Boresnake Viper stuck in bbl

See, thats why I hate bore-snakes!!

I might try a 120 PSI air compressor with a blow-gun nozzle and see if you can blow it out.

Failing that, go to a welding shop or hardware store and buy a stick of brass rod.
The closer to bore size, the better.
7/32" or 13/64" would be ideal, but you might have to settle for 3/16".

Then drive it out.

DO NOT attempt to drive it out with a jointed cleaning rod, or a wood dowel rod.

If that doesn't work?
I would center drill a brass cleaning rod jag and solder a 1/8" drill bit in it.

Then hand turn the cleaning rod and drill & pick it it out, one fluff ball at a time.

rc

Is the fabric portion of the bore snake out of the barrel or can you only pull on the string? If you can get to the main body of the bore snake then I'd clamp the barrel in a vise and get a pair of vise grips and pull hard on the bore snake. You might want to get an assistant to help hold the rifle so that it does not slip and damage any of the finish.

So is the loop still outside the chamber, & is the brass tip & string outside the muzzle? Or did it break & leave some inside?

Did the string break? Why can't you just pull it through?

I don't get this! I have seen this posted multiple times but have yet to figure it out. What happened, what part(s) are still sticking out?

Is there enough sticking out to shove a knitting needle or summit, & roll the thing out? You'd have to protect the muzzle w/ cardboard or something so you don't hurt the crown.

Alternatively, can you get some thin needlenose or alligator pliers down the chamber & reach the top of it? If you've got an AR, you'd have to remove the bbl from the upper.

Interesting problem, as I've got two of these for the M4 & M9, so I look forward to knowing how you fix it.

There's not enough of the body sticking out the muzzle that a clove hitch or lark's head with heavy-test fishing line couldn't get a hold?

This is why I stay away from bore snakes.

How about using a locking hemostat?

jimherb: Can you attach some pics... both for suggestions and for warnings to those of use who use boresnakes in the future

This might not be a good idea, but could you burn it out? You wouldn't have to burn the whole thing to ash just enough to loosen it some. With the oil on it it should go fast. After its burned for a few seconds submerge in water to extinguish the flames. Barrel temp should stay low so not to harm the integrity of the barrel. I've never used a bore snake so if it is a nylon material it could make a plastic sticky mess. Just another idea any thoughts?

Drano? Lye?

Bore snake, I looked at at one, thought about it for a few seconds, then made a different kind/type of bore/wiper/outer that is impossible to stick and is adjustable/sorta (sort of).

I had a small crises that required I commit time about the time someone ask if I could remove a dowel from a barrel, he came over, I sent him home with a tool, I would have removed the stick had he not pounded on it in an attempt to remove it.

F. Guffey

With the oil on it it should go fast.

Click to expand...

Impossible to get a fire to burn inside a plugged bore.

There is no way possible for fresh air/oxygen to get to the flame to support it with fire coming out of the hole..

rc

As much as it may wound you take it to a gun shop pro. I did.

Kroil just makes it fatter. **** edited. Take it to a gunsmith. The lets all file a class action lawsuit.

One more time...

what usually jams is the bronze brush. If that is the case here, plug one end of the barrel and fill with MEK (methyl ethyl ketone). This will dissolve the copper in the bronze bristles and should allow the snake to be extracted. MEK is safe to use, it is not cancer in a can.
First time I tried this I was trying to dissolve the nylon, the bronze went instead, the MEK came out of the barrel a light blue-green.

Got one out one time by tying a tiny fish hook to some 50lb tst braided line and dropping the hook in the barrel. Used a brass brazing rod to kind of shove the hook into the cloth part, put the rifle in a vice and tied the braided line around a stick to form a handle. Worked for me. Wasn't stuck that badly though.

The locking hemostat is one of the better approaches. If there were a 22 cal worm (à la black powder) that would be the dog's bollocks, but the stat may do the job. If you don't have one, get one (or several) - they really come in handy. Good luck...

I like the suggestions about dissolving it out, but I would be careful about getting chemicals on the stock.

If enough fuzz is stick out of the end of the barrel I would try capturing the fuzz in a vise and pull it out by holding the barrel in my hands. I get the vapors thinking about putting a barrel in a vise!

Blackpowder shooters are familiar with a "worm", a spiral corkscrew like thing that fits on the end of a ramrod or cleaning rod to fish stuff out of a muzzle loader. If you could capture the fabric with a similar tool, you might be able to pull it out.

And I like bore snakes. I have pulled 10 gauge snakes through 12 gauge barrels, and .410 bore snakes through 38 revolvers. Snug, but clean!

If there's even a little sticking out, do this: get some vise grips, lock them on, and then yank.

No idea if this would work, but maybe get a length of a thin, strong, rigid wire, bend one end up so it will bite into the snake, and feed the other end (sharpened if necessary) up through the barrel from the chamber through the snake, and use the wire to pull it out. Coathanger wire might (emphasis on might) work. You'd need to make sure that it was soft enough to not scratch your barrel

Or maybe you could use the wire like a big needle and attach a thin cord or line thats knotted in a few places and try to use the wire to feed the cord through the length of the snake so you can get a grip on cord at the muzzle end.

Problem with both these, though, is that they might only apply pressure from the base of the snake, so not sure if that would be helpful.

And I'd try the hemostats first.

On a related note, I've been thinking of running some strong fishing line through the cords of my bore snakes to reinforce them to help prevent something like this from happening.