All posts tagged Gun Cleaning Supplies

Gun cleaning tools, how many do you need?

There are always arguments that can be made about hypothetical things, but one thing we do not believe is that gun cleaning should take you a long time.   We have had numerous discussions about gun cleaning supplies with our team of firearm instructors and one thing they commonly tell us is that gun cleaning can be over done.   The same people that are afraid to go to a firing line during a little drizzling rain and get a combat firearm wet are usually the same people that think they need to clean a gun until they get a perfectly clean white patch.   The truth is this, you can over due firearm cleaning and damage a gun if you don’t use your gun cleaning supplies correctly.

Cleaning rods can damage chambers and wear out barrels, but we’ve never heard of anyone doing this with a bore snake.  Sometimes cleaning rods are necessary, but the Hoppes Boresnakes that I personally  use always get used on  my AR15 rifles and my FAL rifles.   Firearms like the Mini 14 really don’t have any other options that I can think of that are better than a boresnake basically because the M1 Garand style of rifle is difficult to clean from the chamber and you can mess up your bolt carrier if you are ramming a rod through the rong way.   For pretty much $15-$20 you can get a caliber specific gun cleaning device for your firearm that don’t call for brushes and cleaning patches.

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Gun cleaning, 3-1 or multiple products?

I have tried out several gun cleaning lubricants and supplies in recent months and have come to the conclusion that I still can’t narrow it down to just one product line for all of my needs.  I started out with a 3 piece cleaning rod and quickly learned about using one piece and boresnakes for rifle cleaning.   Boresnakes are very good for cleaning barrels but not so good for cleaning out chambers.  There are differences in the types of brushes you might want to add to your cleaning kit because the direct impingement AR15 is probable the most difficult to clean up properly in that area, although we do suggest you be aware that it is possible to over clean firearms.  Good lubricants like Mpr0-7 and Slip 2000 are very good in AR15 firearms.

One of the best arguments for using up your old gun cleaning supplies and switching over to M-Pro7 or Slip 2000 products is that they are non-toxic.   I was very happy with my experiences with gun cleaning supplies like the above mentioned products.   I have used CLP for many years but after using a few firearms in a Defensive Training classes where the guns ran dry and started clunking after about 400rds of 9mm and 40 caliber training sessions.   Eliminating toxic materials from your gun cleaning gear is a good idea, and truth be told, modern technology with lubricants has greatly improved run time and firearm environment tolerances.

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Slip 2000 gun lube and extreme weapons lube reviews

I will admit that after being in the firearms community for several years i have seen a lot of gear and accessories that were on the higher end and many of them things that i could not afford.   One thing that I have noticed is that while AR15 designs have improved over the years, gun oils and synthetic lubricants are dramatically better.  Not only do they work, they are green products and not hazardous to use.   I think I still have a small bottle of Hoppes gun oil and bore cleaner that I have pretty much abandoned.  I guess at some point I might ceremoniously finish it off but I definitely have moved on from using it.

The direct impingement AR15 design absolutely is reliant on the firearm being properly lubricated.  I have seen reviews on Slip 2000 gun cleaning lubricants where it was more about lubricating the firearm and not really just about how clean the gun was.  A properly lubricated firearm will run if you lube the right areas and it is not necessary to constantly break it down and scrub every piece of carbon out of it.  Over cleaned can do more damage to a firearm than letting it run dirty at times.   I have replaced some of my Otis gun cleaning lubricants with Slip 2000 and used the rest of the Otis kits for my personal AR15 range cleanings.

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Slip 2000 gun cleaning and more

Hoppes Boresnakes are the fastest cleaning kits in the world.   There’s no need to worry about storing cleaning rides and worrying about bending or breaking them.  The Bore Snake is also easier to use with some types of semi-autos.   You won’t need to use as many gun cleaning patches, or gun cleaning rods and gun brushes The Ruger Mini 14 is a classic example of this.   Most firearms can be cleaned from the breach forward, but something like a Mini 14 can not due to the design of the bolt carrier.  A bore snake can easily be inserted into the breach of a Mini 14 or Mini 30 and cleaned properly.   The bore snake can also easily be stored and does not take up any room.

