Boresnakes are worthless....

[Andy Griffith]

For heavy-duty cleaning that is...

I used one for the first time today. I won it at a gun club meeting.

I used it- never could get the shotgun bore clean...
I threw it in the trash can.

I see the value in it for clearing some obstruction from the bore in the woods, but for any type of moderate or heavy duty copper or lead removal- it's worthless.

Maybe I'm the only one that uses enough patches and solvent to get the bore clean as a whistle? Takes 40 or more patches though.

Am I the only one that has found the "bore snakes" to be of little use?

 

[mstuhr]

Rimfire

Hi Andy,
I have one that I use for .22 rimfire. It works well for them.
I have to agree that I don't think it would do much good for a copper fouled rifle.
Mike

 

[scoutsdad]

I slip a bore snake down my Mini-14 every couple of mags. Takes just a minute, and I don't have much scrubbing to do when I get home.

 

[Bat Guano]

I don't care for them OR the Otis kits. I occasionally use a pull-through which is only .060 weedwhacker line with a knot on the end, which I keep in a small plastic zip-lock bag, and then only to pull a patch with bore cleaner or oil through the bore until I get home. I keep an M16 cleaning kit, etc., in the vehicle if I am going to clean in the field. 99% of the time I just wait until I get home, put a good CD on, and do the job properly with the right tools.

 

[mm6mm6]

I'm with ya. When I first saw them, I thought, "This is is supposed to be used intead of my normal cleaning method?"

Then it was explained to me that many .223 shooters use these to cool and clean the barrel while shooting hundreds, if not thousands of rounds at a time. I thought, "Okay then."

But I don't see the point in them for actually cleaning a barrel like it should be cleaned.

 

[dmar]

I agree 100%. Several years ago, I bought a couple and found them to be useless relative to what they are supposed to be able to do. You can pass the boresnake through a dozen times, then pass a brush through one time, and it looks like you hadn't done a thing prior to the brush...

 

[Evil One]

I have a bore snake that I use when I am finished at the range.
Run it thru while packing things away.
I also carry it with me while working on the road.
Less questions are asked when the luggage is checked


Jim

 

[Rule3]

I don't think much of them. I use one occasionally for 22 and 223 as a final pass. I think they would be better if they had a longer brush section. To clean a barrel takes lots of passes with a brush and pull a bore snake though once or twice does next to nothing.

 

[popgun]

Love them, use them in all calibers. In my opinion most people over clean with a rod and damage more bores than any other way.

 

[bmcgilvray]

Never use them as they appear worthless. May as well clean a barrel with used patches as with a bore snake.

 

[dpmac83]

I am actually really pleased with mine, i used it for the first time today on my shotgun and it cleaned the barrel out really well! I wonder if it had anything to do with the difference in barrels, rifled vs. smooth bore?!?!?!

 

[Kanewpadle]

I quit using them too. Waste of time.

Attached one to the handle of a file cabinet. Took the barrel out of a gun and slipped the bore snake through. Went back and forth 30-40 times. Then took a patch to the barrel. It was dirty.

Might be useful for range trips or hunting. But that's about it.

 

[sipowicz]

I swallow one every six months then when the string shows itself, I give it a good pull...sure beats hydra-colon therapy...

 

[ingmansinc]

I swallow one every six months then when the string shows itself, I give it a good pull...sure beats hydra-colon therapy...

Well hot digity dirt, is that a NZ thing?

 

[Hermann]

They do work, but it takes some time - I use one only for my Remington 870 12gauge.

 

[feldspar13]

I use one to clean my muzzleloader it works quite well.

 

[normanvin]

They work fine for me...

 

[Plain Old Dave]

Professional qual for my comment: I am an Aviation Ordianceman 2 (E-5) in the Navy, currently assigned to an HSL squadron in Mayport. This means that my duties include maintainence and cleaning of the M11 and M9 9mm pistols, M240D 7.62mm machine gun and GAU-16 .50 cal MG.

I have never MAFed a gun for copper fouling. Ever. The cards only require the use of a brush in event of heavy fouling.

A Boresnake's fine for general purpose cleaning. The stuff it won't get will not affect practical accuracy. You're in all probability doing more harm than good by using a bore brush and solid rod more than 2x/year or possibly quarterly.

 

[stiab]

I have them that I use for my .22s, .30-06, .45acp, and .38/9mm, and like them alot. I didn't realize people tried to use them to actually "clean" their guns.I would never even consider one for a shotgun, because I know what it takes to really clean the bore on them. Nice to run thru the bores after every few deer hunting trips to make sure no small crud has found its way into barrel, which has happened to me twice in the past. Also good for long range sessions, or when I just run a cylinder full thru my revolvers in the yard. I have recommended them to several friends for these uses and light cleaning.

 

[m657]

Overcoming my initial disdain as instilled by my elders, I found over 20 years ago they have a very beneficial effect when used appropriately.

I've put hundreds of thousands of rounds downrange in various pistols over the time frame, and 95% of my cleaning requirements has been well satisfied with the bore snake.

Wish it were my own invention.

Certainly they don't do all. Considering the built-in brush at the front of the device, and a couple-3 feet of floss behind it, it works at least was well as a couple passes of the standard bore brush and patches.

When I used to use the ultra high end hot loads, of course the snake didn't clean the lead and copper fouling that required greater attention.

When I discovered moderate loads with certain powders, and rarely suffered leading, cleaning with the snake served well. Even running patches after come out clean most of the time.

To each their own.