Why are cleaning patch so popular in the U.S.?

90% of the time I use a bore snake.
Mind your crowns.

But actually, I just did a medium-level Intarweb search,
and I can't find any photos of barrel crowns ruined by
radial boresnake yankage. A few YoutUbe videos (TL;DW)
that presumably spread Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt,
but no post-mortems that you'd expect if there really was
an epidemic of guys roaching their barrels right and left.

I'm actually surprised.

The real reason the t-shirts become patches is Yankee Cheapness.

"Use it up, wear it out. Make it do, or do without."
And yet how many muzzleloaders have to use patches
that look like Maw sacrificed her bed linens for you?
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My question to you is why don't You use patches? They come in caliber specific sizes no cutting to size at all.
Indeed; doesn't using the wrong caliber patch void the gun warranty?

Some of you guys are wrapped waaaaaaaay too tight about cleaning guns.
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What are you trying to absorb? Are we wiping vaginas or cleaning guns?
Wait - you guys ____ ____ _______?
 
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Read most of the thread and got bored. Anyone recommend just throwin' out your guns and buyin' new ones? Seems a lot easier than worrying about cleaning them.
 
If your close to under or over 100 your good...
The trick is only owning unfired guns... they’re
If by enough you mean over 100.... then sadly i do not.;)
easier to clean but the concern is nicks from moving them in and out of the safes..
 
I'll admit it's all about ego.

For me I get my dander up when a guy that shoots like 6 times a year goes on a rant about how everyone should keep their guns sparkling clean or they somehow abusing them.

It's all dependant on how much you use em. For me......3 times a week I'm at the club......I'm putting em away dirty and sometimes still warm......and I'm not abusing them for doing it that way.
I have a friend that is pretty OCD about his gun cleanliness......only problem is his OCD does not shift over to making sure all the parts are back in/on the guns. Hes been to the range 3 times with me in 4 years each time he brought medical grade clean rifls and handguns to the range. Each time he for got the BCG for the AR and for some reason just cant bring th correct mags for any pistol....clean they are though.

its all fun. Im not a "clean" your gun every time shooter. Rust preventive measures only. I will go a season with out a deep cleaning or until accuracy sways. Cleaning guns ever trip to me is like washing your car to remove the wax after you wax it?
 
Read most of the thread and got bored. Anyone recommend just throwin' out your guns and buyin' new ones? Seems a lot easier than worrying about cleaning them.
down that many times, back in the days when you could freely have black powder pistol and rifle kits shipped right to your home no problems. As soon as they got a bit rusty and function issues ( these where elcheapo kits out of spain or brazil) tossed them and bought new ones. Not to mention there was a good amount of pot metal/Zinc revolvers going around in the 80s and 90s for cheap money. Shot them until they broke and done.
 
I have a friend that is pretty OCD about his gun cleanliness......only problem is his OCD does not shift over to making sure all the parts are back in/on the guns. Hes been to the range 3 times with me in 4 years each time he brought medical grade clean rifls and handguns to the range. Each time he for got the BCG for the AR and for some reason just cant bring th correct mags for any pistol....clean they are though.

its all fun. Im not a "clean" your gun every time shooter. Rust preventive measures only. I will go a season with out a deep cleaning or until accuracy sways. Cleaning guns ever trip to me is like washing your car to remove the wax after you wax it?

That keeps them from getting dirty, again. It's positively Freudian!
 
After seeing that (and brushing my teeth), I'm wondering if never-cleaners are like the Linux guys who obsess about their uptime.
 
I’m surprised that no one has mentioned synthetic patches yet. The microfiber towel of the patch world. Far less linty! Though, when used in conjunction with those giant q-tips and old t-shirts, the benefits are somewhat negligible.
 
I find the Hillary 2016 shirts make better patches than her previous ones.
That's because they come presoaked in her tears along with tears of all the other members of her campaign team.
But yeah, patches and occasionally an old T-shirt. As somebody else said I mostly use bore snakes for a quick pass through being lazy or to quickly apply/remove oil.
Edit: That being said my guns are generally clean, but not always immediately especially if I'm just going back out in the next week or two.
 
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I've never actually seen an example of a gun damaged or worn out from good cleaning , ever.
And I've got a couple that are nearly a hundred years old and can still accurate as hell.
I have never once seen a crown of hardened steel damaged by an aluminum cleaning rod. The real old steel rods maybe.
I have seen plenty of examples of guns failing when you need them because of shitty or no cleaning.
You should see some of the guns we had brought in by people who hadn't cleaned them since Nixon was president.
I've had to beat trigger groups out of shotguns even after the pins were out.
I've had to use a rubber mallet to get the cylinder open on a revolver .

The worst one I heard of was the New York cop who left his duty gun in his locker at the end of each shift for years. Just took off his Sam Brown and chucked it in there and took it back out next day and put it on.
Never even took it out of the holster.
The one and only time in his carrier he had to pull it was his last. Pulled it out and "click", the bad guys gun went bang.
Later on they literally had to use a drift pin and hammer to drive the rounds out of the cylinder, they were corroded right in.
To each their own , you paid for it , treat it like you want.
I actually find cleaning relaxing, go down to my shop , pop on some mystery science theater and go to it.
 
Cord wear was a real issue with Enfields. Not because of the cord itself, but the metal shavings and grit which would get embedded into the cord acted like sandpaper at the crown of the barrel.
 
How about some of these...Cost twice as much as normal patches, but they will give you a "tactical advantage" and make you a baddass... [rofl]

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