The Russian Mosin Nagant Forum

Tornado brushes are coiled wire and are great on taking lead out of revolver cylinders.

No, it will work okay, but Ithink a standard bronze bristle brush will work just as well and be cheaper. Don't worry, you will end upwearing more than one out over the course of cleaning (From The Breech) your M/N's

Tornado brushes can be made of stainless steel or brass and to me they are a despiration brush not made for normal cleaning. They can be very hard on the edges of the rifling, obviously more so if they are stainless steel. I have used them but only when the bore is almost not there and nothing else will seem to work cleaning the bore to that remnant of what is left. A straight bristle brush is much more desirable and much easier on the bore. Most people use them in brass as that is also easier than Stainless steel on the bore. Stainless has its place but not in every day cleaning at the range every time you go and clean as it is too hard on the bore. The brass straight bristle brush will do less damage and make for less wear after shooting each and every time. Many people use a nylon brush and prefer that to the brass too as it is very easy on the bore and will just remove contaminents from shooting alone and is very easy on the bore. Most bores I have are to me considered projects in action as they clean more and more each and every time I shoot and clean them so I prefer and use for the most part the straight bristle brass brush at least until the bore is almost spotless and diamond like shiny. With me shooting mostly corrosive surplus ammo I also go through many more brushes than most of you because that same corrosive nature that attacks the bore if not nuetralized also attacks the brush even if rinsed in hot water after use. I use to buy the brushes by the 100 count and I know that is far more than any of you I would guess. But as I get older and shoot far less and go through far less in the way of new rifles I use far less brushes too. I also noticed that after use a straight bristle brass brush will tend to bend the bristle and work far less efficiently so I change them out due to that too. Most people I find cleaning are using a brush I would have long ago thrown away and gotten a new one. That alone makes cleaning faster and easier and does a better job.

Cleaning as always is very individualistic so find what works for you and is easiest and puts less wear on the bore and stick with it. Good Luck and Good shooting! Bill

Stainless steel is a harder material than your barrel is made from, this sort of thing should never be used with antiques, or any modern firearm who's bore you care about long term. I don't much like the idea of using any brush on antique bores preferring to let Hoppes sit in there and do it's work without scrubbing. The amount of shooting we do will be unlikely to wear out a bore in our lifetimes, but over cleaning will do it very quickly. Get the salts out of the bore, that is the most important part of bore cleaning , after that so what if some fouling stays inside so long as the bore is oiled. No matter what you do the average refurb Mosin will never be a .5 MOA shooter, and the bore already has slight issues from years of wartime use, why make it worse scrubbing it to death with steel brushes or even copper ones.

mahduk45044 wrote:Thanks for the info. Now I know that it's one of those things it doesn't hurt to have but will probably not use much.

That is exactly the way I look at them matter of fact I have no idea where the one I know I have is? Does that tell you the last time I used it? Bill

zeebill wrote:...I also noticed that after use a straight bristle brass brush will tend to bend the bristle and work far less efficiently so I change them out due to that too. Most people I find cleaning are using a brush I would have long ago thrown away and gotten a new one. That alone makes cleaning faster and easier and does a better job.

I took a break from house work today to clean my .380 pocket pistol. It collects quite a bit of lint in my pocket as it does get use for exactly that purpose. As soon as I pulled out my cleaning kit this thread popped into my mind. Not because I use Tornado brushes, but because I knew my .357 brush was a little past its prime. As I picked it up and examined it, I gave it a quick once over and chucked it into the trash. I grabbed a new one from another cleaning kit and used that brush. After only a few passes with the new brush and a wet oil cloth, you would have swore the gun had been fired. But it had not. In fact, it has been cleaned probably 3 times since the last time I shot it at the range because I am low on .380 ammo at the moment. I must admit, I was a little bit shocked. So Bill, you have a convert. I will be swapping out my worn nasty brushes for new ones a little sooner next time. Thank you sir.

I may run a brush through mine a couple of times, maybe, but i like to use a worn brush with a cotton patch wrapped around it. It runs the patch throu fairly tight, then I switch over to a 30 caliber jag and continue with cotton patches. With Hoppes #9 on the patches until it is as clean as I want, then a few dry ones, then the oil. I have never used a tornado brush, the stainless coils just look too aggressive, but why would they make them if they would do harm. I just always figured maybe they were for the nice stainless barrels like you see on the Ruger, Remington, and other similar nice hunting rigs.

bunkysdad wrote:I may run a brush through mine a couple of times, maybe, but i like to use a worn brush with a cotton patch wrapped around it. It runs the patch throu fairly tight, then I switch over to a 30 caliber jag and continue with cotton patches. With Hoppes #9 on the patches until it is as clean as I want, then a few dry ones, then the oil.

This is pretty much the same routine I use, but if shooting corrosive primed ammo I always do water first. I think this works pretty well.

bunkysdad wrote:I have never used a tornado brush, the stainless coils just look too aggressive, but why would they make them if they would do harm. I just always figured maybe they were for the nice stainless barrels like you see on the Ruger, Remington, and other similar nice hunting rigs.

I think the tornado brushes exist as a last resort for guys who never clean a rifle unless it quits working. As for the hardness of the stainless vs the barrel rifling, think about how the little tiny stainless clips on a sail sheet will eventually beat a hole into a big old aluminum main mast if you let it flap in the breeze. Harder than the rifling is harder than the rifling, so the rifling's lands and grooves wear faster than the brush.

Obviously if the barrel is so full of junk that the brush is scrubbing out the junk instead of scrubbing off the lands then it's not hurting, but rather it's helping. I try not to let anything get that bad, but I've seen some that are.

MB