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Cleaning barrels with bore snake

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adam1122

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Minuteman
Aug 10, 2010
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Alright, so I finally bought bore snakes for every pistol and rifle I have. All of them are made by Hoppes (which I assume comes from China).

Any suggestions on the best way to use these? Should I put a small amount of solvent on the front part of the cord to clean the barrel and a small amount of oil on the back of the cord so i can both clean and then oil in a single pull? Or, should I just stick to running it through dry and then breaking out the usual cleaning rods and start cleaning the barrel out?

Im trying to figure out the fastest and easiest way to clean out a barrel...not that it takes that long the old fashion way. Ive never used the bore snake which I am sure is great for a quick field clean but I want to clean the barrel until it doesn't have a speck of copper or carbon in there.

Normally I use these steps
1. Scrap barrel with bore brush
2. Fill barrel with foaming copper cleaner and then wipe with rod/patch until dry and clean
3. Wipe barrel with hoppes #9 and then run dry pathces until dry
4. Lightly oil barrel with rod and patch with FP-10

Any suggestions are welcome. And yes, I have heard regular 10W-30 works just as well as any oil out there.

Thanks bros!
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SteelShot11</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks bros! </div></div>

Are you sure?

My suggestion is to chuck 'em all in the trash can.......
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I like em. They don't beat up your rifling yet they clean out the crud and carbon without stripping your barrel back down. Allows you a field expediant way to do a quick run through/clean but Keeps accuracy.

The OP's method of cleaning is fine for when accuracy drops off. But, not for everyday .... or every range trip.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

The Otis system is what I use. Has the brass cleaning brushes and patches. No way is it going to break off in the bore.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: spr1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They break off in the bore. I had to un-f..... a friends AR after he broke one off. They are bad news. </div></div>

I can see this being an issue, especially in a 5.56mm. Mine is really tight and the quality isn't that great for the $14 it costs.

The only reason I use them anymore is to clean the oil/dust out right before I shoot them. I oil my bores to prevent corrosion for storage, then run it through once to clean them out. Would work in the field too.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: spr1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">They break off in the bore. I had to un-f..... a friends AR after he broke one off. They are bad news. </div></div>

Very inaccurate statement. "People break them off in the bore" would be better. That was your friend's fault, not the tool's. You make it sound like an eventual, unstoppable occurrence when all you need to do is look the damn thing over before you stuff it down your barrel. It's not freakin' rocket science.

As for the boresnake, I like them. It's a good quick clean before and after shooting that doesn't strip the bore so much that you have to foul it again before your accuracy comes back.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I don't get too anal about firearm stuff...but my dies, my chambers, and my rifle bores are sacred ground. A bore snake works great the very first time, but from there on it's the perfect delivery vehicle for running everything thats stuck on it, and in it, through the bore <span style="font-style: italic">again</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic">again</span>, and <span style="font-style: italic">again</span>. Even it you "wash" them, you can't guarantee it's "new" clean again. And, I highly doubt every bubba with a boresnake is all that religious about tossing it in the washing machine after each use.

It's like running 160 dirty patches through your bore everytime you want "clean".........
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SteelShot11</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Alright, so I finally bought bore snakes for every pistol and rifle I have. All of them are made by Hoppes (which I assume comes from China).

Any suggestions on the best way to use these? Should I put a small amount of solvent on the front part of the cord to clean the barrel and a small amount of oil on the back of the cord so i can both clean and then oil in a single pull? Or, should I just stick to running it through dry and then breaking out the usual cleaning rods and start cleaning the barrel out?

Im trying to figure out the fastest and easiest way to clean out a barrel...not that it takes that long the old fashion way. Ive never used the bore snake which I am sure is great for a quick field clean but I want to clean the barrel until it doesn't have a speck of copper or carbon in there.

Normally I use these steps
1. Scrap barrel with bore brush
2. Fill barrel with foaming copper cleaner and then wipe with rod/patch until dry and clean
3. Wipe barrel with hoppes #9 and then run dry pathces until dry
4. Lightly oil barrel with rod and patch with FP-10

Any suggestions are welcome. And yes, I have heard regular 10W-30 works just as well as any oil out there.

Thanks bros! </div></div>I like using my snake for field cleaning, but as soon as I get home I give the rifel a real cleanig. I fined it never cleans the chamber well enough for my liking. I personally think you have the right idea, but you know how goes. Just make sure you wash the snake regularly!
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

Sounds like there are alot more negative experiences that positive. Someone mentioned one breaking off in their barrel? How the f*ck do you do that? This thing doesn't look like it's made out of a shoestring - that must have sucked.

Anyways, sounds like they are only good for a field cleaning after accuracy starts to degrade when the barrel is full of carbon. I shoot strictly suppressed so it doesn't take to long to get the barrel pretty dirty.

Guess I will suck it up and stick with the rod and brush method. It's time consuming yes but I'm not going to screw up my barrel bc Im too lazy to clean it properly.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

Over cleaning does just as much harm and decreases accuracy at least as much ..... if not more than a bore snake could. Clean your snake with brake cleaner when it's dirty and throw it in the wash.


A bore snake is a nylon string and a piece of nylon rope. I don't see how it could possibly hurt chrome or stainless steel.


 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I find bore snakes to be quite handy for shotguns. Other than that, I don't use them a lot.

I put some powder solvent on the lead end and some light oil on the tail.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

Love em in country or the field but back in the rear or at the house I don't ever really use it, solvents and what not are better, if you have time to use them.... hence why it's useful in country or the field
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I use them for all rifles, the .22 caliber one comes in handy for .22LR, .22 WM, .223, 22-250, etc with one tool. I keep a couple in my car to clean out carbon and leave fouling.

These rifles aren't stored long enough to worry about rust in the bore...
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

My god, people are fanatical about rifle bores!

I find the boresnake to be a perfectly convenient and decent way to knock the loose powder residue and bits of "trash" out of the bore after shooting, and knocking out any dust/lint/fur in there from storage.

Does it make a bore squeaky clean? Heavens no.

Is it "infected" after a single pass through the bore? I think thats a bit dramatic. Even after 100 uses without cleaning, mine seems to remove the powder residue after firing just fine.

Do they break? Yes, if you hit the bolt release on your AR abd let the BCG slam home on the snake. Otherwise, no. I haven't broken one yet.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I had one break off in the bore of my AR and it was a bitch to get out. Right before I used it for the first time, I noticed a little notch in the cord. Sure enough it broke off right where I noticed that notch. It was a manufacturers defect. Once I got it out, I took it back and got a replacement.

The new one has been fine for the last 6 months or so, but I am always nervous that next time will be the time it breaks again.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I have and use bore snakes in my guns but only in the field. When I get home the guns get a thorough cleaning with brushes and solvents before they go back in the safe. The bore snakes do an okay job in a pinch but I would not trust them to clean out your bore entirely.

After buying my first snake for my SIG 556, I ran a test to see how well the snake would clean the bore, I ran the snake five times through it after a long range session then ran some patches through using my Otis kit and Hoppes #9....amazing all the carbon that came out of that barrel. Then I ran some CR-10 through and cleaned out even more gunk. The advertising says that one pass of the snake is enough to leave your bore clean....I beg to differ.
 
Re: Cleaning barrels with bore snake

I too have used the snakes and simply cannot back them unless my goal was to remove some debris collected in a hurry in the field before a shot. i.e. while hunting and the barrel of the rifle digs into the dirt and you clear most but some grit remains. Their performance for anything else is pretty bad and once they get gritty I would be careful about what sort of damage they could do if not cleaned properly.
 
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