Just got a new .17 rifle chambered for 17 HMR. Weather very crappy so barely got it sighted in.

Now this is a ridiculous question - I can barely push a .17 bronze brush thru the bore. Like, it's really difficult.

I bought a bore snake and it was either mislabeled or it was a hoax, but there is no way that snake was going to fit thru the bore. It looked like it was about right for 30 caliber, even tho it had the proper sized brass weight on the string.

What is the procedure for cleaning these small-bore rifles? I cannot believe that it should take humongous force to push a brush thru.

Oxon, I had a brush for my 25-06 that fit really tight and I trimmed it down just a tiny bit with a pair of heavy duty scissors. It doesn't take much trimming at all to make it fit better.

Is the boresnake brown? If so, it's correct... it takes some strength to pull it through... wear leather glove and wrap the cord around it a couple times, after a while it will be fine and bare hands can do it. For some reason 17 ammo is particularly dirty... I'd push a wet patch down 1st then try the brush.

I'll try trimming the brush - thanks for the idea - but the bristles are already very short. Might try using a diagonal cutter.

The snake was huge - I tried bulling it thru and the string broke. It couldn't even enter the bore - just got stopped and a real pull snapped the string. POS.

They are a pain to clean and they need cleaned a lot. Does anyone make a one piece rod? I would look for a top quality rod like Dewey and try that. A friend uses the spray in cleaner, lets it soak a while and ties a patch to dental floss and pulls it through.

I have 2 17HMR's and use Wipeout as a bore cleaner. There are cleaning rods made for the 17 caliber and will also work with 20 caliber bores. Dewey, among others make rods for the bore size you need.
Good luck.

I don't have a 17, so these are just a few general tips...

The most difficult patch/brush is always the first pass. Some form of solvent is necessary and is more a lubricant than a solvent on that first pass! I think you need to use something, even if it is Hoppes No9.

You could drip some solvent down the barrel from the chamber side and let it run down and do a bit of work before trying the brushes and jags.

I hope some of those ideas help a bit. A small caliber is also difficult as the rod bends so easily when you need to put on some proper pressure.

Thank you all for the replies. I had never used/cleaned a .17 before, as you can tell from my post, and this is all helpful. The difficulty of pushing a brush thru was entirely unexpected.

I made a cleaning rod from 1/8" brass and brazed a ferrule threaded for 5-40 on one end. Yep, it bends!! What a pain.

I push a "Q-tip" down the bore. Wet the front of the tip with solvent and keep the back one dry.

I use a Pro Shot rod, and the 17 brushes are very tight to start, but they wear down really fast from the chemicals. You will find that a nylon brush will work just as well as copper or brass and does not wear out as fast. I have 4 17's including a center fire and have had no problems. I clean rim fire every 75 rds. and center fire every 30. I use Montana Extreme Products, but I am sure others will work as well. Also you will want a bore guide or you will bend the rod. Sinclair, & Midway and others sell bore guides. If you trim the brass brush you will be defeating your purpose. The brush is made tight for a reason.

I use real heavy (not sure of size) weed trimmer line to push a patch through my .177 air rifles. For larger cals I use .065 weed trimmer line and double it and push it through then put patch in the loop and drag it out. You can use a much tighter patch than you can push through doing it this way. Small piece of weed trimmer line fits easily into a shirt pocket for use in the field.

Ditto Cliff Lyle

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Michalski:
Ditto Cliff Lyle

I use Wipeout first, then a boresnake.

Really helpful tips - thank you! I just tried the Q-tip and it's pretty slick!

I'm reluctant to try another snake - don't want to lose another 16 or so bucks. I couldn't even get the last one started.

Will try the weed-whacker line next - I have some heavy stuff in the garage.

Thanks, guys.

Why not just buy a proper bore guide, one piece stainless .172 rod, a good jag and some nylon brushes?

My Dewey coated rod is bit flimsy. My Pro Shot and Bore Tech bore stix rods have more back bone.

Why risk getting something stuck in the bore or trimmer line carrying in grit?

Chris

There are also two different 17cal brushes, one a long for rifle and another short for pistol. Use the short pistol ones as the long ones tend force your rod to flex, or cut it short.

Adam

This is one of the very reasons I don't shoot my 17 Rem very much. It does a great job on prairie dogs out to 250 yards, but is a pain to clean and even to reload for.

I'll stick to my 223AI.

