All posts tagged Cleaning Patches

The differences between all of those gun cleaning supplies?

gun cleaning suppliesI’ve heard of Frog lube, Militech but haven’t gotten my hands on it yet.   We normally don’t like to bring in too many gun cleaning products because many of them just confuse our customers and create more problems for us from an inventory management.   I have a bunch of left over gun cleaning supplies from various gun cleaning kits i’ve owned and usually kept the best parts of them.  I started out, like many, with a Hoppes gun cleaning kit.  Usually a bores sovent, gun oil, and 22 caliber cleaning patches.  The plastic case for the 3 piece cleaning rods began to not snap closed and I started losing pieces of the kit one by one.  After a few years I had some mistakes made and bent the cleaning rod, I learned the hard way about why a one piece cleaning system was the way to go.

When it comes to gun cleaning stuff, I have pretty much settled on M-Pro7 for gun cleaning and Slip 2000 for gun lubrication.  I have good experiences with the M-Pro 7 gun oil but something about Slip 2000 gun cleaning supplies makes me like the brand and the scientific breakthroughs that clean a firearm without all of the toxic materials.  It’s bad enough you have to deal with lead and washing your hands from gun powder, but having a green cleaning product that actually holds onto a firearm when in use, and when not in use is a step  up.   Some of the Remington gun oils i’ve used in the past just lubricated parts and I still had rust issues, not with Slip 2000 products.

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Gun Cleaning Supplies without all the smell and mess

I’ve tried to clean my firearms and use gloves to avoid contact with all of the chemicals but it was too much of a pain in the ass to get done.   Some of the gun cleaning parts as well as the take down pins on something like an AR15 are too hard to do with rubber gloves.    I’ve avoided using Hoppes bore cleaning chemicals for a long time because I’ve mostly learned that if you clean guns shortly after shooting them they are easier to clean.   I’ve used Break Free CLP on cleaning patches and it seems to get the job done on all of my rifles.  On my Winchester 30 caliber bolt action there was one time I had to use a bore cleaning to clean it.

The best thing to do these days is transition your gun cleaning materials to non-toxic chemicals.   The M-Pro7 gun cleaner is non-toxic and as I have rotated out many of my older gun cleaning supplies, and replaced them with M-Pro7 I have not had the smells and the light headed experiences nor the complaints from my family members about the smell.   Not only that but the carbon remove really works well and the 32oz sprayer makes getting into the chamber and covering the bolt carrier easier.  I have friends that actually just dunk the whole bolt carrier in a bucket and they’re done.

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Otis gun cleaning systems and the easier way

You won’t find a more compact cleaning kit for your firearm than an Otis gun cleaning kit. They are specialized for various types of firearms and not just caliber specific like many other cleaning kits. You can get a Universal cleaning kit for multiple calibers or get one that is specific to an M16. Everyone knows how much a chore the M4 and M16 family of firearms are to clean and carrying a cleaning rod with you is impractical. There are videos on the internet and CDs that you can watch while you learn about your Otis gun cleaning kit. They will take a little time to get use to using because the gun cleaning kits are mini tool boxes that can vary depending on the configuration you order.

The military configurations are very practical for anyone that owns an AR15 or M4 variant. You can cut down on the amount of gun cleaning supplies you use and the time you spend cleaning and get more use out of your cleaning patches if you properly use your Otis cleaning kit. The Otis product line is geared towards the hunter, the target shooter, the gun collector and military applications. The Otis M16 butt stock cleaning kit fits where it says it goe. You will appreciate being able to clean a pistol or rifle out of something that can fit in your hand and can easily be stowed in a range bag or tactical vest. Cleaning brushes and cleaning patches are all in there so do some research into what you really want in a cleaning kit and pick amongst the kits that are available.The Otis sniper cleaning system is a great companion to a DMR or bolt action rifle.

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There are many things you will need

I have owned an AR15 now for close to 12yrs and when I first got it it seems so expensive and I was almost afraid to beat it up.   Then one day I was holding a local shooting event at a gun club and it started to drizzle, several guys with the $2000 rifles didn’t show up to the event because they were afraid their stuff would get ruined.   An old guy that was hanging with us burst out laughing and said he trucked an M1 Garand around for 2 years in the rain and snow and is gun wasn’t ruined.  It’s funny how many prima donna their are in the tactical community and that is so common with the AR15 accessorized and customized world.

I don’t teach carbine courses but I listen to the guys that do and over cleaning seems to do more damage to guns than not cleaning them enough.  I’ve seen many firearms go down due to the lack of lubrication, but many gun cleaning supplies from years ago are out dated compared to what Break Free CLP and M-Pro 7 products are doing.   I use break free products basically to protect hunting guns and for a do it all cleaning, but for handguns and my larger caliber semi-auto firearms I use M-Pro7 gun oils, it seems to last longer and doesn’t evaporate.  Sometimes I don’t get to shoot a gun for a year or more, but I like knowing that nothing drained or evaporated from the firearm.

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Gun cleaning supplies… depends on the firearm

We all know we need to have good working magazines and a firearm that is ready to go if we are serious about protecting ourselves but many people tend to not stock up on gun cleaning supplies.   I understand not everyone shoots as much as I do and sometimes a 32oz bottle of Break Free or MPro7 is going to last a decade but for those of us that shoot a lot, it’s good to know what we have at hand.  I’ve changed my gun lubrication standards and have moved away from using CLP on everything.  It just does not seem to stay on the firearms as long as the Mpro7 gun oils.

