5 mm jag, with two patches attached. The first 6 passes, the patches were black and blue, suggesting copper and carbon was coming out. It took 25 passes until the patches were no longer dirty, using new patches the first half, then flipping over the patches on the second half of the project.

Regretfully, I have no ammo loaded for that rifle, or today I could report how many shots it takes until the barrel gets fouled back in, and starts behaving.