Guys, be careful about just thinking that your guns are clean but not really having them CLEAN! A Boresnake is great to take along when you go hunting, but it won't get all the powder and copper fouling out - not even close. Here's something you might try: get a jar of J-B Non-embedding Bore Cleaning Compound and use it (following directions) after you have cleaned your rifle the usual way. You will be amazed at what still comes out! This is an abrasive cleaner, so you shouldn't use it every time you clean, maybe once or twice a season depending how much you shoot. Also, get a good bore flashlight to inspect your bore, and use it both before and after cleaning to judge the difference.
Also, keep in mind that some rifles are harder to clean than others because some companies don't polish their bores as much as other do. My Remingtons need a lot more cleaning than my Tikka to get them shiny clean.
One final (for now) tip: If you don't want to get solvent all over your stock and into the magazine, first push a clean patch through the barrel from breech to muzzle - this gets any loose fouling out. Leave the rod sticking out of the muzzle and remove the first patch. Then put a new patch on. Wet the new patch with your solvent and draw it back into and through the barrel into the chamber. Swab the barrel as much as you think you need to. Then push the wet dirty patch out of the muzzle and remove the patch. Pull the rod back out of the breech end. Put on a new patch, and run it from breech to muzzle. Repeat the whole sequence until the barrel is clean. When you oil the rifle, run the oiled patch from breech to muzzle. The idea is to never draw dirt and fouling BACK into the rifle - push it all out the muzzle end. It also helps to wipe the rod with a paper towel throughout the process so that fouling insn't getting back into the bore from the rod, itself. Good luck!
