{{Short description, Tool used for clean firearm bores 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 Firearm malfunction, function of a firearm, often with the use of a variety of specialized tools and chemical soluti ...

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

gun A gun is a device that Propulsion, propels a projectile using pressure or explosive force. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns or water cannon, cannons), or gas (e.g. light-gas gun). So ...

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 stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

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

caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviated as "cal") is the specified nominal internal diameter of the gun barrel Gauge ( ...

s and

gauge Gauge ( ) 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, especia ...

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 comp ...

, 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, organic) or a non-living substance (inorganic). Fouling is usually distinguished from other surfac ...

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 Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groov ...

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, ...

s. File:Cleaning rod.JPG, An assortment of cleaning rods: A short cleaning rod with a

brass Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc, in proportions which can be varied to achieve different colours and mechanical, electrical, acoustic and chemical properties, but copper typically has the larger proportion, generally copper and zinc. I ...

brush attached, a foldable cleaning rod with a

nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

brush attached, a cleaning kit for a shotgun (note the thicker rod), and some different brushes. File:Mauser M59 cleaning rod.jpg, Integrated cleaning rod on a

Mauser M59 The Kongsberg M59 (also known as KV59) is a sniper rifle produced by Kongsberg Gruppen, Kongsberg Arms of Norway based on left-behind K98k actions from the German World War 2 occupation, in a similar fashion to the later Kongsberg M67. Even though ...

. File:Putzkette.JPG, A cleaning cord with a clip at the end for attaching a patch. File:Central Battery 64 pound RML gun no. 1 servicing equipment HKMCD.JPG, Historical bore cleaning equipment for a cannon. File:Cannon with cleaning rod - detail of Reinier van Persijn - Portret van Christian Martin Anhaltin - 1659 (cropped).jpg,

Cannon A cannon is a large-caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder during th ...

with cannonballs and cleaning rod, detail from a title page by

Reinier van Persijn Reinier van Persijn (1615 – 23 November 1668) was a Dutch Golden Age engraver of portraits and bookplates. Biography According to Houbraken, who called him ''Reynier van Parzyn'', he was married to the granddaughter of the stained glass pai ...

of the book by C. M. Anhaltin, ''Slot en sleutel van de groote zee-vaert met een uytschrijvinge van Oost en West'', Amsterdam, 1659.

Thread sizes

The

screw thread A screw 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 ''straight'' thread and t ...

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. 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 UNC is a three-letter abbreviation that may refer to: Education * University of North Carolina, a multi-campus public university system in the U.S. ** University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a public research university ** PBS North Carolin ...

female (more common) * #8-36 UNF male (less common) Rods for

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, 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 discharges numerous small ...

s (including 12, 20, 28 and .410

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

References

Firearm maintenance

Thread sizes

See also

References