Make your own bore snake

BadAsMo

BadAsMo

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Many years ago I purchased a Remington 700 that did not shoot very well, so I had some work done to it. I was referred to a company called North American Shooting Systems who did the rebarrelleing and fitting to the new McMillan stock.

Once I received the rifle it was clear that the work done was not to my satisfaction and I had cause to return the rifle for some warranty work. Well, after having spent a small fortune on the rifle and being provided detailed instruction on how to clean such a rifle, I was terrified to clean it with a cleaning rod for fear of damage to the barrel. I had to come up with a better way to clean it without a hard cleaning rod.

I thought and thought about how to use a cotton patch of some kind that was longer than the barrel. Eventually I landed on the perfect solution… Cotton butcher string. The idea was to plant 2 nails into a 2x4 about 3 feet apart and wrap the butcher string around the 2 nails until I had enough wraps to fit the barrel I was cleaning real snug.

Well it got all tangled up and became a big mess, so my solution was to braid the loops loosely so they would not tangle. With that problem solved I needed to get it started into the barrel, so for that I used nice heavy monofilament fishing line. Just a little longer than my barrel and tied to one end of the braided cotton.

I placed this into a zip lock bag and soaked it with my favorite barrel cleaner and pulled it into the barrel to soak. After a bit I would hold both ends and tug it back and forth a few times and let it sit again. After enough of that I just pulled it out and used a second clean one to swab it out and a third with oil on it for the final lube.

Anyway when I sent that rifle back for warranty I included my cotton bore snake. Well about 2 years after that I saw the bore snake introduced on a tv show called American Shooter.
Coincidence?? Maybe ~ maybe not, and while I’ve never made a dime from it, I’m fine with it, but I thought I would pass along my original cotton butcher string method to you guys for what it’s worth.

You can just make them yourself. Ten bucks for a bore snake or one dollar for a spool of cotton butcher string - you pick.

They are great for hunting camp.
 
No thanks, I will stick with a one piece cleaning rod, and a proper bore guide. No bore snake will ever be used in any of my rifles, as long as I own it.
 
stubblejumper said:
Do you know any competitive target shooters that clean their target rifles with bore snakes?
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My Nemesis get the Boresnake, my custom 6.5 Creedmoor to, this is a temporary cleanup at the range or in between sessions to take the oil out, it's not a miracle tool, it's a utility tool, but lets be clear, when i do a big clean up i go with nylon brush and fiberglass rod and once a month i put them in an old pillow case and wash them in the machine... JP.
 
Just a word to the wise, boresnakes strings can snap and your in a world of trouble. I have had this happen in a 17 hmr of mine. Id choose an Otis over the snake. A rod is good but not always practical in field use.
 
scott_r said:
Just a word to the wise, boresnakes strings can snap and your in a world of trouble. I have had this happen in a 17 hmr of mine. Id choose an Otis over the snake. A rod is good but not always practical in field use.
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I have to say that i like the Otis kit very much to, i have half a couple, and this is good stuff very usefull... JP.
 
stubblejumper said:
Do you know any competitive target shooters that clean their target rifles with bore snakes?
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I posted this here because it's a hunting forum. I do not think the cotton butcher string is better than a one piece coated cleaning rod and a bore guide but it is great for a quickie at hunt camp and I think is also more versatile than the store bought version. Heck most big game hunters only shoot about 10 rounds per year, so it's perfect for a quick clean and oil.

The cotton butcher string trick is also great for muzzle loaders and guys who shoot milsurp corrosive ammo. They are cheap and easy to make and you can throw it away when you're done.

It's also great for long term storage, just soak one with oil and leave it in there. You'll see it sticking out so you wont shoot it like that. You cant really do that with the store bought bore snakes. They aren't designed to work this way.
 