One pass loosens large particles, scrubs out the remaining residue with a bronze brush, then swabs it all spotless with a cleaning area 160X larger than a standard patch. Add a few drops your favorite gun cleaning supplies  or Hoppes Elite and your guns ready for storage. The bore snake is caliber specific so make sure you get the correct one for  your pistol, rifle or shotgun.   You will also notice your gun cleaning time will be cut in half or more.   I’ve cleaned more than 4 firearms in an hour, from AKs, FALs, M1A, Mini 14s and AR15 rifles all will accept the use of the Hoppes boresnake.

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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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Spikes and Bushmaster Uppers

We’ve blown through a ton of the Spikes Tactical uppers in recent months but they have been so hard to get that some people working on a timeline ended up getting other things.  We’ve sold more LWRC uppers in the last year because so many of the less expensive products were all gone and it was like, spend another $500 and you got yourself a piston driven gun. And if you don’t want that, you’re not going to get your $600 Spikes Tactical upper.   Many people started out with Bushmaster AR15 and Colt AR15s but there have been so  many changes that i’d have to paint a broad brush on these guns and say they are all better than they use to be.

Even things like gun oils, MPro7 makes a darn good cleaning and gun oil and Its non-toxic which really adds up.  I have several Bushmaster upper receivers on my guns that I built and they are great guns especially for the price I paid.   The Standard A2 carry handle upper receiver is the 2nd firearm that I teach new shooters to shoot on.   First  it’s the Marlin bolt action 22LR and then I move to the Bushmaster XM15E2.   If you can’t get a hold of a Spikes Tactical Upper, the Bushmaster Upper receivers are probable the next best thing.

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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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Gun cleaning brushes don’t last forever

I have several gun cleaning kits laying around my gun cleaning room and some of them are close to 20yrs old.   I still use various elements of them since not all of the kits are still intact.   Most of the non-one piece cleaning rods I have used in the past have become broken or bent and have been tossed, but I have some of the Hoppes gun cleaning solvent and a few cleaning brushes that have moved in with my gun cleaning kits.   The bore snakes that I have, have pretty much replaced the gun cleaning brushes but there have been a few times recently that I have gone back to using tradition cleaning kits.   I have been testing out many of the Otis gun cleaning kits to basically get use to the product line.

Otis gun cleaning kits aren’t going to clean your guns in some magical new way.   They really are just another mode of gun cleaning supplies, different type of cleaning and lubrication, different way of using a metal cord instead of a cleaning rod, but other than that, it’s just a compact way of keeping your gun cleaning kit something that can go in a range bag. The larger multi-caliber cleaning kits make a ton of sense if you own a lot of firearms, but if you don’t they will be a major over kill.   Gun cleaning patches are something we know we should throw away at certain point, but I see many using gun cleaning brushes for far longer than they should.   If you are noticing that you can’t get a barrel clean, try replacing the gun cleaning brushes you have.   Getting lead out or cleaning a gun that has not been cleaned all that well in the past is harder if you don’t have the right tools.

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Otis 5.56mm grip cleaning kit

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a thorough check of my gun cleaning supplies, and today I decided it was time to do a brush check  to see if I need anymore gun cleaning brushes.  Some of the gun cleaning brushes I have seem to have really taken a beating and especially with my rifles, I thought it was a good idea to replace them because I didn’t know if they were really doing the job anymore.  I was  happy to find out that I completely forgot that I have an Otis 5.56 grip cleaning kit that was unused from over a year ago.

I met with a rep that worked for Otis at a few conventions and he hooked me up with a few of the Otis gun cleaning kits.  The Otis 5.56 grip cleaning kit is meant to fit exactly where you think it goes, the pistol grip on  your AR15.    These gun cleaning supplies are meant for AR15.  When I was cleaning my AR15 rifles, I was thinking that I should be using a chamber brush, unfortunately the Otis pistol grip cleaning kit doesn’t come with one.  I find that somewhat disappointing because I would think that any AR15 cleaning kit would come with one of these.  The chamber area is one of the hardest parts to get to on an AR15 and on a direct impingement carbine, this is where the most dirt can collect that usually causes jams.  The kit is nice for being a compact kit, but I’d still add a a chamber brush to it.

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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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