Hoppes BoreSnake Viper Reviewed

 

Marketing from Hoppe’s 9

Hoppe’s new BoreSnake Viper takes the world’s fastest gun bore cleaner and makes it even better. The BoreSnake Viper utilizes the same one-pass pull-through technology and compact storage size of the original BoreSnake with the addition of an extra cleaning brush for a total of three, providing 50% more cleaning power. The BoreSnake Viper has a cone shaped bore guide on the leading end to allow for easy insertion into your gun’s bore. The pull cord on the BoreSnake Viper is attached directly to the brushes for superior strength. The area to apply lubricant on the BoreSnake is clearly marked in bright orange.

 
Manufacturer: Hoppe’s 9, www.hoppes.com

Model: BoreSnake Viper

Everything you love about the BoreSnake plus better cleaning and superior strength. The BoreSnake Viper makes cleaning your guns easier than ever. This updated version has three cleaning brushes and a built-in bore guide that makes it easier to pull the Viper through the gun bore. The cord is tied directly to the first cleaning brush for added strength. The Viper has 50% more cleaning power and an improved lubrication zone.

• Brass weight on the pull cord is stamped with size
• 50% more brush cleaning power than the BoreSnake
• Cone-shaped bore guide on the leading end
• Nylon cord attached directly to the bronze scrubbing brushes
• Lubrication zone

Pistols & Revolvers
.22 calibers	24000V
.30, .32 calibers	24001V
.357, 9mm, .380, .38 calibers	24002V
.40, .41 calibers	24003V
Rifles
M-16, .22 – .225 calibers	24011V
6MM, .240, .243, .244 Calibers	24012V
7mm, .270, .284, .280 calibers	24014V
.308 – .30 calibers	24015V
Viper .338, .340 calibers	24017V
.35, .350, .357, .358, .375 calibers	24018V
.416, .44, .45 – 70, .458, .460 calibers	24019V
.50, .54 calibers	24020V

 

 

The Review

I come from the old-school… Running brushes and patch after patch of bore cleaner or powder solvent through my firearms until they were clean and dry followed by a lube and wipe down before I put them to bed. I love to shoot. But keeping them clean was always a painstaking process. Not to mention, I have always been afraid of what damage cleaning rods could be doing to the bore of my firearms.

Enter the Hoppe’s BoreSnake Viper. The obvious solution to the problem. Instead of a single piece of fabric or patch material a few inches squared, the BoreSnake Viper is a long, slender length of fibrous material that by design provides a constant cleaning action as it is pulled through the firearm’s barrel. The BoreSnake Viper consists of three cleaning brushes and hundreds of times more floss than a standard cleaning patch, effectively scrubbing the bore clean.

The Hoppe’s BoreSnake Viper is consists of three main sections:

1. The head of the BoreSnake Viper incorporates a few key elements; a brass weight attached to the end of a durable, multi-stranded pull cord; a cone-shaped bore guide to properly align the leading edge of the BoreSnake Viper as it passes through the bore; a small section of woven fabric where you would apply any CLP (Cleaner, Lubricate, Preserve) product that you would normally use to loosen the debris stuck in the bore of the firearm; and finally, three bronze wire brushes attached directly to the pull-cord and woven through the fabric of the Viper itself.
2. The mid-section or “body” of the BoreSnake Viper is a fibrous material designed to catch any loose debris as it passes through the bore of the firearm.
3. The tail-section of the BoreSnake Viper consists of a large orange-colored loop where you would also apply some of your CLP product to complete the cleaning, lubrication and preservation process as it passes through the firearm.

The BoreSnake Viper is really very easy to use. But as always, before getting started, always check the firearm. Make sure the firearm is not loaded and it is safe to clean.

Once the firearm is rendered safe and the breech is open and accessible, simply feed the weighted end of the pull-string down the barrel from the breech to the muzzle. Pull the excess string though the barrel until the bore guide just enters the bore.

Next, add some of your favorite CLP-type product to the area of the BoreSnake Viper just behind the guide as well as the orange tail before pulling BoreSnake Viper steadily all the way through the barrel. Be careful not to jerk hard on the pull-string as it could cause it to break.

Not only do I strip and thoroughly clean my firearms when returning from the range, I also field-strip all of my firearms before taking them out to the range as well. I always like to give them a quick cleaning and inspection just to remove any oil build-up, contaminants or obstruction that I might have missed during the previous cleaning before I put them away.

Generally, I like to send the BoreSnake Viper down the barrel at least four or five times when I am performing a complete cleaning and at least once or twice when I am just doing a quick cleaning and inspection. Maybe a little OCD there… I don’t know. I simply like to think of it as taking care for my firearms. I enjoy the piece of mind and confidence that my firearms will operate safely when I go to use them.

The Boresnake Viper is completely machine washable so once it becomes clogged with carbon and other contaminants you can simply throw it in the wash. To keep them in good shape for longer, I prefer to wash them in a laundry bag and let them hang out to dry.

There have been some reports of pull-strings breaking. However, a call to Hoppe’s will usually result in a quick remedy. Most people with issues have also been satisfied with Hoppe’s Customer Service.

 

Final Thoughts

Hoppe’s new BoreSnake Viper is a bore cleaning monster. Hoppe’s has truly improved on the original BoreSnake, making it even easier to keep your firearms in tip-top shape. However, while I mostly use a Boresnake Viper and a can of BreakFree CLP at every cleaning, I always keep my trusty cleaning rods handy. You never know when you might need one to remove something lodged in your barrel.

So check out the Hoppe’s video and have a look at them for yourself. I recommend keeping a BoreSnake Viper as an integral part of every cleaning kit.

 

 

About Hoppe’s 9

In 1903, Frank August Hoppe mixed nine chemicals and created the most potent gun-cleaning solvent. Since then, the Hoppe’s brand has walked arm-in-arm with generations of hunters and shooters. Bushnell Outdoor Products based in Overland Park, Kansas is the parent company of Hoppe’s.