Gun cleaning what do you use

Gadsden

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Jul 19, 2014
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Just wanting to know what people like. Solvents, nylon brushes compared to bronze. Do you see better results with very clean bores or a little copper in the grooves makes for better accuracy. What is your method?
 
As I understand it, nylon brushes are for thick black gunk while bronze brushes are for leading (as is mercury.)

Just for rifles (.308 Win and .223 Rem), a "clean" barrel turns dirty and gunky after 10-20 shots, depending on the quality of ammo you use. A patch soaked in kerosene (which is what WD40 is made chiefly of) will clean the gunk. No leading in rifle barrels of course. Another clean patch to wipe away the kerosene, which can cause bare steel to rust, and then oil.

The worst I've seen online is those single action sixguns firing the old black powder .44 and .45 LC. You get black gunk even before you six run out.
 
I have always used Hoppes #9 but am going to try Ballistol. I've heard good things about it. Also thinking about trying Kano Kroil Oil.
 
Thanks for the input. I tried out the Kano oil today and I had some great results. It cleaned copper and powder residue out of barells that I had cleaned some time ago with Hoppes #9. Thanks for the input to everyone and keep it coming. I like to hear different opinions. That's how we learn and come up with our own conclusions.
 
I use safariland bore cleaner and a snake, followed by an old sock or wifebeater and CLP breakfree. I use a wirebrush on the BCG or Shotgun piston from time to time but mostly it's not needed. I've used my wife's jewelry cleaner too before, its a sonic cleaner from amazon.
 
CLP for everything except my AR direct impingement rifles and suppressors. For those, Fireclean keeps the carbon softer and removable and is a better carbon solvent than CLP.
 
CLP and bore snakes for routine, Hornady patches and remington 40x bore cleaner for annual deep clean.

Lots of great products on the market, the most important thing is doing it.

best

mqqn
 
Eds red for modern firearms followed by a damp patch of Ballistol. Front Stuffers I use moose milk made with just Ballistol and water (8-1) after I scrub it in HOT soapy water. 2 drops of Ballistol on a patch if it is going to be stored for a week or more.
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I mostly shoot handguns nowadays, but used to use Sweets 7.62 for copper fouling. For handguns I use a product called Slip 2000 Carbon Killer, and it is phenomenal at removing the black stuff off cylinders and barrels. I then oil with Ezox or Rem Oil (lightly!).
 
If I can't get at the breech end w/a rod, like my M1 Garand's and M1A's, I use a Bore Snake; I use Tipton carbon fiber cleaning rods and bore guides whenever I can, the CF rods are light and cannot harm the bore, the guide keeps everything aligned and makes for less of a mess.

Light Cleaning (no fouling)- Hoppies #9
Deeper Cleaning (fouling) - Butches Bore Shine

I use bronze brushes, USGI ones in .50, .30 & 5.56, when fouling is present, I use a nylon brush if there is no fouling. I brush the bore sparingly, I run a patch 20+ times the amount I use a bore brush; I use Bore Tech brushes and jags.

If I have a frosty bore I use JB Paste, a non-embedding cleaning compound available at Brownells, rubbed into a cotton patch that's then wrapped around a nylon bore brush, the bore brush needs to be a little smaller than the bore, say if the bore is .30 caliber I use a .270 bore brush, and run it through the bore several times to brighten it up and reduce fouling. If you try this run a nylon brush of H#9 and some patches afterward to clean out the JB Paste. This will typically turn dark bores to frosty and frosty bores to bright, if you're into MilSurp arms this technique can be a game changer for an old battle abused bore, but sometimes there's just no hope, corrosive ammo has killed many a good MilSurp arm.

When shooting cast lead bullets in handguns I use the Lewis Lead Remover tool to get the lead out afterwards.

Patches - Almost always Brownells bulk packs or USGI surplus.
 
I prefer Breakfree CLP and a copper/bronze bore brush.
I've been using this combo for decades to great effect.

Now back in the day, when I was a soldier, we often used Easy Off Oven Cleaner...:eek::D
 
I like M-Pro 7, Bore snakes, Q-tips, Amsoil, Mil-Comm TW25B, and an air compressor.
If i need a deeper clean, i'll break out the brushes, patches, and picks.
 
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