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I fought the bore snake and the snake won

11K views 54 replies 32 participants last post by  mr-ponce 
#1 ·
I felt the need to pick up a new 243 cal. bore snake to religiously clean out my 243 Wildcat's 26 inch long Shilen barrel. The packaging said 243, and the brass bob has 24 stamped into it. The brass brush looks to be correct, so no problem, right?

When I started pulling it through from the breech, it hung up inside the barrel. This isn't my first rodeo, so I pulled it back out, using the back end of the lanyard. Then I got a nylon bristle brush on a cleaning rod and slopped bore cleaner down the barrel a few times. This has always loosened things up in the past. I also dampened the front of the lanyard with bore cleaner for some extra lubrication.

So now I went at it again. But this time things happened in exactly the same way. Only since I was sure I had this dog by its tail, I really herked on the pull through, and I really got it stuck. The second time, pulling on the lanyard to remove it from the breech, strained my back muscles. I didn't notice this until I sat down in a low folding chair while the other shooters were out changing targets under the range's red light warning. When I got back up, my back went out, and I've suffered for the last week with it.

This bore snake is; first, going back to the hardware store, and secondly, going back to the manufacturer. Maybe someone there, can figure out, just, "Wat Went Wong". I feel that the problem must lie, "like a snake in the grass", with how the lanyard is sewn to the pull through cord. Because that's just about how far it went into my .243's riflings.

I've previously used a 45-70 bore snake in my 44 cal. wildcat rifle, so pulling an overly tight one through isn't some brand new experience for me. But this snake, definitely won the first battle.
 
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#3 ·
I've got them for about a half dozen calibers - even one for 12 ga. Don't use them, even for field cleaning except the .17 caliber. Those tiny bores will drive you nuts trying to use a standard cleaning rod and the bores foul so quickly that the 'snake' of very practical out at the range.
 
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#4 ·
carpooler,

As a serious military arms collector, I have many pull-throughs, but learned long ago NOT to ever use one IF I have a cleaning rod on establishment. I must agree with Triple Seven, I also prefer a cleaning rod. I did get a pull through jammed very tight many years ago in a .30 caliber rifle. A week later, I FINALLY got the pull through OUT of that bore and never used one again!

Webley
 
#5 ·
I have the green with white thread .22 cal bs and for some reason it would not fit through my .223 AR barrel so I emailed the company and without any questions or POP they asked my address and sent me a new one which worked as advertised. I was amazed how they handled it and I have told my story and their CS actions to the forums I attend when someone asks about their product. I highly suggest you contact them and let them know your issue and I am sure they will take care of you if the customer acts civil and respectful.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Have a bunch of bore snakes. I have been lucky and all have worked well for me. Nothing better for lever guns and semi autos for my guns. Of course YMMV:D
 
#15 ·
Most all the Bore Snakes I use have a "range" of calibers for which to use each individual "snake". The one I use in my .35s is the same one rated for the 9.3s and .375s. Works very well for all, far as I can see. Knock on wood, I've never had an issue with any of mine. I am very careful to ensure it enters the chamber straight and not twisted tho. I have even used, by mistake, one made for a caliber a good bit larger and not had an issue other then it being a bit tougher to pull through. I do wonder if the couple "horror stories" I've heard of might have been caused by someone who found it tough to pull through and decided to pull it out backwards :confused: I could see that being an issue, especially with one used a good bit before.
 
#16 · (Edited)
I received an e-mail from Bushnell, and my cloth lanyard is correctly color coded, for their 24 cal. bore snake. So I asked them for a return # to send mine back. I would like them to ascertain what happened to it when it was sewn up in the first place. They have already offered to send me a new one, but I'm nonplussed, at least until I know what is wrong with my first one.

I got a second e-mail which stated that they were sending me a replacement, and not to worry about sending my defective one back. I would have paid to ship mine back if they would diagnose what is wrong with it.
 
#18 ·
I use one in my pistol (45acp) only. The first time I pulled one down my 22LR bore, it got so stuck I couldn't budge it OR pull it back out from the other end. And I'm no small fellow. I ended up tying the pull rope to my truck hitch so there would be no budging of the anchor point, and slowly/steadily pulled out - without any drama. Pistols only for me from now on. I won't use one in a rifle again.
 
#20 ·
Bore Snake vs. Good Old Brush and Jag

I have used a Bore snake but have gone back to the nylon brush and jag.
the nylon brush so I don't score the barrel if I need to scrub an area like with the
"metal" brushes. with the multi cleaners, one for copper and one for carbon
and a lot of brushing I have gotten stellar results specially on my old Ruger
.300 win mag.
 
#23 ·
I have about 8 snakes and use them all the time. I may take a rod and mop with some hoppies first and then use the snake. If it is still tight I may wet the snake good with Hoppies which is 70% kerosene. One thing that helps is to keep the snake it in line with the bore - if it bends over it will take excessive effort to pull it through.
I wash it in K-1 after half dozen uses.
Another thing I do is wet a patch with Rem oil and then smear J-B paste on the wet patch. Wrap the patch around the front of the snake brush. This will be a tight fit but works really good on cleaning the bore. One pull per patch, then make up another patch. Usually does a bore in 2 or 3 passes. Good luck.
 
#24 ·
I have one for every caliber I shoot. I mainly use them for knocking the heavy fouling out before going to a rod and patches. But then I shoot a lot of black powder and it leaves a lot of charcoal in the bore.

I've only ever had one issue, and that was with a VZ 58 that hung up good for some reason. Only thing I could figure was the snake somehow got hung up on a bur in the gas port since it was a new carbine and hadn't had enough rounds through it to iron it out.

I do keep one handy along with a bottle of moose milk for my 1876 winchester in 45-75 for range trips. If I go more than one magazine the black powder fouling starts to affect accuracy and a wet bore snake keeps it on target. For hunting it's a non issue.
 
#25 ·
Similar experience with Otis pull-through cable system

<snip> When I started pulling it through from the breech, it hung up inside the barrel. This isn't my first rodeo, so I pulled it back out, using the back end of the lanyard.<snip>
I had a similar experience with the Otis pull-through cable system, which works (or doesn't) like the boresnake. If anyone has experience with Otis cables and could offer user tips, I would be thankful.

Otis patches fit on the jag in a unique and apparently fragile manner, easily torn by the jag, and a dry patch stuck and tore off in mid-bore. I pushed it out with a wooden dowel, which I did not have at the range, so my shooting day ended early.

Pull through cleaning seems great in theory, but a good 1-piece cleaning rod is a well proven tool, at least for rifles that can be cleaned from the breech.

Otis system description: Otis Technology

Good shooting!
 
#29 ·
Made in China

I read the fine print and of course this puppy is now made in China. Someone sewed up the chord to the lanyard wrong. It is the deep red with green horizontal piping, and it has the correct 24 stamped into the brass bob. Someone got in a hurry, and then never tested it on a 24 bore, before it was shipped.

I did change back to a Hoppe's cleaning rod and nylon brush, and I continued my work up loading program. Normally I'm using bore snakes at the range to keep things on an even keel. This 6mm x 26 inch long Shilen target barrel is about ready to be taken off, and set in the corner. I've worked up to where I'm running out of bullets, which will still hold together on Big Game animals.

I had actually first bought this take off barrel to use as a re-bored donor, in order to get a custom twist in a medium to large bore. Its way too heavy to be packing around in a stalking rifle. Then this 6mm wildcat project took on a life of its own. Throwing my back out, brought me back to reality, on how unwieldy one of these target barrels can be, just to keep the thing clean.
 
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