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My Nemesis get the Boresnake, my custom 6.5 Creedmoor to,
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So you consider yourself a competitive target shooter? What competitions do you participate in, and how have you placed? I don't know of a single competitive target shooter that would use a bore snake in a rifle, and I have never seen a reputable barrel maker suggest using a boresnake in their barrels.
 
scott_r said:
Just a word to the wise, boresnakes strings can snap and your in a world of trouble. I have had this happen in a 17 hmr of mine. Id choose an Otis over the snake. A rod is good but not always practical in field use.
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I'm not surprised it broke because you have such a small caliber.
 
stubblejumper said:
So you consider yourself a competitive target shooter? What competitions do you participate in, and how have you placed? I don't know of a single competitive target shooter that would use a bore snake in a rifle, and I have never seen a reputable barrel maker suggest using a boresnake in their barrels.
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I am far of being a target shooter, i am just a good shooter using target rifles, there is a big difference, i dont need to be the best out of a crowd, just need to be the best I can be for my own satisfaction... JP.
 
I am far of being a target shooter,
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Exactly my point, the serious target shooters demand the most from their barrels, and they are very careful to maintain them to ensure that the barrels accurate life is as long as it can be. These shooters do not use bore snakes, and the reputable barrel makers don't recommend bore snakes to be used on their barrels either. Those two factors are good enough reason, for me not to use bore snakes either.
 
stubblejumper said:
Exactly my point, the serious target shooters demand the most from their barrels, and they are very careful to maintain them to ensure that the barrels accurate life is as long as it can be. These shooters do not use bore snakes, and the reputable barrel makers don't recommend bore snakes to be used on their barrels either. Those two factors are good enough reason, for me not to use bore snakes either.
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I bet that those guys don't carry their rifles into the woods to hunt moose either.:rolleyes:
 
If my rifle stop being accurate, i will get another rifle, this is turning into stuff like the famous religious break in period, just shoot the dam thing.... In my book that is... JP.
 
I bet that those guys don't carry their rifles into the woods to hunt moose either.
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Actually some target shooters do hunt big game, and they tend to clean their hunting rifles using the same tooling, that they use to clean their target rifles.

Ya I thinky jumper stubble is stubble jumping on that one
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And Tyler may be attempting to come across as being witty, but he isn't being very successful in that respect.
 
Just as a point of curiosity Mr.Stubble Jumper what specifically is the issue with using bore snakes or a pull through on a barrel. You have made it very clear that these devices are not good for the barrel and accuracy may be affected. Barrels can be damaged by any method of cleaning whether it be rod, bore snake or other wise if done carelessly or improperly. So educate us here a bit, just how does the bore snake damage the barrel if used with care and common sense. Not trying to start an argument with you young fella, just trying to learn what specifically the damaging issue is concerning bore snakes.
 
Just as a point of curiosity Mr.Stubble Jumper what specifically is the issue with using bore snakes or a pull through on a barrel. You have made it very clear that these devices are not good for the barrel and accuracy may be affected. Barrels can be damaged by any method of cleaning whether it be rod, bore snake or other wise if done carelessly or improperly. So educate us here a bit, just how does the bore snake damage the barrel if used with care and common sense. Not trying to start an argument with you young fella, just trying to learn what specifically the damaging issue is concerning bore snakes.
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Being over 50, and having taken my first big game animal over 40 years ago, I haven't been called a young fella, in a long time. As for not using a bore snake, unless you wash it properly after every single pass, you are pulling the same crud through the barrel, over and over again, rather than using a clean patch with a cleaning rod for each pass. Without a chamber guide, some of the crud ends up getting deposited in the chamber as the fouled boresnake gets pulled through the chamber. Then there is the issue of not having anything to keep it from rubbing the crown, every time you pull it through. Lastly, it simply doesn't get the barrel as clean as proper sized brushes/patches do. My belief, is that if a barrel is worth cleaning, it's worth cleaning properly. When I hunt, I keep a strip of electrical tape over the muzzle to protect the crown, and keep debris out, so cleaning in the field, is generally not required. I do however, usually have emergency cleaning gear in camp, although it has never been required, even on backpack hunts in the mountains, or on jetboat hunts on the river.
 
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