Thoughts on Bore Snake & foaming cleaners?

G

Ginner

Guest
I'd like to hear your opinions but only the ones based on actual experience. Compare and contrast with traditional techniques.
The reason I ask is that I have used the Outers foam that turns blue when it reacts with copper and I liked it but I do not have a bore scope to do a thorough inspection. I can say, however, that I foamed the bore on my .223 (foam turned BRIGHT blue), did one pull with the snake and foamed again. The second time there was no discoloration to the white foam at all which leads me to believe that ALL traces of copper were removed on the first try. I have done this at least a dozen times since with the same results so now I just do it once. Bore looks great.:)
 
ive been using the gunslik foaming bore cleaner for a couple of years. i think it works great, saves alot of patching and brushing. i save the boresnakes for my shotguns though, as i dont like to pull anything thru a rifled barrel more than once.
 
Bore Snake............................

Bore snake = trash..............!!!!!!!!!!

Except for auto loaders..... Don't subject your bolt rifle bore to a "snake"..!

Get a real ONE PIECE cleaning rod and a bore guide.... Trust me!

The foam cleaners from many makers are EXCELLENT!

cale
 
The foaming cleaners are just fine. I've used Wipe Out and now Patch Out for several years on everything I own including a 30BR. I recently had the need to borescope several barrels and all were in great shape. My cleaning regimen for the 30 is to shoot 125-150 rounds during a score match, come home and clean the next morning. (BTW-I use WS2 coating on all my bullets.) I use one patch of WO Accelrator followed by a patch of Patch Out. After and hour or so I'll run three or four patches thru and finish with one patch of Lock Ease.

I would not use the Bore Snake on anything since you are pulling dirt & grit back thru the barrel. However, I use a Patch Worm on nearly everything. My 30 has not had a rod or brush thru it in over 4000 rounds. It still shoots good enough to win. I took 2nd Place @ both 100 yards and the Grand Agg in the Oct match at Gallatin and finished 3rd @ 100 yards. I was beaten by only one x @ both yardages. The foaming cleaners work very well.

Rick
 
I agree with the other post. Foaming cleaners are great!!

A Bore Snake, no way I would do that to one of my rifles.
 
C'mon guys....

I would'nt do that to my rifle?? Do what? When you pull your first patch through you're pullin' dirt & grit. A snake is flexible fabric with a fairly open weave to let the nasty stuff move away from the steel and then is followed by another twenty or so inches of clean material. Then you wash it out. Plus there's no steel rod to possibly rub the bore, scuff the chamber or bump the muzzle.
It just makes sense to me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the comments on the foam because you have obviously used the product;). It just sounds a bit closed minded to not have even tried it and condemn it; unless, you have good information to the contrary that is not being shared. So there must be some glaring, painfully obvious reason that is escaping me.:confused:
 
Here's a few reasons:
1) With a good rod and guide you can actually feel what's going on inside the bore....and with the top- end rods and guides...the rods just won't touch the bore i.d until the very end and if you are CAREFUL....I doubt you'll do any damage to the crown...at least I have never seen any.
2) a rod serves as a safe means to dislodge a bullet ( should the need arise)...assuming you handload
3) I don't want to rely on "cleaning" all the grit from a piece of fabric, I'd rather use disposable patches that I know are clean....and how do you address the cross contamination issue when using different solvents and bore conditioners.
4) they are caliber specific.....with a good rod you can use a .22 cal. rod and simply screw in jags and brushes of a larger caliber.....the proper bore guide (and corresponding inserts) is essential however.

When I see new product, I always review their advertising claims...and theirs is "one pull through does it all."..........B/S ....either they are being dishonest ....or...have no clue on barrel maintenance.
Yes, it might be useful in the battlefield in a pinch....but it ain't worthy of my firearms.
 
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I don't get it

Seems expensive to pull that snake through one time and throw it away and use another clean one.

Or maybe some folks run the same cleaning patch through their bores more than once.
 
I do think the foaming cleaners work pretty well. I am a gunsmith, and some of the most challenging repairs I get are to remove bore obstructions. Pull through devices can be the very devil to remove when the wrong size patch or wrong size device is used. They jam and there is no good way to reverse the jam - like trying to push a noodle out. Anyway, the pull throughs are better than no cleaning, but they are a problem waiting to happen if the user is not careful. No "one pull" device offered to the market today can clean as well as a series of well designed cleaning steps because of the different solvents, lubricants, etc. that should be applied to effect proper cleaning.

But they are fast, aren't they...

