l broke one off in my 17hmr once close to the muzzle, bent a fish hook (3/0 or 4/0, smaller ones might break) straight stuck it down into/through the wad of nylon, tied the hook to 40lb test, put on a glove wrapped the line around my hand and pulled it out no problem. It was stuck good like yours rod/dowel wouldn’t work.
Obviously just make sure you use the sharpest hook you can find, the hardest part is getting in past the barb. Good luck.
Maybe the pic is deceiving, but it looks like thats it hanging out of the chamber? Cant you just pull it back through?
You can take this idea or leave it, but if it were me, I would take a length of stainless TIG rod, at least 1/16" diameter, and pound one end flat, then make a spear out of it with barbs. Push the spear into the barrel as far as you can, or if that won’t work, heat it up cherry red and then push it in. Once cool, make a loop in the end and pull. I would do this from the stuck end.
If that didn’t work, I would make a few of these and push them into one end, then pull on all of them at the same time. Stainless steel is tough but soft, so my guess is that it wouldn’t scratch the bore too badly. Seing as how you’re kind of screwed anyway, I would take the chance.
Nylon is surprisingly resistant to many of the tougher solvents like TCE and DCM that would dissolve other plastics fairly easily. Anyway, the last thing you want is plasticized nylon goo in your barrel, gas port, etc. Good luck.
Wow. That’s crazy. Thank you, Kyohte, for documenting your unfortunate episode - and for doing so in such a calm manner. I use Boresnakes quite a bit, and threads like this always refresh my awareness of potential problems with the devices.
My only suggestion is to NOT sell the complete upper. I think the worst case scenario would be to have to replace the barrel; not the whole upper.
I fail to see how something like a near bore size drive rod of brass would not pound this sucker out with zero damage to the bore. Brass and nylon cloth is not going to damage the ore no matter how hard you pound.
It’s not out yet. It’s still stuck. Yes, I can grab the end now, but it still wont budge. I’ve tried a few more things mentioned and they still have not worked. It is going to the gunsmith tomorrow.
And yes, that’s the muzzle that it is sticking out of.
Judging by where the snake broke off, I think the portion left in the barrel is fairly stretched out (which doesn’t make since as to why it is stuck).
Most of the stuff on that list that will dissolve nylon is also corrosive to steel.
I’ve got a questionable and quite possibly dangerous solution, though is unlikely to damage the barrel in any way.
Soak the boresnake in lighter fluid and then light it. Most likely it will go out when it reaches the bore. You could try applying compressed air to the other end to allow the flame to recieve oxygen and that may allow you to burn out the entire snake.
Just make sure you a wearing some serious safety equipment and doing this where there is no risk of causing a structure or brush fire. or find a way to hook it up remotely.
I’m willing to bet that it is stuck in there due to a knot that got tied in in it during the cleaning process.
I know a gunsmith who used to do that with any kind of stuck patches. People would come in after screwing around with a stuck patch completely frustrated, this guy would squirt the lighter fluid down the barrel drop a match and be done with it in 5 seconds. Never tried it myself but probably won’t hurt.
The boresnake was almost 4 years old. This is probably the cause of the break, but it was severely stuck before it broke. For reference, all my boresnakes are the same age. None of the others have given my any trouble thus far. However, I feel I’m going to switch back to patches and brushes.
So, a week and three pages later and your boresnake is still stuck. And that after I told you exactly how to get it out. I wonder what you want, the magic spell for casting out a stuck boresnake? If you ain’t going to listen, why ask the question?
There is nothing in the bore that a driving rod as you explained will not get out. Pretty dang simple. If the driving rod is brass or aluminum it will not damage the bore. But then there would not be drama and no hope for a reality show: Snakes In Bores!
I would use drill rod because it can be obtained in small size increments and you can obtain a close fit. Steel is very stiff and is less likely to buckle than a more flexible brass or aluminum rod. With the small rod necessitated by the bore of a 5.56 mm buckling could very well be a problem. If the rod buckles when you hit it, you won’t transmit much force. The largest rod you are likely to find in brass or aluminum is 3/16 = .187, a good bit smaller than an appropriately sized drill rod. I wouldn’t worry about a closely fitted drill rod harming the bore for two reasons. The forces applied are parallel to the bore and a closely fitted rod has a large contact area. I did use an aluminum rod to beat the bullet out of my .454 revolver but it was 3/8 in diameter but only 8 inches or so long, too short to buckle and I did have a piece of 3/8 rod on hand.
I am of the belief that trying to drive the snake out with a rod will not work. As each hit will just force the snake harder against the side of the bore.
As an example/experiment to support this claim, take a paper towel tube, pvc pipe, hell pipe of any sort between 1-2" in diameter.
Now take a piece of wax paper and a rubber band and cover one end of the pipe/tube with the wax paper affixing it with the rubber band.
Now pour a few inches of sand, salt, or rice into the tube. Now take a rod that fits into the tube, approximately like a cleaning rod would, and take a nice large hammer and try and drive that rod through the wax paper from the end filled with sand, salt, whatever. It won’t happen. The sand absorbs all of the force and redirects it to the wall of the tube. The snake will act in the same manner.
There is no way a stuck boresnake should require a gunsmith.
Vice grips to grab the end hanging out of the barrel and a buddy to hold the upper while you pull it out.
Seriously dude… it cannot be that difficult.