Gun cleaning brushes and sets are a must-have for professionals to use at gunsmith workshops and also in automotive shops.
These come with versatile cleaning capability and makes sure that your firearm is cleaned effectively and well maintained.
These are designed to handle your firearm in a proper way as it provides maximum reach and flexibility for cleaning the tough and hard to reach areas as well.
The best thing about the gun cleaning brushes is you can also use them to clean other items like:
- tattoo equipment
- spray guns
- hummingbird pots
- sippy cup spouts
- venture on your gas grill
- car parts
- furniture refinishing
- and much more
You can also keep them near your kitchen sink for regular use as you will find lots of uses of these little brushes. Let’s explore the 7 best gun cleaning brushes we’ve come across.
7 Best Gun Cleaning Brushes
Various brushes can be used for different purposes and choosing the right brush for the right project is a tough task.
With our list of best gun cleaning brushes below, we have made this easier for you. Checking the features in detail you can easily find the right pistol cleaning brush for your needs now.
1- Hoppe’s Tornado Brush
This Hoppe's No. 9 Tornado Gunsmith's Brush , 12-Gauge Shotgun Gunsmiths 12 Gauge shotgun is considered as a Gunsmith’s brush as it holds a special spiral-wound design which is highly effective in removing fouling without any damage to your rifling.
These stainless steel loops get rid of any bristle ends that lead to scratches.
Features:
- Is very special in design for wiping the fouling without any damage to rifling
- Designed to use with a 12-Guage Shotgun
- Designed and tested to handle the toughest situations and harsh environments
- Is 4.86×1.76×0.42 in L X W X H
- Beautifully designed to use with 12 gauge shotgun
2- Hoppe’s Bore Brush
This Hoppe's Phosphor Bronze 5.56mm/.223cal AR Rifle Chamber Brush (Pack of 3) is specially designed to clean the locking lug and the chambers.
They are available in a 3 pack AR style in 5.56mm/.223 cal in bronze and stainless steel material.
Features:
- Available as a double diameter cleaning brush
- The phosphorous bronze chamber brush has stout bristles for well-organized cleaning
- Has standard American 8-32 thread and is a stainless steel locking lug brush
- Large cotton chamber mop to dust
- Are in AR-style with (5.56mm/.223 cal .) Multipacks chamber brush, chamber mops, and a bore brush
- Gets into all the areas to clean wonderfully
3- Pro-Shot Brush
These Pro-Shot 10-mm/.40 Caliber Pistol Brush are brass core and Bronze bristle brushes which are designed for the competition shooters in order to hold out its regular use.
Its construction consists of a top-quality brass foundation and combined with bronze bristles.
This brush has been used for several years with many world records in its praise. It is exceptional for cleaning bore with better-quality cleaning ability and does not harm the bore.
Every Pro-Shot Benchrest Bore Cleaning Brushes holds a certain size for each level with every brush being outsized for absolute life. Every pistol brush holds 8-32 threads for a neat cleaning task.
Features:
- The brush is made with precision threads to be screwed into cleaning rods and even holds the brass core for presenting a long-lasting and tough use.
- It cleans the barrel totally
- The brass core brush holds the bristles longer and tight and does not get loose or even drop out like other aluminum core brushes.
- The ends of the rifle, pistol, and the shotgun are looped and not shaved off like the other low-quality brushes
4- Tipton Bore Brush
This Tipton Nylon Bore Brush Set with 13 Rifle Jags for Firearm Cleaning and Maintenance is designed and constructed of the material which is unaffected by most of the modern powder and the copper solvents.
The bristles of the brushes are designed to be much grooved to provide maximum bore scrubbing performance. It has a molded hinge top storage box to store the brushes and enhance its longevity.
Features:
- These brushes are made from premium phosphor bronze for the best cleaning task and for the longevity of the products
- The set has 17, 22, 243, 25, 270, 7mm, 30, 8mm, 338,375,416 and 45 calibers of brushes.
- All the brushes hold standard 8×32 male threads except the 17 caliber brush as it has 5×40 male threads
- The set of brushes are packed on a durable box with marked slots to store the brushes and enhance their life for better use.
5- Otis Bore Brush
The Otis 316 -3- NBBZ variety purpose receiver is a perfect choice to choose to complete the right project.
Having one Nylon, Bronze and Blue Nylon brushes, it is considered as an all-purpose brush to clean the hard and tough areas and scrub the settled copper, carbon and powder on the metals.
Available in a range of various tolerance, Otis 316-3-NBBZ Variety Pack All Purpose Receiver Brushes (1 Each, Total 3) are the cream of the crop in cleaning the residues and scrub with ability.
Features:
- Softest Nylon brush shadowed by somewhat hard line nylon-bristled brush
- More hard and aggressive is the Bronze bristled brush
- Presents you the ability to scrub the rough and deposited areas of copper, powder, and carbon
- Designed to use on automobile detailing, golf equipment, boats, Woodworking, camping, Battery Terminals, firearms and much more.
6- Outers Gun Brush
This OUTERS Stainless Steel/Phosphor Bronze/Nylon 40835 Gun Brush 3 Piece Set is a perfect item manufactured by Outers and is a top of the line tool which proves to be more helpful to clean the firearms.
It is considered as the best brush set which enhances the use of your firearms and their maintenance in a better way.
Pick your set today and apply its use to perform in a professional way and clean the gun for a better shoot every time.
Features:
- Is a perfect professional gun cleaning set of brushes
- Is an Outers product
- Has stainless steel bush for destructive cleanup of non-blued surfaces.
