Consider Side-Spiking Your Bore Cleaning Patches

When shooting targets, the closer to the center the better the result. But this is not necessarily true when it comes to using jags and patches. There are some good reasons to try spiking your patches away from the center. This Creedmoor Sports Tech Tip explains why you may want to spike (puncture) your patch away from the center. CLICK HERE to order patches and Swab-Its cleaning bore tips from Creedmoor Sports.

You begin to push your first patch down the barrel and you notice it is extremely tight and then it jams! How can this be? A commonly overlooked solution to remedy the frustrating occurrences of overly tight or jammed patches is what we like to call “Side-Spiking”. Side-Spiking is super simple and works!

“Side-Spiking”, as the words suggest, refers to moving your patch spiking position from the center of the patch towards the corner of a square patch or the edge of a round patch.

Moving From Center-Spiking
To Side-Spiking
The closer toward the edge of the patch you spike your jag, the looser the patch will be when pushed down the bore.

Important: Be careful to not go to the very edge of the patch. Leave enough patch material to fully cover the first set of rings on your jag as this insures your jag is properly centered in the bore and that no contact with the rifling will occur.

Proper Side-Spiking Location
Creedmoor Sports recommends side spiking all wet patches. This allows for a looser patch in the bore which removes gross powder fouling and leaves more cleaning solution behind to start working on the remaining fouling.

When a tighter patch is needed, simply move your spike closer toward the center of the patch. The closer to the center of the patch you get, the tighter the patch will become in the bore. The objective is to have a snug-fitting patch that allows you to smoothly push your rod down the bore. Remember you do not need to end up in the center of the patch!

Bore-Tech Patch Size Selection Chart Recommends Patch Sizes by Caliber: