I bought a BCM 16" mid-length upper and blem lower back in September and then ran into a health issue that has kept me from doing anything with it. I pushed the pins the other day to put it together in anticipation of actually getting to shoot it. I bought cleaning supplies around the same time I bought the rifle, including a Dewey coated rod, Dewey bore guide, appropriate size patches, etc.

I decided tonight to run a few patches down the barrel to get it ready for the range, but I ran into a problem. I can't get the freaking patch to enter the barrel via the bore guide. It's as if the combination of patch and stab jag (that came with the Dewey rod) are too big. I checked the part number for the rod and confirmed it was the correct size, and the Brownell's patches are supposed to be correct based on the catalog.

I have cleaned shotguns and my old .30-.30 forever and never experienced this before. I have issues sometimes when trying to "force" things, so I backed off and thought I might check in here and see if there are any suggestions or if someone can give me an idea of how tight the jag/patch combo should be and how much force is required to get them down the barrel.

I'm probably going to get bashed for this, but I don't want to screw up anything on the rifle. Please be kind with suggestions and keep to yourself any that are anatomically impossible.