I think the tiny bore of the .17hmr aggravates the issue in that situation, not much wiggle room, it's the only serious occurrence I've read about, although I've read many complaints of them being hard to pull thru, particulalry in small bores. Many RFC members remove the brush from snakes, but that's mainly for rimfire applications. Personally, I only use them for field cleaning once or twice, then wash the snake in a laundry bag in the washer, they're great for shotguns.
Tim