Scott
 
agree, unless you can afford a new bore snake for each pass down your barrel, i would not use one. even washing them does not get out all the grit and fouling they pick up. like i said , i use them alot on my expensive trap guns, but would not consider running one thru a good rifled barrel. just not worth the false economy.
 
"It just makes sense to me. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the comments on the foam because you have obviously used the product. It just sounds a bit closed minded to not have even tried it and condemn it; unless, you have good information to the contrary that is not being shared. So there must be some glaring, painfully obvious reason that is escaping me. "

********************************************

Dude, get over it. You asked for experience & advice. You got both, you just didn't like the answer. I've used the bore snake and don't think they are a good thing to pull down a $500 barrel. If you want to do that, go for it. Hell, it's your money and your barrel. But don't ask for advice and then B**** when you get it. .....you're as bad as some women I've known.

Rick
 
Greyfox...

:eek:I do appreciate the info, especially the first half of YOUR original post (VERY informative). If you reread MY original post I asked for "only opinions based on actual experience"; by that I meant with the actual product which I thought was self evident, apparantly I was mistaken. Again, I apologize. Your knowledge and bench experience was never in question just the fact that nobody said anything about having actually USED a bore snake on a rifle until AFTER my reply. Remember the world was once flat until actual experience proved otherwise.
Oh yeah, don't call me a woman (not fair to the ladies) or I'll give you a noogie;)!
 
Oh yeah....

:)Thanks to everyone else also!!! Looks like I will not pull a snake through any more heavy barrels but will continue to use them on my hunting rifles.
I would still like to hear pro's & con's from those that have used a snake or at least seen the results, preferably with a bore scope and an experienced eye.
 
OK, 2 nationally known bbl makers I personally talked to gave me the polite "you gotta be nuts-I've seen more damage" comment. About as plain as it comes.
 
So what are the options....

Hmmm...... just bought a Volquartsen Evolution rifle in .223. Sub MOA semi-auto that takes AR mags. Beautiful gun and well built.

Unfortunately, It's design does not provide for any straight path to get a cleaning rod in. The documentation specifically states that you void any accuracy guarantees by cleaning from the muzzle end.

So what are my choices....BoreSnake, PatchWorm, or the overpriced Otis variants. I bought a BoreSnake to give it a try. What makes the patch PatchWorm so much better?

I still have a hard time understanding how a BoreSnakes can damage the barrel. Let's assume the rifle is not dirty with dust, grit, mud, etc. The only abrasive substance to worry about should be carbon buildup in the bore. Is this really hard enough to damage the bore?

Cheers,

Patrick
 
What?

lefty o said:
well, you can cut steel with dental floss.
Click to expand...

Cut steel with dental floss? What grade steel have you cut? I'm an Iron Worker by trade. When I want to cut steel I reach for a Carbon arc,cutting torch,grinder with a cut off wheel,Band saw,Hack Saw,Pliers,Wire cutters,Bolt cutters,plactic explosive. But never dental floss.
 
Ginner said:
:)Thanks to everyone else also!!! Looks like I will not pull a snake through any more heavy barrels but will continue to use them on my hunting rifles.
I would still like to hear pro's & con's from those that have used a snake or at least seen the results, preferably with a bore scope and an experienced eye.
Click to expand...

i have used a boresnake on all my rifles for the past 2-3 years. while i don't have bore scope to examine the barrels, i have not observed any accuracy issues with the 3 rifles i shoot.

i only use the snake at the range, about every 20 rounds. i clean in the conventional manner when i get home.

i have never washed or cleaned any of my snakes. i use them for handguns also for a quick clean between matches. i keep each in a heavy duty plastic bag.
 
I can offer an alternative to teh bore snake. It was a device that we used in the USMC to field clean our M40A1s ( yeah waaayy back in the day in the late 1970s). It was a piece of nylon twine with a combination gizmo attached to teh end and a very small thin brass weight attached to the other end. You attached either a bore brush to the gizom or a patch gizmo, then dropped the weight into teh chamber and through the barrel. you then pulled the brush or patch from teh breech through the barrel and out the muzzle. I hope that made sense. Having used it in the past, I can assue you that it will clean the bore pretty well.

Otis makes an updated version that has a coated cable. and sells it as part of a cleaning kit. I use it as my field cleaning kit. It works well (eliminates the bore snake).

This is what a kit looks like.

Otiscleaningkit.jpg


I'm not saying its the best thing since they invented the napkin, but its better than nothing, and it works pretty well.

Jeffvn
 
worker, never meant to say it was a good tool for cutting steel, but if you rub it across steel long enough, it will cut it. just a reference to suggest what a boresnake or similiar can do to the muzzle of a barrel.
 
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