I am not sure why you would spend money on a nice rifle and then want to go cheap on maintaining it. You can get the proper rod, jag, and brushes for less than $50.00, and I think that would include frt. If you use your bent brass rod, it will be hard on the rifeling. Go to Pro Shot Web site, and they will have all you need.

I have a .17 Rem with over 3000 rnds thru it that will shoot 0.5 inch groups. When first built it shot 0.2's. I clean it with a Pro shot one piece rod and a bore guide. These guns copper foul quickly and I clean rigorously every 20 shots.
Procedure:
1. Wet brass brush thru bore. Never let brush completely exit the muzzle. ( use Butch's bore shine).
2. Wrap brush with cloth patch and coat patch with JB paste.
3. Run JB patch back and forth thru bore 15 times.
4. Wet patches thru bore till no color seen
5. Dry patch
This might seem excessive to some, but in 3000 rnds the gun still shoots exceptionally well.
Two points.
By not letting the brush exit the muzzle completely you get no crown wear.
Copper fouling is really hard to remove even from a "good" barrel, just wet patching isn't enough.

quote:

Originally posted by Hector:
I am not sure why you would spend money on a nice rifle and then want to go cheap on maintaining it. You can get the proper rod, jag, and brushes for less than $50.00, and I think that would include frt. If you use your bent brass rod, it will be hard on the rifeling. Go to Pro Shot Web site, and they will have all you need.

Hector, I'm not sure why you think I'm trying to go "cheap." Please re-read my posts. I have a machine shop and make lots of things and, indeed, taking my time into consideration the rod I made cost a hell of a lot more than a "store-bought" one! If I decide I want a guide, I'll make that, too.

The problem I was having was that I never shot/cleaned this small-bore a rifle and was completely unaware of the friction that a snake or brush could incur.

By the way, I bought some Dewey pistol .17 cal bronze bore brushes from Cabelas - they sell them in lots of five. They arrived today and work beautifully - dipped in cleaner they slide right thru. (even using my brass rod!) These, along with the Q-tip trick that Al posted earlier have solved the problem.

I like the Cabelas pistol .17 brushes by Dewey!

Oxen, I would like to apologize for the way I worded my answer. You probably know more about metal and machining that I would ever hope to know, and I was not aware that you had a machine shop. What you said was, you took a brass rod and welded a tip on it. I always thought Stainless was harder than brass, and I am not positive but I would think that Stainless rods would be heat treated. I wish you all the success in your machine shop and in the cleaning of your 17. I know they are a lot fun. P.S. You want to make sure your Brass rod does not have a bend in it, as it will wear the bore if not perfectly straight. You probably already know this. Have a great day. And again I apologize.

Hey, Hector! I re-read my post and think I sounded excessively snippy and I apologize to you for that. Sometimes posts just get misread.

Stainless steel is indeed harder and that's why I don't like it for barrel rods. Rhe .17 bore really is dinky compared to my other rifles' but the new shorter brushes work very well.

Now if it would cool down a bit I could get to the range without heatstroke!

Thank you hector for your consideration - much appreciated and sorry if I snipped back.

Cool, two grown-ups having a bit of confusion in a thread and resolving the issue in a civilized fashion, Kudos to both of ya!! Looks like there is hope for web-site discussions after-all .

I have a fair number of .17 and .20 caliber rifles and handguns as that is my primary area of interest in these last 15 or so years of my shooting career, they're a hoot . I'd suggest Dewey rods with appropriate bore guides, brushes and jags. 3/4 inch square patches and your preferred cleaning solvent work well to get the bore wet before attempting the brushing and simplify things IMO.
One important caution with .17 caliber rods and tight brushes or jags and patches is to be sure the rod is solidly supported in the middle while pushing on the handle to make the first few passes as the rods bend very easily and straight out very poorly . Better still, get the rod moving holding it close to the tip close to the bore guide. Personally I prefer stiff nylon brushes but we all like what we like and there are a lotta different ways around the barn.

Doug,

Hey there youngster.
Glad to see your still alive and kicking.

Best,

GWB

I ain't give up yet. Still shooting tiny little bullets real fast and sploding furry vermin with em . Hope yer doing well and it's good to see ya posting .

10/4 there Doug,




I still get out and pull a trigger now and then, just not to the degree you guys do. LOL












Best,

GWB

Geedubya,

what bullet was the 20 Tac loading and powder?