What kits y’all use for cleaning?

[NWCustomFirearms]

Gun scrubber, good solvents, ultra sonic cleaner, bore brushes, bore snakes work great, rem oil works great too, sometimes a good grease depending on the application. Our main cleaner is a full size ultra sonic cleaner that will fit a full muzzle loader or barreled action, shotguns etc etc and an oil tank that fits on top of the ultra sonic cleaner that will lube the gun better then I ever could. Plus an air compressor to blow out the water and excess oil.

 

[bubbahotep]

Don't heat iron to dry out water, it will just make it rust faster. 32 minute mark of this vid shows it making hydrogen gas rapidly.

 

[No_Regerts]

I would suggest that you build your own. Buying the pieces that you need and like has always worked better for me. I started with kids but kept needing more that wasn't in the kit.

I just buy one of those plano stackable tackle boxes and place tape labels on the lid over each compartment.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

I really like my Otis Deluxe Rifle/Pistol Cleaning System.

I'd like to ask for a good suggestion cleaning the AR-15 BCG.

I was thinking of buying the Otis B.O.N.E tool, but I've read mixed reviews.

 

[titsonritz]

I'd like to ask for a good suggestion cleaning the AR-15 BCG.

I was thinking of buying the Otis B.O.N.E tool, but I've read mixed reviews.

Waste of money IMO and I've spent a ton of money on AR tools.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

Waste of money IMO and I've spent a ton of money on AR tools.

Ya, for what it does it's pretty expensive.

 

[WAYNO]

I gave up on "kits", long ago. They are just not complete enough for me. I have drawers and racks and boxes of cleaning stuff on my workbench and throughout my garage. And I keep a large tackle in box in my pickup, full of any and all cleaning and maintenance stuff I'll likely ever need when out shooting or hunting.

That said, I still have lots of "kits" stockpiled. I mostly use them just to rob and replenish stuff I might be short of. That, and if somebody needs a basic gun cleaning kit, I've got plenty to share.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

Except for a few of the bore brushes meant for calibers I don't (yet ) own, I use all of the tools in the kit, so nothing superfluous. I also really like the cables for pulling patches and brushes through the barrel instead of using a solid rod or bore snake. It's a very compact kit, and, for new shooters, a great starting point for building your own custom tool collection. The only extra thing I've had to buy in the meantime is a rod and chamber brush for my AR. And, as mentioned above, still looking for a good tool to clean the BCG.

 

[Tony617]

Except for a few of the bore brushes meant for calibers I don't (yet ) own, I use all of the tools in the kit, so nothing superfluous. I also really like the cables for pulling patches and brushes through the barrel instead of using a solid rod or bore snake. It's a very compact kit, and, for new shooters, a great starting point for building your own custom tool collection. The only extra thing I've had to buy in the meantime is a rod and chamber brush for my AR. And, as mentioned above, still looking for a good tool to clean the BCG.
View attachment 566997

I have CAT M4 cleaning tool and it does a pretty decent job on cleaning carbon off the BCG. I am not sure if they make tool anymore but you can find them still on EBay and Amazon.com.

 

[DivCurlGrad72]

I have CAT M4 cleaning tool and it does a pretty decent job on cleaning carbon off the BCG. I am not sure if they make tool anymore but you can find them still on EBay and Amazon.com.

Yes, that's still available at Amazon. Also kind of expensive at $34 for what it is, but has good reviews.

 

[Whisky Tahoe]

Ok Here's where Science really pays off or at least better living through Chemistry.

I loved the idea of bore snakes and aerosol cleaner but honestly for truly getting copper out of the barrel it doesn't cut it. Service guns are designed to shoot forever and many don't clean them as well as they should but get away with it. If it shoots, what's the harm? None actually, so when do you really need to clean?
When there's risk of corrosion or an impact to accuracy.

1) SKS or AK-47 and any mildly to heavy corroding ammo needs something called Ballistol. Stuff is amazing and neutralizes corrosive ammo when used properly. When shooting surplus 7.62x39 take a plastic water bottle with ballistol mixed with water at 1:10 so 1 ounce Ballistol to 10 ounces of water. Pour this down the barrel after shooting then clean more thoroughly when you get home.

