Did I mess up? Gun Cleaning question

[IdahoSwede]

Got a new rifle. Seekins PH2. Been shooting it and decided to give it a cleaning. Pushed a patch through until I realized too late my rod wasn’t long enough for this rifle. As I pulled the rod back the patch came off. I thought to just push it back out from the muzzle end so I could get close enough to get it out through the action. So I just pushed it through from the muzzle end (bronze jag) Then I thought that wasn’t probably a good idea so I started going to Dr Google and found all the threads saying don’t clean from the muzzle you will damage crown. My question is this - can one single pass do any serious damage or is this more an issue if done over time causing wear?

 

[EastHumboldt]

I think it’s an issue over time. But go shoot it and let us know if it’s screwed up?

 

[idahodave]

You’re fine. Don’t sweat it for a second.

dave

 

[Marbles]

Crown perfection is largely a myth. Don't worry about it.

Sacred VBS makes people feel like they have control while not actually learning how to be in control.

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I find out with the help of my grinder…

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I think most of use would say yes. It seems intuitive that the crown, the last part of the rifle that touches the bullet before it leaves the…

rifleshooter.com

 

[grappling_hook]

Crown perfection is largely a myth. Don't worry about it.

Sacred VBS makes people feel like they have control while not actually learning how to be in control.

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I find out with the help of my grinder…

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I think most of use would say yes. It seems intuitive that the crown, the last part of the rifle that touches the bullet before it leaves the…

rifleshooter.com

Very informative read.

 

[Wapiti1]

You're fine. You have to actually damage the crown, like smack it with a hammer damage.

When they say don't clean from the muzzle, it's wear over time that you are really trying to avoid. I've seen muzzles with no rifling on one side because the owner cleaned it from the muzzle and his technique always rubbed the rod on that spot. There was no rifling for almost an inch of muzzle. The same applies to cleaning from the breech, but it's less pronounced and usually never matters unless you clean constantly. A bore guide is always a good idea.

Lever guns can't be cleaned from the breech, so you do what you have to.

Jeremy

 

[hunterjmj]

Interesting read. If it makes you feel better, buy yourself a bore guide for cleaning. It'll help line your jag into the barrel without clanging around in the chamber.

 

[EastHumboldt]

Bore guides are the bomb for a lot of reasons.

 

[IdahoSwede]

Crown perfection is largely a myth. Don't worry about it.

Sacred VBS makes people feel like they have control while not actually learning how to be in control.

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I find out with the help of my grinder…

Do rifle crowns matter? Does a crown affect accuracy? I think most of use would say yes. It seems intuitive that the crown, the last part of the rifle that touches the bullet before it leaves the…

rifleshooter.com

Very interesting, thanks for sharing

 

[TaperPin]

I really liked the article, but turning a 1/2 moa rifle into a 1 moa or even 1-1/2 moa seemed to me to prove the value of a good crown, not disprove it. There is a Grand Canyon sized gap between 1/2 and 1 moa that many have spent $1k or $2k to get. A magnified close up after the first shot through a saw cut barrel would show most of the burs pushed out of the way and only very very fine burrs are actually interacting with the bullets.

The tapered muzzle sending the groups 14 moa off was amazing.

The world isn’t a perfect place, don’t sweat anything in shooting that isn’t done perfectly.

 

[hiker270]

Even a rifle with a damaged crown can be recrowned and its really not all that expensive. I have had several rifles recrowned to 11 degrees. Your rifle is fine though.

 

[DangerRanger]

It’s fine

 

[Marbles]

I really liked the article, but turning a 1/2 moa rifle into a 1 moa or even 1-1/2 moa seemed to me to prove the value of a good crown, not disprove it. There is a Grand Canyon sized gap between 1/2 and 1 moa that many have spent $1k or $2k to get. A magnified close up after the first shot through a saw cut barrel would show most of the burs pushed out of the way and only very very fine burrs are actually interacting with the bullets.

The tapered muzzle sending the groups 14 moa off was amazing.

The world isn’t a perfect place, don’t sweat anything in shooting that isn’t done perfectly.

Yeah, I'm not going to intentionally damage the crown, and will recrown when I cut barrels myself. However, I was about convinced a bad crown would result in a 30 MOA rifle before reading that article and I enjoy my equipment more not being scared I will mess it up.

Shortening a barrel will also change its hermonics, so group size might have come down with load development (or might not, we don't know).

 

[Dos Perros]

Remember, you're trying to reduce shot-to-shot variation. If you 'damage' a crown, it's similarly damaged for every shot, so no variation contributed by the crown. Therefore precision is maintained.

 

[Quicksilver]

Don’t sweat it. You’re using softer metals than what the barrel is made of. You’d have to get real freaky to damage a barrel while cleaning. I’ve done the same thing you have on rifles that still hood under 1/2 moa. Learn the things to be finicky about, and forget the rest.

 

[Go West Old Man]

While you’re at it , get a Bore Tech bore guide. They work great and really help in keeping bore cleaner out of your action. Their Bore Stix cleaning rods are great too!

 

[Leverwalker]

You're fine. You have to actually damage the crown, like smack it with a hammer damage.

When they say don't clean from the muzzle, it's wear over time that you are really trying to avoid. I've seen muzzles with no rifling on one side because the owner cleaned it from the muzzle and his technique always rubbed the rod on that spot. There was no rifling for almost an inch of muzzle. The same applies to cleaning from the breech, but it's less pronounced and usually never matters unless you clean constantly. A bore guide is always a good idea.

Lever guns can't be cleaned from the breech, so you do what you have to.

Jeremy

Actually Marlins can, and it's easy (remove the lever screw, pull the bolt, pull the ejector pin). That's how I clean my 45-70 and my son's 336. Winchesters, yep, another story.

 

[Wapiti1]

Actually Marlins can, and it's easy (remove the lever screw, pull the bolt, pull the ejector pin). That's how I clean my 45-70 and my son's 336. Winchesters, yep, another story.

I was actually thinking Savage 99 and Winchester when I wrote that. But it's a good point, some can.

Jeremy

 

[Leverwalker]

I was actually thinking Savage 99 and Winchester when I wrote that. But it's a good point, some can.

Jeremy

Yep, I figured. Just wanted to clarify in case someone was wondering. My son has his great-grandpa's Win 38-55, built sometime around 1904-7, and we can only come in through the muzzle, which we hate to do. Thing of beauty.

 

[Wapiti1]

Yep, I figured. Just wanted to clarify in case someone was wondering. My son has his great-grandpa's Win 38-55, built sometime around 1904-7, and we can only come in through the muzzle, which we hate to do. Thing of beauty.

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Possum Hollow and Dewey make muzzle guides that take the worry away.

That said, you can use a .308, 30-06, or .338 case as a muzzle guide in that rifle. Cut the case just past the head so you have something to grip and use the neck as the liner to protect the muzzle. On the .30 cal cases you can put a couple of o-rings on the neck to hold it in the muzzle. The .338 is a tighter fit.

Jeremy