TargetTalk

Is .32 cal. barrel closer to .22 or .45 when it comes to cleaning requirements, when used with mild loads and wad cutter bullets? What I mean, is nylon brush is all I need?
After 150 shots I do not see any lead build up and the barrel appears to be polished inside so I would not want to use bronze brush.

Hey Les ... I never had lead build up with my .32 ... I just used a pull through with patches ... and it was always nice and shiny ...

(Shooting lead after shooting copper in a .45 ... and I literally had flakes of lead in the barrel)

I would worry about using a brush if it quit shooting good or did function right.

You are shooting relatively low speeds I would imagine, so leading really shouldn't be an issue.

If you are worried about hurting the barrel with a bronze brush, then you should be doubly... no, trebely worried about nylon. A little bit of grit could get embedded in the nylon and scratch the rifling right outa that soft steel barrel.

Realisticly, bronze bore brushes aren't going to harm your barrel if you clean from the breach like you're supposed to. How often is a whole different question and will depend on many factors, including the individual barrel, powder charge, bullet lube, and probably the phases of the Jovian moons. 150 is a bit quick. Most bullseye shooters put 180 rounds through their 45's in a single match. I don't know anyone that has ruined a pistol barrel by properly cleaning it. I have personally experienced the ills of not cleaning often enough. There's no surer way to loose a match than to shoot it with a dirty gun. You might want to read Don Nygord's notes on cleaning on his web site.

Larry

To Larry:

You wrote: "A little bit of grit could get embedded in the nylon and scratch the rifling right outa that soft steel barrel."

Well, you are exagerating a triffle here? No? Turning that rifled barrel into a smooth bore? What about BATF regulations in this case? A too short barreled smoothbore?

To further discourage you, have the idea ever hit you that "a little bit of grit" could could also get embedded in a copper brush?

Well, Larry, keeep shooting and (copper)brush that barrel thoroughly!

I use my .32S&WL every week shooting ISSF centre-fire using lead projectiles. It gets cleaned every week afterwards - bore solvent on a wool mop, a couple of minutes then 2-3 passes with a bronze brush, followed by clean out with a jag and soft clean patch that comes out dirty with noticeable flakes of shiny lead, then another clean patch.
Lead sure makes the bore look clean and shiny.
You may also want to look at any build up of lead and lubricant in the shallow trough area between the chamber & just before the rifling - I usually bore solvent this then use a dental pick to scrape it out as the bronze brush often leaves it behind.
Done this with several pistols now and both still shoot well (560's) & better groups than I can hold.