I usually place a few drops of solvent on the area of the brushes and just ahead of the brushes when i use a snake. I will do this at the range after I'm done shooting - but I always follow up with a good cleaning at home as the Snake leaves a TON of stuff still in the bore - especially with my rifles. The one for my .45 1911 does a pretty good job of cleaning, but a good day at he range will still take several passes with a bore brush and a dozen cleaning patches before I'm happy with it's cleanliness.

And I also clean the Snakes after I've used them a couple times.............put them in an old white sock and wash them in the clotheswasher (without any clothes), then hang them up to drip dry.