Lets talk gun cleaning! How do you clean your guns, and why?

[turq]

Didn't read all I now use Bore Tech and Lucas Oil products, I really like the Lucas HD Gun Oil/CLP.And the BORE TECH friction eliminator.

 

[3MTA3]

Learned about Slip 2000 products on this thread and bought their small starter kit. Freaking wow. I ordered the 16 OZ Carbon killer to make it easier to soak parts and spent some quality time cleaning my semi autos. The product does all the work and smells like citrus so the Mrs doesn't make me go outside. Their products absolutely amaze me with their ability to clean and lubricate.

Actually learned a lot here and made significant changes to the tools, cleaners and lubricants I use. As a card carrying boomer I have used the same stuff since the 1980's. It's kind if like going from dial telephones to smart phones.

 

[tac]

As some folks here know, I shoot a couple of Swiss rifles - a K11 from 1914, and a K31 from 1944.

I got them both back in 1989, and when I got them home, I naturally took the bolts to pieces to give them a good grease. Yup, grease. The Swiss have never used any petroleum-based products on their guns since at least the time they adopted a magazine rifle - the Vetterli-Vitali - back in the 1870s.

Their régime of running a special weapons-grade grease, called, unimaginatively 'waffenfett' - gun grease - on a patch up and down the bore ten times, then using the residue to wipe over the externasl, and then leaving it, has made certain sure that my barrels, with untold thousands, yes, THOUSANDS of military rounds down them, still look much the same as the day they were made.

All you do, before you shoot again, is to push a patch up the bore to take out the old grease, and carry on.

This is my last four shots at 100m a couple of weeks ago from the K31. Seventy-six years old and still going strong....

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Yup, i don't use Slip2000 for all my products, but i did choose their grease and oil, they're excellent.

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

Be aware, from poissonal experience, that cleaning the barrel of your .22cal rifle MAY screw up the accuracy for at least as much time as it takes to shoot a fifty-shot box of ammunition.

I know it seems contrary, but that's how it is. Every one of my seven .22cal rifles shoots like a hose after cleaning 'em - so I've learned my lesson and leave them alone, except for the outside, obviously.

I have also found that to be absolutely TRUE. During my time with owning and shooting a whole bunch of .22 rimfire rifles, and pistols, that are mine and owned by customers, a .22 rimfire bore can be cleaned "too much", to the point where they will not shoot good groups well, unless and until they are once again, "CONDITIONED". So, what does that entail? When I test some "new to me" .22 rimfire ammunition, I do like to start with as clean a bore as I can get it. After that, and before I start shooting that brand, or type, of .22 rimfire ammunition, I like to see what it will do at 45 yards, after I have re-conditioned that bore with 15 rounds of the ammunition I want to test.
Now, I, in no way, declare that this is the adamont way to do things, but I find that this process works for me. The alleged "rule of thumb" is that you should shoot one round for every inch of barrel length to get the bore conditioned to that brand of .22 rimfire ammunition. OK, I've tried that and in some cases that means I need to shoot 26 rounds through a barrel 26-inches long. I have found no difference involving 15 or 26 bullets of the same sort when I start my test shooting to get accuracy test group results. This is only what I do, and it satisfies my libido to the point where I can sleep at night. And as always, your testing may vary and will be completely satisfactory for you. That's just 'ducky' as far as I'm concerned, but I still like to read about how others do things with their .22 rimfire rifles to make them shoot better.

 

[tac]

This is a box of fifty Eley Club, shot at 100m with my 83-year-old .22cal Mauser ES350B - I DO recall cleaning the barrel though - maybe ten years ago, maybe? But not since.



...and here's the old gal that did it..............................



Scope is a x2.5 Ajack 70 - the '70' refers to the 'Daemmerungsfaktor', the amount of light transmission expressed as a percentage. Here's a close-up -


...and another two in the collection.............

and a looky-through.....

 

[Decoy]

I haven't pushed a bronze bristle brush through any .22 rimfire barrel in over 25 years. Nor will I ever endorse the use of open weave cloth bore snakes that capture unburned powder and glass particles from the primer mix in .22 rimfire ammunition. Not one of my, or my customers .22 rimfire firearms deserve that sort of treatment.
.22 rimfire barrels have a land to groove height of 0.0020 to 0.0025 of an inch. It's my quest to keep that rifling as pristine as possible in my and my customers barrels, so I pull a felt plug through the barrel from the breech to the muzzle using "weed-whacker" line and a synthetic CLP that serves my needs very well:

View attachment 706395

The Brownells catalog has well over 30 pages of cleaning supplies that will all "work wonders" on firearms bores. They even sell stainless steel .22 caliber bore brushes.
I like to pull a couple of soaked felt plugs through a .22 rimfire bore and let is soak for 15 minutes or so. Then, pull a dry plug through to remove what the solvent loosened up. Using an actual bore scope, I have never seen any bore damage done with this process.

Remember to pull some oil through after the last dry plug to neutralize the solvents, they can continue to etch a barrel if not removed

 

[SGW Gunsmith]

I use eezox (a clp) on everything. Have yet to find anything better. You need to let baked on carbon etc soak for a bit before removing.

