Bore Snake

[Sinister_1]

I use one and love it.

[six10]

Bore snakes are great, especially for quick/easy .22 clean-up at the range.

[bob7122]

they're great usually all you will need unless theirs serious fouling and/or corrosive.
for serious fouling i mean copper or using whole lead bullet fouling.

[Mezcalfud]

all I use anymore, comined with foam cleaner and clp

[otteray]

And, they are washable!
I soak all of mine in hot, soapy water and then hang dry or tumble in a sock.

Wrapping a patch of lead removal cloth around the bronze brush portion of the snake really works when cleaning a lightly leaded barrel, too.

[bucktooth7]

What is CLP?

[LloydXmas250]

What is CLP?

Clean, lubricate, proctect. It's a 3 in 1.

[G-forceJunkie]

Clean, Lubricate, Protectant. Breakfree is a popular brand. As for bore snakes, I like it for my .22's, quick and easy to clean if the chamber is getting gummy.

[JanG]

i usually spray gun scrubber down the barrel then a few passes with the bore snake. seems to work anyway. rem oil wipes for the rest of the firearm.

[HPGunner]

What about the rest of the gun? I love shooting my guns but sometimes cleaning it after a range session is such a chore. I always field strip and clean and lube my guns after every range session.

Maybe a few passes with a bore snake and a CLP or Rem Oil wipe down is all that's needed after the range? And a field strip clean and lube once every other session or once a month is adequate enough? Maybe I've been over cleaning my guns and can cut back a bit and a bore snake can save me a boat load of time.

[ExtremeX]

Depending on round count AND the gun… every range trip.... I’d say that’s over cleaning. (I typically shoot 40-100 rounds per trip)

I go more by round count... Sometimes I let them get dirty just to see how they do if i neglect the cleaning process.

I have a target AR setup so I like to keep the bore clean, I run a bore snake + CLP after each range trip, but I don’t clean the rest of the rifle until 300-500 rounds.

My regular AR gets used and put away for multiple range trips before it gets any attention. Same with my XD pistol.

I hear over cleaning can also be bad, and expensive in cleaning supplies. Bore Snake really helped me cut down on the maintenance time and effort.

[k1dude]

What about the rest of the gun? I love shooting my guns but sometimes cleaning it after a range session is such a chore. I always field strip and clean and lube my guns after every range session.

Maybe a few passes with a bore snake and a CLP or Rem Oil wipe down is all that's needed after the range? And a field strip clean and lube once every other session or once a month is adequate enough? Maybe I've been over cleaning my guns and can cut back a bit and a bore snake can save me a boat load of time.

Yes I would say you are overcleaning. You're probably causing more wear and tear than actual shooting does.

We aren't in the military and aren't in sandy desert or muddy jungle combat zones where constant cleaning is the difference between life and death.

I know of a guy with an XD45 with 165,000 rounds down the pipe that has NEVER cleaned his weapon. EVER. It still runs flawlessly with the ORIGINAL barrel. He has never even wiped it down. I took a close look at it broken down and could not believe how well it has endured. Other than a thin carbon coating on surfaces, it looked great. There was no corrosion to be found and he has shot it dozens of times in the rain. I would never do that to my personal weapons, but it illustrates how tough and reliable modern weapons are even while mistreating them badly. I'm sure you've seen the videos of horrific Glock abuse and they keep on shooting no matter what - with no cleaning.

Unless you're a long range competitive shooter or in the military, I'd say a boresnake and wipe down is good enough for about 90% of us.

[johnthomas]

I just looked at Cabelas, they have a new one, new to me anyway.
It is the hoppe's Viper bore snake, has three cleaning brushes instead of one.

[LHC30]

OK, so it seems a little CLP (or equivalent) on the snake is the way to go...Why didn't Hoppes include that in thier instructions????

I cant see cleaning a barrel and NOT leaving some sort of lube to keep it from rusting...

[Mr. Meeseeks]

I use them at the range every couple hundred rounds while the barrel's still hot and at the end of a session. I just run them through dry. However, I do a real cleaning when I get home, I don't over clean any of my barrels though.

From what I've read and overheard, most people who run them wet seem to put solvent on the front and lube at the end.