Bore-snakes any good?

I use them in handguns to quickly clean and check the bore prior to going to the range. They basically don't get used otherwise. My goal is to get any dust or oil left in the barrel out before I leave home.

9mmepiphanny said:

They are a god send for revolver shooters who don't want to clean their barrels from the muzzle.

Click to expand...

I don't/won't use a boresnake, but this is why I use one of those Otis whatchacallits. Same idea as a boresnake, but I can attach a patch or brush, and the Otis whatchacallit itself doesn't get dirty (just wipe it if it does), and won't break. I've never felt the need for a boresnake, and can't remember the last time a rod entered the muzzle.

Re: concerns about segmented cleaning rods -

The one I use is nylon coated with "rounded" joints, unlike the typical sectional aluminum rods which have sharp edges at the joints.

And these, too, can be pulled from the muzzle end like an Otis coated cable.

just me ?

I have had no issues YET and have them in =

.22 rifle & pistol

.38/.357

.44/.44mag

.30 caliber = Carbine,-06,300BLK,.308,7.62X39,7.62X54,30-30

.40S&W

.45ACP

.223/5.56

so far no problems.

To post 29::: I don't have that many but I do have 6. I use them after ever range trip and very satisfied with them for a light clean up afterwards. Never had a failure, like breaking, or anything else go wrong. I like mine very much.

MrBorland said:

I don't/won't use a boresnake, but this is why I use one of those Otis whatchacallits. Same idea as a boresnake, but I can attach a patch or brush, and the Otis whatchacallit itself doesn't get dirty (just wipe it if it does), and won't break. I've never felt the need for a boresnake, and can't remember the last time a rod entered the muzzle.

Click to expand...

+1 on the Otis kit.

I sometimes use the boresnake on handguns with ejection ports that are too small for the slotted tip of the Otis flexible rod... mostly for removing the oil from the barrel before shooting.

I can't think of anything else that the Otis kit can't do as well or better than the boresnake.
Using a solvent-wetted patch alone cleans as well a stroke with the boresnake, in my experience. And for a more thorough cleaning, you can always attach a brush (works on every rifle I've tried without disassembling the gun).

I had a bore snake for my 22's. Never again.

Nope, run the rod with a patch after the boresnake and u will see why.

They do good for a quick cleanup. When I got one I wondered what would happen if the pull string parted company with the snake esp in a long barreled rifle when the snake is totally inside the barrel. I didn't wonder for long as the thought was agony. I tied some strong nylon line to the loop on the back end of the snake so I'd have a good chance of pulling it out backassward if the leading edge failed.

Boresnakes are useless to me. Oh well. A patch wrapped around a brush does about as good a job and I can throw the patches away as soon as they get dirty - after one pass.

John

Required reading about Bore-Snakes:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=705806&highlight=bore+snake+stuck

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=222751&highlight=bore+snake+stuck

rc

And when I posted the secret of getting a stuck bore snake out, I really caught the flak.

Jim

Yes you did!

We all have opinions, and we are entitled to them though.

Hope I didn't 'flack' you to bad if you are talking about me as one of the 88mm AA gunners on the ground.

rc

I hit the barrels and of all my pisols, and the chambers of the cylider if a revolver with a patch soaked in Hoppe's #9 first. Let it soak in for a few. Then run a brush through a few times. Wet patch again. Then run the bore snake through. Works great.

Also good for quick clean up as others have stated.

I've never had a problem using them on riffles either, but I've never had one break. I imagine that will be a bummer of a time when it happens. I like using it on my 22 riffle, as I struggle to get a patch through the small bbl. I always manage to get the patch bunched up on the end of the rod.

I've not had one break on me (so far) but the earlier post about watching for fraying seems like common sense to me as well. Also, I have wondered about the cumulative effect of solvents weakening the material (if they're put away wet) so I wash mine pretty often.

But when it comes to leading or really stubborn fouling - work that brush.

For the .22 I came across something called a patchworm awhile back.. That thing is sweetness.

Then again, I'm not one of the scrub till your elbows bleed super squeaky clean you can eat off it bore guys. I'm not saying I ride my guns hard and put them away wet either. I get the gunk out of the actions, make a couple passes with snake/brush/patch depending on how the bore looks with a light, then wipe the gun down until it looks nice and clean. and put it away.

Put solvent on the head of the snake, ahead of the brushes. It will get your bore very clean, very easily, with just a few passes. If you want, you can put some more solvent or even oil on the tail, too. Solvent on the tail will largely get the chamber, too, but don't use too much because you want it to also dry the solvent and not leave residue.

What I do is run it up through the magazine well, pulling it over the feed ramp and through the barrel. This gives a thorough cleaning, and unless your chamber is fouled to hell you won't need more.

I've read all the positive replies and I just can't follow the logic.

The thing that attracted me to the things in the first place was their portability and ability to pull toward the muzzle for actions which don't lend themselves to cleaning rods at the breach. But the Otis kits, or short, sectional rods, offered these same advantages without the risk of a stuck Bore Snake.

And, unless you spend a lot of time cleaning them, you are pulling the equivalent of a dirty patch through your nice bore.

I'm going to guess that the folks who are still using them are hooked on convenience and haven't experienced the joy of a stuck one, yet...

For what is worth, they didn't work for me, at all.

Now, some context. I bought a 8mm boresnake with the intention of using it on my mosin. I was missing a brush that would go into the original rod, and I really needed a brush to do a proper cleaning.

So I bought the bore snake for $12-something after reading how people swore by it for their mosins. Crap, I guess they didn't mention they had carbines instead of the 91/30 (which is what I have.)

The bore snake thing ended up being too short to go through the length of the barrel. So I ended up buying a rifle cleaning kit.

I guess it works well for rifles that are not as long as the 91/30.

Another grip of mine is that I did extend the bore snake with an extra rope and small weight, but still, it didn't do crap to clean it. Maybe it does work well with regular ammo.

But if you are shooting dirty milrsup (I shoot cheap Bulgarian stuff), there is no way to remove all that tar off your barrel with just a bore snake.

Just my $0.02 (and just keep in mind my context, giraffe-necked rifle + dirty, carboniferous milsurp ammo.)

I don't go to the range without a boresnake

I use them every time I shoot. They make life so much easier.

If I am shoot a semi-auto. I run the snake once through the barrel, the twice through the grip into the barrel. Dropping it into the grip brings it across the feed ramp and it does a good job of cleaning them. I rarely have to do any extra cleaning of the barrel when I get home.

I have them in about 10 calibers with extras in .22, .30 and .35/9mm in my range bag.

I cannot recommend them highly enough.

Jim

No bore-snake for me, but I use an Otis to pull brush and patches from the breech to muzzle in my M1.

Whenever I shoot 'dirty' shells in trap, I always run one down the bore. Cleans up nice.

The only firearm I use a bore snake on are shotguns. They don't get dirty enough (unless you shoot quiet a bit on a daily basis without any cleaning) for me to use my full cleaning kit. 5 or 6 passes with a bore snake cleans my shotguns well enough for me.

I love mine..... A spray of Hoppe's and let soak in about 5 minutes and 2 pulls on the bore snake and done...... Works excellent

This is one of those "things".
Look if they work for you, that's all good and well, but the first time Mr Murphy kicks you in the caboose while your working that bore snake you're in a world of hurt.
One more for the Otis Kit.
In a pistol, yes, but never again in a rifle...

Couldn't one just drop the lead line through, and then just tie it well to the loop at the back end? If it breaks, pull it out from the back end. Also, one can pull it through several times without having to re-wangle the lead end through again.