boresnake or one piece carbon rod for bolt action rifle??

[Jacketed]

Hi all,

I am in the market to buy the cleaning accessories for my 22lr rifle and was wondering which one is better for a bolt action 22lr Rifle ? A boresnake ? or a one piece rod e.g. Tipton one piece carbon rod?

A bore snake costs around $17.99 and the tipton is around $25 at midwayusa so that is not a huge difference but I was wondering which one is the best ?

Thanks in advance !

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[PX4WA]

Depends on how clean you want it. Boresnake mskes it clean... Rod with patches soaked in hoppes makes it shiny clean...

I have both and use snake for interval cleanings and the rod for more detailed cleaning.. With 22lr you will get really dirty... Gi with the rod.. Brass brush and brass jags

 

[Jacketed]

Depends on how clean you want it. Boresnake mskes it clean... Rod with patches soaked in hoppes makes it shiny clean...

I have both and use snake for interval cleanings and the rod for more detailed cleaning.. With 22lr you will get really dirty... Gi with the rod.. Brass brush and brass jags

Ah ok, I had the tipton carbon one piece rod and the brass tipton jag in mind. What rod do you use ?

Also I should be good with hoppes #9, rem oil and bolt grease to start with right ?

This will be my first long gun ever so I am new to the cleaning part..

 

[Trailboss]

If you decide to use the bore snake, make sure you wash it between uses. it builds up aluminum, iron, lead oxides that scratchand wear otherwise.

I always use steel or SS rod and clean patches with Hoppes. Now going on 45 years cleaning bores and haven't lost one yet

 

[Jacketed]

Also I keep seeing this "8 x 32 Thread" on the rod and brushes. I read the details and this configuration is for commercial bores and they have different threading for the military so which one to go for ?

e.g.

Tipton Deluxe 1-Piece Cleaning Rod 22 to 26 Caliber 36" Carbon Fiber 8 x 32 Thread
Product #: 342014
Status: Available
4.2 stars
(41) Reviews
$31.99 $25.99 Save $6.00

 

[PX4WA]

Not all jags will fit all rods.. Make sure the threads are the same...

I use a steel rod coated with plastic. Avoid steel jags... Use brass as it is softer than your barrel and wont scratch it... Same with the brush..

The carbon rod is pricey but safer.. A brass rod is best..

 

[Jacketed]

Not all jags will fit all rods.. Make sure the threads are the same...

I use a steel rod coated with plastic. Avoid steel jags... Use brass as it is softer than your barrel and wont scratch it... Same with the brush..

The carbon rod is pricey but safer.. A brass rod is best..

I am planning to buy the Tipton rod and the tipton jag only so that they fit. Same thing with the brushes.

 

[Unka-Boo]

East German Ak74 kits work great for .22 cal barrels, German "tobacco can" kits work great for .30 cal barrels...all the ease of a bore snake with none of the drawbacks. Gives you a bronze brush to scrub the nasties and a patch holder for the cleaning/oiling. Best part, under $10.

 

[Otter]

Boresnakes don't get a barrel very clean, even with multiple passes. I've followed a Boresnake cleaning with a rod/patch/brush cleaning and the snake leaves a lot behind.

On the other hand your typical factory 22LR doesn't need to be made squeeky clean. Cleaning with a rod should always be done with a bore guide because of the damage you can do to the lands/rifling with an un-supported rod. If you don't plan on investing in a decent bore guide designed for a rimfire rifle, I would stick with the Boresnake.

If you feel you need to get the barrel really clean, you are going to have to go with a rod setup.

 

[PX4WA]

Cleaning with a rod should always be done with a bore guide because of the damage you can do to the lands/rifling with an un-supported rod..

good advice but not always true... depends on the barrel and rod.. with a carbon rod and brass jugs, the barrel steel is much harder than either that the rod/jag will bend or break before it can damage the barrel...

that said I use a bore guide...

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Boresnake = field

Carbon rod = home cleaning

 

[Jacketed]

Boresnakes don't get a barrel very clean, even with multiple passes. I've followed a Boresnake cleaning with a rod/patch/brush cleaning and the snake leaves a lot behind.

On the other hand your typical factory 22LR doesn't need to be made squeeky clean. Cleaning with a rod should always be done with a bore guide because of the damage you can do to the lands/rifling with an un-supported rod. If you don't plan on investing in a decent bore guide designed for a rimfire rifle, I would stick with the Boresnake.

If you feel you need to get the barrel really clean, you are going to have to go with a rod setup.

I am also planning to buy a bore guide, better safe than sorry but I am not sure which bore guide will fit the 22lr bolt action xt-22R.

I tried emailing possum hollow and they also don't know about it, they asked me about the bolt diameter which I don't know. Is the bolt diameter same on all xt-22 models ?

 

[Blitzkrieg]

East German Ak74 kits work great for .22 cal barrels, German "tobacco can" kits work great for .30 cal barrels...all the ease of a bore snake with none of the drawbacks. Gives you a bronze brush to scrub the nasties and a patch holder for the cleaning/oiling. Best part, under $10.

Since you mention it the G3 surplus plastic case cleaning kits are excellent for either use in the field. They are $5 in good used condition

 

[Unka-Boo]

Since you mention it the G3 surplus plastic case cleaning kits are excellent for either use in the field. They are $5 in good used condition

Cleaning kit HK91 - G3 - G1 - MG3 - K98 - AK47 Cleaning Kits!

Both can be found here.

I bought a couple of each, for home and range bag....these and a GI M16 kit covers everything I own.

 

[Otter]

the barrel steel is much harder than either that the rod/jag will bend or break before it can damage the barrel....

Then why do you use a bore guide???

 

[Jacketed]

Then why do you use a bore guide???

