Well? The aluminum nightmares that Hoppe's sells suck. I like carrying a rod to the range and field, but long rods inevitably get caught in the car door (or similarly stupid place) on the first or second trip, and are then bent to hell. I'm not really good at straightening them either...once kinked they are permanently wavy.

I want a decent jointed rod for carrying to the range and into the field...

Ideas, preferences, or experiences to share?

Hello CDH,
Go to your local hardware store, buy some small diameter PVC pipe, end cap, and make a rod holder that will protect the rod from "accidents." Even cleaning from the breech, not muzzle, I would always want a good one piece Dewey cleaning rod or one of similar quality. Just a suggestion.

I have Dewey and Bore tech rods. Like Diver said , I use 1 1/4" pvc pipe with caps for my rod cases.

what about a bore snake?? I mean are you going to be seriously cleaning your gun, or do you just need a couple runs through the barrell?? I have a few and they work great, I even use them when I clean my guns, although I follow up with a rod to get "down" in there

What about Otis very portable and packable. http://www.otisgun.com

Hmmm, that Otis kit looks promising!

Caleb, can you use solvents with the bore snake? I thought they were used dry, and I want to start the soaking for cleaning while the barrel is still warm from shooting. For that I need to be able to push (pull?) a wet patch. I hadn't thought about using the old fishing line and weight trick, but it should work... It won't clear an obstruction in the field though (second reason to carry a rod).

I just bit the bullet and bought a Dewey. It's NOT going to the range with me anytime soon! My wavy solid stainless rod (I forget the maker) is still around...I carry too much crap (range bag with ammo, tools, etc, chrony, tub of shot bags and blocks, ear muffs, and such) to the range anyways, so I'd prefer to avoid another long piece to have to load/unload/lose/break. Maybe there's room in one of my hard cases...

CDH,

One of the first things I do every weekend as I'm packing the shotgun up after the Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning Skeet sessions is to give each barrel a quick squirt of either CLP or WD-40 spray and four/five passes with a Shotgun Bore Snake, works great.

Yes, the Bore Snakes get pretty grungy after a while but they wash up just fine in the washing machine. My 12, 16 & 20 Gauge Bore Snakes each live rolled up in a 1 Qt. size Ziploc Baggie in the Range Bag.

To me , it seems to help the cleaning go alot easier when the Grunge is attacked asap after shooting instead of letting months of Crud build-up.

I think you should consider the Parker Hale sectional rods as I believe they have the protective coating (but I'm not sure of that) and are generally well made. Check the link.

http://www.parker-hale.com/rods.htm#rifle

quote:

Originally posted by CDH:
...I'm not really good at straightening them either...once kinked they are permanently wavy.

Hey CDH, I was digging through some stuff that belonged to a deceased relative and found an aluminum 1-piece rod that had a few small "irrigularities" in it's straightness. He had been a Shotgunner, so it made no difference to him if it was a bit snakey.

I messed with it a bit and realized re-straightening a bent aluminum Bore Rod is not something I'd like to brag about being proficient at doing. (May be in worse shape now!)

quote:

I want a decent jointed rod for carrying to the range and into the field. ...

I believe it was back in the 70's when I first had an opportunity to "Shoot ALL the Deer you see" for a fellow who's land adjoins the Santee-Cooper Game Preserve. Stopped in his store on a downpour to get a soda pop and he had an entire cigar box full of Tags and a Depredation Permit.

He drove me and a buddy over to the field he was worried about which was 900 acres of Beans and as we topped a small rise, there must have been 800-1000 Deer chomping away on the Beans. About 100 acres was ground level from their eating.

Talk about ready to do some killing. Got a Stand built about 25 feet up in a tree which God had designed the limbs on for easy climbing.

Back then I thought people knew what they were talking about when they said "Pull the rifle up with a rope!" So, I got that rigged up with some Synthetic tire cord - thin and very strong (HA).

Got to the tree an hour before Sunrise and climbed up. Pulled the rifle up and noticed it was "bouncing" due to the Synthetic Cord. Just as I reached for it, the Cord broke and down it went. Barrel stuck straight into the leaves, mud and roots packing the barrel full for a couple of inches.

No Cleaning Rod in the truck!!! Deer were as thick as Democrats at a TAX Raising.

Got a "Klean Bore" Sectioned Steel Cleaning Rod which is in an Orange Sheath. Never had to use it in the Field, but it is always near at hand when I'm hunting.

I've put it together and used it in the house and it does fine. I know there are all kinds of Horror Stories about Sectioned Rods and non-coated Steel Rods totally destroying Bores. But for some strange reason I've never encountered a problem with either of them.
---

Best use I ever saw for a Bore Snake was when a guy had his Ammo box "tied closed" with one because his latch had broken.

Latest update from Parker Hale, they tell me the sectional rod is brass, but not coated.

I personally use an English made "PARKER HALE" three piece large caliber brass rod and also a "PRO-SHOT" USA stainless steel three piece 22cal rod.
Both are excellent.
ozhunter

Has anyone used one of these? Doesn't look too durable but I'm thinking it would be great to take to Africa in case of a barrel obstruction or for a quick wipe out

http://www.atsko.com/rapidrod.html

http://www.atsko.com/T21.html

Kleen bore makes these cleaning kits with jointed steel rods for a number of calibers.

Texan company

Cheers
/JOHAN

I've got a Kleen-Bore Safety-Clad takedown rod in my emergency kit. Its been great to have that when the bore has something in it a boresnake isn't capable of removing.
DON'T use the black one, it isn't coated. Get the RED one.

I have a couple of old jointed M1 rods and a couple of the later M16 rods; always pack one of them, just in case. I like them because you can find the sections at gun shows so if you need a long rod for the shotgun just buy as many as needed. They have saved the day a time or two.
C.G.B.

quote:

Any 'good' jointed cleaning rods out there?

I've never seen one!! ALL jointed rods have faults...... Aluminum and brass ones are the worst!

quote:

Originally posted by cgbach:
I have a couple of old jointed M1 rods and a couple of the later M16 rods; always pack one of them, just in case.

Me too, but only to remove bore obstructions or stuck cases. I don't use them for cleaning......

there is a stainless one make that takes down and fits into about an 8" tube. problem is I don't know who made it or where I got it from