What’s your opinion on Otis Ripcord?

[Small_Arms_Collector]

What’s your opinion on Otis Ripcord bore cleaners? Do they actually work as advertised?

Wouldn’t fouling get embedded on/in the ripcord over time reducing it’s effectiveness and potentially becoming abrasive to the bore?

Would a one piece nylon/coated cleaning rod and traditional solvents work better?

 

[MO Fugga]

Just be mindful that you're not dragging the brush aggressively over the crown. Some dumbass rounded his over in spots.

 

[ToddM]

I would never use one for regular cleaning, you want a quality rod, with a bore guide, jag, etc. etc. I suppose it could be okay for a field cleaner but ask yourself, are you spending so much time remotely in the field and firing so many rounds in the field that you even need a deep cleaning? The only people I could maybe see needing that are maybe pdog shooters and most of those guys drag an entire shooting bench with them, might as well drag a real cleaning kit too Often they say you can clean bore snakes, but you are still going to get embedded carbon etc. in them that won't wash out, and that stuff is crazy hard, you do not want it embedded in something that's being pressed tight against your barrel and pulled through a lot.

I could see a pull through compact cleaner being useful in the field if you are out for days at a time and might get wet, being able to pull some dry patches through and re-oil the barrel interior would be handy, but those are not of the same design, they are really just a cable that pulls a brush or patch, not a cloth bore snake.

Now bore snakes can be useful. I'll take a cheap undersize boresnake, take the brushes out, and I use it at the range after shooting to just get some hoppes #9 in the barrel to start the cleaning process, but that's it. Something like the .22 cal hoppe's version will work for 22-.308s if you just want to get some cleaner in the barrel.

 

[Baron23]

Just be mindful that you're not dragging the brush aggressively over the crown. Some dumbass rounded his over in spots.

With a nylon brush? Hard to see how that could happen.

 

[MO Fugga]

With a nylon brush? Hard to see how that could happen.

Bore snake. Copper or bronze brushes.

 

[ToddM]

The real problem isn't the brushes, it's the carbon in the barrel. If that gets built up in the cloth of the bore snake, it's basically like pulling emory cloth down the barrel, do that at a sharp angle with pressure (some bore snakes are really tight) over the crown and it would not shock me to see wear over time. Hell we've seen grooves in the bottom of barrels from cleaning rods going out the muzzle enough times. So if you do use a bore snake you want to keep it clean, or replace it often, and try to pull strait out of the muzzle.

It's really the same with brushes, it's not the nylon or brass bristles that scratch the bore it's the bristles grinding loosened carbon into and down the barrel. It's why you should never use an abrasive cleaner with a brush (well everyone can do whatever they want but I'll never do it) If you do use a brush clean it every time you use it and replace it often. People think nylon brushes are safer but they are actually more likely to get carbon embedded into the ends of the bristles than copper brushes, nylon has the "advantage" of being more flexible with less bristle pressure than brass.