Bore snake worth the $ ?

[Jimmy10mm]

I've been cleaning guns with a rod, brushes, patches, Hoppe's and gun oil for 40 years. Curious about the bore snake. Is it worth getting ? I'm only cleaning handguns, no long guns.

I did do a search for "bore snake" and "snake" but came up with a lot of threads unrelated to my query so I'm posting this thread. IOW, I'm not too lazy to search for it before resorting to starting a new thread.

 

[22-rimfire]

It is a convenience. I don't think they are worth the cost for handguns. For rifles, I like them, but still use regular equipment most of the time. Most important thing to me is using a one-piece fiberglass rod to clean versus the aluminum ones.

 

[HGUNHNTR]

If you are shooting lead out of your handguns I would stick to the traditional rod/jag combo. They aren't expensive though and are nice to have for a quick swab of the barrel.

 

[longdayjake]

They are worth the money for rifles and for handguns. That said, it isn't very hard to clean a handgun with traditional rods.

 

[berettaprofessor]

Get them.

 

[Dionysusigma]

My opinion is the same as what many have stated.

I have one for every caliber of rifle. I have none for any of my handguns.

 

[oneounceload]

Great for a quick clean-up in between a more thorough one

 

[heeler]

I carry one when I take my rifle on a deer hunt for a reasonable cleaning after shooting the rifle or pull lube through after a rain.
I also use one exclusively for my Marlin 336 as it's easier to use than breaking down the rifle to run a rod thru the barrel.

 

[Mt Shooter]

I bought one for my 45, used it, went out and got one for every caliber I shoot.

 

[vaupet]

I use a sort of boresnake. It is a rope with a loop trough wich I pull patches or cotton wicks through the barrel.
It can be used for multiple calibres, it fits my range bag and I don't need to take down my guns or handguns. (some of my handguns need tools to take down, for others I need to dismount red dot sights etc.)

works fine for intermediate cleaning or lubrication
(and it was delivered free with my Walther air rifle)
peter

 

[FLAvalanche]

In my opinion a bore snake isn't supposed to be used for a thorough cleaning. They don't do a thorough cleaning anyways. They are great at the range to do a quick spot clean. I use mine at the range after ever 100 rounds or so.

 

[ArmedBear]

The boresnake is great for cleaning 32" 12 Gauge shotgun barrels. I might finish up with a rod, but nothing keeps the plastic fouling at bay, or cleans a big, long barrel full of carbon quickly like a boresnake. I have one for every shotgun gauge that I own, and I use them a lot.

They work great on .22s, also. A few passes through the barrel, and it's good. For Marlin Microgrooves, I use nothing else.

My opinion about them in intermediate calibers is mixed, as the contact with the barrel walls isn't as consistent IMO. I think I like them best on small bores, and on .44 caliber and up. But I use them on everything. Even with a rod, I like to use the boresnake for the first pass or two, so I'm not wasting a pile of patches on the large amount of surface fouling that comes off initially.

What a boresnake doesn't do too well for me is clean those pesky .357 chambers that have been used with a bunch of .38s. No way around the wire brush scrub, there.

 

[psyopspec]

Bore snakes have their place in the toolkit, but they do not substitute for rods and brushes.

My guys love them for situations where they have a short amount of down time between missions and "functionally clean" plus some sleep beats the heck out of "inspection clean" and working for days straight. Long as you can recognize the difference and go in knowing that a boresnake user shouldn't discard the rest of his barrel and breach cleaning implements, it's a good product.

 

[jon86]

I love my boresnakes. I have one for every caliber I own. Buy'em and don't look back. They speed up the cleaning process, especially for rifles and shotguns.

 

[The Bushmaster]

I use a .30 caliber Bore Snake when shooting strings of 5 rounds. Run the Bore Snake [dry] between strings. Handy range tool.

For hand guns it's just as easy to run a patch with a rod.

 

[loadedround]

I own about a half dozen in various calibers. They are very handy to swab the bore monthy for rifles and shotguns in my safe that have not been shot. I also find them great for cleaning semi autos and lever action rifles that that you can't clean from the breech end.

 

[Butter]

Yep, have to agree with most of the folks. But I have a .45 bore snake for handguns and one for my shotgun. Per handguns, if you are shooting a long pistol class or going on a comp and need to clean the buildup out of your muzzle without field stripping it, it's a nice thing to have. But at the end of the day you still have to take the gun apart and brush it clean. The thing that I am surprised at is that the bore snakes that I own do a pretty decent job of quickly cleaning your bullet tube. And that, I guess, is its very reason for existence.

 

[shockwave]

I use one for the 12 ga. and it makes for a fast, easy clean. For the handguns a rod and patches and brushes do the trick.

 

[TH3180]

I use a bore snake on two of my .22 pistols. I can't remove the barrel on either of them for cleaning. Otherwise I would use a cleaning rod. I clean my guns after each time to the range, I think is does a good job.

 

[keyboard commando]

Bore snake

I might pack one in a range bag or field kit,but a serious cleaning would be done with other tools when I got home.

 

[MinnMooney]

I own 2 or 3 but rarely use them. I found that I'd much rather use 1-piece carbon rods with jags and brass brushes for a thorough cleaning rather than a quickie with a bore snake.

If I shot 300-400 rounds in a day from a single rifle then it would work great.

 

[Guns and more]

I use them all the time. Easy and they work great.

 

[REPOMAN]

I love mine...... Great in between thourough cleanings or while your @ the range.....

 

[steelbird]

I've got one for my BP revolvers. They make short work of the very messy job of cleaning up all that residue. Helps to speed up the cleaning time.

 

[jeepguy]

i like them, dont use them all the time but i like to run one through the barrel of my mini 14 & m1a after shooting. if i only shoot a few rounds, i might just run the snake through the barrel and then later after going shooting agin do a full cleaning. either way i find they come in handy.