Bore Tips - A Brief Review
With all the guns I get to shoot at SHOT Show, I sometimes overlook the other products showcased at the event. This year, Swab-its® (bore-tips.com products) released several new products.
The coolest new product is the .22cal Bore-whips™. This is a pull through disposable cleaning rod 3-pack for 22/5.56. The pull through part is a bright translucent plastic that works on the range as an empty chamber indicator. I have a blowback 22 that has hard-to-reach areas. This product is perfect.
I use pull through cleaning rods all the time. They are handy and very portable. Their obvious disadvantage is when the user has a stuck case and all they have is a pull through rod. The flexible plastic Bore-whips™ have just enough structural rigidity to poke out a stuck case. There are obvious limitations, but these things are lifesavers in the field.
I know a user who only uses Swab-its®. Their products don’t have any metal that can scratch a firearm.
Swab-its® makes lint free cloth and tipped swabs for cleaning hard to reach action parts. Their products are more cost effective than other disposable cleaning products. Swab-its® are made in the good ol’ USA.
Swab-its® products include Bore-tips®, disposable foam swabs that screw into standard cleaning rods. I like them because I don't have to thread a cleaning patch into a jag to swab or oil my bore. The foam swabs are reusable and washable. After they have reached their serviceable life, I just toss them.
I found the best way to use Swab-its® products is to designate one tip for each process: cleaning, swabbing, and oiling.
How long do Bore-tips® last? I have used them for several shooting sessions before I discard them. They are not like patches, which are good for only one pass through a bore. Throughout their usable life, they are lint free.
MSRP for 3 .22CAL/5.56MM PULL-THRU GUN CLEANING BORE-WHIPS™ is only $14.99

Officer Lindsey Bertomen (ret.), Contributing Editor
Lindsey Bertomen is a retired police officer and retired military small arms trainer. He teaches criminal justice at Hartnell College in Salinas, California, where serves as a POST administrator and firearms instructor. He also teaches civilian firearms classes, enjoys fly fishing, martial arts, and mountain biking. His articles have appeared in print and online for over two decades.