[Berettateamgreen]

Any negatives to using bore-snakes the majority of the times you clean?

Any better solutions?

 

[LowBrass366]

Favorite bore cleaner / cleaning rod with brass brush / cordless drill … clean entire length of barrels … push a plug of paper towels through both barrels.. finish up with a lightly oiled paper towel plug…. Done

 

[LowBrass366]

Never seen a bore snake that did a job as I mentioned above… I won one at a shoot one time and keep it in my shooting bag… Ive hosed down the barrels with CLP after getting caught in a storm and used it as a squeegee before putting the gun in the case…. Which I took home and did a proper cleaning job. They have their purpose but not for legit OCD cleaning

 

[460Ford]

An oily bore snake is all I use in the barrels

 

[Rich-seattle]

I recently tried the brass brush and drill approach - I have to admit I see the appeal. But I've been pretty consistently using just a bore snake the vast majority of cleanings (after spraying some oil in the barrels first). The big advantage personally is being leave for home after shooting with the gun looking pretty cleaned out in just a few minutes. From my limited experience with different brands the specific boresnake seems to make a difference. I've settled on this one from Sage & Braker. It's spendier than many others by maybe $12 - but I like that the cloth and brass brush are separable and I use it for a pretty long time so the cost difference feels negligible. My only quibble is I feel an earlier version's cloth version was a tighter fit than the current one - so I seem to run it through an extra time or two.

 

[tadawson]

Rifle, shotgun, pistol . . . every time I am on the range, they get a couple of passes with a boresnake before I leave.Full cleanings are home on the bench, but it's amazing to see what the boresnake knocks loose all by itself.

 

[boomer]

I find the bore snake to be particularly useful when cleaning 410 bore shotguns!

 

[bill1064]

I suggest you replace often. I had a bore snake pullstring break in the barrel and played hell getting it out afterwards - broke multiple cleaning rods. As a result I’ve gone to the Outers sheepskin tube and find it just effective for quick work at range or after shooting. Neither replaces a good cleaning with rod and brush and patches.

 

[Larry Telfer]

You might want to give Outers Tico Tool a try. It is a bore cleaner and oiler per the label.
Run it through the bore and wipe down the outside.
Only of a major cleaning of the plastic one or two times per year.

 

[bill1064]

Larry - this is what I referred too in above post.

 

[nosticks]

I use a snake with a spray of Remoil. As to getting one stuck, I use a line of parachute cord attached to the back of the snake. If the draw string breaks, you can pull it back out.

 

[460Ford]

X2 on the paracord

 

[quackquackboom]

They have their place for a quick, light cleaning and oiling. Especially in field guns, where dust and moisture are bigger concerns than plastic residue (or copper deposits in rifles.)

 

[Ken C.]

IMHO a boresnake is just a stopgap until you get home and do a proper cleaning. I feel there are too few bristles. Once the boresnake is dirty, you’re just moving the crud from place to place. Using clean patches, until they come out clean, is when you know you’re done.

 

[spitter]

I've been using a Tico Tool as the first cleaning operation at the end of the day... usually 4-5 quick thrusts gets most of the jazz out out of a break action gun... then 2 passes from the Boresnake and a shot of Rem Oil into the chamber followed by its woolie snap cap...

If for some reason I see any remaining build up... it gets a shot of Gibbs (pink cleaner) and further cleaning, but that's rare... #1 & #2 typically get the job done...

 

[WadHopper]

After moving mine for the 3rd time while cleaning up my shop, I threw it away.
10ga bore brush
Hoppes
Drill
Done and done right.

One of the things I don't like about ATA is waiting between events. But this has allowed me to witness on multiple occasions where someone has damn-near or actaually dropped their barrel trying to fish a snake through it. Same with gun socks and sleeves. Parking lots are not the place to fumble around with your prized possessions.

 

[01TA]

I use bore snakes and happy with how they perform. But once in a while I’ll give the barrels a serious cleaning.

 

[NickThanos]

I think the above comment says it all. Once & a while i give the gun a "real" cleaning. Why not every time. How long does it take to keep your prized gun in good shape?

Bore snake will not get out the plastic build up. A brass brush with a good cleaner will.

 

[Old_Diabetic_100]

I've not come across a bore snake yet that cleaned a barrel thoroughly. Most just give a shiny illusion of getting a bore clean.

A friend of mine came to stay a few years ago while we both shot a trap competition. Afterwards I cleaned my gun's barrels the old fashioned way with solvent, paper kitchen towel with four permanently made up wooden rods fitted with12G, 10G and 8G Payne Galway brushes and a long spiral phosphor bronze brush. In about 10 minutes using plenty of elbow grease my barrels were spotless.

Meanwhile my friend made a couple of passes of his barrels with his bore snake, turned to me and said his method was better and quicker than mine.

His barrels certainly sparkled so I asked him if he'd let me push some kitchen towel through the bores. The first two bits of paper came out black. The next two were the same. It showed him his much revered bore snake wasn't worth a damn.

I suppose it comes down to "how clean" you want your barrels to be. I was always taught that if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. I've invested a lot of time, effort and money getting my guns to shoot well and I'm not about to do a half arsed job of looking after them. Just my 2c.

 

[Rich-seattle]

Meanwhile my friend made a couple of passes of his barrels with his bore snake, turned to me and said his method was better and quicker than mine.

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I suppose it comes down to "how clean" you want your barrels to be. I was always taught that if a job's worth doing, it's worth doing well. I've invested a lot of time, effort and money getting my guns to shoot well and I'm not about to do a half arsed job of looking after them. Just my 2c.

Since I said something boresnake positive .... I have to come back and agree with you, from a cleaning perspective it's not better. I've become more serious about combining the two - which gives me a balance of not skipping doing some cleaning but also remembering to go deeper.