I tend to clean my barrels with the shroud (and therefore any baffles within it) in place.
When I got back into airguns last year, I started out with a PatchWorm cleaning kit. Really a great little product and available for a reasonable price.
But I had a couple of issues with the PatchWorm:
1) Some magazine slots are narrower than others, and feeding the PatchWorm into the breech end of the barrel was a bit of a PITA in some cases;
2) I use a soda straw with a diagonal cut end to facilitate pushing the PatchWorm out of the muzzle and through the baffles in the shroud. And at times I really struggle to get through this transition zone.
On a whim I ordered a Napier pull-thru cleaner when I was ordering something else from AOA and wanted 'get more' for the same shipping cost they were going to charge me. And although now showing out-of-stock, I really like this product more than the PatchWorm, and use it pretty much exclusively now.
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/cleaning-maintenance/napier-pull-thru-cleaning-kit/
While you load the Napier from the muzzle end of the barrel, it still cleans from the breech to the muzzle. I use my same cut soda straw to get through the baffles and into the barrel, but feeding from the muzzle end is much easier for me - seems to clear the baffles easily every time. Plus I find that the Napier product is more broadly usable with any old cleaning patch, where the PatchWorm seems to work best only with round patches, and you have to keep various sizes of them for various rifle calibers.
The big unfortunate part is that the Napier pull-thru had been available for what I considered to be a reasonable price - $20. But now that product doesn't seem to be available in stock anywhere in the U.S. shops, and Napier U.S. only sells a $50 kit which includes things I don't really want:
https://www.napierusa.com/collections/air-gun-products/products/power-pull-through-kit
So I really had 2 or 3 reasons for creating this thread:
1) Inform other airgunners about a product which works well for me;
2) Learn from other airgunners: What are your tips and tricks for making the PatchWorm work well for you?
3) Learn from other airgunners: What other devices/tools do you use for barrel cleaning which work well for you?
When I got back into airguns last year, I started out with a PatchWorm cleaning kit. Really a great little product and available for a reasonable price.
But I had a couple of issues with the PatchWorm:
1) Some magazine slots are narrower than others, and feeding the PatchWorm into the breech end of the barrel was a bit of a PITA in some cases;
2) I use a soda straw with a diagonal cut end to facilitate pushing the PatchWorm out of the muzzle and through the baffles in the shroud. And at times I really struggle to get through this transition zone.
On a whim I ordered a Napier pull-thru cleaner when I was ordering something else from AOA and wanted 'get more' for the same shipping cost they were going to charge me. And although now showing out-of-stock, I really like this product more than the PatchWorm, and use it pretty much exclusively now.
https://www.airgunsofarizona.com/cleaning-maintenance/napier-pull-thru-cleaning-kit/
While you load the Napier from the muzzle end of the barrel, it still cleans from the breech to the muzzle. I use my same cut soda straw to get through the baffles and into the barrel, but feeding from the muzzle end is much easier for me - seems to clear the baffles easily every time. Plus I find that the Napier product is more broadly usable with any old cleaning patch, where the PatchWorm seems to work best only with round patches, and you have to keep various sizes of them for various rifle calibers.
The big unfortunate part is that the Napier pull-thru had been available for what I considered to be a reasonable price - $20. But now that product doesn't seem to be available in stock anywhere in the U.S. shops, and Napier U.S. only sells a $50 kit which includes things I don't really want:
https://www.napierusa.com/collections/air-gun-products/products/power-pull-through-kit
So I really had 2 or 3 reasons for creating this thread:
1) Inform other airgunners about a product which works well for me;
2) Learn from other airgunners: What are your tips and tricks for making the PatchWorm work well for you?
3) Learn from other airgunners: What other devices/tools do you use for barrel cleaning which work well for you?
