View Full Version : Mission Impossible: Feeding a boresnake down a Froglube-lined barrel to clean it
How the bloody hell do you get the .22/.223 caliber boresnake feeder down a dirty and Froglube-prepped barrel in order to pull that feeder through that allows you to yank the boresnake through?
The .22/.223 boresnake is already one of the tightest tolerance boresnakes there is, feeling like the extreme force needed to pull it through an M4 barrel is going to snap the rope. But on top of that, simply trying to get it fed down the barrel in order to have something come out the crown end in order to pull it through, is a challenge in frustration.
I've tried tying some thread to the brass feeder weight, and attaching to that thread something small enough to fall through the barrel, but generally without success, since the barrel is dirty and anything metallic is magnetically attracted to the rifle's metal parts. I can't think of anything small enough and weighty enough, that can be tied to a piece of string and will fall through the tiny .223/5.56 barrel in order to come out the front end that will then allow me to pull the Boresnake's feeder line through, and thus finally be able to run the snake itself down the barrel.
The firing pin retaining pin worked like a charm once in the past, but multiple tries this time have all been failures, between the gummy nature of roomtemp froglube, a dirty barrel, and the apparently magnetic nature of the rifle.
I'm refusing to surrender to using the Dewey rod, but may have to if there's really no way to get a Boresnake down a dirty Froglubed AR barrel.
Suggestions/ideas welcome!
Rod, jags and patches will do a better job cleaning it anyway.
Jeez, if it's that hard, I wouldn't do it. I saw one thread here where a guy had the pull string on a bore snake rip off and the snake became wedged in the barrel. That thread went on for over 100 posts before they guy finally took it to a gunsmith and had it reamed out. Sounds like you should just stick with a rod and patches.
I use a bore snake all the time and have never had a problem as you describe. What is it about Froglube that makes even feeding the weighted string down the barrel such a problem? That doesn't sound right to me.
Stop frog lubing the barrel.
Spray some CLP down there to wash the frog lube away. Then pull the snake through.
guitarist1993
11-30-13, 12:08
^ Yup.
Use the Froglube paste for the BCG & receiver, use CLP for the barrel and pull it through. I've never had it get stuck as hard as you describe.
No idea what this guy is talking about.
But, case in point of obsessing over cleaning an AR to the point now where apparently he has a problem.
Inner strand from 550 paracord. Leather sewing needle ( TANDY ). I would expect that would drop right through and be easy to tie to your brass tip on the snake.
Option 2:
Harbor Freight - Drain Snake - .155 od mono line. $7. You can probably shrink wrap that or rescue tape that too brass tip. You will have big reel of drain snake left over to make lanyards with as well.
OR... if you are really crafty.... drill and epoxy in place in the brass tip a small section of threaded rod. find a small brass knitting needle ( hollow brass ) cut, dremmel, drill it untill you have a short section that you can thread to same size as threaded rod you just epoxied in brass tip. Epoxy other end over snake line. Now you can screw the stiff thin mono snake line to the brass tip and just shove it down the barrel. Take apart and coil up when done.
I have not done that... but it seems very much like it would work.
I'm going to try to epoxy a needle tip on a length and mushroom the other end in hopes it will pull a patch through. Might be too big though. Might need smaller od mono for that.
Sorry I meant fish tape not drain snake...
http://www.harborfreight.com/50-ft-nylon-fish-tape-66505.html
The knitting needles look like two brass things on a piece of mono line. They are called circular knitting needles. About 4" long each. Get them anywhere on the sewing isle or fabric store.
Here is the general concept of turning them into something else. Go to 3:20 if it doesn't go there. His are not connected, but many are connected by mono line which you have to cut and begin drilling until desired size.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=0LpUbMRK-Bk#t=204
At any rate that will give you a stiff .155od mono line to fed through the barrel and if that get's stuck you must have one seriously dirty barrel. If the FrogLube is truly holding it, which UI can't understand, then stick the whole arrangement in the sun and let heat and gravity do it's thing. It's going to slide right down unless a bullet is stuck in there.
Stop frog lubing the barrel.
Spray some CLP down there to wash the frog lube away. Then pull the snake through.
^ Yup.
Use the Froglube past for the BCG & receiver, use CLP for the barrel and pull it through. I've never had it get stuck as hard as you describe.
Thanks guys, sounds like a good, simple solution.
update: Boresnake still doesn't feed down the barrel. Going to the Dewey rod. So much for simple AR barrel cleaning. Cleaning handguns is cathartic. Cleaning an AK is, too. Forgotten what a chore it can be to clean the AR. I'd let it go a thousand rounds, but it would be quite a while before it sees another thousand rounds given ammo costs these days.
Obsessive cleaning isnt necessary in my personal opinion.
CLP is great for cleaning... fire clean, motor oil, or frog lube is great for lube. But dont put that crap in the barrel.
Detail Clean the thing after a few thousand rounds or so. Clean the barrel (CLP/bore snake) as often as you want. 800-1000 rnds is about how often i clean my barrel.
Sounds like the brass bead on the end of the cord might be larger in diameter than it should be. If you think this isn't the case and it's just sticking in the cold froglube, just warm the barrel a little and the brass bead should fall through.
