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Have tried bore snakes and I like them although they do get oil/grime soaked over time. I have had the little brass end (weight) come off though.

can't stand threaded aluminum or brass cleaning rods. I always break them.

anybody recommend a carbon fiber one piece rod, cable rod, or other? What works for you? Should I stick with bore snake and try to clean them with alcohol soak or something?

thx for any ideas!
Just get a good ol' USGI small arms cleaning rod kit, they're made of steel and come in versions that fit pistols, 5.55, and 7.62 which covers the gamut of small arms needs (except <.22cal). I've never managed to break one (even while deployed), and I've cleaned a LOT of weapons in my time thus far.
 
So from what I gather so far for rigid one piece rods only, in order of what I perceive to be quality based on research only are:

teir 1:
Montana x-treme coated steel $51
Bore tech coated steel $51

teir 2:
Gunslick carbon $28
Tipton carbon $31
Dewey coated steel $21 (has 8/36 non standard thread so need adapter to get to 8/32 standard size)

teir 3:
Everything else from many, many manufacturers such as kleenbore etc.

I put Dewey in teir 2 only due to non-standard thread.
 
I'm not sure i would count coated steel in the same tier as carbon and it's odd to me how they're more expensive.

I have two gunslicks, pistol length and rifle length, and one tipton, only because i couldn't find the Gunslick in .22 cal rifle size at the time.

I have no idea why i would consider a coated steel rod at this point.
 
I'm not sure i would count coated steel in the same tier as carbon and it's odd to me how they're more expensive.

I have two gunslicks, pistol length and rifle length, and one tipton, only because i couldn't find the Gunslick in .22 cal rifle size at the time.

I have no idea why i would consider a coated steel rod at this point.
I thought it odd myself, my guess is people think they want strength but I fall back on if its too hard to push thru im doing it wrong. Bore brushes work with their tips and patches dont need to be as big as many run thru.
Just a guess, but i went with a carbon fiber rod that was also cheaper. Works great.
 
I thought it odd myself, my guess is people think they want strength but I fall back on if its too hard to push thru im doing it wrong. Bore brushes work with their tips and patches dont need to be as big as many run thru.
Just a guess, but i went with a carbon fiber rod that was also cheaper. Works great.
Sure, but i'm not what i would consider gentle with mine, push, pull, milsurp barrels, they've been great. I think you're likely right about the perception part, oto many people only trust old stuff, so steel in this case, and they're ok with them having a bit of protection on them (plastic)
 
I'm not sure i would count coated steel in the same tier as carbon and it's odd to me how they're more expensive.

I have two gunslicks, pistol length and rifle length, and one tipton, only because i couldn't find the Gunslick in .22 cal rifle size at the time.

I have no idea why i would consider a coated steel rod at this point.
My concern with steel is the chance of bending vs carbon fiber. But realistically it's not likely to bend unless u did something weird to it like step on it or something.

Anyway, I ordered the gunslick .22 36" one from Amazon for $28.

I've had good luck with carbon fiber. Fe I have a cigar case that has seen some abuse and if it was plastic it would have cracked or metal it would have bent. It's very thin and weighs almost nothing but amazingly strong.

Also fwiw I noticed these handy brushes which have flat/pointed ends for digging crud out of corners (nylon picks work for that too but I want to try these brushes cuz looks like it's easier a to scrape possibly).


Also added a couple bore snakes which I'm more likely to use more often due to convenience.

 
The carbon will flex, and if it hits the bore, it's basically "plastic" and you just keep going.

Honestly, i really appreciated the ball bearing handle upgrade, i hadn't before fully appreciated that it should turn freely to allow the attachment to fully follow the rifling for full cleaning of the shoulders.
 
Breaking Cleaning Rods???? (Plural????)

It ain't the rod's fault.

Sectional rods (short sections making up the entire rod) do have weaknesses at the joint. I have broken them, but not by actual usage (stepped on one or two).
But that is not why you should not use a sectional rod (unless it is all you have and you need one immediately). The joint section can contact rifling under flex within the bore, and even aluminum against steel can cause wear on the steel.
Steel against steel (such as some sectional GI rods) is abhorrent. Brass against steel (as with some other military sectionals) is not advisable either.

Bore Snakes:
My Alaskan brother used to have a saying about raingear: a firm believer in his Helly Hansens.: "Gore Tex is nice. Rubber is waterproof."

Bore snakes are nice. Rods, jags and brushes clean your gun.

I use bore snakes a lot. When I want a "quickie spiff". (Accuracy dropped off on a Prairie Dog shoot, putting a gun away that I know will come out again in a week or so, etc.).

For actual, thorough cleaning of a barrel, bore snakes do not complete that job.

Quality cleaning equipment is at least as important as any other accoutrement you buy and use for your valued guns.
 
