Will a boresnake do it?

[nvshooter]

Will a boresnake do a good job of cleaning the bore during the break-in process on a new gun? I have a fixed rod. I'd rather not fluctuate with it if a boresnake is just as good...

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[Whisky Tahoe]

From my experience the bore snake is able to remove some of the carbon but can't keep up with a jag or brush with throw away patches. If you are using your bore snake to its fullest potential, you probably need to wash it or replace it often.

If you are looking for easy and quick cleaning, look into the Wipe Out bore foam combined with their "accelerator" chemical additive. It is popular with the benchrest crowd for quick cleaning at the range. The accelerator additive adds a chemical boost. Note it doesn't last very long. People have tried mixing the chemicals thinking it will simplify the process but it doesn't. Stick with the directions.

Bore snakes work well with rimfire rifles where there isn't as much copper to deal with.

For jags, I like something that doesn't react with copper solvents. BoreTech jags are built for this purpose but get expensive. Tipton has Ultimate jags that are half the cost. These jags won't put blue on the patches the way bronze or brass will. That way when you see blue it is coming from your barrel not your jag or brush.

 

[LibertyDeath76]

Barrel break-in is a scam. This scam was perpetuated by custom rifle builders to sell more rifle barrels. This was confirmed by Gale McMillan. He did not start this trend but he was more than happy to tell rifle owners about it.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Whether you feel the need to break in a barrel or not doesn't mean no cleaning.
I usually clean a new barrel for the first 10 rounds where the majority of copper shows up.

Cleaning a barrel is a necessary chore that determines accuracy. How much How Often? that's a variable.

Something most people don't realize is you should really clean a new barrel before firing it.
Unless you prefer the random gouging that occurs from miscellaneous metal in the bore.

I shoot Brux barrels which are finished enough that break in isn't required though many barrels will speed up through the first 150 - 200 rounds.
Chronographs will confirm this. just means you need to tweak a load when a barrel has normalized.

 

[kml1966]

I've always felt a bore-snake is fine for out in field if need be but if at home a rod & brush do a better job. Just my opinion, really nothing to back it up

 

[dangerranger]

A bore snake will wipe out loose fouling in the bore. What I can't do with it is go back and forth in trouble areas. DR

 

[intoodeep]

I've cleaned after using a bore snake, still lots of material comes out.
As for your question, I would think a rod and patches will tell you so much more than a bore snake will ever be able. With the rod you'll feel anything abnormal in the bore. Also you'll feel when it's clean.

 

[nvshooter]

Is a Ruger American a "good rifle?" Is the accuracy of the machining in the receiver and the barrel up to snuff for making hits on a gallon jug of Hawaiian Punch (about 5½ inches wide) at a modest 600 yards? Out to 880 yards (half a mile)? I have the empty desert in which to do it. I'm retired, but my manager refuses to let me be so. I still want to work because I've read that people who quit working entirely end-up keeling-over dead in about eighteen months after they retire. I guess the reason is that they lose the will to keep going. Their kids are out of college and are on their own in another city, the portfolio is doing well and it's just the missus and the mister. There's no "urgency" to live, anymore. Life becomes dull, boring and pointless. Then you wake-up dead one morning...

 

[Sunky Heribeck]

I have a Ruger American in .308 Win. Picked it up when they were first released, as an inexpensive, rugged, accurate enough for AZ deer hunting rifle. I topped it with a Nikon ProStaff 3-9 x 40 scope.

The original stock was and mags were sub-par, so I found a newer American Predator stock and mag, as I wanted to keep it light and weather resistant.

Have hit 10" steel plates with it at 400 yards but have not run it out any further than that.

 

[Peanut]

Is a Ruger American a "good rifle?" Is the accuracy of the machining in the receiver and the barrel up to snuff for making hits on a gallon jug of Hawaiian Punch (about 5½ inches wide) at a modest 600 yards? Out to 880 yards (half a mile)? I have the empty desert in which to do it. I'm retired, but my manager refuses to let me be so. I still want to work because I've read that people who quit working entirely end-up keeling-over dead in about eighteen months after they retire. I guess the reason is that they lose the will to keep going. Their kids are out of college and are on their own in another city, the portfolio is doing well and it's just the missus and the mister. There's no "urgency" to live, anymore. Life becomes dull, boring and pointless. Then you wake-up dead one morning...

CNC machining is a marvelous thing. "Cheap" rifles, and most of the major manufacturers carry a cheap line, like the Ruger American can make someone with a thirty year old custom rifle cry. I've set up several for friends that shot factory ammo to about an inch right out of the box, including the cheap Remington 770 from Russia with Love that comes with a cheap scope and a stock made out of Silly Putty. I have plenty of hunting-grade centerfire rifles that cannot do any better even after bedding and custom reloading. Just don't buy a used one unless it is at giveaway prices; no one would sell such an inexpensive rifle unless it had a poor barrel. Ruger's QC is good but when you're talking about a $300 rifle saving money with a used one might not be a good idea. How much are new ones going for nowadays? I'm stuck in a 10 year old time warp on prices.

BTW I fired myself from work a week before Kansas pheasant season last November. Not working is like not smoking; you gotta go cold turkey and not pick it up again. Unless you need the money by the time you pay Medicare surcharges on top of income tax you are better off volunteering somewhere, and it is election season until three days before pheasant season. Both need my attention this year!