Cleaning ?

[Wolf-killer]

A Buddy of mine uses a bore snake to clean his rifle, I told him they are not good to use and he asked why. I said I don't know I was always told not to use one and to use a coated rod with jag and patches/nylon brushes.
So my question is what should I tell him the reason is? He has been cleaning his rifles for years with a bore snake

 

[snowcamoman]

I'd think the main reason to use the rod with patches is because you can actually see what is coming out of the barrel. With a bore snake, you just pull it through and assume it's getting it clean, but you don't honestly know, because there's no pure white patch to view.

 

[rayporter]

google 'stuck boresnake'
or something similar.
there is no way a pass or two of a snake will clean your barrel. proper solvents and use of a brush and patches will get the job done. if you really want to prove it to him you could clean it once and show him how much copper he has missed.

use a rod when ever possible. there is some cleaning instructions on one of the barrel makers sites. oh, don't be afraid of a stainless one piece rod. they work quiet well, too. grit will not embed in them. all rods should be wiped down with a rag when used.

I do carry a piece of weedeater line to push a patch through in an emergency in the field.

 

[N2TRKYS]

I use a bore snake to get the powder residue and maybe some water, if it gets wet, out of the barrel. I can look down the barrel and see that it's removing what it's designed to remove. I've never talked to anyone that thought that it's for deep cleaning. I've never had any issues with them.

 

[Ashy Larry]

I think they are nice for rimfire stuff just bc of the dirty ammo.

 

[Molon Labe]

I don't like deep cleaning on my rifles until groups start opening up.
Personally I feel that a bit of copper fouling helps accuracy in many rifles and leading is great for .22s.

I just run a couple patches down my barrel at the end of a session and put it away.
Basically the same thing a bore snake is accomplishing.

 

[Brodie]

It’s like wiping your butt with the same piece of TP.
More concerning is the risk of breaking one though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Shraggs]

Last year breaking a new BLR 358 win. Shoot clean repeat the way I was taught - w rod and patch.

Struggling with accuracy, took a break and watched a hero (retired sniper) shooting unbelievably. As he asked about my cool nostalgic gun... Told hm about my accuracy problems. He said why are you cleaning the gun??? I said cause my father said so.

He said, his duty 308 never saw a cleaning, at 2500 rounds they replaced the barrel. The foiling he said is important for accuracy. Unless your groups open up, leave it dirty.

I have no idea if this is true, but my gun smith said same thing. I have cleaned that gun and darn thing prints 1/4".

 

[Shraggs]

Oops I have NOT cleaned the gun...

 

[Backpack Hunter]

....hmmm, can't say I have ever had a problem with bore snakes. Can't say I shoot thousands of rounds through anything but my 22's, but they still shoot just as well as anything else.

Forgot I have a couple 5.56/223's that see a couple thousand rounds a year. They still shoot well.

 

[Laelkhunter]

It’s like wiping your butt with the same piece of TP.
More concerning is the risk of breaking one though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Agree with Brodie. Each time you pull it through the barrel, you are re-introducing the crap you pulled out on the previous "pull through". I carry one in my hunting pack just to sweep the bore if necessary (I tape the muzzle to prevent anything getting in there).
If you wash and dry the boresnake after using it, it might be a little better, but I prefer the rod, patch, brush and bore tech eliminator to get it clean.

 

[KurtR]

Last year breaking a new BLR 358 win. Shoot clean repeat the way I was taught - w rod and patch.

Struggling with accuracy, took a break and watched a hero (retired sniper) shooting unbelievably. As he asked about my cool nostalgic gun... Told hm about my accuracy problems. He said why are you cleaning the gun??? I said cause my father said so.

He said, his duty 308 never saw a cleaning, at 2500 rounds they replaced the barrel. The foiling he said is important for accuracy. Unless your groups open up, leave it dirty.

I have no idea if this is true, but my gun smith said same thing. I have cleaned that gun and darn thing prints 1/4".

Its a fact. More people ruin bbls and throats with over cleaning than just shooting them. If its not wet or groups open up leave the gun alone

 

[rayporter]

the saying that cleaning ruins barrels does not hold water. guns that are shooting small groups in competition are cleaned every 10 shots and the barrel is not hurt. Krieger says you can damage by cleaning and I am sure it is possible and does happen but you would have to be real poor with you cleaning techniques.

I have two guns I bought because they did not shoot well. all I did was clean them [ real good] for a week to bring them back to life.

from Krieger barrels

CLEANING:

This section on cleaning is not intended to be a detailed instruction, but rather to point out a few do's and don'ts. Instructions furnished with bore cleaners, equipment, etc. should be followed unless they would conflict with these do's and don'ts.

You should use a good quality one piece coated cleaning rod with a freely rotating handle and a rod guide that fits both your receiver raceway and the rod snugly. How straight and how snug? The object is to make sure the rod cannot touch the bore. With M14/M1 Garand barrels a good rod and muzzle guide set-up is especially important as all the cleaning must be done from the muzzle. Even slight damage to the barrel crown is extremely detrimental to accuracy.

There are two basic types of bore cleaners, chemical and abrasive. The chemical cleaners are usually a blend of various ingredients including oils, solvents, and ammonia (in copper solvents). The abrasive cleaners generally contain no chemical solvents and are an oil, wax, or grease base with an extremely fine abrasive such as chalk, clay, or gypsum.

We recommend the use of good quality, name brand chemical cleaners on a proper fitting patch/jag combination for your particular bore size and good quality properly sized nylon or bronze brushes.

 

[EastMT]

I use a bore snake on everything, benchrest, hunting rifles, I don't clean them till they squeak, I figure there's a reason after you spit polish you need to shoot a couple fouling rounds. A little oil before the wires, a little after. My .223 benchrest 1.25" straight bull has never seen a rod since I've owned it, 2005ish. One hole groups at 100 all day, over 5000 rounds and counting. I do hand wash my bore snake occasionally with soap, dry, then oil them again. May not be by the book, but it works for me.

 

[V65Magna]

I must admit I use bore snakes at the range, but everything gets a thorough cleaning when I get home, regardless. When I'm at the range and I've put 12 or so rounds down the tube, I'll pull the bolt, look down the barrel and see a bunch of powder residue. This is particularly evident in my Savage FCP-SR, where I tend to use alot of IMR 4895. Anyway, in my mind (twisted as it may be) I figure that powder residue might degrade accuracy during my range session, so I run a bore snake through it, let the barrel cool and move on to the next string of shots. Don't know if its right or wrong, it's just what I do.

The debates over cleaning technique, what to use and what not to use, rage on like the old 30-06 vs. 270 debates in a west/central PA deer camp.

I agree with the concern that the damn things might snap when you've got one 1/2 way through the bore. The boresnake I had for my .25-06 was so tight, I decided to throw it away the last time I used it (thankfully it did not break).

 

[Shraggs]

Wolf, didn't mean to derail thread!

Two valid options from knowledgeable people on what to use and wether to or not!

So, my 358, 308, 6mm shoot better dirty. My rifled slug gun, MZ w/209 powder seem to like it clean, no more than 6 shots before groups open up. My other three rifles have not evaluated yet.

Is is safe to say that the gun may dictate to clean or not?

I still like a quality rod, if for no other reason I can control how tight or loose a patch I use...