A cleaning rod is a

firearm maintenance Firearm maintenance (or gun care for short) is a series of routine preventive maintenance procedures aiming to ensure the proper function of a firearm, often with the use of a variety of specialized tools and chemical solutions. Typically such m ...

tool that can be used to clean the inside (bore) of a

gun A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, pr ...

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...

, and is made in different sizes for use on different barrel lengths,

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge (firearms) , bore – regardless of how or where the bore is measured and whether the f ...

s and

gauge Gauge ( or ) may refer to: Measurement * Gauge (instrument), any of a variety of measuring instruments * Gauge (firearms) * Wire gauge, a measure of the size of a wire ** American wire gauge, a common measure of nonferrous wire diameter, es ...

s. It is a sturdy, long, thin, straight rod typically made of metal, rigid plastic or

carbon fiber Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...

, and usually has a handle at one end for gripping and threadings at the other end for attaching cleaning accessories. It is used to push brushes, mops and cotton patches through the bore to deliver solvents and scrub away

fouling Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces. The fouling materials can consist of either living organisms (biofouling) or a non-living substance (inorganic or organic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surf ...

s, or to physically remove any obstructing objects such as a

squib load A squib load, also known as a squib round, pop and no kick, or just a squib, is a firearm malfunction in which a fired projectile does not have enough force behind it to exit the barrel, and thus becomes stuck. This type of malfunction can be ext ...

. Commonly, a breech-end extension tube, known as a bore guide or rod guide, is also used in conjunction with the cleaning rod to prevent cleaning solvent from spilling out into the receiver, and to keep the rod supported and centered inside the bore in order to minimize potential damage to

rifling In firearms, rifling is machining helical grooves into the internal (bore) surface of a gun's barrel for the purpose of exerting torque and thus imparting a spin to a projectile around its longitudinal axis during shooting to stabilize the pro ...

s. Similarly, a muzzle guide or muzzle guard might be used if the cleaning rod is to be inserted from the muzzle end of the firearm in order to protect the crown of the muzzle from mechanical damage. A cleaning cord is an alternative gun care tool to a cleaning rod. A cleaning cord is a flexible fabric cord with a tapered thin end that has a weight attached to it, in order to help the initial feeding of the cord through the breech end of the barrel. When the thin end has been fed throughout the other end, the rest of the cord is then dragged towards the muzzle, scrubbing the bore along the way. A cleaning cord often has one or more integrated brushes to help clear away more stubborn contaminants, and may also be used to apply

lubricant A lubricant (sometimes shortened to lube) is a substance that helps to reduce friction between surfaces in mutual contact, which ultimately reduces the heat generated when the surfaces move. It may also have the function of transmitting forces, t ...

Thread sizes

The

screw thread A screw thread, often shortened to thread, is a helical structure used to convert between rotational and linear movement or force. A screw thread is a ridge wrapped around a cylinder or cone in the form of a helix, with the former being called a ...

sizes and "genders" used for attaching brushes to the rods vary between different calibers and manufacturers. Some of the most common threads and genders for rods/cords are listed below.Troubleshooting Tips for Cleaning Rod Accessory Threading - Tetraguncare.com
/ref> Corresponding brushes and other accessories will have the opposite gender. Rods for .17 to .204 caliber (4.4 to 5.2 mm) * #5-40 UNC female Rods for .22 to .50 caliber (5.56 to 12.7 mm) * #8-32 UNC female (more common) * #8-36 UNF male (less common) Rods for

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

s (including 12, 20, 28 and .410

) * #12-28 UNF male * 5/16-27 UNC female

References

Cannon with cleaning rod - detail of Reinier van Persijn - Portret van Christian Martin Anhaltin - 1659 (cropped)

Firearm maintenance

Thread sizes

See also

References