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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
Genius :confused::confused:here was cleaning my 16 using a bore snake. All was well. Put a patch in the end loop of the bore, running a patch three times through no problem. Fourth time two patches were stuck together and I stupidly thought 2 is better than 1 so I put the two in the bore snake loop and sure enough it was too "thick" and got stuck. I'm sure I made it more stuck by pulling it even more! :nuts:

I can't get needle nose pliers in and can't push the snake back through with a rod. Any suggestions? I am sooo NOT a gunsmith so if there isn't a simple solution, I'll have to run down to my LGS.

Thanks!
 

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I really wish I had a guaranteed and easy solution to your problem, but the best I can offer is a remote possibility of success. It's a good assumption that the stuck patch is not going to be pulled the rest of the way through the bore, so it needs to be pushed back out into the chamber. However, the problem is, you can't push the Bore Snake.

I've had a similar problem using an Otis cleaning cable. Like the Bore Snake, it's used to pull the cleaning patch through the bore, but unlike the BoreSnake, in the tight .223" bore, the cleaning cable can be used in compression (pushing) as well as tension (pulling). I was able to clean the oil off the cable's vinyl outer sheath to get a good two handed grip, pinch the PLR-16 between my knees while seated, and make short compressive strokes that jack hammered the patch back out into the breech.

If the .22 Bore Snake is a hollow fabric tube, it might be possible to cut it off a couple of inches beyond the muzzle and slide a small steel rod inside this sheath and tap it out. If the Bore Snake is a hollow nylon sheath around a nylon cord or small diameter rope, this probably won't work. The .223" bore doesn't leave a lot of room to work. If you have 8" of bore that's already filled with compressible Bore Snake, it's going to be difficult to tap the obstruction back out from the muzzle end.

I considered trying to using a sharp brass screw from the breech end to screw into the back side of the plug and pull it out into the chamber, but the back of the breech in the PLR isn't open, so that makes this difficult, and screwing into the back of the patch plug would compress it more tightly into the side walls of the bore, making it even more difficult to extract. However, when someone forgets to put a powder charge into a muzzle loader and rams a lead ball all the way down the bore, there is a tool that is essentially a self drilling and self tapping screw on a long rod that can be used to drill into the lead ball and grab it, so it can be pulled back out of the bore using the inertia of a sliding weight on the exposed rod, much like a slap puller. But the PLR-16's tightly enclosed receiver area makes it difficult to work on this problem from the chamber end.

It might be possible to use a short pistol length Otis cleaning rod as a flexible shaft for a drill and use a belt sander to modify one of the brass tools in the Otis cleaning kit with the 8-32 threads that screws into the brass end on the cleaning cable as a patch chewer and use a cordless drill to spin it into the back of the patch plug, to slowly chew up the back end of the patches until the plug is sufficiently eaten away that it can be pulled out the muzzle.

Barring these mechanical solutions, there may be a chemical solution that works overnight. Maybe do some research to determine what dissolves a Bore Snake but doesn't dissolve steel. Chemical disincorporation. Where's Walter White when you need him? :)

The main reason I don't use Bore Snakes is that I don't like pulling a dirty Bore Snake through the bore and I don't like storing a dirty solvent and crud loaded Bore Snake nor washing them in the washing machine and untangling them. I like pulling a clean patch and when it comes out the other end I toss the little dirty patch in the trash. One and done. However, you have demonstrated another good reason not to use a Bore Snake, particularly in a .22 bore. If you get one stuck, it's suddenly and unexpectedly a very big deal. The cleaning cables can be pushed back down into a .22 bore, and possibly up to a .308 bore. This has pulled my bacon out of the fire on a few occasions.

In defense of the Bore Snake... I thought they recommend using them only on the bore diameter for which they were designed, and without an added patch?
 

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Discussion Starter · #3 ·
Thanks! I appreciate the analysis and solid suggestions.

I much prefer a rod to a snake, but with the PLR it's not possible? The snake was the correct size and I've inserted a patch many times, but apparently 2 patches is a no-go. That's what I get for being lazy! But, unlike the snake, the patch is a good way to see if the bore is actually clean.

I'll either go to my LGS or the hardware store. I'm thinking a flexible "rod" with something like an alligator clip might allow me to grab the end of it. But I might try your suggestion of cutting off the snake at the barrel and inserting a rod to punch it through.

Thanks again - I'll post how I solved the issue!

I really wish I had a guaranteed and easy solution to your problem, but the best I can offer is a remote possibility of success. It's a good assumption that the stuck patch is not going to be pulled the rest of the way through the bore, so it needs to be pushed back out into the chamber. However, the problem is, you can't push the Bore Snake.

I've had a similar problem using an Otis cleaning cable. Like the Bore Snake, it's used to pull the cleaning patch through the bore, but unlike the BoreSnake, in the tight .223" bore, the cleaning cable can be used in compression (pushing) as well as tension (pulling). I was able to clean the oil off the cable's vinyl outer sheath to get a good two handed grip, pinch the PLR-16 between my knees while seated, and make short compressive strokes that jack hammered the patch back out into the breech.

If the .22 Bore Snake is a hollow fabric tube, it might be possible to cut it off a couple of inches beyond the muzzle and slide a small steel rod inside this sheath and tap it out. If the Bore Snake is a hollow nylon sheath around a nylon cord or small diameter rope, this probably won't work. The .223" bore doesn't leave a lot of room to work. If you have 8" of bore that's already filled with compressible Bore Snake, it's going to be difficult to tap the obstruction back out from the muzzle end.

I considered trying to using a sharp brass screw from the breech end to screw into the back side of the plug and pull it out into the chamber, but the back of the breech in the PLR isn't open, so that makes this difficult, and screwing into the back of the patch plug would compress it more tightly into the side walls of the bore, making it even more difficult to extract. However, when someone forgets to put a powder charge into a muzzle loader and rams a lead ball all the way down the bore, there is a tool that is essentially a self drilling and self tapping screw on a long rod that can be used to drill into the lead ball and grab it, so it can be pulled back out of the bore using the inertia of a sliding weight on the exposed rod, much like a slap puller. But the PLR-16's tightly enclosed receiver area makes it difficult to work on this problem from the chamber end.

It might be possible to use a short pistol length Otis cleaning rod as a flexible shaft for a drill and use a belt sander to modify one of the brass tools in the Otis cleaning kit with the 8-32 threads that screws into the brass end on the cleaning cable as a patch chewer and use a cordless drill to spin it into the back of the patch plug, to slowly chew up the back end of the patches until the plug is sufficiently eaten away that it can be pulled out the muzzle.

Barring these mechanical solutions, there may be a chemical solution that works overnight. Maybe do some research to determine what dissolves a Bore Snake but doesn't dissolve steel. Chemical disincorporation. Where's Walter White when you need him? :)

The main reason I don't use Bore Snakes is that I don't like pulling a dirty Bore Snake through the bore and I don't like storing a dirty solvent and crud loaded Bore Snake nor washing them in the washing machine and untangling them. I like pulling a clean patch and when it comes out the other end I toss the little dirty patch in the trash. One and done. However, you have demonstrated another good reason not to use a Bore Snake, particularly in a .22 bore. If you get one stuck, it's suddenly and unexpectedly a very big deal. The cleaning cables can be pushed back down into a .22 bore, and possibly up to a .308 bore. This has pulled my bacon out of the fire on a few occasions.

In defense of the Bore Snake... I thought they recommend using them only on the bore diameter for which they were designed, and without an added patch?
 

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Discussion Starter · #4 ·
SUCCESS!!

OK - I cut the "head" of the bore snake off to try and push a rod down the sleeve to punch the loop/patch out. No-go, it was the snake-within-a-snake, not hollow type. So, I'm thinking maybe I can pull the inner snake out of the sleeve.

As my little wheels were turning, I looked over at my table vise, hmmmm. So I tightened the vise on the inner snake and pulled the PLR. After around 10 seconds of Herculean pulling the whole thing slid out FAST and I almost went through the wall! Anyway, it's out!

A trip to the range this week will determine whether Einstein here damaged it by sticking foreign objects into the chamber/barrel. Thanks again for the support! If I do it again I'll stick my head in the *%#@ vice!
 

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Discussion Starter · #6 ·
Not gonna sugar coat it. This thread made me laugh
If I had caught myself on video flying across the room with a snake in my hand when it popped out it would have been priceless.

Believe it or not, I was even laughing when I thought i was screwed! Not being mechanically inclined (although I get better with age) has been a source of laughter, even when it's been frustrating!
 

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I'm glad you didn't need to take it to a gunsmith. Minus 100 man points for that.

There are few mechanical problems that can't be solved with a vise and some physical exertion. I bought a Holosun red dot sight a couple of days ago and the mounting base was stuck to the optic's body. All four screws were out and the base would not come off so I could install the battery. I strained until I heard a high pitched whining sound in my ear but no go. I thought about the vise in my basement machine shop, but decided that I wouldn't want to keep any optic that had been through that much strain, so I returned it and bought a Streamlight TLR-2HLG for my new KSG.
 

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
A few close buddies work at the local LGS and would have fixed it for free - for the laughter and ribbing ;) But I'm glad I did it myself and kept some badly needed man points!

Good luck with the new scope!
 
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