Right for Smoothbores, Wrong for Rifled Bores

Recently, a gun owner messaged BRM on Facebook and reported that he couldn’t find a Flex-Hone® for Firearms tool for the .40 S&W barrel on his Smith & Wesson M&P®40 Shield. This pistol is neither rare nor unusual. In fact, the M&P Shield is pretty popular because of its slim, concealable, and lightweight design. Built with a high-strength polymer frame and coated stainless steel slide and barrel, the Shield has an unloaded weight of just 19 ounces. Yet the gun owner’s problem weighed heavily on his mind.

Blued Surfaces and Rifled Barrels

While maintaining his firearm, the shooter explained, he’d applied bluing remover that leaked through the plugs and partially removed the finish from the bore. As many gunsmiths know, bluing is a chemical treatment that’s used to protect gun metal from rust. Good bluing removers won’t damage the base material, but they do affect surface finish. The gun owner who contacted us had looked for a Flex-Hone® for Firearms tool on the BRM website, but still couldn’t find a surface finishing solution.

That’s when BRM’s Technical Support team answered the gunsmith’s Facebook message and shared some important facts. Flex-Hone® for Firearms tools are designed for smooth bore applications such as shotgun barrels, revolver cylinders, and pistol and rifle chambers. They should not be used with rifled barrels like the .40 S&W on the gun owner’s Smith & Wesson Shield. As BRM explained, flexible honing would take the “edge” off the barrel’s rifling, which “bites” into the bullet and imparts the proper spin.  

Cleaner, Smoother Surfaces

Flex-Hone® tools for Revolvers and Pistols are wrong for rifled bores, but they’re right for smoothbores. Although many modern handguns have rifled barrels, sidearms still have smooth (non-rifled) surfaces. That’s why BRM supplies flexible hones for handgun cylinders and semi-automatic slides. As many shooters know, these metal surfaces are subject to fouling that can cause firearms to jam or stick. 

Maintaining your handgun’s cylinder with a BRM gun tool produces a smoother, cleaner surface that’s free from imperfections and less prone to corrosion. Surfaces that are more regular don’t just have a beautiful finish either. They also do a better job at holding oils and lubricants. With the insides of semi-automatic slides, Flex-Hone® for Firearms tools help to reduce friction, wear, and corrosion.

Flexible Honing for Handguns

BRM supplies chamber hones for a variety of popular handguns, including .32, .357 MAG / .38 cylinder, .41 MAG, .44 MAG, .45 ACP, .45 Colt, and 9mm models. Our gun tools have a 1-5/8” abrasive part and an overall length (OAL) of 3 inches. Depending on your surface finishing requirements, choose silicon carbide (SC) abrasive in either 400 or 800 grit. If a surface requires significant improvement, start with a lower-grit tool and then use a higher-grit tool for the final finish.

For maintaining the slides on semi-automatic pistols, Flex-Hone® for Firearms tools are available for guns made by Smith & Wesson, Beretta, and Sig Sauer. These 800-grit SC tools have an overall length (OAL) of 8 inches. Handgun owners can also choose gunsmithing tools for the slide lug area or the main spring housing in Model 1911 firearms.

Learn More at PMTS 2015

Are you a firearms manufacturer? Are you headed to the Precision Machining Technology Show (PMTS 2015) in Columbus, Ohio later this month? From April 21 to April 23, the BRM Technical team will be in Booth #1223 at the Greater Columbus Convention Center. You can also learn more about BRM’s surface finishing solutions if you add this session to your show planner. Hope to see you there!