Home made pull through

[robhw97k]

Expensive those pull through kits to clean barrel,anyone make there own?,i was thinking use thick cat gut (30-40lb) fishing line but what could i use to clean barrel ?,bit cut up soft cloth maybe with drop gun oil ?.any ideas please.

[SuffolkRifle]

One f the members of the club I go to makes them, think they cost a fiver, so not bothered to do my own.
I picked up a couple of packs of 100 .22 rimmy patches of the bay - which, as I shoot .177 mainly and I'll cut them in half - will last a few years, think that they cost about a fiver for the two including postage (it was 'free'), other than that, cut up 'J cloths' make good ones.

[snock]

Many years ago, whilst a member on here, I made many pull throughs and either gave them away, or took a small price once I'd increased the quality of the components.
They were very popular.


I used 80lb conger trace (plastic-coated steel wire) a length of twice the length of the barrel, plus 10 inches.
Loop it so that both loose ends are together, then pinch the looped end so that it forms a 'U' shape.
The handle can be one of two choices; wood or metal (as plastic tube is rarely strong enough). Take a pice of wooden dowel, or metal tube, the width of your hand and drill a small 1/8th hole in the centre of it. This is where the wire will enter the handle.
Push the 2 loose ends of the wire in through the hole and out the other side. If using wooden dowel you can wind the loose ends once around the wood before crimping the wire ends together. Finish with electrician's tape wound around the dowel.
If using metal tube, you can apply a plastic bead onto the two loose ends before crimping them.
Once crimped, just pull the crimped wire ends back into the handle.

Ready easy, and only takes 15 minutes.

Other ideas I heard were to uses trimmer line longer than the barrel, and melt one end into a blob that is plenty small enough to pass through the bore with a patch on it.
This idea means less construction, but getting the size of the blob is critical, and not easy.

Go with the wired option and use Parker Hale 009 as your cleaner. A few drops on a cotton patch is all you need to shift the crud.

[peterd8877]

Made as per Snock, gave some away but still have one which is used on the air rifle and sometimes on the .22lr.

[noz1]

For the cloth, old pillow cases, sheets, duvet covers and even shirts will do! Thin corton material is best. As for solvent, 3 in 1 oil, Rocket WD 40 all have their devotees. I personally use isopropanol alcohol. As to the actual pull through, as said, various fishing line, strimmer line are all used. I used a loop of braided nylon line, total length about a foot longer than your barrel with a length of monofilament fishing line attached to each end. Why? Well, my method is this; I shove down the barrel from the muzzle end a 4 mm nylon rod with a small hole drilled in the end. When this reaches the breach, I push the end of the monofilament through it and pull it to the muzzle end. After removing the rod, pull on the thin line until the loop in the braid nears the breech, insert your patch and pull it through the barrel. When the patch emerges, remove, pull back the thin line at the breech end and repeat as necessary.
Ensure that the cleaning patches are not too big so that excessive force is not needed to pull them through the barrel.

[snock]

Oh, and another improvement was some thin heat shrink tubing over 90% of the conger trace, leaving just a few inches of loop.

[thisisdonald]

If you know someone who ties flies, get then to make you one out of an old fly line. It's got a soft coating, and is strong. Your fly man can whip a loop into the end giving a really nice finish. It's stiff enough to push through as long as you use the thick end.
Design is pretty much same as Snocks

[don1971]

What is the appropriate size of the pieces of cloth you use with this method?

[SuffolkRifle]

Also, when using it, (as was drummed in by the armorer) use a steady pull without stopping and without allowing it to rub against the crown of the barrel

[SuffolkRifle]

What is the appropriate size of the pieces of cloth you use with this method?

Depends on the calibre - for .177, I use about .75"x1.5" and for .22 1.5"x3"
Edit:
Though it does depend on the thickness of the cloth, you need it to go into the lands of the rifling so it's got to fit fairly tight, but you don't want it that tight that it breaks the line, so often a bit of trial and error working up from small

[don1971]

Depends on the calibre - for .177, I use about .75"x1.5" and for .22 1.5"x3"

Thank you, I’ll give it a whirl.

[krisko]

If you don’t like tying knots you can also melt and form a plastic ball at the end of thick fishing line or weed trimmer line works just fine, then you just make a hole on the patch

[PhatMan]

Hello to All,

I have read many posts on the Interweb, where chappies have been using lint-free nail wipes - e.g.

https://www.evilbay.co.uk/itm/900-x-...0AAOSwVVRab3qe

for use with pull-throughs, and with good success.

have fun & a good Sunday

Best regards

Russ

[robthedog]

I have a gardening business, & i use strimmer line as the pull through, not sure how it compares price wise with fishing line as i don't fish, but i have loads of it, don't buy cheap line though, get Stihl

[villaman]

I use this lint free cloth it seems the same as the Napier patches .
I cut them up the same size as Napier ones and get 100's from them https://www.newshinyhardware.co.uk/C...s_6314066.html