Use of a Bore Snake Questionable? Why!

What is leftt in the barrels that is so abrasive? I can't think of anything that would scratch barrel steel...but that's why I'm asking :)

I have always gone with the good ole brush and patch job but always throw a sideways glance at bore snakes but have never bothered to grab one.
 
My issue with boresnakes is when shooting corrosive ammo. I use them all the time with non-corrosive, but I don't like the idea with corrosive ammo. Should there be any corrosive salts left after water/windex, I'm going to pick those salts up on the tail of my boresnake, and subsequently distribute them to all my other rifles. RUST (said slowly, with horror). I have a boresnake quarantine for my corrosive eaters. But thats just me, what do I know?
 
The only negative thing I have read is if you pull the snake through on an angle rather that straight up. This could affect the crown, or so they say by dragging the gritty string over the crown (If you did it many times this way).

I always make sure the snake is in the middle of the barrel and pull straight up.

They work well, but probably not as well as a proper cleaning with a rod and patches. It depends on how dirty the barrel is and how long you have gone between cleanings.
 
5440fight said:
My issue with boresnakes is when shooting corrosive ammo. I use them all the time with non-corrosive, but I don't like the idea with corrosive ammo. Should there be any corrosive salts left after water/windex, I'm going to pick those salts up on the tail of my boresnake, and subsequently distribute them to all my other rifles. RUST (said slowly, with horror). I have a boresnake quarantine for my corrosive eaters. But thats just me, what do I know?
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You do have a point there, but you would have to be an idiot to run a corrosive snake through a non-corrosive shooting gun.

But i'm really thinking, how can a piece of wrapped fiber ruin a crown of a barrel? There made to withstand great pressures and bullets passing through them, shouldn't they be made for a string to run out of them a little crooked?
 
Sly Old Fox said:
This question never worried the UK forces in using the cord pull through and 4 X 2's. I never saw a SMLE pull-through break.

Who has? And they had a loop at the end which was only used to snag onto if one did break.
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I have heard that if it did break, trying to push a boresnake through only compacts it and makes it tighter. The fact that it is braided and so long is the problem You would probably need to imprivise something to hook it out with.

4x2 on an enfield or FNC1 pullthrough is easy to push through with a rod if it breaks. For the record, I use the FN pullthrough and 4x2 a lot, especially on my CZ and M-14s since I don't like using a rod from the muzzle. I like boresnakes for drying the bore at the range just before firing, and for emergency field cleaning, but I prefer traditional methods for regular cleaning.
 
P0WERWAGON said:
how can nylon wear out barrel crown?
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It has to have grit embedded in it. More thoeretical then real. It is not difficult to pull it straight.

Having said that, avoiding "cord wear" is specifically mentioned in a lot of commonwealth manuals.
 
I don't really think pulling a boresnake out of alignment will wear out a crown, but to avoid crown wear, how about using the muzzle guide, which is actually the cover of the cleaning kit tube that comes stored in every SKS butt. Even if you have to enlarge the hole a little bit to avoid excessive wear on the boresnake.
 
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Been using one on my SKS (and all my other firearms really, speaking of which, I have to pick one up in 12ga) for years, never had any problem and yes, she exclusively eats corrosive ammo.

The only thing I do "differently" is that once I'm satisfied that my mk1 eyeball confirms that the bore is "clean" I run a single CLP soaked patch thru her, followed by a dry patch, then another CLP soaked patch. Back in the safe she goes after that.

I find that boresnakes tend to save massive amounts of time when compared to the conventional "solvent (or CLP) soaked patch, scrub, dry patch, repeat" method. The savings in patches alone will make the thing pay for itself after a half dozen range trips.
 
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