More than 90% of the firearms outside the US are cleaned with diesel fuel or kerosene and lubricated with dirty motor oil from a dipstick. We have better choices.
My go-to gun cleaning products are rubbing alcohol and Ballistol.
Some of my guns get cleaned the old-fashioned way with Hoppes No. 9 bore cleaner and lubricated with whatever gun oil is handy.
Bummer - Imagine this. You have your handgun field stripped ready for cleaning when the thugs start kicking in your door.
Hoppes CLP, a good selection of brushes and plastic picks (donāt want to scratch anything) and a bore snake. I asked my original trainer what he used, and he replied āmy 17 year old sonā
Hoppes #9, Militec 1 for lubrication, Mil-comm T25B grease for heavier applications. I like the Otis breech to muzzle cleaning system for rifles. I also like EEZOX for long term storage of blued firearms and for heavy cleaning.
Pipe cleaners and long wooden stick swabs are also a must have in my kit.
Ballistol, while barrel is hot at the range every gun every outing, boresnake and cotton swabs for a quick cleaning. Got some Hoppes #9 as wellā¦
Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber for a thorough cleaning, some days Iām cleaning 10 guns (no worries, 10 more loaded in case of bad guys) and this stuff saves so much time.
Got a quart bottle of Hoppes bore cleaner, used rarely. Mainly if my bolt guns start losing focus, and the annual tear down of everything, along with spring changes if needed.
Have some small āgun oilā bottles, Hoppes, Gunslick and other brands that just seem to have gathered. Lubriplate for the Garands, steel pistols, and breaking in the home builds if needed.
Brush, ballistol on wool mop, bore snake after every use. Ballistol on patches and tips for the rest of the firearm. Then silicone lube all metal and wear points.
Regular field strip cleaning - OTIS 085 CLP Wipes.
After +/- 5000 rounds I do full disassembly and use Hoppeās 9 Elite Cleaner, Hornady OneShot, then Ballistol or Mobile1 (Ballistol is thin, Mobile1 is thick).
When I know Iām not gonna shoot the firearm for a longer than month I wipe it out with Eezox which is the best rust prevention.
I never clean all firearms the same time. There is always one ready to use.
An old tooth brush.
A well laundered cotton diaper.
I used to use Singer Sewing Machine oil but the last bottle I found was manufactured in the PRC so I switched to Wahl Electric Clipper oil, still made in the USA
My preferred solvent is Outerās Nitro Solvent in a bottle as I dislike aerosols----I can still find Hoppeās in bottles----Outerās requires more of a hunt.
Preferred patches are the old GI type with flannel on one side, ātoothā on the other.
Silicone bronze bore brushes.
I find that deploying a Bore snake or home made āpatchwormā when the bore is still warm will reduce the amount of patches required for a thorough cleaning and save some time.
Gunslick grease for guns that call for grease however Lubriplate, RIG or Shell Darina will work as well.
Eezox and Kroil rock the really tough jobs
So- when I use a bore snake (and I do)- and then I run regular old-fashioned patches through, the patches still come back dirty, no matter how much cleaning oil I add or how many times I run the snake through the bore.
Patches are the only thing that seems to get it really clean, with no carbon left in the barrel. But Iām a bit fussy about my firearms, since I donāt have very many, so I want to take as good care of them as possible.
Ballistol and Hoppes No 9 are my go-toās. Ballistol is safe on darn near everything- leather, plastic, wood, etc. Plus it is slightly Alkaline- so it will neutralize hand/body sweat which is slightly acidic.
I love it as well.
