Cleanig the Bore Snake
- Thread starter flyboyy
- Start date
I think sink with anti grease dish soap and let it dry outside works pretty good. there are spots on mine that I don't think will ever come out though. I don't know about motor oil. I tend to only put things meant for guns in or on my guns.
If your barrels are chrome lined, I wouldn't waste any sweat trying to clean or lube them. If they are polished steel, there are much better methods to clean and lube the barrels. The accumulation of plastic wadding can affect barrel steels, and bore snakes do not address this.
However, I would pay particular attention to lubing or greasing critical action components like the locking lug, hinges, and the ejector bits. Its easy to wear our certain components on an over and under prematurely, and the fixes are expensive.
However, I would pay particular attention to lubing or greasing critical action components like the locking lug, hinges, and the ejector bits. Its easy to wear our certain components on an over and under prematurely, and the fixes are expensive.
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Falconflyer
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Motor oil is certainly not going to hurt steel and it will keep polished steel barrels from rusting, just don't let excess oil run into the stocks. I wouldn't spend much time worrying about chrome lined barrels and focus more on the action where the wear occurs.
- Location
- Steel Town
I have a little cotton bag I put mine in, and tie it with string. Hot water. Like new after each wash.
Interesting re. plastic wadding. So bore snakes don't clean out the plastic residue, even with the embedded wire brush? I gotta imagine this is more effective than patches...
What does the plastic do to the barrels over time? How do you clean it out?
Butcherbill
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Blaster land, Okanagan BC
Dirt snakes do clean out plastic wad fouling, I can say this as I will run one down my 12g’s once or twice a season. If you let it build up it’s hard to remove it but that’s no different than with a rod, brass brush and patches.
A couple of pulls in each barrel after you get home from shooting will take care of powder debris and carbon if you do it religiously. This will help but isn't enough by itself to deal with plastic wad fouling which easily builds up, especially in the choke area. My guns get the bore snake treatment after every outing, then I very lightly oil the bore with gun oil on a patch followed by a dry one. I run a dry patch through before going out to shoot next time. Automotive engine oil is not recommended for sporting goods including firearms, too many detegents and other modifiers. If you get a plastic wad buildup ( easily seen from the muzzle in a 'clean' barrel" ) it can be very difficult to remove. I put a bronze bore cleaning brush on my cleaning rod, chuck the rod in my electric drill and spin it rapidly while moving it lengthwise in the bore. Some people use a special choke tube cleaner or plastic solvent (destroys some stock finishes) but I find the mechanical polishing speeds up the process. My shotguns get this treatment every 300-2000 rounds, depending on the smoothness of the bore and the type of ammunition. Yes, you can clean a bore snake in your washing machine or dishwasher but it might not be wise unless you live alone. I wash mine by hand in the kitchen sink with dishwashing detergent maybe once every year or so when it's really dirty and just hang it up to dry.
In my heavy clay target shooting years I made cleaning rods from maple dowel for my .410 and 12 ga. I had brass brushes with 000# steel wool wound into the bristles for each. I also put the rods into the electric drill, dipped the brush end in Hoppes 9 and run the brush up and down the bore and chamber area until I was satisfied. I shot a pair of Win 101's, plus Classic Doubles. It doesn't harm the interior of the barrels one iota and keeps the plastic wad buildup well under control. Also use the same method on my M-12's and SX-1 and Ruger OU. Boresnakes can be washed in mesh bags in the washing machine or in the kitchen sink with Dawn dish soap. If dawn dish soap will clean crude oil off ducks it will clean up your bore snakes.
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