2) Old School methods of removing copper were Sweet's 7.62 or other ammonia based solvents. Time was a factor so no longer than 15 minutes in the barrel to prevent damage. Enter some amazing New School products without side effects. Wipeout, Patchout, and Accelerator are used by the benchrest crowd to thoroughly and quickly clean the barrel. Wipeout is a foam and does get all over the place if you aren't careful. Patchout is the non foam version and I need to try this next. Accelerator is a chemical booster that decreases the wait time for either Wipeout or Patchout to work. Don't use it alone. I use Wipeout to zap most of the fouling and about half of the copper. This cuts down on scrubbing. For the rest I rely on Boretech products. If I don't use Wipeout, I can count on needing to brush the barrel which I would prefer not to do if I can avoid it.

3) Boretech has a full solution of products that really work. Take a gun that someone says is clean and send a couple of patches with Eliminator on them and note how much comes out. Eliminator cuts fouling, lead and copper. Boretech also makes C4 Carbon remover for serious gunk like in your AR gas assembly. Works on neglected rimfires as well. For stubborn copper, they make a stronger chemical that really goes to work. What is interesting about Boretech is their stuff is easy to use, safe for the barrel, and literally dissolves copper.

4) I use coated rods vs multi piece. They really protect the bore and anything with brass, bronze, or other copper alloys like most rods are will stain your patches blue leading you to believe your bore is still fouled. Boretech makes proof positive rods with no brass or bronze as well as jags. I bought the rods and some of the jags but am happy with nylon jags to minimize metal on metal.

5) When you have a rifle really clean you can easily tell when it start to fouls as the groups open up. Cleaning often can keep your rifle very accurate if you choose to take the time. Half my rifle are worth the effort the other half are for shooting while the fussy ones are either cooling down, soaking or something other than being ready to shoot.

6) Like Hoppes? I do to but it isn't strong enough so I use it for general cleaning though I wonder what plug in air fresheners would smell like if we dumped a little Hoppes #9 in them. I still have and use Butch's BoreShine or Sweet's on occasion but mostly to see if anything can compete with Wipeout and Boretech.

7) Hornady one shot cleaner is something you can use with a bore snake. it won't outperform Wipeout or Boretech but it has one super power. It has Dynaglide which is one of the longest lasting rust preventatives you can use. Checkout this 3rd party evaluation of 46 different products: Comprehensive Corrosion Test: 46 Products Compared

I was blown away at how effective it was. How did your favorite oil/lube fare?

I finish every cleaning with a patch sprayed with Hornady One shot. If the rifle is going back to the range very soon, I'll dry patch a couple of times to reduce any film that would bugger up the first fouling shot. Otherwise I'll leave it in as it will dry.

Ok I don't work for any of these companies, not compensated in anyway. Just happy I found stuff that works and giddy to share the details.

One final note, I had a rifle that wouldn't group and I couldn't get any cleaner so I rigged up a chemical copper remover. Outer's Foul isn't available any longer but I can use it as long as I have chemical for it. Why does this matter? Using foul out revived the rifle and now it is easier to clean and is accurate again. Yea! Sounds weird but some have described a situation where you have to clean a badly fouled rifle in layers to get all the fouling out. This is where a borescope is essential so you can look for and find these lurking deposits and keep at them.

If you don't have one get a bore guide for your bolt guns.
For your ARs it's more expensive but I think still worth it.

 

[SUPER X]

Gun scrubber, good solvents, ultra sonic cleaner, bore brushes, bore snakes work great, rem oil works great too, sometimes a good grease depending on the application. Our main cleaner is a full size ultra sonic cleaner that will fit a full muzzle loader or barreled action, shotguns etc etc and an oil tank that fits on top of the ultra sonic cleaner that will lube the gun better then I ever could. Plus an air compressor to blow out the water and excess oil.

Bore snake