I have a POF p415 upper. I use a bore snake to clean the barrel.
I was wondering is there a huge difference using a bore snake vs. using a patch to clean the barrel?
I’ve had my AR for a few months and put about 600 to 700rds through it.
The bore snakes are useful in the field and work fairly well as long as you frequently clean them.Otherwise its like cleaning your bore with a dirty patch and brush.Other than field use for a quick bore wipe I have absolutely no use for a bore snake.
So no IMHO they do not replace a cleaning rod,patch and brush.They also do little to nothing when it comes to cleaning the barrel extension and chamber,for that you need to use a USGI chamber brush…which is a much needed item to any cleaning kit.
Oh i see. I did buy a chamber brush but the problem is I can’t find a rod that goes with the chamber brush my AR. I bought it at a gun show and they didn’t have the right rod to screw into the chamber brush.
Can you recommend any inexpensive kits? Thanks.
By the way i’m a new to the AR seen.
I try and use a boresnake while the rifle is warm after a range session just before I put it away and use the patch and rod at home. I do keep a Boresnake for ea cal. I have to use in the field, but don’t seem to use them very often:eek:
I save the tp I used today for the toilet trip tomorrow
For my chamber brush I use a dewey 9" loop pistol rod that I picked up from brownells for $6. http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/sid=13171/sku/9__Loop_Pistol_Rod
The loop at the end gives you plenty of leverage for twisting the chamber brush. Cheap and easy.
I find it’s much more cost effective to build your own cleaning kit with exactly what you’ll use, as most of the ones you see available for sale either have junky components, or try to make you feel like you’re getting “value” by including all kinds of worthless stuff. For me, if I was starting from scratch, the bare minimum I would get is:
Jag
Bore brush
Chamber brush
9" pistol loop rod for chamber brush
Dewey coated rod
Q-tips
Patches
All of the above is just over $50 at brownells, and $30 of that is the dewey rod. You can substitute for something cheaper, but make sure it’s one piece and coated or brass.
I like bore snakes. They do a great job for what they are intended to do. I also use Otis cleaning chamber-to-crown cleaning kits for almost all my cleaning. I have about five Dewey rods that no longer get used at all.
For bore cleaning, I …
Run a wet patch twice, wait five minutes.
Run another wet patch.
Run a brush about eight times (adjusting for use, sometimes more or less).
Run a wet patch, then a dry.
Then a clean bore snake.
I am not going to do the old “wet, then dry until patch is pristine” routine. Works pretty well for me.
To clean the chamber I put the USGI chamber brush in 1 section of a USGI cleaning rod, and then chuck the rod in a cordless drill on low speed. Dip the chamber brush in SLIP Carbon Cutter, and then insert it through the rear of the upper into the chamber. A few seconds on low speed cleans the chamber very well, and isn’t going to damage anything. Then spray out with something like Powder Blast or brake cleaner.
On a chrome lined barrel the only thing I do every few range sessions is an application of foaming bore cleaner, rinse out, and then a few passes with a bore snake.
You do not need to get an AR spotlessly cleaned. The most important thing to keep the gun functioning is to keep it lubed.
With a stainless barrel I will use patches and copper solvent every couple of thousand rounds. My 1st stealth upper went around 7k rounds only getting cleaned with a rod and patches once, and was still shooting under MOA. I did use foaming bore cleaner every other range trip which would be every 500-1000 rounds. My 2nd stealth upper has not been cleaned since I bought it, and its currently at around 1500rds still shooting sub MOA. Neither one has also had any failures of any kind. My SR15 is currently at 3k rounds without cleaning, and also no failures.
I use the Otis gun cleaning kit most of the time. That’s not to say I don’t ever use a rod. 
Bore snakes are ok for a quick dusting of the bore.
I don’t like to have sand/grit in the bore when I shoot, and they do a good, fast job of getting it out.
The bristles aren’t aggressive enough to really break up carbon in the throat/lead, and won’t do much for copper fouling either.
To actually clean the bore there are better solutions, likewise, a beautiful one-piece rod would be a bad choice if you just needed to quickly get the remnants of a dust bath out of the barrel.
I use a method similar to Amicus. I use an Otis kit for wetting, brushing and dry wipe and a boresnake sort of a final “polish”. I have a chamber brush (several) and a chamber rod. I don’t remember it’s name but it is a flexible non rotating rod to use with the chamber brush, and Q-tips for the bolt recesses. I’ve found that not a single cleaning kit will suffice for me, and I also don’t like to use a rod down my bores although I have a few (including a GI) for possible field problems. So I’ve started using a mix of several kits/methods for my cleaning.
I’ve been using a otis kit as a main kit from back before they got well known, a chamber brush/ pistol rod and use bore snakes for 22lr, 5.56, 308, 12ga. ect ect. but I carry a rod, the otis kit won’t clear a barrel when its plugged or a stuck case MHO I’ve had one of each stuck case at range “wolf” sand/dust SWA. I dont use a bore snake in my 308 bolt gun though. the difference in a work/ target guns.
I’ve had some success clearing stuck cases with Otis kits, but I sure as heck wouldn’t say it will always do the job. Far from it. I once lent a gentleman a USGI kit to clear a stuck case in a Garand. That job required a good ten minutes of pounding for him to get the case out of the chamber.
On the same day, I used an Otis kit to clear someone’s stuck case in an AR. It took about 30 seconds of “tap, tap, tap” with the cable rod from the crown to the breach to see the case pop out.
I’m curious to know what the general consensus on USGI rods are…
That’s all I use, and I’m a bit tickled by those who would say, “Oh my gosh, you’re totally ruining your barrel!”
Do you know if the pof barrel is chromed lined? I tried looking through my barrel and it’s hard to tell. I went to pof website and it doesn’t state it on there. Well i guess I will e mail them.
So that rod will screw into the chamber brush that I bought? I hope so.
Thanks for the link.