Pretty much these days, all I use is EEZOX. Two saturated felt plugs to clean, and then a dry plug to remove the gunk. The EEZOX will protect the bore very well, as that's what it was formulated to do. Using .22 rimfire ammunition, the EEZOX treated bore will resist any future excessive buildup of the crapola that .22 rimfire ammunition leaves behind. Makes cleaning the bore next time that much easier and quicker.

 

[Tony617]

Been cleaning my first AR rifles that I bought years ago now and checking the gas rings and both failed the stand the bolt on end and it immediately dropped. I was not have any issues with the firing or short stroking either. I replaced the gas rings on both BCGs.

I typically I am taking my home built ones for plinking to the range these days but these two ARs are for HD plus my AR pistol. I will look into getting a can for my AR pistol. There are dealers that help you fill out the forms and then you wait for months. Looking at some online stores they are sold out.

 

[Quirt Evans]

I generally use some kind of stuff in a pressure can to blast everything clean, and run a few patches thru till the bore is clean.
Then run some patches with oil thru the bore, and put oil most everywhere, then wipe-off excess.
The 1911s and BCGs get oil, lots of oil, and more oil, 1911s want to be almost dripping, revolvers and lever guns not so much.
Mobil 1 10-30 for everything, never any problems.

 

[Tony617]

I generally use some kind of stuff in a pressure can to blast everything clean, and run a few patches thru till the bore is clean.
Then run some patches with oil thru the bore, and put oil most everywhere, then wipe-off excess.
The 1911s and BCGs get oil, lots of oil, and more oil, 1911s want to be almost dripping, revolvers and lever guns not so much.
Mobil 1 10-30 for everything, never any problems.

I have an Otis cleaning kit that I use on my ARs does a good job and have a bunch of Otis circular cleaning pads as well. I buy 12 gauge shotgun swabs and the use scissors to cut them down to size depending on what I am cleaning.

 

[teflon6string]

Rem Oil vs. Break Free CLP

I like Break Free CLP a lot. It seems to work just fine for general use. I also used Rem Oil in the past, after I'd cleaned with various solvents/cleaners. Today, as I look at my old Rem Oil with Teflon (gotta love that), I notice this:

"...exceptionally high-performance cleaner, lubricant and corrosion-protectant for maintaining..."

So, at face value, it would seem Rem Oil does everything Break Free CLP does. Does it? I just shoot guns and try to keep the grit and grime down to a minimum. What do you guys and gals who really pay attention say when it comes to comparing the two products?

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

...That Remoil is very thin and generally useless for lubrication.

 

[Pops1911]

I'm one of those who LOVE to clean my firearms. Sometimes I think that I go to the range just so I have toys to clean up. Old school simple too. Hoppes products on all my hand guns. I use a product called RamRodz for cleaning/oiling barrels. Found them on Azon and they really work well. Looks like a Qtip on steroids.
Rifles are different. Ballistol used on them. Spray/soak/wipe it up. Couple of passes with a good bore snake finishes the job. Always ready to romp when the need might arise. Yeah I also clean my AK after every outing.

 

[Tony617]

I'm one of those who LOVE to clean my firearms. Sometimes I think that I go to the range just so I have toys to clean up. Old school simple too. Hoppes products on all my hand guns. I use a product called RamRodz for cleaning/oiling barrels. Found them on Azon and they really work well. Looks like a Qtip on steroids.
Rifles are different. Ballistol used on them. Spray/soak/wipe it up. Couple of passes with a good bore snake finishes the job. Always ready to romp when the need might arise. Yeah I also clean my AK after every outing.

I usually just use my AK cleaning kit and pull a few solvent soaked patches through my AK and put a patch soaked with CLP and put it back in my safe. About every 500 rounds the use the patches and the brush.

 

[cookie]

I clean my carry guns always My range guns I shoot until they stop shooting reliably. I like Wipe out spray when I clean the guns.

 

[tac]

...That Remoil is very thin and generally useless for lubrication.

FIFY.

 

[cookie]

I was shocked when the ground vehicle maintenance guys started changing lubricants every thousand hours, and even Turbine Lub changes went to several hundred hours! My 69 Alfa Romeo GTV was always changed at 2500 miles or 6 months with full synthetic oil! Now I can go 7500 miles and the oil still looks clean! My Cat diesel is supposed to go 25,000 miles or 6 months on it's Oil!!!!! I would say lube has improved quite a lot in the last 40 years!

so have the engines and the fuel metering !!

 

[coop44]

I have electrically cleaned barrels for over twenty years. No brushes very few patches. A steel rod, a rubber stopper, some heat shrink tubing, some windex and a low voltage power source. Works like a charm, cleans even the worst milsurp bore. Everything comes off, lead, copper, powder fouling.

 

[FourTeeFive]

I have electrically cleaned barrels for over twenty years. No brushes very few patches. A steel rod, a rubber stopper, some heat shrink tubing, some windex and a low voltage power source. Works like a charm, cleans even the worst milsurp bore. Everything comes off, lead, copper, powder fouling.

Ok, you have my interest. What is the theory behind the process?