Boresnakes can damage barrels?

[Unknownassailant]

This guy was telling me that the brass / cooper?? bristles on my boresnake can make my barrel wear out prematurely in my pistol and rifles. I've never heard of this happening but it did cause me of some concern, because the bristles are pretty sharp, no sharper than a regular cleaning brush. I would imagine any damage could only happen if you went crazy with the darn thing and over do it. Anyone heard otherwise? Because I was gonna buy one to help clean / break in my PTR-91 and now I'm not so sure.

[Shane916]

I think bullets would wear out the barrel a lot quicker then a BoreSnake I have BoreSnakes for all my guns and if it's good enough for the Military, it's good enough for me!

[bu-bye]

copper brush moving at .5 FPS

VS

Copper bullet moving at 1000+ fps


copper bristles are fine to use and will not do any more damage 1000 times pulling through then 1 bullet being fired. Now steal bristles, thats a different story but Boresnakes are not made with steal.

Boresnakes are fine to use now and then but if you have a very accurate rifle I would use a true rod and bore guide.

[capitol]

Boresnakes are fine to use now and then but if you have a very accurate rifle I would use a true rod and bore guide.

Volquartsen says a brass brush and rod used in their barrel voids the warranty and those are some pretty accurate rifles.
My VQ 17 HMR came with a bore snake from the factory and I've never used anything else to clean the bore. It's shoots as good if not better then the day I purchased it.

[ocabj]

This guy was telling me that the brass / cooper?? bristles on my boresnake can make my barrel wear out prematurely in my pistol and rifles. I've never heard of this happening but it did cause me of some concern, because the bristles are pretty sharp, no sharper than a regular cleaning brush. I would imagine any damage could only happen if you went crazy with the darn thing and over do it. Anyone heard otherwise? Because I was gonna buy one to help clean / break in my PTR-91 and now I'm not so sure.

That's misinformation.

Brass bristled (bronze core) brushes will not wear out a bore. Brass is softer than barrel steel and you will not damage a bore through cleaning. What will damage a bore is improper use of a cleaning rod. Not using a bore guide can cause damage to the throat area. Cleaning from the muzzle without a muzzle guide can damage the crown.

There's no way you will damage a bore using a Boresnake if used as intended.

As far as .22 rimfire, most people don't use a brush. Volquartsen is a bit extreme in their stance of voiding warranties if a brush is used. But I would never use a brush to clean a .22 rimfire. If you need to clean a .22 rimfire bore, you can use a Boresnake with the brush removed, or a patch worm, with your favorite chemical solvent (I like Butch's or Montana X-Treme).

I'm not a fan of Boresnakes, myself. I bought a few in my early days of shooting, but I used them once or twice and they're in the garage in a box. I stick to cleaning rods (Dewey).

[ArmedWolf]

I stick to the rods too, even though they Piss me off everytime, always unthreading, tighten that part then some other piece comes loose...

[6172crew]

I stick to the rods too, even though they Piss me off everytime, always unthreading, tighten that part then some other piece comes loose...

Thats why the Dewey type rods are a must. They have bearings inthe handle.

[wolfsong]

Uh, they do make one piece, coated cleaning rods with ball bearing handles that swivel. Cost is a bit more than a sectional rod, but still cheaper than a new barrel. And as for the brass bristles on a boresnake - ain't that what the brushes in cleaning kits are made of?

[El Barto]

It may be the cord, not the brushes.

I can see where some might think the boresnake would cause damage to the bore. In reviewing the Swiss K31 manual, it demonstrates the proper way to clean using a cord. The manual states that you must use 2 people when cleaning to ensure that the the cord is centered when pulled through.

If you were to tie off the end of the cord to something like a door knob, your natural reaction is to pull the rifle back and down. Over time you will ovalize the muzzle. There is a photo on page 79 of the manual that shows the difference.

Personally, I am sure that this will happen but only several thousand pulls.

[magmaster]

I have been using Bore Snakes since they came out (maybe 6 years ago maybe more?) no problems yet and my guns all still shoot better than I can...

[ohsmily]

I can see where some might think the boresnake would cause damage to the bore. In reviewing the Swiss K31 manual, it demonstrates the proper way to clean using a cord. The manual states that you must use 2 people when cleaning to ensure that the the cord is centered when pulled through.

If you were to tie off the end of the cord to something like a door knob, your natural reaction is to pull the rifle back and down. Over time you will ovalize the muzzle. There is a photo on page 79 of the manual that shows the difference.

Personally, I am sure that this will happen but only several thousand pulls.

You are correct; this is the "fear" that some have of using a bore snake. People fear that the cord wearing irregularly against the crown will damage it and wear it unevenly. However, like you said, you would have to do many pulls. When I used a bore snake (only on rimfires and sometimes my ar-15s), I take care to try and pull it straight out of the bore and not rubbing against the crown.

[Kruzr]

If you're really worried about the brushes in the bore snake, you can take them out. You can separate the weave and pull them out. They are just bore brushes that have been cut and trimmed to a smaller diameter.