That makes no sense to me at all. Why would you drag a rope through your barrel to "clean" it, and then drag the same rope through it again and again??

It's like using the same wad of toilet paper twice... It just doesn't work and makes a bigger mess..

Yes, I do.

When it is field-expedient.

You can re-fold the TP.

Both are sub-optimal, but better than nothing.

I don't use them but I have heard of guys putting them into a sock and tying the sock into a knot and throwing it into the washing machine whenever it gets dirty.

I generally carry one with me in the field. The odds against finding a straight tree branch four feet long in your caliber are pretty significant. Especially in the desert out here.

I do what Sniper says with mine.

Why would you slide aluminum or plastic down your bore that picks up grit and sheds particles of metal down your bore??

The bore snake is the best thing since sliced white bread, I use them more than anything else..I have seen too many bores with throats wiped out by rods..Keep your bore sanke clean and use it in the field and at home..Maybe once a year I clean with Wipe OUt using a steel solid rod, oil profusely and then store the gun.

I do clean mine by using a nylon hose or sock, whatever and toss it in the washing machine and dryer it works fine.

I never over clean guns as many folks do, that is counter productive, besides no animal has ever been shot by clean bore.

But life is choices, good and bad, use what works for you..

They have a use, but make sure to retire them when the rope frays. They are lots of fun to remove when broken off and the brush stuck in the bore, especially when (the customer) a person uses the next larger size to clean with. Kinda fun when stuck in an M1A.

It is a thing.

Boresnakes work and they work good but are no substitute for rods and brushes for thorough cleaning.

The no sayers will chime in and say that there has been nothing new and inproved since Hoppes #9.
And for some flint and steel combined with kerosene lamps are the bees knees but for me im a LED-LiPo guy and find that boresnakes work good.

As for the TP reference. Do you think if you pulled a strip of TP 3-4yards long past your butt the last inches would be as dirty as the first feet or so? Same thing with a boresnake, but the crud doesnt stink and isnt as dangerous to pull through the bore again ;-)

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I generally carry one with me in the field. The odds against finding a straight tree branch four feet long in your caliber are pretty significant. Especially in the desert out here.

I do what Sniper says with mine.

^^^^^^^ this
Like many things, it's a tool. It can be used; it can be abused. There is no moral high ground for not using one. Nor for using one for that matter.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I generally carry one with me in the field. The odds against finding a straight tree branch four feet long in your caliber are pretty significant. Especially in the desert out here.

Admittedly they have a place, in emergency situations, but I would not use one for regular cleaning. And I usually have a GI cleaning rod in day pack. I wouldn't use it for regular cleaning either, but good for emergencies.

FWIW, I just bought several of them (the first ones for me) from Midway, which has them on sale at a pretty good price.

Shotguns: yes
Rifles: no

Zeke

In the shotgun I normally wrap a patch around the brass bristles and put oil on that. It seems to work better that way. A long tampon style swab is the best thing for a shotgun. I swab periodically while shooting and at the end of the day. The bore snake is for getting out residue and wad plastic that the swab won't.

For rifles I usually use a rod but I use a bore snake in the field, no patch added.

They get dirtiest near the front and it has a way of building up and going back further as you use them. When they start to get dirty I just soak them in hot, soapy water then rinse and dry. Easy.

Use them in my shotguns all the time, rifles no.

I use 'em alot, have one for every caliber.

They're not my serious, get everything squeaky clean method but they work wonderfully when traveling, partial obstructions, particles and for inclimate weather when a serious cleaning is not possible.

My expereince is when used dry; i.e., without having oiled it - the point-of-impact doesn't change as when having to shoot foulers after cleaning with liquids or foams.

I also run a dry Bore Snake down the bore after having a rifle sit in the safe for a coupla months; expecially in rifles in which I only shoot monometals. I've noticed a tendancy for the inital shot after months of non-use to be high left/right, although the following shot is where it was previously sighted-in. Running a dry Bore Snake through those barrels has eleviated this issue. They shoot spot-on after a single pass with the Bore Snake.

They seem to be good for field or an at home quick wipe down.

But my main issue is with how they function.

I believe I'm supposed to put bore cleaner on the front end ahead of the brush section.

But here's the problem, it gives the bore cleaner no time to work. It deposits or wipes the bore with the cleaner section and immediately follows it with the brush section - NO TIME FOR THE BORE CLEANER TO WORK.

It removes surface powder residue but not bullet copper fouling.

Good to get a quick wipe down and with oil at the rear end give a coat of protective oil.

But no substitute for a cleaning patch and time for the cleaner to work.

Just my view and yes I do use them, but not as a substitute for full cleaning.

I have a 30-06 I bought one of the first bore snakes ever sold in Texas..This o6 rebells at rod cleaning and bore cleaners..takes 5o shots to get it back to its incredible accuracy..I have used only bore snakes in it now for many many years or somewhere around 1975 or 80 don't recall..Never a problem with this gun, always shoots to the same spot, with most any load, accurate at 1/2 inch 99% of the time. Gets a lot of winter pickup time and in bad weather in the case of visiting coyotes, foxes or whatever. Im sold on the boresnake and know some full time guides that swear by them both here and in Africa. If one is OCD they don't work...

