Do you still need a cleaning rod for your rifles and what gun cleaning supplies should you consider?
I have atleast 2 Hoppes gun cleaning kits that I purchases probable more than 20yrs ago and never finished off all of the gun oil that they came with because I never really needed to use that much lube on the bolt action rifles I first owned. The one thing I learned real fast with a 22 Caliber rifle is to not get your 30 caliber gun cleaning patches mixed in because any 3 piece gun cleaning rod is not going to handle being stuck in a barrel and will easily get bent up and you might as well consider it trash due to the fact that it’s highly likely you’ll damage the riflings in the barrel. I learned that lesson and picked up a one piece rod and it’s still in great condition. There are several different types of metal brushes you can use but in my opinion its more about how you clean the firearm and not so much about the make up of the brush. Brass rifle brushes, Nylon brushes and even Bronze gun cleaning brushes.
Most of the type you can use a given rifle caliber brush on several calibers that might be close to it and it will get the job done. I’ve actually avoided worrying about cleaning all of my firearms after every range trip because I’ve seen so many semi-auto guns run just fine for thousands of rounds just because they were properly lubricated, and not because they need to pass a white glove test. Whether you are looking for a kit or few gun cleaning supplies to cut your time down, the type of gun you are using and the configuration the kit comes might mean not needing much more. Some of the Otis gun cleaning kits are caliber and rifle specific which is pretty cool if you want to keep it in a range bag or you are going to be on a road trip. Some of the .308 or 7.62 gun cleaning kits have optic cleaning tools which is something you might not have thought about until reading this blog post. A Leatherman Mut might be another accessory to keep in the same bag.
