Bore guides

[Stix]

Im after info on bore guides for common & factory chambered centrefire rifles...

What do you use &/or recommend...?
Why...?
Do you have one for each rifle...?
Do you have one for a "group" of rifles...and another for a different group of rifles...?

Im looking to buy another one...lately i mostly shoot Tikka's & one or 2 Sako's, that extend from 20 cal to 7mm, from action sizes XS to "short" (308), so ideally im looking for one to preferably cover all of them.

In the past ive taken a fancy to the Dewey line, given that from 222 right up to 308 you can use the same main tube, but have different sleeve's for different diameter bolts...
The other thing i like about the older dewey one i used to clean older rifles with, is the rubber O-ring that seals the chamber off & prevents excessive leakage of solvent back through the action.

A few years ago i bought a "Hoppe's" universal type guide with the 3 different diameter nozzles & its basically crap...
For starters, the locking screw that you turn to lock the sleeve into place with, doesnt really turn down into the releived area for the bolt handle on the Tikka.s, & the nozzle's dont seal in the chamber--so it easily works its way loose & fills the chamber with solvent if you are in need of a serious scrubbing regime...

Anyway...looking for ideas, costs etc etc...and thought it might be a good discussion point...maybe...

Cheers

[Wm.Traynor]

"...thought it might be a good discussion point.........."
I don't use a bore guide Stix. Instead, my rifles are secured in a bench-mounted, padded vice, by the barrel. The rod is guided by the tips of my thumb and fore finger. That's it

[TassieTiger]

I use a Lyman like this one;
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Lyman-Unive ... SwwXJdfduo

Works well but cone gets caught when trying to retract, so I need a dental tool to help get it out...

[marksman]

l was told a long time ago by a good gunsmith that if you use a bore guide you will eventually wear in one place of the bore guide that will hit the bore in one place but if you dont use a bore guide you will have wear all over but in the true life of a bore it will not be noticeable wear
l hope you understand what l am trying to say
l dont use a bore guide but am happy for others to use one l have never ruined a barrel by not using one
l try to be careful like WM.Traynor

[TassieTiger]

I have no freaking idea what your talking about lol,
The bore guide never goes in on the same rotation and the cone at the end ensures this....
The metal on the bore guide is an allow or plastic so shouldn’t pose any wear at all.

[Stix]

Lol...
I get what you're all saying...

And id firstly like to say that i feel a little better given i too, use my thumb & forefinger..."YAY"...

(phew')

And i think Tassie has a great point also...plastic & "alooom'nm"...( ), shouldnt wear out a chamber, but a jag may well damage the throat/lands of a barrel ...
And even if it did, having a slight marking on the bottom to mid end of the wall of the chamber, shouldnt have as great an impact on accuracy (if any), as compared with the same damage at the lands/throat...

so may i introduce another conspiracy theor--that the gunsmith who recommends not using a bore guide is doing what he can to ensure you come back to him sooner, rather than later...

But...this info--that im not alone & do as other well vested shooters as you guys do, is soothing to my mind...

Looking forward to hearing from people that use guides...for whatever reason, i feel a need to have one, so i fit in when around people who use them...&/or to satisfy the overbearing weight of ocd that plagues my being......

[Wm.Traynor]

Stix,
I can see that you need psychology and I would try to give you some but it's a bit late in the day, sooooo we will see you in the am and in the meantime, sleep well knowing that you are on the side of the Just and Virtuous

[marksman]

very good points and as l've never owned one l wouldn't know
as l said though l am very happy for anyone else to use one

[pomemax]

I have the tipton bore guide or a tetra pro universal bore guide. both do similar job .

[No1_49er]

I use these https://www.possumhollowproducts.com/BORE_GUIDES.html
Chart, here, covers most firearms https://www.possumhollowproducts.com/up ... rt_12.xlsx

[Am88]

I just happened to have gone through this, I bought a lyman one of ebay, when it got here I was less then happy, as it was too large a diamter to fit in my Sako A1 .222, also was a poor fit in my Sako 85 and cannot use the locky thingo. so I bought an extra one from benchrest sentral I believe it was, Possum Hollow is the brand of guide made specific for the rifle,s, couldnt be happier, the diameter of the guide for my A1 is correct to the bolt size, and the smaller end has an Oring that seals in the chamber. On the waiting list for one for my 85 now.

