[AlaskaErik]

Many tampons were used in the eighties and nineties by the Marine corps to clean rifles.

I got out in 1979, so I missed that trend. Semper Fi.

[MrEdd]

They absorb a good amount of CLP, and are not abrasive enough to damage anything.

We would cut them into strips and ram them through the bore.
Add the work of a dremel with a bunch of felt tips and wheels and you could get a rifle that had been out in the field or use on the range for a couple of weeks inspection ready in about an hour.