Bore Snake Stuck in the Barrel

S

SkySlash

New member
Hi, I'm SkySlash, and I'm a DumbSh*t.

I was cleaning my AR-15 yesterday, and decided that rather than using my normal method of careful guided-rod bore cleaning, I'd use a trusty old bore snake. Except I pulled to hard... The snake was being pulled from the flash hider end, and got pulled in just hard enough that it's embedded about 3/4 of an inch into the throat of the barrel. Just far enough that I can't get ahold of it with any needle nose pliers, and I can't hook it because it's compressed enough the thread just tears.

I feel like an idiot...I've never done anything quite this stupid with a gun.

I asked a buddy about it, and he suggested I turn the barrel, receiver side up, and use a penetrating oil on the snake. He said to reapply it over a period of days, and to keep applying until the oil begins to drip out the tip of the barrel. At that point, he said to try and use a wooden dowel rod and carefully tap the snake back out of the barrel.

I completely trust my buddy's advice, but I was curious if anyone else had encountered this before, and how they resolved it.

-SS
 
I think the oil will be detrimental, I remember reading somewhere that someone else got one stuck because they said they put too much oil on the snake and it expanded as it soaked the oil up? I think they had to wait a few days for the snake to dry a little before they managed to get it unstuck.
 
the oil will be detrimental
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+1

leave it alone for a few days and let whatever you already had in it drip out.

You were using a correct .22/223 snake right? I would say get some one to help, have one person pull on he snake and another push with a dowel. To much pressure from the dowel will cause the fibers to be pressed against the inside of the barrel, getting it stuck tighter.

Or just send your upper to me. Then it will be my problem, I promise to let you know how I fixed it. :)
 
At that point, he said to try and use a wooden dowel rod and carefully tap the snake back out of the barrel.
Click to expand...

I tried to remove a bore-snake using a dowel once - the dowel expanded radially and got stuck in the bore. My advice would be to try a brass rod instead.
 
Absolutely do not use a wooden dowl. You think you have trouble now... In all honesty I don't know how to get one out of a barrel but one other problem is reversing the direction of the snake is going to cause all sorts of hell on the brass bristles when they bind up on the bore. Call your nearest university and ask them what will dissolve nylon but not harm steel. Good luck.
 
Can you make contact with the folks that make the boresnake? I'm sure you aren't the first person to have this problem, and I bet they've heard it all and know many tricks you can use to get it out without doing any harm.
 
I second the compressed air. If you have a compressor with one of those air squirters that has a rubber tip, you should be able to get a good enough seal to blow it out.
 
Lots of threads just like this one. I'll never use a Bore Snake! Barrel should be cleaned from chamber end, with a good cleaning rod and bore guide.
 
SkySlash

Please let us now how you resolve this - I am sure you didn't start this thread to hear all of these others tell you how "dumb" you were to use one and am sorry it is stuck in the bore. I recently started using one because they are so darned easy, but this thread and others is giving me second thoughts. PLEASE INFORM US ON HOW YOU GET IT OUT.
 
I haven't had any problems with boresnakes, but I also only use them from the chamber end; in your situation, I would probably try to make a modern version of a "worm" (what they used to pull a stuck ball out of a muzzle-loader) out of piano-wire, available from a hobby store, by heating the end up, twisting it into a corkscrew, and sharpening the end to bite into the fibres. You might also be able to find a set of long-nosed hemostats (the very thin locking clamps that doctors use in surgery) that might be able to grab the end.
 
there are quite a few threads on this.
Everyone I have read ended up with the worm approach.
Took a good bit of time but it worked in every case without further damaging the rifle.

Someone tried blanks in one thread. Did not work, but ruined the barrel. I would guess compressed air could do the same if you got the compression high enough that it would dislodge the bore snake.

Like others said, you are always supposed to clean from chamber end whenever possible, although I do not think that is what caused your problem. It i just like you always brush a billiards table from the end you break at towards the end you rack at.
 
removal

Take the bolt carrier out and the upper off the lower and use a brass rod as suggested earlier. Use a helper as suggested. Try twisting the snake so as to tighten the weave and diminish its diameter. The snake is fully extended in the barrel? Compressed air will blow by. The brass rod will not hurt the barrel though the snake is done for.
I use bore snakes on all of my guns, AR included....always from the breech end. Never a problem.
The rod will work.
A fellow that I know gave me a barrel that he said was not savable - it had a screwdriver bit and a wooden dowel in it. Brass rod got them both out. The barrel was damaged a bit by whoever had tried the screwdriver but not from the rod.
Pete
 
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Lot's of good suggestions. I was cleaning the gun from the breech end, that's how the snake got stuck...

I've researched this all over the net, and the most common solution that seems to work is what my buddy suggested. Soak the snake it penetrating oil over a period of days, and then try to gently tap it out with a brass rod or wooden dowel.

I'm going to keep working on that, and I'll let every one know how it works out. In the future though, I'm going to keep cleaning like I usually do, with a bore guide and a brass rod.

-SS
 
Please, do yourself a favor and do a search first.

I know I've read threads on this before, but I don't remember how they were resolved. I do recall that compressed air, grease gun, oil, etc, did not work, and seem to recall several people who tried the wooden dowel only to make things worse.

Take the time, do your research, and above all, don't make it worse than it already is.
 
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