Other then not fitting in the sako's I use the lyman guide in my rem 700 and howa's and its fine. could be a little better fitting but does the job.

Cheers

[straightshooter]

What is the purpose of a bore guide?
One would think it is twofold.
1. Stop a flexing cleaning rod rubbing on and damaging the throat, lede or early rifling.
2. Stop solvent and debris running into locking lug cavity.
Some commercial units do neither even if the operator is careful and diligent.
Many commercial bore guides do neither very well, more so if the operator is careless or lazy.
I have seen enough damaged bores with a borescope in high round count barrels to know that simply relying on a bore guide is a waste.
Spend you money on something else of greater utility.
Simple rule to follow is this.
Ensure your barrel is rigidly held, for example in wooden jaws in a vice, and ensure by observation that your cleaning rod is always centered in the receiver opening as you operate the cleaning rod. Only ever introduce solvent from the muzzle.

[TassieTiger]

One reason I went with Lyman is because it has an easy access solvent port - so whilst I take on board advice to introduce solvent from muzzle, to me that is fraught with danger as I do not know how fast it will run down barrel, the bore guide solvent port, ensures the solvent is introduced from lands and you can have muzzle pointed down...

[grumpy308]

Throats and leads can still be damaged using bore guides by rough and careless use with incorrect cleaning rods. One piece rods, preferably plastic coated minimize such damage. More importantly damage to the crown is of far greater significance as far as accuracy is concerned and is far more prevalent. 90 percent of barrel damage I see is on the crown and is always caused by the same thing. I can stand back and watch people clean their barrels and know by their methods which ones will be damaged when inspected with a borescope. Hands up all those that use a jag. Hands up all those that push the rod and patch through and remove the patch when it exits the muzzle. Hands up all those that withdraw the rod and jag back through the barrel. Hands up all those that hear a "click, click" noise as the jag comes back through the muzzle. Congratulations you have just rounded off the nice square sharp edge on the bottom couple of your rifling lands. Don't believe it, have a look through a good borescope to see the damage you have done. The crown is the most important part of your barrel to have in perfect condition if you want consistent accuracy but is the most common part to be damaged by poor cleaning. Sure clean bores are important in the big picture but that final couple of thou is imperative to keep in pristine condition to shoot tight groups consistently. Remove the jag from the rod before you withdraw it through the barrel or throw it away and use a different method. Problem is if you have answered yes to the above questions the damage has probably already been done. Regards Malcolm.

[straightshooter]

Hands up all those that hear a "click, click" noise as the jag comes back through the muzzle. Congratulations you have just rounded off the nice square sharp edge on the bottom couple of your rifling lands.

Might be a problem if your jag is made from a hard material such as steel and is a larger diameter than your cleaning rod.
I personally don't ever recall coming across that "click, click" phenomenon, maybe my hearing isn't what it used to be.

[solarpak]

I always use a bore guide but also tend to work the cleaning rod as parallel to the barrel as i can.

Possum Hollow make a great bore guide but there are a few other universal brands out there that work well in most bolt actions.

C.

[marksman]

for the life of me l cannot see any damage from a cleaning rod in any of my unboreguided cleaning rod barrels nothing
l have been looking a hard as l can with the new teslong and cannot see any damage or abnormal wear from an unguided cleaning rod
my rods are coated or carbon fibre, never had a bore guide, maybe it the way l hold my tongue, who knows

[John]

I don’t use them in any of my rifles and have never had any problems you’d have to be doing something really wrong to damage to the steel used to make barrels is a lot harder than any cleaning rod or attachment in my opinion but I do see many experienced shooters using them I guess it’s personal preference

[TassieTiger]

for the life of me l cannot see any damage from a cleaning rod in any of my unboreguided cleaning rod barrels nothing
l have been looking a hard as l can with the new teslong and cannot see any damage or abnormal wear from an unguided cleaning rod
my rods are coated or carbon fibre, never had a bore guide, maybe it the way l hold my tongue, who knows

Was going to add similar - the teslong shows everything (definitely worth the $ if anyone is looking for a cheap toy !) and I’ve not seen anything resembling scratch/marks, despite actually expecting too, when I’ve stuffed up and bent brushes/jags with incorrectly sized patches on a specific barrel.

[scoobs]

possum hollow