Are Bore Snakes a good barrel cleaning tool.
Thanks in advance,
W.

Not bad for just a fast oil swab... but not so great with cooper solvent then dry ect. For this you should use a jag and a very good rod.

I do like to use them with my rim-fire rifles though.

In my opinion they are nothing but a field expedient.

They sound like a good idea but it has to be messy. A good rod and rod guide are worth the money. check out Dewey or Pro-Shot

They are good for a quick clean at the range.
I just put some oil on the bristles and run it through twice then do it again.
But when I get home I do a much better scrub with the propper tools.
...tj3006

If the bore is large enough you can double small(.065) weed trimmer line and run it through the bore and put a patch in the loop. You can drag a tighter fitting patch than you can push. A length of weed trimmer line easily fits in your pocket. On my .17 cal air rifle I use the heavy--(.135) line and push a patch. Cant use a brush though.

I don't use bore snakes for cleaning per-se. But I use them as a field tool to dry out my bore after a wet day. IMHO, they are practical for that purpose - light, compact to bring along.

- mike

quote:

Originally posted by mho:
I don't use bore snakes for cleaning per-se. But I use them as a field tool to dry out my bore after a wet day. IMHO, they are practical for that purpose - light, compact to bring along.

- mike

+1 on that one, espescially good for the .17 HMR

quote:

Originally posted by airgun1:
In my opinion they are nothing but a field expedient.

Same here.

I use them a lot and am satisfied -easy and the rifle is clean enough....that´ll catch some flack

quote:

Originally posted by cewe:
I use them a lot and am satisfied -easy and the rifle is clean enough....that´ll catch some flack

You and me both.......

quote:

Originally posted by woodsie:
Are Bore Snakes a good barrel cleaning tool.
...

Best use I ever saw for one was when I met a guy at the Range who had a box "tied shut" with one, when his latch broke.

Had a Cajun buddy call one night in total panic. Seems he decided to check the Point-of-Impact on his extremely accurate M7 before Deer Season and it was now shooting patterns.

To shorten this story a bunch, he had been using a worthless boresnake to "clean" his rifle. It took about 4 days and 8 Bore Brushes to get all the trash and copper out of his barrel.

So, if you don't care about Accuracy, they will do what they are designed to do - remove minor Powder Residue.

There are no shortcuts to proper Bore Cleaning.

Hmmmm....lets figure this out...1 bore snake has the surface area of approximately 100 patches...

Gunsmiths will tell you they have seen far more damage done to a bore with the over zealous application of cleaning rods...

The palma champs I had the pleasure of being around thought about using bore paste after about 800 yds of .308 and then thought the better of it..

We have been through this before...

Use what you want..but IMHO...the bore snake is one of the gretest advancements in firearms cleaning ever devised.

Happy cleaning!

IMHO, the Bore Snake works just fine if you're cleaning the bore of a rifle that:
1. isn't your most accurate pride and joy.
2. is a lever rifle where you can't easily get to the breach with a rod.
3. hasn't shot bullets/loads that leave a lot of copper fouling.
4. just needs a quick swab out pending a more thorough cleaning.
YMMV

I use them when on a hunting trip at the end of the day, just to "get out the big lumps".

At the end of the hunt I clean the barrel in the normal fashion.

Also, when I am flying with my guns I, am sure to oil up the outside and the inside of the barrel as well, just in case the rifle case is "lost" for a while.

I think the bore snakes are the easiest way to ruin the crown on your barrel if not used carefully.

I made a boresnake from my treestand rope last fall after I slung my rifle out of my truck and the damn thing stuck in the mud strait up and down (take your time dont hurry...even if your running late) I drug 95% of the mud from the bore with a zip tie I found in the truck and then pulled my treestand rope (3/16" trotline) with knots tied in it to further clean the barrel out. It worked 2 hrs later I killed 4 deer. But at the time it happened it was a true bummer, I was mad,sad,and just about everthing in between.

I always place electrical tape over the muzzle of my rifle when hunting.

I also always carry a take down cleaning rod with me in the field.

They seem to work very well for me on guns that do not have any trouble with copper residue. My higher velocity varmint guns tend to have a bit of copper left over and the Boresnake does nothing for them, on the other hand for most rifles and certainly shotguns they are hard to beat as they clean powder residue IMHO better than a patch and there is no possible way to hurt the crown or throat.

Matt

quote:

Originally posted by N E 450 No2:
I always place electrical tape over the muzzle of my rifle when hunting.

I also always carry a take down cleaning rod with me in the field.

Same here with the tape,I also keep one of those curtain springs (the P.V.C. coated ones ) coiled up the belt kit, just in case.

quote:

Originally posted by airgun1:
In my opinion they are nothing but a field expedient.

Pretty much sums it up for me.

Hi, I use a bore snake for all my calibres just to get the soft powder fouling out immeadiately after shooting. You need to use rods and solvents for the metal fouling.

Never really bothered with them. After hunting or shooting at the range, I'll run a wet patch and then just leave it until I get home, then break out the brushes and whatnot and give it a proper scrub and oiling.

I use them in the field, and when traveling. I take two ... one damp with solvent and the other dry. Makes for a very quick two step clean up which leaves the rifle ready for the next day's hunt.

At home rifles get more intensive care with a Dewey polymer coated one piece rod and patches.

The guys who shoot black powder in their cowboy guns use these to clean up their 1873s and 1868s, and their various shotguns before heading home after a shoot. They toss the snakes in the wash afterward. I think they make sense for shotguns, but have never used one on a rifle or pistol. But then I shoot BP-loaded brass shells in my 12-gauge hammer double.

quote:

Originally posted by Pegleg:
I think the bore snakes are the easiest way to ruin the crown on your barrel if not used carefully.

A small brass weight and the rest is cloth??

I think it would take a bit of work to actually TRY and screw up the crown with a Bore Snake.

They are great for a quick clean after a day's hunt or a week's hunt or anytime between good jag/brush/borecleaner go rounds.

How many rounds do you really shoot in an entire deer season? Not enough to justify a detailed cleaning and copper removal, imo.

JPK

I used to carry a segmented rod in the field until they invented Bore Snakes. Used within their proper parameters, they're great.

You mean there are still folks in the world that haven't learnt to put electric tape over the end of their muzzles?