First Experience with a Boresnake - Questions

[UncaGrunny]

I spent last night getting familiar with my new 15-22, in anticipation of hitting the range with some friends come Sunday for first firing.

Naturally, I had planned to give the weapon a thorough cleaning to get any production grit & preservative off/out/away; besides, it's just plain fun to me to take precision machinery apart, clean it, and reassemble it.

Yeah, I'm weird that way. What can I say? I even work on carburetted rotary engines for fun.

Anyhow, I've always been a rod and patch guy, but I see so many glowing recommendations for the Hoppes Boresnake that I figured on trying one. I actually found one at the local WalMart for just over $13, which was about $7 less than I'd seen them anywhere else.

Having been duly warned by WU Who to protect the ejector hook with a straw, I did so, and having read the instructions on the package, I did not put any chemicals on the gizmo and proceeded to dangle the lil brass dongle down the bore from the breech end.

Or tried to. The brass went in easily enough, but the cord that follows it was just large enough that it didn't want to just merrily slide down the bore.

Through a combination of jiggling and trying to 'push the string' (yeah, that goes well), I did eventually get the leader down the bore and out the muzzle, and then tried to pull the functional part of the snake through.

Here's the question part:

Is it supposed to take full wrap-around-your-fist grunting effort to get this thing though the bore? Especially the part where the leader joins to the 'working' part of the snake?

I was scared I was going to break it... then I was seriously worried it was going to get jammed in the bore, and THEN break... and I have no illusions about what trying to reverse-pull that brass brush section would take after it was well into the bore.

I did eventually get it through, but after the effort required to do so once, I was real leery of trying it a second pass, and went to work with patches, rod, and CLP instead.

Am I doing something wrong? Or do they all work this way?

Even though the packages says to use no chemicals, are you supposed to lube these things?

I confirmed that the package shows the right caliber.

Any advice/commentary/hoots of derisive laughter sheepishly welcomed.

 

[telero]

That's the way it's supposed to work, very tight. As long as you're using the .22 cal boresnake it'll be fine. I usually put a little bit of Hoppes on the boresnake at the brass part of the boresnake, but you could run a wet patch first and let it soak for a bit. It's not for lubrication though.

 

[chapguy]

They're pretty tough little buggers to get through the first couple of passes. Things seems to loosen up a bit after that though. The .22's are the worst because they're so small that they have no "give". The larger calibers are a little easier to compress on those first few passes. Try it again, wrap it around your fist and you'll learn to love 'em.
Oh, enjoy your new toy, too!!

 

[Majorlk]

What everyone else said. You DO want some CLP or similar product on the head of the snake. Would you try to clean a barrel with only dry patches? Same principle applies, no matter what the cleaning medium.

 

[gdnagle]

You could try standing on the end of the boresnake and pull the barrel. makes things easier on the hands the first couple times. Yes do put your favorite lube on it.

 

[UncaGrunny]

Roger that, and thanks, all!

 

[Arndog123]

I stopped by WM on my way to work this morning and bought the same thing. Unfortunately they didn't have any ammo so I browsed around and the bore snake caught my eye.

 

[ma deuce]

I've used a .22 cal Boresnake, and it does indeed take a good few passes before it gets stretched out and narrowed down enough to easily go through the bore. I've stopped using the Boresnake, though, because I know two people who've had them snap on them. Admittedly, this was after a whole lot of uses on multiple ARs, but still, it's a pretty traumatic experience. I prefer the Otis cleaning systems, myself.

 

[SpicyTunaRoll]

are you using the .22lr/223 snake? if so good.

mine was also hard to yank. but if you notice the weave of the green snake is not tight. its meant to stretch & come back. this extra slack allows for a nice tight grip along the whole barel. it also keep the thing from tearing(like a tow strap on a car - the flexing and stretching removes any stress from the weak area's)

i know it says not to use any chemicals on it, but i still do anyway. i dip the first inch or two into hoppies #9, and do a few passes. this helps with cleaning and the tugging. then i dip the tail into engine oil and do a few passes. this helps protect the barrel.

 

[UncaGrunny]

are you using the .22lr/223 snake? if so good.

So says the label on the package- I didn't know that the brass is supposedly marked until today's reading here, and will check that tonight.

i know it says not to use any chemicals on it, but i still do anyway. i dip the first inch or two into hoppies #9, and do a few passes. this helps with cleaning and the tugging. then i dip the tail into engine oil and do a few passes. this helps protect the barrel.

I'm mainly a CLP guy (drummed into me in the Corps endless times), but I also have some nitro solvent and quality gun oil I use for start/end operations on my other units.

