Henry Rifle Forums

As I posted early I got a new rifle. The X model in 357.. The h012cx.
I bought a bore snake for it. This was my first bore snake, as I have always used the cleaning rod routine. Have had guns since I was 16.. I was doing the new gun cleaning routine.
I started with the snake and then I thought it got stuck. talk about an "oh no" moment. Did I get the wrong size or what.
So this is the hoppes viper. It has a pull handle attachment. I tried to pull it back out the breech. No movement.
Wrapped the string part around the handle until there was no lead left and tugged. It came along and out.
I was relieved.
The videos I have seen with a bore snake seem to me it did not take that much force.
Just goes to show there is no replacement for the actual process of doing things.

It get easier and easier to use with use.

I love bore snakes. I have both Hoppes and Otis. They seem like the don't want to go through but elastic enough that they'll make it. Don't give up on them too soon!
Jake

They are a bit tight at first, but if they were not, they wouldn't be doing much good.

We have Otis for our 12gauge, the ar's, and the 22s. They do a great job!

What size do you get for a 357 mag? Do you get the one for a pistol ? I can't find any for a rifle.

Galen wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 24, 2021 5:42 pm

What size do you get for a 357 mag? Do you get the one for a pistol ? I can't find any for a rifle.

I use a Hoppes Bore Snake for 35-357 caliber rifles and pistols.

https://amazon.com/Hoppes-24018D-Boresn ... tle_sports

The length for a rifle can be hard to find. I picked up a bore cable which is long enough and can be used from the muzzle.
It is not hard though to remove the lever and bolt though, as to clean from the reciever.

I really like bore snakes for a quick clean and for rifles with difficult to remove bolts like the Mini 14 and M1A. Fortunately our Henry’s bolts are easy to remove for a good cleaning with a rod/brush/patch. My snakes don’t have a handle but I find that after pulling it far enough from the barrel to expose some I have to wrap it around my palm to pull it out. I’m good with that as I know it’s doing it’s job.

My 357 snake is a handgun length but it’s fine for the 20” Big Boy barrel. I always feed it thru the receiver and out the muzzle.

would a 35 rem work?? that way I would know it is long.

Galen wrote: ↑

Sun Jan 24, 2021 9:05 pm

would a 35 rem work?? that way I would know it is long.

Yes sir.
I love the bore snakes, have 4 of them.

RP

I agree with the use of the boar snake. Yes, it is difficult to pull through. But, I believe that means it is doing the job it was intended to do. I have never seen any residue after using my bore snake. If I ever do, I will move to the brush and patch and rod system.

A bore snake won’t remove copper fouling but will do a nice job cleaning powder residue and other contaminates in the bore. Every now and then it’s a good idea to run a copper remover such as Eliminator. I shoot local F Class matches where we shoot 88 shots and find that I get considerable copper fouling doing so. Running a solvent such as Eliminator will cause the patches to turn green as they pick up the fouling. I keep brushing (nylon) and running patches until the green no longer appears. This can take awhile and doing a solvent soak a couple of times helps.

Just remembered I used to have a 35 cal rifle bore snake but I gave it to the guy I sold my 35 Rem to. Probably should have kept it but as noted earlier, the handgun length works fine with the Henry 20” barrels.

Jerry, I had the same experience with my first boresnake, which was just last year. I thought it was stuck, but, stubborn as I am, I pulled hard & it came on thru. Like you, I found out that was the nature of the beast. All's well.

New bore snakes are a tight fit. However that pop as it comes out is fun!

Dahliathemeh wrote: ↑

Mon Feb 08, 2021 11:41 am

New bore snakes are a tight fit. However that pop as it comes out is fun!

Cleaned my rifle last nite, never crossed my mind about the bore snake, do have one. Finally thought of it when I saw your post.

I will share my experience.
Pay special attention when you buy a bore snake. Some say pistol and some say rifle in the same caliber designations. I have learned not to use a pistol snake in a rifle, even though the pull string is long enough on a lever action rifle. I had the pull sting break once and I can tell you that you don't want that to happen. I really believe the pistol snakes are slightly larger than a rifle snake of the same caliber - maybe because on a revolver the cylinder chambers are slightly larger than the bore.
That is my experience - never use a pistol snake in a rifle. Never had a problem using a rifle snake in a revolver.

Here is what I have for my Henry Big Boy 45LC. Works great.
Ultimate Rifle Build Barrel Snake - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBS6MWF/re ... 6N1S?psc=1

Choctaw wrote: ↑

Fri Apr 15, 2022 10:10 pm

Here is what I have for my Henry Big Boy 45LC. Works great.
Ultimate Rifle Build Barrel Snake - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XBS6MWF/re ... 6N1S?psc=1

Wish I had invented those suckers!
They are very easy to use, and work very well.

IMO they are not a substitute for a rod and brush and jag. I thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread when I got my bolt action Savage and started using it all the time. After a while, I started noticing my accuracy was dropping off rather drastically. I tried cleaning the barrel with a brush and got long pieces of copper out of it. I gave it a very thorough cleaning and accuracy went back to normal. I now relegate the bore snake to a quick cleaning in between.