- Provided with Phosphorous Bronze for deeply used blued metals
- Nylon for soft and delicate parts and even the wooden surfaces
- Great for checkering and cleaning carved areas
- Is a good combination of gentle and rough brushes in order to scrub any sort of surface
- Cleans small, smaller and smallest areas of debris in your fun for amazing function every time.
7- SE Gun Brushes
SE is a renowned name when it comes to gun cleaning brushes.
This set by SE is a 5 piece gun cleaning set, which comes as a pack of 3 brushes and 2 double-ended picks.
The pack includes a double-ended brass brush, double-ended copper brush, double-ended nylon brush, and the double-ended picks.
This SE Gun Cleaning Set with 3 Brushes and 2 Double-Ended Picks - 7624BC-5 offer a wide range of cleaning capabilities.
Features:
- The picks are designed to clean the cracks and crevices. The brushes have 2 ends, the large and the small ends.
- Brass, copper, and nylon double-ended brushes are available in 3 numbers.
- The larger side is of 1.5 * 3/8 inch, and the smaller side is of 7/8 inch * 1/8 inch.
- There are black plastic handles for the brushes. Each piece is 7 inches long.
- The best quality product from the best source is what the SE offers, and the prices are very genuine.
How to Use A Bore Brush Properly?
Knowing the proper usage of a bore brush is a key to cleaning your rifle perfectly. If you are new to all that cleaning stuff, especially at using a bore brush, below is a video that can help you out.
What Size Bore Brush Do You Need?
Well, I get this question from my colleagues and visitors many times. And the simple answer is, I don’t know.
Since the size of the bore brush you will need for cleaning your gun will mostly depend on the type of firearm you own and want to clean, I can’t tell this right without knowing about your gun type.
Whether you want the cleaning brushes for your AR15, 9mm pistol, Remington, 30-06, 300 Win. Mag or something else?
As such there are so many different gauges and calibers out there. And to find the right fit, you will need to do a bit of research.
You may check out the bore brush size chart below to know about the various sizes available and to decide which one you will need for most of the time.
What about the brush length?
When it’s about choosing the length, it is important to note that the brush is neither too short nor too long. In most cases, you will find the bore brushes that are 2 inches long are perfectly suitable.
In some cases, the brushes that are one inch in length can also serve your purpose, especially for .17 and .22 caliber.
Tips for Choosing The Best Bore Brushes
When picking a brush to ease your gun cleaning procedure, there are certain factors you need to consider.
1- Brand and Quality:
First of all the brand and quality of a brush, you choose should be reliable enough to clean your old firearms.
Rather than picking any cheap variety, it is good to choose a brush that comes under a known brand name. These are uniquely designed and are specialized to clean your gun parts without getting them damaged.
2- The Material:
The material you choose (nylon, bronze, steel, copper or brass) should be sturdy so that it effectively removes all the carbon, grease and grime build-up along with all the fouling, without you putting much effort.
While nylon brush helps to clean the loose carbon and fouling, brass/bronze brushes are better for achieving more scrubbing power.
Means if you want to use the brush with solvents to remove the lead, metal fouling, carbon deposits, powder, and rust; its best to use the brass rather than nylon.
In general, the material of the brush should be chosen based on your intended use so that it does not harm the gun parts you are cleaning – check whether you want a brush to clean the inner bore of your gun or just the external surface.
3- Size and Length:
Not all guns are made equal. Having said that it is for sure that you cannot clean all your firearms with just one single size brush.
However, with so many gauges and calibers available in the market, choosing the right size brush can be difficult.
But also it’s the most important part of picking the right gun cleaning brush so that you can clean your gun without any trouble.
So based on your rifles and handguns you have to choose the appropriate size and length of the brush that can suit your purpose.
When to use bore brush?
I generally use a bore brush to scrub and clean away the foulings through the bore. In a process I make use of mops or cotton patches to get in the solvent. Sometimes I also use the brush for removing any object (like squib load) that’s stuck and obstructing inside.
Does bronze brush damage bore?
Many people have an opinion that using the bronze brush can scratch the bore and can ruin it over longer term. The truth is however, it depends on the gun and material you have in it.
In general, brass and phosphor bronze does not scratch or ruin the steel. But if used with some chemicals it may probably make some damage over long term. The damage caused is however not much to ruin the material completely.
Will a .22 bore brush work on a .223?
Yes, I have used 22 bore brush for .223 before and I am pretty sure it can work for you without any problem. If you want it to use on some other calibers, make sure you check with the manufacturer and type of bore you are cleaning.
How can I clean my dirty bore brushes?
For me, brake cleaner worked fine for cleaning the dirty bore brushes. If you have a bit of dirt or not a tough grime, you can even use compressed air to blow it out. In a pinch you can also try using alcohol for cleaning the bore brush.
Bore Brush Vs Snake Vs Jag: What's better?
Many people think that using a jag for bore cleaning is comparatively better than any other product like snake and brush. And I can admittedly say that its true in most of the cases.
I have personally experienced using a jag is most efficient in removing the fouling from the bore. I use the brush for bore cleaning only when I don’t have a jag or snake available.
Nylon or Bronze Brush: Which offers better cleaning?
Nylon bore brushes are the best choice for your routine gun cleaning. For some deeper cleaning it is advised to use a brass bore brush with some solvent and patch.
You should consider using a bronze bristle bore brush only when you want to clean a heavily fouled or completely grimed bore that’s tough to clean.
When using a bronze brush make sure that you do not use it with a copper solvent as it can eat up the material. If you want to use copper solvent, use only nylon brushes for cleaning.
