Do they really work that well? I am used to old-school brush and patch cleaning, but the bore snakes sure look slick. Do they really do a good job?
Also, do they need replacement often, or are they fairly long-lived?
I haven’t used a rod for years!
What I like about the snake is that it can be pulled in the direction of the bullet travel, unlike the rods that are generally pushed back an forth.
Now I’m not shooting every week anymore, but my oldest and most used snake it 4 years old and still going strong. They can be washed out with solvent and water, but I haven’t had the need to do this.
Well worth the cost in ease of use to convert over. 
Thanks! I guess I will invest
If you look back at some older rifle cleaning posts, you will find varying opinion about bore snakes… Some people dislike them for a number of reasons… Sorry, I don’t have the link…
I use them on everything now. I like them alot. I’m sure they have their limitations but I doubt I will ever see them since I dont shoot that much.
The only thing I take notice on is how close the brushes are to the top of the stroke. I make sure to prelube the barrel and the material just ahead of the copper bristles.
The minus I remember reading about the bore snakes, was the build up of grime, that you repeatedly pull through your barrel… I use one, in my 12 gauge, I love it for that, but being an ex-army dude, I have no problem running patches on a rod through my rifles (brings back fond memories) 
I NEVER use a wire bristled tip… I just use more breakfree… let her soak
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The minus I remember reading about the bore snakes, was the build up of grime, that you repeatedly pull through your barrel… I use one, in my 12 gauge, I love it for that, but being an ex-army dude, I have no problem running patches on a rod through my rifles (brings back fond memories)
X2 – I’m not a fan of pulling dirt back through a barrel. Ok for a quick field clean to remove debris, but not what i would use for “clean”
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The minus I remember reading about the bore snakes, was the build up of grime, that you repeatedly pull through your barrel… I use one, in my 12 gauge, I love it for that, but being an ex-army dude, I have no problem running patches on a rod through my rifles (brings back fond memories)
X2 – I’m not a fan of pulling dirt back through a barrel. Ok for a quick field clean to remove debris, but not what i would use for “clean”
Ditto on this last part. Best thing for my .357 if that is what you using it for is get a good rod kit and some q-tips. Works great for me.
I don’t think they’re really intended as a cure-all cleaning tool so judging them on that level seems a bit unfair. I own one for every caliber in my safe and I won’t ever be without them again! They’re amazing in how much they remove in one sweep! As for running dirt back through your barrell, look at how much comes out the end and off the snake from your pass. They don’t hang on to much at all.
The way the snake saves me a bundle of time is after you lube up your barrell with your solvent, run her through and THEN follow with a patch or two. What I 99% find is a pure white patch that seems to provide no purpose so I put a little oil on her and grease up the barrel for storage. Done.
I’ve washed my snakes “just because” and I can’t see that it’s a major chore but I did see some crud in the wash water so it wasn’t a wasted effort. However, it didn’t seem like much in the water to me so I don’t think they hold on to a lot of the fouling. I keep a catch towel on the floor/table for catching the fouling as it sprays out the end of the barrell.
I have enough guns that the chore of running patch after patch after patch after patch and STILL seeing something in that barrell drives me NUTS! I save tons of time and have better looking barrells thanks to bore snakes. Like I said, living the difference, I’ll never own a caliber without having a snake to go with it.
Just a quick update here:
In early May, I got to talkin’ guns with my dad and he mentioned to me that he hadn’t cleaned any of his guns since their use last fall. So, next time I was out that way (probably only a week or so, I see him quite frequently), I showed up with my cleaning goodies and all my bore snakes. We had to put additional scrubbing to a couple calibers but all the others came out slick as a whistle. Solvent, pass, oil, and pass….ready for chamber/action. There wasn’t much to do here either so oil them up and put ’em away. We had his entire inventory done in under 3 hours. 11 arms in under 3 hours…..
If the snake doesn’t clean out all the gunk, it reveals the trouble spots so clearly that there’s no overlooking them. If there’s nothing super tough left behind, I love that feeling of seeing a barrel that looks like it’s brand new again.
Dad was sold on ’em. So fast, so easy. They really do cut down on your overall cleaning time.
And about the brushes….. to each his own but brass or copper strands vs. hardened steel??? I really wouldn’t get too wound up about this. Think about the metal being thrust down the barrel everytime you shoot. The energy and damage possibilities are much, much higher from simply shooting than sending soft metal bristles down the riflings. But…. to each his own….
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