Any reason to get separate Boresnakes for .22 rifle and pistol?

[jblane]

I'm new to guns and I just bought a rifle and pistol, both in .22lr, to start learning to shoot. I noticed that Boresnakes come in 2 different versions for .22, one for rifle and one for pistol. Is there any real difference between the two that would make it necessary to buy both? Or can I just use the rifle version for both guns?

 

[chevyforlife21]

only difference is that the rifle has a slightly longer brush and the entire snake is longer too, it will work for both. the reason for the pistol rope is its shorter for storage (not necessary)

 

[LemmyCaution]

Just don't try to use the pistol snake on a rifle. The pull line will sometimes tear loose from the floss, leaving the floss in the bore with neither end accessible.

 

[jblane]

Thanks, that clears it up.

 

[wally]

Yup, if you only want one, get the rifle. I've a lot of .22 pistols and .223 rifles so I have one of each. Not the best way to clean but better than nothing and lets me postpone a real cleaning for many more outings.

--wally.

 

[Top_Gunn]

Marlin's owner's manuals for their .22 rifles recommend not cleaning the bores. I don't clean rimfire bores ever: either for rifles or pistols.

 

[jblane]

Marlin's owner's manuals for their .22 rifles recommend not cleaning the bores. I don't clean rimfire bores ever: either for rifles or pistols.

Well that's something to consider. The rifle is a Marlin too. It doesn't take too much to convince me NOT to do any kind of cleaning!

 

[dom1104]

hmm. I wonder why NOT cleaning would be a good thing. I clean my 22lrs

 

[chevyforlife21]

alot of cleaning can damage the bore (think metal to metal contact) when you do clean the bore you dont realy need to use a brush same wear problem there. most important is oiling the bore so it doesnt rust. alot of guys clean .22s every 500 rounds or every few months what ever hapens first or so.im starting to do this. i have two marlins they have always been cleaned after even 1 shot. a .22 is a good gun to use a bore snake with. realy alls you have to worry about is oiling the bore. i put solvent on the front of a bore rope and oil at the very end pull it through 5 times and your done. sometimes you realy need a rod though anyway its good to have both. and i use a pistol bore snake for my 9mm carbine and its more then long enough. so a .22 pistol bore snake might work for you anyways

 

[boatme99]

I've been shooting for quite a few years, and one thing I still don't understand: I'm cleaning a steel barrel with a SOFT brass brush. Methinks the brass is going to wear way before the bore.
That said, I really don't use a brush very often. Clean with patch and oil is usually enough unless corrosive primers/ammo are involved.

 

[Kor]

^ The brass bore brush is not the issue - it's allowing the steel cleaning rod to come into contact with the muzzle crown which can affect the accuracy of the gun. Again, toxicity = dosage - an occasional light scrape every now and then is not a big deal, but when guys obsessively scrub the bore like they're going to turn the gun over to a Drill Instructor for a white-glove inspection, that will take a toll.

Another issue is that aluminum cleaning rods can get grit embedded in them, and if you have to push the rod through the bore with great force(e.g. pushing doubled-up cleaning patches) the rod can bow and cause bore abrasion mid-way down the barrel. Solution: wipe the rod clean between passes, and don't force it if it don't want to go.

A final consideration is that rimfire priming compound often contains ground glass to improve the compound's sensitivity to firing-pin-impact - the glass dust causes extra friction within the priming compound, thereby making it more likely to ignite when crushed by the firing pin. Trace amounts of the glass may make it down the bore, which might cause additional abrasion if scrubbed back-and-forth too vigorously - it's also possible that a layer of deposited lubricant from the .22 bullets can keep the glass particles from contacting the bore.

All in all, there's a lot of reasons to avoid scouring your .22LR's bore too frequently...

 

[MarkDozier]

I use bore snake t run through my barrels a couple of times and then use patches to clean.
And carbon-fiber cleaning rods are the bomb