I use Otis on everything, and I have a brass rod for pistols I use when more convenient. I didn't like the takedown cleaning rod I bought for .22cal, so it doesn't get used. I'd go with a full length carbon rod that spins freely if I didn't use the Otis so much
 
So to follow up I got the gunslick carbon rod and appears to be very well made. The real avid bore snakes also appear to be well made. Unfortunately I got several boretech jags and one of them has metal flakes coming off and what appears to be heavy erosion of the jag right out of the package. Another one is stained and another one appears to be made of aluminum with a kind of yellowish brass colored tarnish. I emailed boretech and we'll see what the deal is. They r not cheap so not what I expected.

Eroded front part and metal flakes coming off in my hand when taking out of package:
3DDE9C70-AE3A-4A71-8975-DA7897D2C6FA.jpeg
8B65C474-E967-4D0A-8CBF-A7C03D58D041.jpeg
Odd tarnish color on shotgun patch holder I would not expect on a new part:
79DC7603-A96C-4124-A875-C90C742DD218.jpeg
Weird staining on 9mm jag I would not expect on a new part:
20F03669-F8BB-4D43-B543-3846CA15F06F.jpeg
 
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That's annoying for sure - i just got plain old whatever Sportsmans had in stock, regular jags, they've been fine.
Yea I just wanted to upgrade everything at once. I have tons of old jags, brushes, swabs, etc etc from cleaning kits over the years. But if these are shedding metal that totally defeats the whole purpose. Little bits of metal to scratch up the barrel is not the upgrade I had in mind!
 
My Dewey rod is steel with a plastic coating, that is now shucking off. It needs replacement. The bearing in the handle turns with such ease that if you place it upright with the handle on the floor, it will roll away and fall over. Which can be a nuisance.

I have two Pro-Shot steel rods which I like. One long and one short for AR's. I don't use rod guides with them, and I know I should. But I haven't yet worn out a barrel from using a cleaning rod on it. Or hurt one, so far as I know. I guess either I don't shoot enough and require lots of cleaning, or I don't scrub the bore enough when I do clean one.

For years, I used a US Army Model 1916 barracks rod on 30 cal. barrels. The brass rod with a football-shaped knob on the end. The one I got in 1966 that came with a Mauser rifle now has worn threads. But somewhere along the line, I found another once cheap that hasn't seen much use and I'll have to get it out. I figure brass should be pretty easy on a rifle bore.

I have several sets of steel sectional rods made for US Army rifles, both 30 caliber and 5.56mm. I won't use these; I figure the joints where the sections fit together could actually hasten wear due to the edge effect.

One issue I have is my box of bore brushes for centerfire rifles has two types of threads. The military brushes have 18-36; civilian are 18-32.. I have adapters for this issue.

I'm not much of a shotgunner but I do have and shoot a few. I have .410 bore, and 28 and 12 gauge. So I have stuff for all three bores. I never got around to getting a deluxe shotgun rod; I have a couple of those Outer's three section aluminum rods. Good enough for my limited use. Oh, and there are two different tip threads used on those. At least on my old stuff they are. Outers is one size, Hoppe's is another. I bought an adapter so I can use both on the Outer's rods.
 
I forgot to mention yesterday, re. the M1916 barracks rifle cleaning rod. There is a Lee Marvin movie called, "Eight Iron Men," 1952. Marvin is an infantry squad leader. When off line, he carries one of these rods in the bore of his slung-arms M1 Rifle.
 
Have tried bore snakes and I like them although they do get oil/grime soaked over time. I have had the little brass end (weight) come off though.

can't stand threaded aluminum or brass cleaning rods. I always break them.

anybody recommend a carbon fiber one piece rod, cable rod, or other? What works for you? Should I stick with bore snake and try to clean them with alcohol soak or something?

thx for any ideas!
Are you using those .45 cal. rods in your .25-06 again? :s0113: :p Sorry. Couldn't resist. The devil made me say that.:s0087:
 
Have tried bore snakes and I like them although they do get oil/grime soaked over time. I have had the little brass end (weight) come off though.

can't stand threaded aluminum or brass cleaning rods. I always break them.

anybody recommend a carbon fiber one piece rod, cable rod, or other? What works for you? Should I stick with bore snake and try to clean them with alcohol soak or something?

thx for any ideas!
I got 3 one piece CF rods, they work great. Rifle 17 and 22, and a pistol length one. I've never broken a threaded one either though so .....
 
Just updating this thread. Bore tech responded today and will replace the 22 rimfire jag. Re the other ones they said the tarnish color and spots are normal and are a result of secondary coating that seals pores in the metal. They said that stuff will be gone after first use or two and it will be a silver color. I actually used the 12gauge patch puller yesterday and indeed it is all silver now and tarnish color is gone (see pic below).

So in summary we would all prefer that quality control never misses anything but it does sometimes happen and it's good they are standing by it.
BCEE6BA0-A866-41A3-9140-737B9C38F7E3.jpeg

Also to update info on the gunslick 22 carbon fiber rod, it is strong and a bit flexible which is just what I wanted. Definitely strong enough for brushes etc in 12 gauge. Handle is on double ball bearings so it seems like it will last. Comes with a brass guide that slides and can be removed. Here's a pic:
25ACD49F-472C-40F7-A051-26767944C1EF.jpeg
C464E55D-5311-4D25-8E5C-7CE7509E11A1.jpeg
 
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