Anybody have experience with these. Seems like they would be less prone to scratching up the inside of your barrel? or would investing in a good bore guide be better option?
Like anything, some like them, some don’t. If you want to try dragging a patch to see if you will like it, you can make one.
I use the nylon weed wacker string. Cut a piece several inches longer than the barrel. Bend a very small loop at one end. Pinch the end against the string, where it intersects with itself, with needle nose pliers. Heat the pliers and string with a lighter until the string gets soft and melts to itself.
You now have the best roll up drag-rod on the market.
+1 for weed whacker line. That gets used whereas the Otis kit I was given sits on a shelf somewhere.
Boonie Packer puts up a neat little mini-Otis type kit that is nice and not so ridiculously priced.
My standby is the old GI steel rod with a breech guide, wiped clean after each pass. I figure that’s good enough for what I do with a 16" barrel.
Since buying my OTIS kit several years ago, I’ve not used a rod again on any of my rifles, with the exception being if I have a really bad Garand barrel to scrub. I still use rods on handguns though.
Skip
+1 for the otis kits. i use them for cleaning all rifles, pistols, and shotguns. although i do like the bore snakes too.
I use the Otis coated cables on everything.
Do you guys use a standard rod as well, such as a Dewey?
What kit are you guys using?
I just use the Otis rods, Just get the cables and whatever brushes from Otis you need. whats good is the all brass construction of the brushes.
I’ve actually become a really big fan of bore snakes, if you feel like giving those a try. I like the otis kits for everything else though.
That’s all I use. I do keep a GI kit in the shooting tote as a back up.
I like the bore snake for field cleaning. It doesn’t replace a good rod and guide setup but I always run the snake when I’m done shooting if possible.
I’m going to have to give the weed whacker deal a try. That’s a good cheap tip.
+1. Used to use the coated Dewey rods. Now I used all Otis, all the time, for all my stuff. With the right combo of Otis and solvents in fact, I don’t even have to use brass brushes much anymore.
I like and use a combo of the otis and bore snake
+1 Boresnake.
I’ve got Dewey rods, too, but I use them just to swab with solvent before I pull the boresnake through.
If you’re going to use a rod, then get a good nylon-coated one. Keeping a steel rod for emergencies is a good idea. Using a steel rod regularly is a bad idea…
For cleaning chambers, I’ve got non-rotating but flexible handle/rod into which I can screw a chamber brush. It works easily and allows me to really scrub the chamber (even those that I can’t get at straight, like my M1 Carbine and M1A).
YMMV,
Ben