It’s one thing to keep your guns clean, but its another to know that the gun is going to stay lubricate even if you aren’t going to be shooting it anytime soon. Having gun cleaning supplies doesn’t mean just brushes and cleaning rods it means  having everything that you need to maintain the firearm.   Most firearms might just need a wipe down but for firearms that are being stored you need gun lubrication that stays on and will keep the gun at its optimum operation standards.  I’ve seen firearms go down after a few hundred rounds just because they had not been lubricated.

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MPro-7 does what it claims

I guess I’m going to have to say that I am well on on board with the MPro-7 gun cleaning supplies.  I still haven’t personally used all of their products myself, but I will continue to post after trying them out.   I attend a great many gun shops and trade shows and have plenty of sample gun oils and lubricants from various manufacturers but that’s not something I would jump on board with because quality control with liquid products is something that I have learned to be aware of.   Even something like a bottle of Coca-Cola can change from lot to lot and don’t forget all of those variances with rifle ammunition and accuracy.

When it comes to gun cleaning supplies, the biggest criticism that I would have to make that is from my expereince, valid, is that CLP is not consistent unless you shake it properly, CLP will stay in my gun cleaning supplies box, but I have given up on depending on it for firearms that I consider might be a defensive firearm.   I’ve seen gun stocks melt and barrels glow red and for anyone taking serious training or wanting to replace something that the military has issued, it’s time to move on to the MPro-7 gun  oil.

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The Otis gun cleaning system

It’s kind of like being in a cult when you acquire certain firearms.   The Kalashnikov crowd is a cult and so is the AR15 crowd.   AR15’s are so common now that it’s  not really as much of a cult anymore, but the furniture  you use on  your firearm and the  optics you use may put you in a certain cool category.    When I first heard about the Otis gun cleaning systems, I was wondering how someone could have devised a system that would be so much better than a cleaning rod and a cleaning patch, so I walked around at a trade show and went right up to the guy running the Otis booth.   I was lucky enough to have asked enough questions that I was given the AR15 buttstock cleaning kit and the Pistol cleaning kit.

When I got home, broke out several of my AR15 guns and a could handguns and tried to use the system.   I found the Otis cleaning kits to be very complicated but I have enough life experience to know that that just means having patience and find out why gun cleaning supplies were designed the way they are.   I have never had to use a scraper or a brush on any of my AR15 guns because I clean them so often there is really rarely any long term build ups that I missed.  I do think that the Otis Cleaning Systems do slow down the cleaning process because of all of  the fumbling I do with the accessories, but the compact bags make

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BreakFree CLP and it’s time to move on

We all know that most of the Military has been using a CLP for cleaning, but now that we’re actually in full fledged combat in parts of the world, certain things are becoming out dated.   I’ve noticed for years that Breakfree CLP is a very good gun cleaner and protector, but it always seems to disappear from your gun even if you don’t shoot it.   I’ve put enough guns in gun safes for long periods of time to notice which guns hold lube, and if you are a Sig Sauer fan you should know that those guns need lubrication to keep up with the modern world.   I have picked up some of the Mpro7 products to test them out due to friends telling me about it and here’s some feedback.

I am not one to like wearing gloves but if you are around all of this stink, it’s something to be concerned about.   Gun cleaning supplies like CLP are smelly and in the winter you may have issues with ventilation.     MPro-7 cleaner does an outstanding job of stripping gun oils and carbon off of your gun and this is a must for anyone running a direct impingement firearm.   The Pro-7 gun oil also seems to  hold on to firearms better and I could feel the difference on my Sig handguns as soon as I racked the slide.   I’ll have to shoot them for awhile to tell if they hold up better than when I used CLP, but I have had guns jam on me after 400rds or so when I only used CLP and let them sit for a few months.

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More feedback on the Otis System

I recently had a walk in customer look up at all of the Otis gun cleaning systems that we have in stock and mentioned that he never got into the Otis thing.   Well, the gun rod thing works well if you have a good cleaning rod and not one of those 3 piece starter kits that you got for your 22LR.   I’ve bent them myself and seen others do catastrophic things to them.   I’m not going to rave that the Otis System works better than any cleaning rod system, but there are advantages.

About the only disadvantage of the Otis system is that you might not be able to push forward on the cleaning patch as well, but yet again, what the hell are you doing that you need to push a cleaning rod that hard?   The Otis gun cleaning kits are small, compact, they hold the lube, and there is almost no chance that you will have to carry a bottle around with you that will leak all over your gear.   The cleaning systems are advanced or simple and can be used specifically for an AR15 style rifle.

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Cleaning guns, the right way

The is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things, there are also many ways to do get the same job done, but efficiency really matters to most of us.   I do admit that I like cleaning some of my firearms, some guns are really annoying to assemble and re-assemble.   The Ruger MKII is probable the most annoying handgun I ever owned, but my tolerances for complicated things has increased and I probable should have never sold it.   The real problem with guns like that is when you haven’t shot them in awhile and the learned knowledge floats out your brain.  I’ve read several issues of SWAT magazine where excessive gun cleaning can cause damage and after watching a recent DVD from Dean Caputo on the AR15 I thought I’d bring this up.

 

 

Boresnakes are definitely the fastest and easiest to use, but it won’t do a very good job on a really dirty chamber or in the bolt carrier of an AR15.  You will still gun cleaning supplies other than just CLP Break Free and a bore snake.   The Otis gun cleaning kits that are specifically designed for the M16 or AR15 is probable  the most complete gun cleaning kit for an AR15, but they gotta be used the right way.  One of the biggest screw ups I see with the cleaning tools are the chamber brushes.   The chamber brush is only meant to be pushed down so far and the fast majority of the ones I have come across look like someone tried to jam it down the barrel.  Watch what you are doing so you don’t damage the gun doing something you aren’t suppose to be doing.

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