 

[SpicyTunaRoll]

I'm mainly a CLP guy (drummed into me in the Corps endless times), but I also have some nitro solvent and quality gun oil I use for start/end operations on my other units.

a lot has changed in the last 10 years, so be open minded as to what you see/hear now days, versus what you are used to- from your service training.

from gear, to stances/methods, to accessories, to now cleaning - a lot has changed and advanced. i personally am not that big of a fan of CLP as a lube or protector. engine oil is specifically engineered and researched to levels far beyond any gun oil. it also contains additives that are corrosion inhibitors/etc.

 

[TacoDaTugBoat]

I had issues with the snake itself, but I don't recall struggling to get the leader through the barrel! I do wrap the leader around my hand or foot though.

 

[SmokeStack Lightning]

I had issues with the snake itself, but I don't recall struggling to get the leader through the barrel! I do wrap the leader around my hand or foot though.

Yup, I've found that works well, too. Wrap ihe leader string around a shoe and pull the barrel up keeping an eye on the straw, while supporting the snake w/your other hand.

It's tough growing old. There can't be a place we go to w/fire and brimstone, cuz growing old itself is hell.

 

[tacticool22]

Put a little CLP like froglube in front of the brush and pull through once or twice.
It does not matter what's on the package, the brass leader is stamped with the caliber.
They are super tight the first few times.

 

[jbinbi]

You could try standing on the end of the boresnake and pull the barrel. makes things easier on the hands the first couple times. Yes do put your favorite lube on it.

+1

Sent using Tapatalk.

 

[UncaGrunny]

Things went a good bit smoother yesterday, cleaning up after the rifle's first range outing.

Some of the initial trouble I was having can be chalked up to the way the snake was packaged, with the 'leader' wrapped tightly around the coiled 'snake.' This put a lot of kinks in the leader, which is just about the same size as the bore at first. The kinks were keeping the lead weight from dropping freely through the bore. I'd left the snake hang by the tail loop since I opened it, and I also gave the leader a very light swipe of silicone.

This time, it dropped right on thru.

Also, I CLP'd the snake 'head,' and the areas in front of the brushes for about 2" total. The head folded much more easily into the breach as a result.

Taking a loop around a shoe & pulling the upper vertically with one hand while feeding the snake in with the other seems to be the best method.

Still took a good bit of pull for the first pass, but with a soda straw in place on the ejector it ran thru without issue. Second pass was considerably easier.

I ran a dry patch thru after two passes, and it looked passable clean. Then one oiled one after, and the bore was done. Tons faster than brush/patch/repeat ad nauseam.

I wish there was a method as slick for cleaning the breach face and areas around it inside the upper. Getting things clean in there took some doing with toothbrush, cleaner, & about 50 q-tips.

It's too bad the bolt shouldn't (can't) be removed from the BCG rails; it would be a lot easier to get the carbon buildup out of the slots. But it seems the ends of the rails are swaged slightly to prevent overshoot when the bolt moves forward under spring pressure. Force not, lest ye break; I left well-enough alone.

After first firing and cleaning, the BCG now slides more freely at the rear of the upper; it was quite tight out of the box, now settles in slickly.

Cleaning the lower was no challenge; with the exception of the mag well, the lower and the FCG seem to stay remarkably clean. A little compressed air and a light swabbing was all that was needed.

I expect I'll get faster at it with some practice. she's not quite "Commander's Inspection" clean, but she's duty-day clean.

 

[telero]

It's too bad the bolt shouldn't (can't) be removed from the BCG rails; it would be a lot easier to get the carbon buildup out of the slots. But it seems the ends of the rails are swaged slightly to prevent overshoot when the bolt moves forward under spring pressure. Force not, lest ye break; I left well-enough alone.

You mean like this?

 

[RedNeck Jim]

I normally remove the bolt from the rails, even thought it is not necessary. Just makes me feel better doing it that way.

I also never run any patches thru the barrel. Two passes with a boresnake is all I usually do after each shooting. I put some solvent on the leading end and some lubricant on the trailing end.

 

[UncaGrunny]

You mean like this?

The tips on my bolt guide rails seem to be swaged so it won't slide off... I can see where they've been pressed or hammered at the ends (bright and shiny), and that seems to have made them just a touch too thick to pass through the slots in the bolt

Did you do any mod work to allow that, or is that original - or the result of wearing in?

 

[tacticool22]

Polish the top and bottom of the rails with a hard Arkansas stone to get rid of any burrs. You will be amazed at how much better it sounds and feels.