I use em for my rimfire pistols and rifle. It's easy to use and convenient.

quote:

Originally posted by Idaho Sharpshooter:
I generally carry one with me in the field. The odds against finding a straight tree branch four feet long in your caliber are pretty significant. Especially in the desert out here.

I do what Sniper says with mine.

What Rich said.

Possibly Gerard of GS custom will add his voice. I recall that Gerard does not favour the Boresnake and I agree wholeheartedly. Unless you pull the Boresnake out of the barrel straight (tough when you also need to hold your rifle), you risk damage to the crown over time, by pulling against one or other side of the crown over a period of time.

I have one in every calibre I shoot and use them for necessary field maintenance as required and nothing else. Even then I am careful to pull them through the bore as straight as possible. I agree it's not going to cause damage on a handful of uses, but I prefer to try to do it "right".

A cleaning rod should be wiped clean between passes down the bore.

Part of my field kit in the event I have to clear the bore of snow, mud or dust.

I've used them, though my preference is the Otis Kit n' Caboodle for one main reason: if the barrel gets plugged somehow by mud a bore snake isn't much good.

The light weight is attractive though.

I consider both as field kits though and use other stuff at home.

I go along with Ray about the over cleaning and phuc'ing up the accuracy...seen it happen in most of my bugholers way too many times...I finally learned "wha'up, Dude".

I've seen chambers with grooves cut into them from cleaning rods that leave bumps on the extracted cases and questions like "What the he** and why" and muzzles coned out with major effects on accuracy. It's amazing when a "shot out" barrel starts shooting small groups by just chopping off an inch and crowning.

Unless my weapons get dumped in a mud hole or rain/snowed on, it only gets a "LIGHTLY OILED RAG" wipe down after a day of shooting and thoroughly (with Wipeout)cleaned then put away for the year or when the accuracy starts to deteriorate...like missing a sage rat at 100 yds.

I use bore snakes in between or a blast of compressed air AND THE SNAKE just to get out the larger bugs and bits.

This "clean it till the rifling's gone krap" is just that...BUT...if that's what you want to do then more power to you...NO FLAME OR DISS INTENDED...YO' gun, YO' way, nobody's bidniss but YOUR'N.

LUCK

If you've got that strip of electricians tape over the muzzle, how are you gonna get dirt or mud or snow in the barrel?

I'll second that.

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
If you've got that strip of electricians tape over the muzzle, how are you gonna get dirt or mud or snow in the barrel?

Good point, I never hunt without electricians tape over the muzzle, BUT when in the field under very moist conditions and temperature extremes the inside of the barrel will experience condensation so every 2-3 days in the field I use the bore snake with a drop or two of Rem oil and re-tape the muzzle.

I have a world of respect for Gerard and have been using his bullets for 30 years, but you guys need to realize that barrel steel is harder than soft cotton rope, I told you if your OCD the boresnake won't work for you!

In the "field" I use a Rapid Rod, it folds to the size of a pocket knife and I can remove a mud dobbers nest, caked mud or snow, and even a stuck bullet or case...

.The Boresnake is a miracle product but it wont move mud, mud dobber nests, cement or smuggled diamonds out of Tanzania or a bullet that was loaded loose..got to use a rod for that.

Hello Ray,

How do you explain this?

From the website at: http://www.grizzly.com/product...Grinding-Wheel/G1984

Green silicon carbide wheels are much softer (than aluminum oxide wheels) and are used for grinding carbide.

Carbide is two to three times harder than barrel steel. Yet, a soft wheel is used to change the shape.

Aluminum oxide wheels are used to grind toolsteel and toolsteel is softer than carbide.

It is therefore the configuration of the material and not the hardness that abrades another material.

An example would be that water erodes rock and concrete. Vesconite (an engineering plastic) is easy to work with and easier on tooling than brass. However, vesconite is tougher and more durable than brass for the making of gears and bushes.

NONAGONAGIN

"I've seen chambers with grooves cut into them from cleaning rods that leave bumps on the extracted cases."
Another good example. Most cleaning rods have a soft plastic coating. It would be better and have less damage to the throat and the chamber if one used a polished, bare stainless steel rod which is much harder than the plastic coating.

quote:

Originally posted by dirklawyer:

quote:

Originally posted by wasbeeman:
If you've got that strip of electricians tape over the muzzle, how are you gonna get dirt or mud or snow in the barrel?

Good point, I never hunt without electricians tape over the muzzle, BUT when in the field under very moist conditions and temperature extremes the inside of the barrel will experience condensation so every 2-3 days in the field I use the bore snake with a drop or two of Rem oil and re-tape the muzzle.

Now there's a man that's ahead of the game.

Gerard just overwhelmed me, maybe, not sure! but if that carbon is that hard methinks bores would last about 5 shots.

That said, I doubt that many have actually tested the boresnake, and posts are based on off the wall decisions..

We have millions, maybe jillians of rock chucks and mostly ground squirrels and you can shoot as many as your body can stand...After about a couple of hundred shots, accuracy goes to hell, One pass with a boresnake restores accuracy 100% for another 200 or so shots, go figure. I do know that tests have shown that one pass with a bore snake is 180 patches. The best metal smith on rifles that I know only uses boresnakes based on his tests using a bore scope..

I'll just keep using them, been using them for years and all bores are still as new.