I just had an epiphany, Joe. Y'all are pulling the rod up through a 99 barrel, not pushing it. All but one of my Savages are takedowns and as such it's a simple matter to push a rod through the bore, as you would with a bolt gun or single shot. My bad, I just don't think in terms of cleaning guns from the muzzle.
Regardless of which direction one puts the rod through the bore, a RH twist (as in our Savages) has the tendency to loosen the jag/brush in the rod. That's why you need to push (or pull) via the rod not the handle, so you keep constant pressure in the direction of the rifling while kind of maintaining enough torque on the rod so the jag doesn't spin loose and give you a false reading. It calls for a dab hand.