SpeedRacer
11-30-13, 13:03
I've had the same issue, and even worse on 5.45 barrels. I've found turning the upper straight vertical, barrel down, and gently banging on something padded (shop stool, carpeted floor, etc) while guiding the snake in has always done the trick. Feed the snake from the rear of the receiver, this helps keep the snake vertical as it feeds in. The first pass through is always the worst, after that it'll drop right in.
...gently banging on something padded (shop stool, carpeted floor, etc) while guiding the snake in has always done the trick. .... The first pass through is always the worst, after that it'll drop right in.
I do the same thing, and yeah, the first pass is the hardest because the cord is relaxed and crinkled and is what is hanging up in the barrel.
When my boresnakes get stubborn like that, I throw them away as they are probably done. You could draw a smaller line through the pull line, or tie it just above the weight to start the process.
It would take a lot of boresnake failure to get me to go back to a rod/patch/jag on a non-precision gun.
This snake is almost brand new, but I think JS-Maine might be on to something, as the brass weight at the end is fairly large in diameter, almost as big as the .223 caliber itself.
Ended up Eezox'ing the barrel and giving it the rod. =\
How on earth could you have enough Froglube in the bore to prevent feeding a boresnake?
I've never had a problem like this and I don't see what diff froglube could make. Sounds like the wrong size bore snake to me.
Sounds like the Froglube was not applied correctly.
Per Froglube's website:
"Bore:
Scrub internal bore surface with generous amount of solvent using nylon bore brush and/or wet patch, followed by dry patches until clean and dry.Repeat this step until patches reveal little to no fouling. Vigorous friction applied to surfaces increases cleaning performance.Run a saturated FrogLube CLP patch to ‘season’ the barrel surface followed by 3-5 dry patches."
skullworks
12-02-13, 07:46
When using a boresnake to clean the barrel I usually start off by feeding the brass weight and paracord through the barrel until the actual "snake part" is close to the chamber. Then I apply froglube liquid to the first inch or so of the boresnake before pulling it through 2-3 times. If the bore is so fouled I can't even get the brass weight to start (which has never happened thus far) I would ditch the boresnake and go for a Dewey rod with brass brushes etc.
One of these days you'll realize that Froglube is shit and cleaning AR barrels beyond getting mud out is absolutely pointless and you'll waste much less effort on pointless endeavors...
JBecker 72
12-02-13, 16:32
I haven't run a boresnake or a bore brush down a barrel in probably 3 years. Just a couple patches here and there and I call it good.
mastiffhound
12-02-13, 20:24
I use the flex cable that came with the 2 SNIPER 7.62/5.56 small cleaning kits (nsn: 1005-01-453-3783) my brother brought home from the ARMY. I always go bore first and no matter how dirty they've always worked with the bore guide I use. I use IOSSO copper/brass (can't remember which the shaft are made from) nylex brushes with it and Hoppes and I've never had this problem. I never tried a boresnake, maybe you should clean the froglube out with some kind of borescrubber? I also will not use a rod on a rifle! A scratch on the muzzle end could effect accuracy. The training manual for the Rifle, 5.56mm, M16A2, says to always clean from breach and never go back and forth. That was my intro to the AR when my brother came back from basic, we sat down and he taught me how to disassemble, clean, and reassemble our brand new M4geries.
I've only used CLP, Remoil, and Hoppes. I have almost metric ton of each except the Hoppes, I will be switching to Hoppes semi-auto if I can ever use up the #9 that I have left. It says it will remove copper fouling better so we'll see?
Tons of places have these flex cables, I just bought a small kit for .223/5.56 from Cabela's for a build for my niece that was on sale for $10 and an IOSSO AR-15 brush kit for $15.99. I looked at boresnakes some time ago, it looked like something that was too big for the bore to me. Try one of the flex cables, they are coated and have enough strength to bust through whatever gunk you might have in your barrel. Maybe I'm behind the times, but what I use has worked so far. I've been looking at Fireclean as my next lube but that could take years to get around to doing.
I oil and inspect all of my firearms reguardless of being used or not every 2 weeks (Damn, OCD!) and cleaning is very easy when they've been oiled with Remoil. I clean firearms every time I shoot them, it's just easier than letting the grime and carbon sit and harden for 2 weeks. If I have a little more grime and carbon (usually from steel cased or when using my .22LR upper or 10/22) I use CLP first then Remoil. I've also heard that Froglube can rot or start smelling bad? As some have stated maybe Froglube isn't a good Idea in the bore and barrel. I've been told using a lube in the chamber is a no go but that could be wrong. I haven't changed my cleaning regimen and habits since 2000 so I may be behind the times as I've said before. Anyways, sorry for your luck and I hope you figure it out.
I've been using Bore Snakes for years on every caliber I own and never had a problem like this.
AR Newby AZ
12-03-13, 22:18
What kind of bore snake do you have and if there's that much froglube in the barrel u should take it easy on that stuff? Just put a little dab on the thickest part of the snake and run it thru a few times. I've never had that much difficulty with it before so I can't help u out getting it thru.
At this point take some brake or carb cleaner and blast all the FL out.
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