I have read that people use it so that the solvent doesn't drip back in the receiver. apparently the solvent can seep into the trigger assembly and damage it.. but I am not sure I have read that. That's the reason some of the bore guides have a rubber seal at the end.

 

[Spitpatch]

I am going to save you a lot of work.

I shot my first .22 at the age of four. Fifty three years later, I still consider the caliber my very favorite, and have a weakness much like a cat-lady, in that I cannot resist taking any stray .22 home. If they pooped, my house would be condemned because I could not possibly clean up after all of them.

I shot smallbore competition from the age of eleven to eighteen. My high school team took Second Place in the NRA Regionals (nationwide). This is not to brag, but to set the stage for the best piece of advice you will ever hear about .22's. We invited an Olympic Gold-Medal winner to coach our team for a week. We asked about cleaning (because as young, energetic shooters, we simply KNEW that cleaning our rifles was VERY IMPORTANT.) Here is his reply (paraphrased from memory):

Modern .22 Long Rifle ammunition (and especially quality ammunition) is very scientifically formulated to be very corrosion-free and clean. The bore of a competition rifle that has been fed quality ammunition all its life, kept indoors and never exposed to moisture or the elements of the outdoors need NEVER be cleaned, and in fact, cleaning may damage it. Of course, clean the rest of your rifle, insuring that moving and bearing surfaces are absent of grime and lubricated properly for good operation.

For your field .22's (that may get rain or dirt in the bore from the outdoors regularly), I would recommend a thorough once-a-year cleaning of the bore with solvent and ONLY a nylon brush (NOT A BRONZE OR STAINLESS BRUSH), and only enough brushing to remove the worst of sediment. Then oil lightly, and a dry patch, and put away. For a field gun that is well-cared for, gets no rain in the barrel, muzzle not bounced against dirt or brush or trees, I would go with the target-rifle regimen: NO CLEANING OF THE BORE. Firearms manufacturers most normally use softer steel for .22's than high-powers, and a bronze or steel brush can do damage very quickly to such steel. Of course a rifle that has definitely seen water or dirt in the barrel should be thoroughly cleaned at the earliest opportunity.

Having listened to, and held this information for so many years since, my urge to clean persists, and so I clean all my .22 bores thoroughly (but gently) once a year, regardless of their exposure. Returning from a particularly arduous trip for the gun, I will run an oil patch thru, then a dry patch. This (along with using quality ammo) is a compromise of his advice that soothes my inner urges from my youth.

 

[Spitpatch]

good advice but not always true... depends on the barrel and rod.. with a carbon rod and brass jugs, the barrel steel is much harder than either that the rod/jag will bend or break before it can damage the barrel...

that said I use a bore guide...

I was in this camp until yesterday. Read the latest issue of Rifle magazine. Excellent article in there by Gil Sengel, along with hard (no pun intended) evidence that our jags are meaner to barrels than we thought.

 

[Jacketed]

I am going to save you a lot of work.

I shot my first .22 at the age of four. Fifty three years later, I still consider the caliber my very favorite, and have a weakness much like a cat-lady, in that I cannot resist taking any stray .22 home. If they pooped, my house would be condemned because I could not possibly clean up after all of them.

I shot smallbore competition from the age of eleven to eighteen. My high school team took Second Place in the NRA Regionals (nationwide). This is not to brag, but to set the stage for the best piece of advice you will ever hear about .22's. We invited an Olympic Gold-Medal winner to coach our team for a week. We asked about cleaning (because as young, energetic shooters, we simply KNEW that cleaning our rifles was VERY IMPORTANT.) Here is his reply (paraphrased from memory):

Modern .22 Long Rifle ammunition (and especially quality ammunition) is very scientifically formulated to be very corrosion-free and clean. The bore of a competition rifle that has been fed quality ammunition all its life, kept indoors and never exposed to moisture or the elements of the outdoors need NEVER be cleaned, and in fact, cleaning may damage it. Of course, clean the rest of your rifle, insuring that moving and bearing surfaces are absent of grime and lubricated properly for good operation.

For your field .22's (that may get rain or dirt in the bore from the outdoors regularly), I would recommend a thorough once-a-year cleaning of the bore with solvent and ONLY a nylon brush (NOT A BRONZE OR STAINLESS BRUSH), and only enough brushing to remove the worst of sediment. Then oil lightly, and a dry patch, and put away. For a field gun that is well-cared for, gets no rain in the barrel, muzzle not bounced against dirt or brush or trees, I would go with the target-rifle regimen: NO CLEANING OF THE BORE. Firearms manufacturers most normally use softer steel for .22's than high-powers, and a bronze or steel brush can do damage very quickly to such steel. Of course a rifle that has definitely seen water or dirt in the barrel should be thoroughly cleaned at the earliest opportunity.

Having listened to, and held this information for so many years since, my urge to clean persists, and so I clean all my .22 bores thoroughly (but gently) once a year, regardless of their exposure. Returning from a particularly arduous trip for the gun, I will run an oil patch thru, then a dry patch. This (along with using quality ammo) is a compromise of his advice that soothes my inner urges from my youth.

But in my field 22lr I will be using not the match ammo but the bulk ammo and will shoot it quite often and much more.. that will make the barrel dirty so I guess I have to clean it so that the accuracy does't take the hit

I would say whatever you say is applicable to those high end Anschutzs but at this point I am very far from smallbore competitions.. I eventually want to get there but time will tell.

I was in this camp until yesterday. Read the latest issue of Rifle magazine. Excellent article in there by Gil Sengel, along with hard (no pun intended) evidence that our jags are meaner to barrels than we thought.

Now that is scary, and I am confused so bore snakes doesn't do good and jags damage the barrel what to trust and what not.

 

[PX4WA]

Then why do you use a bore guide???

it makes it easier to push the jag through because it is aligned...