Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Stuck bore snake

Anyone have advice on removing one of these critters? I think someone tried to clean a 22 caliber with a 25 caliber bore snake.
Is the barrel ruined?
Thanks chris

Nylon brush on rod from muzzle -- try tapping "backward".
If you use a good rod with ball bearings the "tapping" could ruin the bearings, FWIW.

Barrel's not ruined, just get the thing out of there and throw them away...


When you are forcing bullets down the barrel at beau coup thousand of pounds of pressure, nothing you can do with elbow grease is gonna hurt the bore much...

Tapping on it may very well jam it in tighter. You may have to have a gunsmith remove it. If you are handy......A heated metal rod of smaller diameter pushed into, and through the boresnake. The hot rod will burn through it, and you can then push the mess out. If you are handy........

Make a hooked jag for your cleaning rod, hook it from the back and pull it out.

You keep thinking that! And, good luck.

I actually bought a 223 rifle for cheap that a guy broke a 25 cal bore snake in and when the string broke he couldn't get it out he said he tried for weeks with brass rods and kept braking them as he beat on them. Well I figured the barrel was ruined since he was beating inside of it wit those rods so he sold me the Stevens 200 in 223 for $75 because he didn't want to hassle with it. I recommended a gunsmith I know and he refused and said I don't want it make me an offer so I did with plans to rebarrel it. Anyhow I took the brass hook from a muzzle loader I used to have and cut down the base so it would fit a 223 barrel then re bent the hooks to fit in the barrel and went in and pulled the snake out with a few attempts. Make sure you pull it out the same way it was being pulled because once the bristles go in they bend back and will not come out in reverse due to the snake being too big to begin with. Anyhow needless to say its a good shooter and the barrel came out undamaged. Or you can have a gunsmith do it really cheap and not worry with it or damage it.

I was kinda surprised to read that myself.

Well the story was and may be stuck bore snake, got a chance to look at it and it has aluminum I think cleaning rod that can be seen from both ends so maybe after the snake got stuck they tried to beat it out with a cleaning rod? Or maybe it is a stuck cleaning rod? Has anyone tried a drill bit with any luck?
Thanks Chris

Drilling it out will work ! Please post pictures !!!

Have you guys ever actually damaged a bore by doing anything besides shooting it too many times, too hot and too dirty?

Not being reactive here...just wanting to hear the stories...

I haven't seen it, but, based on your description, that might prove to be best thing you can do for that barrel. That way you will know it is ruined and you can move forward.

Sorry, I'm not in the bore damaging business. I rebarrel guns who's owners have damaged them through thoughtless, careless acts that don't always involve pulling a trigger. And a majority of them I suspect from trying to dislodge things from their bores.

Boresnake has a big solid loop at the fat end right? Go out in the garage and hang it from a solid hook screwed into one of your rafters. Grab on to hanging rifle and slowly pull down. I would think it should come loose before you can actually pull your feet off the ground.

This should be good

" Hold my beer, and watch this..."

This should actually work, just be sure you are pulling in the right direction.That is unless the guy's got it all crunched up into a f'in ball so you can't get ahold of the loop.It should come outta there a little effort.

Burn it out.

I had a patched round-ball stuck in a .50 Cal side-lock Hawkin (the powder had become damp due to condensation and would not fire).
My solution was to unscrew the nipple, dig some of the wet crud out and trickle in a few grains of FFg, screw the nipple back on, cap and shoot. The patched round-ball dislodged just when the hammer fell.

I'm NOT suggesting that this might be time to do some fireforming with cream of wheat filler and a tissue-paper bullet, but....

Nope.

As Malm said, I'm not into doing things that will wreck a bore.

A little forethought and carefulness will keep you in the position of not having to explain how you f'ed up another barrel.



You might want to ask the guy that cleans from the muzzle, with no bore guide, using a stainless brush, attached to a jointed aluminum rod, and see how he's making out.