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Hi All, opinions on bore snakes (.308)
I was once told (by a gun smith) to never use a bore snake or brass brush jag when cleaning a match grade barrel as it can damage the barrel, but see yet see bore snakes being used frequently by other shooters.
Am I missing a trick?
Thanks in advance.

I use a bore snake on my rimfire rifles (and shotguns), sometimes on my .357 underlever and my straight pull, since I store all my rifles with a lightly oiled barrel between uses. I would not use one on my .308 or 6.5CM, for these before use I just use a jag with a clean patch to remove any oil. However, I do use a brass brush on all my rifles.

Can someone explain in layman’s terms how a brass brush can damage a steel barrel?

If you are interested in preserving your rifle's accuracy - NEVER use a bore snake. Unless you pull the bore-snake absolutely straight out of the muzzle - almost impossible - you'll eventually wear the crown - with obvious effect on accuracy.

But why even contemplate using a boresnake - what's easier than a cleaning rod and bore guide, Proshot brass jags and a correctly fitting patch?

You won't damage your barrel with a bronze brush with brass core (not steel core like the Parker Hale ones). In benchrest, we clean with a bronze brush after every match - that's six times in a day - would we do that if it damaged the barrel? Honestly, it's difficult to remove powder-fouling without using a bronze brush.

Also Geek, I see no point in oiling barrels between use - unless you store them in a damp atmosphere - it'll take a good bit of cleaning just to remove the oil!

The Gun Pimp wrote:
But why even contemplate using a boresnake - what's easier than a cleaning rod and bore guide, Proshot brass jags and a correctly fitting patch?

Not that easy with a 10/22.

That's true. Probably easier to take the barrel off.

The Otis rimfire kit is ideal for a 10/22 with match grade chamber.

The Gun Pimp wrote:If you are interested in preserving your rifle's accuracy - NEVER use a bore snake. Unless you pull the bore-snake absolutely straight out of the muzzle - almost impossible - you'll eventually wear the crown - with obvious effect on accuracy.

But why even contemplate using a boresnake - what's easier than a cleaning rod and bore guide, Proshot brass jags and a correctly fitting patch?

You won't damage your barrel with a bronze brush with brass core (not steel core like the Parker Hale ones). In benchrest, we clean with a bronze brush after every match - that's six times in a day - would we do that if it damaged the barrel? Honestly, it's difficult to remove powder-fouling without using a bronze brush.

Also Geek, I see no point in oiling barrels between use - unless you store them in a damp atmosphere - it'll take a good bit of cleaning just to remove the oil!

I don't see the bore snake as the devils tool some do, most of the hype around it seems to be left over from National Service days ! I have a couple of rifles one is 70 odd years old, the other 120! neither show signs of damage to the crowns from bore snakes/pull throughs, yet both would have cleaned with them for most if not all of their service life!

Each to his own but, if you have the choice, use a rod and bore-guide.

RDC wrote:

The Gun Pimp wrote:
But why even contemplate using a boresnake - what's easier than a cleaning rod and bore guide, Proshot brass jags and a correctly fitting patch?

Not that easy with a 10/22.

I don't bother cleaning my .22 rifles and I have shot hundreds and hundreds of rounds through them. I definitely don't oil my barrels. I have never owned a bore snake I have brass jags and bronze brushes. I don't clean my underlevers using cast boolits either and up now I'm doing OK in comps. I have over the years seen lots of damage to muzzle crowns using pull throughs and have lost a couple of rifles to it. I don't use boresnakes but then I don't know anything about them so I can not really comment . To me as far as I can see it's just a lazy person's way of trying to find a quick fix cleaning his rifles. A serious shooter would do the job properly if he thought it was necessary.