Field "bore snake"

[Rew]

Something we used to do in Iraq, was to take a lenth of 550 cord and attach a cleaning rod section to one end. Tie some of the internal white strings to the threaded end of the rod than melt the green cover over the rod end. Next tie three or four knots in the cord about 30" form the rod and about 6" apart. Now drop the rod through the bore from the chamber end and put a small amount of lube on the first knot. As you pull the knots through the bore they act like cleaning patches and you end with a clean dry bore. This worked great in the crowded interior of a Bradley, when cleaning rods would have been dangerous.;)

[Corpsie]

What exactly is 550 cord?

[Rew]

:) Some people call it para cord. It is suppose to hold up to 550 lbs. ;)

[BigDumbGerman]

I've used the 550 cord method too. It was taught to me by one of my favorite grunts who swore by it. It's a good field expedient as far as I'm concerned, but I finally broke down and spent the 10-15 bucks on a .22 cal Bore Snake. I keep it in the butt of my A2, or else tucked away in a ziplock in my buttpack (my chain of command frowns on use of "civilian cleaning items" on a "military" rifle:rolleyes:). They're fine for cleaning powder fouling from blanks, but what really kills the accuracy potential of the A2 is copper build-up. For that, you need something a little saucier than suck-ass, issue CLP and nylon. Still, it's a great field expedient, and great for places where (OOOWWW! MY EYE!) those NASTY issue cleaning rod abominations (which should be trashed at the first opportunity) are less than keen. Recently, I got an Otis cleaning kit and it's great for the field, if a little slow to use. I still keep the 'ol BoreSnake handy, though. ;)

[RJ Shooter]

GREAT advice Rew!!!

[Epinephrine]

My mom and I just sent 4 Otis kits and 400 patches to my step brother and the crew of his Abrams. Havent heard back if he likes em or not but I swear by Otis stuff on my AR.