Customer Reviews

Hoppe's 24031 BoreSnake .410 Gauge Shotgun Bore Cleaner

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bore snakes are wonderful. You can use them at the range if you want to stay a long time, out in the field as a quick clean for a battle rifle... the uses are nearly endless.

The only maintenance required for bore snakes is occasional cleaning. You can see when they are dirty by judging the tarnish on the brass bristles. Tossing them in a 'delicates' bag (ask your wife about this) and placing them in the washing machine works very well.

However... bore snakes are not intended to be replacements for the usual rod and patch method. For 12 gauge shotguns, use the rod, but buy up some Tampax Original Regular. When you fluff them out, they work perfectly as a patch for thoroughly cleaning a 12 gauge barrel. I found this excellent advice at the 'Box 'o Truth' website, and it turned out to be exactly what I needed for my own shotguns. They clean much more quickly and efficiently compared to regular patches.

The bore snake is quick and easy to use, but doesn't do as good a job as a rod and patches/brush. I put solvent on the front area of the snake (before the brush) and ran it through a couple times. It took a lot of solvent to be wet enough since much soaks into the interior of the snake. Powder crap was sort of "flung" around when the brush emerged from the muzzle, much like running your finger over a wet toothbrush.

I then soaked the rear with Remoil and ran it through. It looked very good, with a few grains of powder residue and no visible wad residue. I ran it through a few more times, and it looked fantastic. Total passes was 5 (2 with solvent, 3 with remoil). Awesome, I thought.

I then did my usual rod & patch job with solvent and was very surprised at how black the patch was. Normally I need 4 swabs with solvent, and the first patch after using the snake looked slightly cleaner than my normal second patch.

In summary, it does a good job of getting the major crud out, though it is messy and takes a lot of solvent. It seems useful if you are shooting a LOT (e.g., a tournament) for a mid-day cleanup or a quick run-through in the field, but I'll be using the rod & patch in the future.

I just tried my 12 Gauge BoreSnake for the first time last night, and I have to say it was the easiest, fastest, and best cleaning my shotgun has ever had. The product is simplicity in itself. Completely fool proof! If you're tired of the old method of the bore cleaning rods and clothes, try this product! You will not be disappointed! I'm going to buy the .357 Snake next!
Pistol Cleaners Cal .357 .38 9MM Gunmate Boresnake Gun Bore Cleaner

This Hoppe's Boresnake makes cleaning my 12g shotgun very quick and easy! I have boresnake for every caliber we shoot and absolutely find them indispensable for quick cleaning after a day at the range. As other reviewers have noted, using boresnakes do not negate the need to do an occasional thorough cleaning with a rod and patches.

These are a great time saver and work very well in all of my 12g shotguns.

Recommended!

CFH

This is a great product. Takes many minutes off your gun cleaning tasks. Also saves on supplies, such as patches, solvents, and other cleaners/lubricants. For people who shoot different guns and calibers the Boresnake makes cleaning a cinch. I use the Boresnake and the Boresnake Viper for different guns. The Boresnake Viper does provide better cleaning one the first couple of runs, but both are more than adequate. I'm not sure how these work with "dirty ammo", but with range reloads and factory ammo, it works great!

This is an awesome product, however the 12g size is loose in my Benelli and Pardner barrels.
I bought a 10g version to replace it and it works much better

If you have never invested in one of these do it. My brother first introduced me to these and it's a huge time saver.
No more wasting money on hundreds of small patches. This bore snake is most likely the most efficient cleaning item out there.

I love this thing!

After spending hours to remove Cosmoline from a new Mossberg HS410 using a Winchester Shotgun cleaning kit, I was motivated to find better and quicker cleaning tools. I upgraded chemicals to MIL-grade M-Pro7 Cleaner and M-Pro7 Gun Oil LPX from a local store, but a BoreSnake had to be ordered from Amazon. I took the shotgun to the range and fired multiple boxes of Federal Premium Personal Defense, Winchester PDXI Defender and Winchester AA Sporting Clay shotshells. The shotgun was filthy after the event. First, I used the new M-Pro7 materials with a conventional cleaning rod and wire brush/swab/patches to clean and lube the cylinder bore, but the bore did not appear to be clean. I then followed the directions for use of Hoppe's #24031 BoreSnake, and was surprised by the amount of residual carbon that the BoreSnake removed in one pass (with a few drops of M-Pro7). By the third BoreSnake pass through the barrel, the bore was completely clean and had a light coat of protective lubricant. I read a Review about a buyer that had trouble pulling the BoreSnake through a barrel. The first pass of a new BoreSnake of the correct caliber/gauge will require considerable pull. As a tip: wrap the weight cord a few turns around a make-shift handle to facilitate pulling the BoreSnake through the cylinder bore.

I know it's not the equivalent of a serious tear-down cleaning, but it doesn't seem to be all that far from it. I have a short-barrel shotgun for home defense purposes which I fire infrequently, usually at a local range. A good hose-down with an all purpose cleaner+protectant spray, followed by a pass through the barrel with this snake seems to clear the barrel of what little crud got deposited there during a practice session. Those who use their shotguns a lot, say for hunting, will probably want to use more stringent methods from time to time, but this is great for a quick cleaning.

I bought this to help get and keep my 12ga clean. It really made cleaning my shotgun a lot easier and did it quickly too. I definitely recommend this item!