Bore Snake... A better way to clean???

[shortpants]

A friend of mine uses a bore snake exclusively to clean his rifles with. He swears it cleans his bore just as good as patches and rods do. His gunsmith was skeptical so he tried it and was very impressed according to my friend. What are your thoughts on this? I've never used one and I'm always skeptical of the latest and greatest gadgets.

 

[Broz]

I sometimes keep one in my pack for an emergency if I would get dirt in my barrel. Other than that I have no use for them. There is no way they can clean as effectivly as a good rod, bore guide cleaner and patches.

Jeff

 

[shortpants]

I was thinking of getting one for the same purpose as you just to carry in my pack while hunting. I'm hoping to hear from someone who has tested these things out.
Thanks for your response Broz.

 

[shortpants]

If you google accuracy systems you will see a gunbuilder that only warranties his rifles if you clean them with a bore snake! Sorry but I don't know how to link the website if someone else does feel free. Pretty interesting!

 

[MOOSE39465]

They do well in the field but shouldn't replace the rod and patches.

 

[royinidaho]

I'd rather carry a 2-bit screw together aluminum cleaning rod rather than a bore snake. First irritation was the amount of grinding I felt and heard as the thing went down the bore from chamber to muzzle.

Second irritation was the amount of effort to pull the thing through the bore which resulted in dragging the snake very hard against the crown. I'm very finicky about my crown!

One trip through and into the waste can it went.

My son uses one on his gas guns. I'd sure rig another way!

 

[sp6x6]

I think it is a good thing to have in rig or camper, so if you need to clear bore your hunt isnt ruined. But I hang w/ bench shooters and that gun gets a wet patch soon as its home, they put some rounds through them but they are NEVER negleted

 

[Wile E Coyote]

I'm with royinidaho on this one. Unless you pull the thing straight out of the bore, you are not doing yourself any favor. This is one of those things one should do the right way EVERY time. Why risk the crown of your barrel to save a minute or two. Get yourself a good bore guide and a coated rod and do the job right.

another thought. When one uses a boresnake, How do you determine when the bore is clean? How does one see the dirt and crud on the dark colored fabric? A white cotton patch won't lie.

 

[Edd]

I carry a kit I put together with a few items I bought from Otis.

 

[J E Custom]

I personally find it a good tool to have in the field.

It will not clean as well as a good solvent and rod, but I use them a little different than
some and they realy work for me.

I have one for every rifle that I hunt with and I use them to clean the powder fouling after
each shot. (When I shoot something I like to drag the bore snake through the bore so it
is free of the powder fouling that is rough on the barrel when a shot is fired on top of it)
and it is ready to use again if need be.

I dont use any copper solvent on them I'm just trying to keep the barrel as clean as possible
in the field.

The next time you are at the range, shoot one shot, and use a clean dry patch to push through
the bore and look at it. You will see all of the powder fouling that one shot causes. the snake
will remove 90% of this with just one dry pull through the bore.

Powder fouling is mostly carbon and very abrasive so I try to keep it to a minimum by using
the bore snake.

In bad weather it is a good idea to pull one through the bore before going hunting and then
place a finger glove or balloon over the muzzle.

Just the way I like to use the bore snake.

J E CUSTOM

 

[SBruce]

My opinion on boresnakes is to only use them for a "quick clean" in a prairie dog town........maybe. Or as previously stated, in an emergency situation where we've got something in the barrel and we don't have a rod with us.

There's really no way IMO to get a snake completly clean and free of fowling/abrasives once it's used, short of alot of soaking and/or washing. I certainly don't want to be dragging a dirty snake through the bore in the hopes it will pull out some fowling........it's probably leaving just as much old crap as it's removing.

As long as we don't use a cleaning rod like we're sawing wood in a lumberjack contest, and so long as we use a bore guide and excercise care near the crown; I firmly believe that brushing with solvent and nylon brush, and swabbing chamber to muzzle with clean patches, gets our barrels the cleanest with the least abount of damage.

Just my .02 cents.

OHH, PS:

I've got one of the ASI barrels on my AR-15. I did not follow the recommended procedure of "snake it clean", and it never shot to my expectations with any brand of factory ammo tried, but In preliminary load testing it showed some extreme potential at 200 yds with Varget and Sierra HP's.

 

[B23]

I've read to many threads about them breaking off as guys were pulling them thru and not being able to get the remaining piece out of their barrel.

I've read multiple times on different gun/shooting forums about guys in full blown panic mode cause their bore snake broke off inside the bore and they can't or don't know how to get the remaining piece out.

 

[uzi 4 u]

Bore snakes are great if you just want a quick easy swab of the barrel but I think if you want a good cleaning you have to use a brush and patch.

 

[Kenrup]

I've read to many threads about them breaking off as guys were pulling them Thur and not being able to get the remaining piece out of their barrel.

I've read multiple times on different gun/shooting forums about guys in full blown panic mode cause their bore snake broke off inside the bore and they can't or don't know how to get the remaining piece out.

I just experienced this problem. My snake got stuck and the line broke I couldn't get the remainder out and it took two gunsmiths to finally clear it. Unfortunately this event screwed up the accuracy of my rifle. It used to shoot .50 MOA groups and now it's shooting 1.5" MOA groups. I don't think I'll be using a snake in a long gun again.