America is at war and, like it or not, we have our bravest men and women fighting in another land. We have loved ones in harms way and we all want to make their experience better. Some have raised money for personal comfort items to send to soldiers they know and those they don't.

We have taken on a specialized project to provide assistance to the men and women on the front line.

The hostile environment in Iraq and Afghanistan leaves our troops with a very difficult job of cleaning their weapons several times per day. To improve on this, many parents have been going to local gun shops to buy improved cleaning tools to make the job easier and better than the military issue products provided.

We heard the call for better cleaning products and we have developed a program to provide the best available for our troops. These come in the form of products made by Hoppe's Manufacturing, long known by sophisticated firearms enthusiasts. We call our program Project Bore Snake.

Each package sent to a deployed serviceperson includes 8 Bore Snake cleaning/swabbing brushes. These products are state of the art and have no known equal, but most importantly and the reason Project Bore Snake exists - they are vastly superior to current "Military Specification" materials issued to the troops.

Pulling a bore snake through an M16A2 carbine barrel

Once a Bore Snake is populated with solvent and oil, it's a quick pull through the barrel to properly effect all cleaning steps. A second pull for good measure, and the barrel, critical for accuracy and performance, is thoroughly cleaned and protected against harsh elements and will remain so longer.

Servicepersons are nominated to receive a package on our site via the Identify a Serviceman page. Each individual "Snake Kit" package we ship includes 8 Bore Snakes intended to be shared among the recipient's unit or provided to the unit armorer. Available kit configurations support any number, to a total of 8 bore snakes, of all US military small-arms sizes (5.56mm, 7.62mm, 9mm, .45 cal, 12.7mm and 12 gauge - specific assortment chosen during soldier nomination). Packages are sent direct to soldiers on the ground, via US Mail, UPS or any means that is secure, economical and available.

Where is the oil and solvent?Previously, we included commercial solvent and oil with the kits, but the MIL-SPEC lubricants and cleaners that the troops have been issued are excellent and quite compatible with "Bore Snakes". Accordingly, we've decided to save the cost of those items by no longer including them. As a result, we are able to provide "Bore Snakes" to over 30% more soldiers and marines!

The price-per-kit varies based on vendor pricing, number-of-units we can order at a time, kit configuration requested, number-of-units shipped, choice of shipping provider and other factors. Generally, a $56.00 donation will send one complete package of 8 bore snakes. (Donations of less than required to ship a complete package will be combined to support complete packages.)

Our labor and efforts are donated. Hoppe's provides the products below retail dealer cost as a gesture of support. AmmoGuide.com registered, developed and maintains this website at no cost.