Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry

brush on Henry 45-70

Tell us how you do it
dancote
Tenderfoot
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:54 am
United States of America

brush on Henry 45-70

Post by dancote » Sun Jun 07, 2020 11:06 am

Hello
Shooting and cleaning my new Henry. I am wanting to do a good job and do know the two sides of the cleaning argument that show up on the internet. one is that you have to really baby the barrels on rifles carefully only pushing a rod one direction, removing the jag/brush and pulling the rod out the bore guide to reload the jag, etc. Vs the vigorous cleaning (overcleaning and brushing??) camp. I am trying to be someplace in the middle ground on that though my tendency would probably be to scrub and overclean too much. Today I started pushing a nylon brush out per Bore -Tech bore cleaner bottle instructions. After unscrewing the nylon brush about one time, I got tired of that and started pushing the brush completely out of the barrel and then reversing all the way back into the Possum Bore guide. Is brushing even necessary in these guns using copper jackets (Speer 400gr), Gas checked cast, and coated Missouri cast? Can patches with just Ballisol and soaking barrel 10-15 min keep lead and copper cleaned out? Can run the brush both directions if I run it completely out of the muzzle first?

Also, does anyone know a screwdriver they can recommend for the lever screw on the Henry? I have the Grace screwdriver kit, but the blades are too thick.

Thanks for any help!

Dan
0 x

User avatar
JEBar
Town Marshal / Deputy Admin
Posts: 19269
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:58 pm
Location: central NC
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by JEBar » Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:17 pm

over the last 60 some years I've gone around the gun cleaning circle several times .... can't see any use in going through all of the variations .... where I am today is pretty simple .... unless something special comes up (like having to remove copper deposits from the barrel) Ballistol is the only cleaner/lubricant I use .... for the most part, I believe that less is better .... in short a very thin coat ... some say to not clean the barrel .... I choose to run a patch down the barrel (if possible from the chamber down the barrel) .... once I can look down the barrel and do not see any powder or other residue, that's it ... the same is true for the innards and exterior .... understood on the lever screw .... I had the same trouble finding a bit and ended up buying a Wheeler Engineering Gunsmithing Screwdriver Set .... if it wasn't buried in our camper in prepration for us to pull out for a cross country trip, I'd try try to find the name/number of the bit .... if you can't find what you need, let me know when we get to South Dakota and I'll be happy to dig it out


https://www.amazon.com/Wheeler-Engineer ... 173&sr=8-2
1 x

User avatar
RanchRoper
Forum Ambassador
Posts: 12681
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 12:14 am
Location: Land of Shining Mountains, Alberta
Canada

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by RanchRoper » Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:40 pm

I run a bore mop soaked in Hoppes down the barrel muzzle to breech, then pull it back out. Then same with a copper brush. Then a couple of patches, then some dry patches. A little lube after that then done. About 15 minutes to have a clean barrel. I shoot lead only. After several thousand rounds, no issues. I keep my guns clean but they don't get babied..
0 x
1860 Colt SA Richards Conversion Revolver .45C
1860 Henry .45C
1885 High Wall .45C
1820-1840 Frontier Percussion .50
1790-1820 Frontier Flintlock .50

Ohkínohkomit - Shoot skillfully

dancote
Tenderfoot
Posts: 14
Joined: Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:54 am
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by dancote » Sun Jun 07, 2020 12:54 pm

Thank you both JEBar and RanchRoper! That is helpful info and I respect your experience with this over the years. I will keep the rod outta the barrel a little more than I am prone to do in the past. It is still hard for me to believe that some don't even clean the barrel; i've run across this on the 1911 sites too and with Wilson Combat, etc. Makes me nervous cause I learned to be a responsible gun owner meant also to clean n swap that gun after every squirrel or deer hunt as a boy. You learn somethin' new every day I guess!
By the way, how can you tell if copper or lead is building up? Do you visually see it looking down a bore with the bolt pulled out? OR do you need one of them bore scopes to do so?

Many thanks!
0 x

User avatar
JEBar
Town Marshal / Deputy Admin
Posts: 19269
Joined: Sun Mar 20, 2016 10:58 pm
Location: central NC
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by JEBar » Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:31 pm

I have in the past but no longer choose to fire lead in any of our firearms .... both can be seen in barrels but it is easier for me to see lead .... a swab coated with any number of copper solvents will turn blue clearly showing .... at first I did worry about it and did so until I found out that in our firearms some copper in the barrel hasn't affected accuracy
1 x

User avatar
RanchRoper
Forum Ambassador
Posts: 12681
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 12:14 am
Location: Land of Shining Mountains, Alberta
Canada

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by RanchRoper » Sun Jun 07, 2020 1:36 pm

I use the rod for all of those steps I mentioned...they just screw into it. I bought one of those Hoppes rods with brass muzzle guard and the rod is made of something that won't scratch....graphite maybe?
0 x
1860 Colt SA Richards Conversion Revolver .45C
1860 Henry .45C
1885 High Wall .45C
1820-1840 Frontier Percussion .50
1790-1820 Frontier Flintlock .50

Ohkínohkomit - Shoot skillfully

User avatar
Steve51
Cattle Driver
Posts: 688
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:58 am
Location: West Union, Illinois
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by Steve51 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 7:09 pm

I have a set of Grace screwdrivers and the one I use for the lever screw on my Henry .45-70 is a P5.
0 x
H001, H001L, H004, H001TM, H006, H010, H012M, H012GR
NRA Member, GOA Member, ISRA Member, ILCCW

User avatar
BigAl52
Forum Ambassador
Posts: 13638
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2016 12:43 pm
Location: Evans,Colorado
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by BigAl52 » Sun Jun 07, 2020 9:09 pm

I dont get wrapped up in the the hype of do it this way or you will ruin this or that. Ive always done it the way Ive been doing it since i bought my first gun. I havent ruined one yet. If you think the brush is doing you some good then use it. I do once in a while. If Im cleaning out copper I run a patch down the barrel let it sit for a spell and run another one down the barrel. Do this until the blue is almost gone. Other than that I run patches brushes both ways. I just do what works for me. Always have and I always will.
2 x
Don't worry about getting older and still doing stupid stuff. You'll do the stupid stuff as always, only much slower. Hold my beer and watch this.......


H001T .22LR
H001T .22LR MONUMENT VALLEY
H003T PUMP .22LR
BBS .41 MAG
SS .357
SIDE GATE 38-55

User avatar
GFK
Cowboy
Posts: 1917
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2017 12:56 pm
Location: SE
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by GFK » Tue Jun 09, 2020 1:01 pm

Welcome. In response to your question, Henry offers guidanc: https://www.henryusa.com/own-a-henry/he ... eo-series/. But as BigAl pointed out, I typically do what makes me happy, alone as it is not less than Henry's guidance.
0 x
Actions speak louder than words (Matthew 7:16-20).

Yornoc3
Cattle Driver
Posts: 537
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2017 4:48 pm
United States of America

Re: brush on Henry 45-70

Post by Yornoc3 » Tue Jun 16, 2020 11:00 am

A couple more thoughts: Don't be in too much of a hurry when you clean, give the Ballistol, Hoppe's #9. copper solvent (when you need it), etc. a little time to work, it'll reduce the amount of brushing and patches required. How smooth the barrel is also makes a difference. My Henry 45-70 single shot cleans with a minimum number of passes, it's barrel has to be really smooth, and the Henry .243 ss is almost as good. Some other rifles I have take a bit more effort to get a clean patch out, not mentioning any names ;) .
1 x

Post Reply