Hoppes Bore Snake

[Hammerless-12]

Why not throw the darn thing away, Ive never liked them at all. I do admit purchasing one when they where first becoming popular. After several uses it was all full of ****, fouling and lead, and I didnt want to drag it back through the bore of any of my firearms. Maybe theres a way to clean the bore snake, but I dont like them one little bit. The bore is one of the most important parts of any firearm. Just my 2 pennys worth.

 

[Majorlk]

Why not throw the darn thing away, Ive never liked them at all. I do admit purchasing one when they where first becoming popular. After several uses it was all full of ****, fouling and lead, and I didnt want to drag it back through the bore of any of my firearms. Maybe theres a way to clean the bore snake, but I dont like them one little bit. The bore is one of the most important parts of any firearm. Just my 2 pennys worth.

Put it in a jar with some detergent and shake for a few minutes, then rinse it and let it dry.

To each his own, but after 40+ years of shooting, the cleaning rods, jags and patches have been packed away and all I use are BoreSnakes. There is far less danger to the chambers, bores and barrel crowns, than from metal rods and jags.

 

[w0ady]

a couple pulls with a boresnake is still a lot quicker than brushes and patches and patches and patches.

 

[rraisley]

After several uses it was all full of ****, fouling and lead, and I didnt want to drag it back through the bore of any of my firearms.

Sounds like more of an ammo problem. I've been using the same .22 BoreSnake for years on my pistols, and also since getting my 15-22. The snake, and my gun bores, all look good and clean.

But then I don't use lead-only bullets.

 

[kcabear]

Mine wouldn't pass at all where the pull cord and the BS were sewn together, had to cut it back a little. Try wrapping the pull cord around a screw driver and using it as a handle, you can put out on it and your hands don't hurt.

 

[Quarterhorse]

I find I no longer bother with rods and patches, even on my pistols.

I've been thinking of doing this for the passed 5 years. I'm glad to read this, I think I'll make the jump lol.

 

[Majorlk]

I'm a recent convert because I have always hated trying to run patches through a .22 barrel. Larger bores never have been a problem, but .22 barrels were always a PITB. That's why, for the most part, all I did was run a bronze brush through one a few times and then an oil-soaked mop.

 

[Quarterhorse]

I do mostly hand gun shooting and agree, all that stuff is fairly easy. However when shooting my Mini or my new .22 Smith it's a pain!

 

[Majorlk]

I've even shifted to the BS for all my pistols. Cleaning the charge holes in a revolver's cylinder is SO much easier now.

 

[w0ady]

i did the same and switched to a boresnake on my xd 9's and havent looked back. also ran my other boresnake through my new sig 1911 .22 earlier tonight for the first time and wow was it 100x easier than the 15-22.

 

[jajo]

I haven't "pulled the trigger" on purchasing a bore snake yet. Kind of old fashioned - but I don't mind patches and brush.

I watched a guy at the range use the snake on his pistol and Ballistol sprayed everywhere. Seemed kind of messy.

 

[Majorlk]

I haven't "pulled the trigger" on purchasing a bore snake yet. Kind of old fashioned - but I don't mind patches and brush.

I watched a guy at the range use the snake on his pistol and Ballistol sprayed everywhere. Seemed kind of messy.

Doesn't know how to use it. No need to soak the BS with solvent.

 

[Nico Testosteros]

It's never happened to me, but it sounds from what I've read that a bore snake broken off in ones barrel is not easy to deal with. I won't use em.

 

[rraisley]

It's never happened to me, but it sounds from what I've read that a bore snake broken off in ones barrel is not easy to deal with. I won't use em.

I can't imagine that even if a Bore Snake broke, it would be hard to pull out from the unbroken end. OTOH, I HAVE had a horrible time getting a broken 3-piece rod out of a rifle bore.

 

[Gopher Slayer]

I can't imagine that even if a Bore Snake broke, it would be hard to pull out from the unbroken end. OTOH, I HAVE had a horrible time getting a broken 3-piece rod out of a rifle bore.

If it's not hanging out of the muzzle or breach how are you going to pull on it?

Those little bristles don't like to change direction either.

 

[w0ady]

if a boresnake breaks, im guessing at least 1 end will still be hanging out of the barrel to pull. that is unless a freak occurrence happens and both ends snap. then ill just use my rod from my old cleaning kit to put it through. doesnt seem that difficult.

 

[rraisley]

If it's not hanging out of the muzzle or breach how are you going to pull on it?

Those little bristles don't like to change direction either.

True about the bristles. But the only thing that's ever stuck at all on mine has been toward the very end of the thick/loop end. There's /always/ an end sticking out, and I think would be if it broke. Worst I've ever had to do is use a small screwdriver to straighten out the end (usually it's kinked a bit or something) then pull it through.

Anyhow, while I still use a patch sometimes to put solvent in place and let it soak, before cleaning, my barrel cleaning routine has used boresnakes on all my guns for many years. Probably since about the time they were available. Never a problem on anything, except I agree they can be tight on a .22 or .223 rifle.

 

[WVleo]

I never use a BS on a rimfire tho I do have a long thick strand of weed wacker line that I use to pull through patches from the bore out the muzzle of the firearm. Couple drops of CLP on the patch. Only took a sharp pointed cut on 1 end and a Bic lighter blob on the end to secure the patch. That way I don't drag anything back over the bore. I just don't see any need to run a bronze brush through a .22 rimfire barrel. ....WVleo

 

[Majorlk]

It's never happened to me, but it sounds from what I've read that a bore snake broken off in ones barrel is not easy to deal with. I won't use em.

I have head of a few cases where the first production Viper BoreSnakes had a problem with the attachment of the leader to the body of the snake. That was something over a year ago.

I find that, like most things on the Internet, complaints about the BoreSnakes are from folks who have never actually tried them.

 

[Gopher Slayer]

True about the bristles. But the only thing that's ever stuck at all on mine has been toward the very end of the thick/loop end. There's /always/ an end sticking out, and I think would be if it broke. Worst I've ever had to do is use a small screwdriver to straighten out the end (usually it's kinked a bit or something) then pull it through.

Thanks for the info.

I asked because I've read about people using a rod and a hammer to get their BS out of the barrel. That isn't something I could do to one of my firearms.

I haven't used a BS on a rimfire, but I like them for my big bore rifles and pistols. I grew up using a rod and patches, and now I use an Otis kit. I'm a big fan of the Otis kits.