Cleaning semi-autos: Rod or bore snake?

[Erud]

I'm not questioning the use of a bore snake - I use 'em myself. Rather, I'm questioning whether or not assuming a "shiny & clean" barrel in any way equals a clean barrel...

Until someone proves vastly different, I'll go with it.

There is a difference between "clean" and "clean enough". Don't be surprised when some of us refuse to conflate the two...

Now, if "clean enough" is all you need that is certainly fine - it is for me on a couple of my guns. Just don't try to convince us that the two are the same. Some of us know better...

Agreed. A bore scope will provide you with all of the proof you could hope for. A bore snake will not get a bore "clean", but it may get it "clean enough" for you.

[Holland&Holland]

So what is clean truely?

When the patches come out clean?

When you can't see anything with your bore scope?

?

[Thunder71]

I guess I'm not trying to hit a fart off a gnats ass at 800 yards so I'm not sure what other difference there is, perceived or real.

[jgalt]

I guess I'm not trying to hit a fart off a gnats ass at 800 yards so I'm not sure what other difference there is, perceived or real.

And there you go... "Clean enough" is good enough for your purposes, and that's fine. That doesn't mean there is no difference, or that "clean enough" is good enough for everyone, but if it meets your needs then more power to ya'...

[EJSG19]

I used to clean everything until patches came out spotless.

Then I took a good hard look at a gun that hadn't been regularly cleaned (more like cleaned once every 5 years) and had probably fired 20,000 rounds over the span of 20 years. Cleaned it up real well one day, and the bore and blueing look like a mirror.

After that I realized guns don't have to be 100% spotless to maintain their quality and performance.

As well as "clean" and "clean enough" there is a point of cleaning which is "enough" to maintain form and function, and then beyond that there is "enough" to make anal retentive types happy.

I fall into both of the latter "enough" categories, depending on which baby I'm using.

[Drizzle]

I'll snake my Glocks after a weekend like the last one, where I probably put 200-250 rounds out, wipe the feed ramp with a patch and call it good. I used to be fastidious about cleaning after every range trip, but stopped doing that after reading in several places it just isn't necessary unless you're shooting in really adverse conditions, like a windy desert. A windy range in Hutchinson just doesn't qualify.

[jshuberg]

I run a bore snake through them dry at the range while they're still warm to get the worst of the fouling out. I have at least 2 barrels for each of my pistols, so after cleaning the frame I throw in a clean barrel and let the fouled one soak for a few days in a jar of Hoppes. Then when I get around to it I finish cleaning it with a bronze brush. Once every 5000 rounds or so I throw the whole pistol disassembled into an ultrasonic cleaner for a good deep cleaning.

Using this procedure, a broken in barrel takes 5-6 patches before they come out clean, and takes ~5 minutes of my time.

[Snakeman721]

Um, I have a question.....after running a bore snake through a dirty barrel, how do you get the bore snake clean? Do you just keep reusing it and it gets dirtier? Or am I thinking of something else? If it's just a patch attached to the end of a cable, isn't that the same effect as using a rod and patch?

[jshuberg]

A bore snake will get dirty over time, although there is significantly more surface area than a patch so it can go quite awhile before it needs cleaning. When it does, I throw it into a sock and tie the end and run it through the washing machine with a load of shop rags.

[XDM45]

A bore snake will get dirty over time, although there is significantly more surface area than a patch so it can go quite awhile before it needs cleaning. When it does, I throw it into a sock and tie the end and run it through the washing machine with a load of shop rags.

Excellent idea. Thanks for the tip. I'll use that one.

[Big and Tasty]

Rod, brush and patches. I am a teeny bit OCD when it comes to cleaning.