i've got one for my 20 and my 12, they work very well, especially if you use them after each outing, if its been a while since you've cleaned the bore it may take 2 or three swipes. good product.
They do indeed take dirt out . The trouble is once it goes through it's dirty. If you use it again then you're putting dirt back into your gun. A little while ago and friend of mine who is still in the service showed me a kit that he was issued. It was the Otis Tactical kit. This kit is a pull through system that can clean everything from 17cal to 10ga. The patch is used to form a swab that cleans 360 degree with in the bore. The flexible rod can also be used to remove stuck casing. The whole kit fits in a 4" case. Also, there is a standard size patch that cleans all calibers. This means to me , that I don't have to buy 6 different size patches to clean all of my guns. The kit is small enough to carry on your belt, or to be carried in your range bag. When on the range, I have found it easier to clean the bore while the gun is still warm. This kit makes it quick and easy to clean the bore right on the range.
I have personally found this to be the practical cleaning kit , available. There are many kits that do a good job, but I think this is one that you should take a look at.
Personally I only use Dewey 1 piece rods. One is always packed in my hard travel case with bag of cleaning supplies. The bore snake would really be redundant of this and has limitations as well. For example should a bore become plugged with mud, etc the bore snake wouldn't help you much. Secondly it may remove dirt and powder but it will never remove copper. So my feeling is you would still require a rod, patches, brush, jags and solvents to thoroughly clean your bore properly. All meaning I have never seen a use for a bore snake.
I use a bore snake with my .22lr, .243, and 12 gauge. I spray some G96 3-in-1 cleaner on the first 3-6 inches, and pull it through. The barrels are amazingly clean in less than a minute! I've had to do it a couple of times with particularly dirty barrels, but that doesn't happen often since I clean the guns before putting them away.
I use a Bore Snake for my shotgun--man, does it make things a heck of lot easier. Like the others said, it's best to use after each outing. Otherwise you'll be running grime back through the bore again when you have to do a second or third pull.
I do a lot more shooting with my rifles and pistols, and I use the Dewey nylon-coated rod that skeeter 7mm mentioned. It's a lot easier to give the bore a good, sound scrubbing with a traditional brush.
Birchwood Casey's Gun-Scrubber will clean the crud out of the Bore-Snake as well as aid in cleaning the residue from the barrel. The Old Fashioned Way with bore brush and Nitro Solvent still can't be beat when cleaning rifle barrels.
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Bore snake?
