There are a lot of great gun cleaning kits out there as a starting point for those who are new to firearms. Otis offers a large variety of cleaning kits in all shapes and sizes. Did you start with one of these universal-type cleaning kits? What did you like about them?
Ohhhh the cleaning tools are just about as big a controversy as How often do you clean your āpick a stickā
I will tell a tale.
In 1994 (or mebby 1991) I donāt remember which, I was at the Camp Perry National Matches on vendors row. As I was walking along I saw this guy with a steel ram rod and a hammer beating āsomethingā down the barrel of a rifle. OK you have my interest, so I stopped. Once he got done beating on the object he pullās out this little nylon covered cable with a brass weight on it and begins to tap/throw the cable down the bore at what ever it was he was beating down the bore as he pontificates on his wares. After about a minute or less something falls out of the rifle into a coffee can on the ground. The folks that were there prior to me responded with verbal āHoly &^%'sā and other terms of disbelief. He had just ātappedā out a stuck brandy NEW boolet from a rifle bore. For the princely sum of $19.00 I bought a kit. That was my introduction to Otis. I admit I am not fond of their fold the patch 3 times and drag it through the bore process but that bullet removal bit stuck with me and I used it several times during Boy Scout Camp when there were squib loads in .22 rifles.
IMHO if you only have one gun or one caliber or mebby a few calibers, get stuff that fitās your gun. Spend less time scrubbing the bore and more time taking it apart and cleaning the internals and the important parts. Learn the gun.
That said if you shoot a .357 Mag or .44 Mag or similar and shoot āshort roundsā scrub the snot out of your chamber/cylinder.
A bronze brush will have Zero to NO impact on your chamber or bore UNLESS you keep pushing that steel cleaning rod against the edge of the barrel.
Cheers,
Craig6
I use bore snakes on all my firearms to clean the barrel. Cleaner is brake cleaner and my choice lube is Slip 2000 EWL
Brake cleaner? Really?
Yes, it works great. You can see it on YouTube, there are a lot of videos about it.
Iāve got that very Otis USCCA pistol cleaning kit. For long guns, I like bore snakes, and then just buy the pieces I need to clean the actions. For cleaner, hard to beat Hoppes products.
I personally found slip 2000 to work a lot better than hoppes lube
I have Glocks. So once a year I put them in the dishwasher.
You mean your mom doesnāt used comet and a brush and other cleaning supplies like in the movie stop or my mom will shoot? Lol
Have a real avid kit for long guns and for handguns also.
I have a small tackle box of remnants from kits, parts and pieces I have bought over the years. I envy my shooting buddy. He has a fully organized backpack of cleaning supplies, many gun tools, extra fiber rods, tons of stuff all neatly organized.
Me, I got a box with a bunch of stuff in it. But I can usually find what I need.
I agree, start with a kit, then replace pieces as needed.
I only have my 9mm so I picked up this guy off Amazon for $12
I have an 80 piece kit I picked out because it had all the right kind of parts that I like to use, and it had every caliber I own and then a few. I have other pieces and pieces of kits, but I like this.
BTW, I just cleaned my 1969 Gold Cup, and youāll be glad to know I didnāt clean this one in the shower. Maybe next time. Maybe Iāll wear one of my Colt revolvers when I shower this evening.
My chemicals I pick out individually.
Piece by piece.
For the bore:
Needārod and patch loop, bronze brush, solvent, patches, oil, grease;
Nice to haveā jag, mop, home made Patch Worm or Bore snake
For the rest:
Old tooth brush and well laundered cotton diaper
To see gun cleaning being taught to a newbie, go to YouTube and look up Mali Monkey. There is a whole channel with Mali, but find the gun cleaning one. You wonāt be sorry.
And Q-tips, lots and lots of Q-tipsš
Has anybody used that Shooter Lube we see plastered all over FB? I figure itās just hype, but has anyone actually tried it? Iām still a Hoppes guy.