All posts tagged tactical cleaning kits

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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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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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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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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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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Storing cleaning kits with a firearm

I remember all of the Russian SKS rifles I got back in the early 1990’s came with cleaning kits and I always thought that was neat.  I’m still not sure how to use them properly because the rods that they came with didn’t go fully into the barrel, but that is something I’ll have to research later.  It’s  nice to be able to keep all of your gear stowed in the places where they are easiest to access and if there is a combat firearm that needs to be cleaning more than any other it’s the M16 rifle.   Everyone I know that was issued an M16 was issued a cleaning kit that went in the buttstock.   Oddly enough, I don’t know many guys with AR15 rifles that have them in their guns.

One option to consider when you are getting all of your gear together for SHTF or for a training class is to have your cleaning supplies in order.  Probable the most practical Otis gun cleaning kits is the Otis 5.56 buttstock cleaning kit.   This kit comes with various tools that will come in useful and are specific to the M4 or AR15 style rifles.   You will be able to scrap off carbon build up in the hard to get to areas and with such a compact device, you’ll be able to stow it in your butt stock and not have to worry about packing one up every time you take it to the range.

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Boresnake life span, are they worth it?

Are they worth it?  Do they hold up to heavy use?   I have the same 22 caliber bore snake and it has been used in 22LR rifles, AR15 rifles, M4 Carbines, AK74 and Mini 14s.   The same bore snake is approximately 6yrs old and probable gets used about  50 times a year.   I usually run the snake through the gun about 2 times.   I may only need to do it once, but i’m use to using cleaning rods and just get in the habit.   I almost only use Break Free CLP on my firearms, and the occasional grease application, and gun cleaning is now simple.

Cleaning revolvers is probable easier than some semi-autos because there is nothing you really need to disassemble.   I have been using the Hoppes boresnakes for rifle the majority of the time because handguns just don’t seem to be that much of a hassle and I’m really not that worried about how clean the barrels are for any particular accuracy reason.    When it comes to cleaning out a bolt action rifle like a Winchester M70,  It sure does make a difference in cleaning time when you do a one, two, and then just wipe the gun down and put it away.   If you clean the guns often, from my experience there is very little worry about hard to clean areas.

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If there is a faster way to clean a revolover…

Please show me how I can clean a revolver faster than if I were using a boresnake?   I’ve got several boresnakes that are showing a good bit of wear, but they are still getting the job done on cleaning my rifles and I don’t even think they have gotten to their half life yet.   Just wash them in the wash machine if they start to show signs they are getting too slimy.   The only difference between the pistol and rifle bore snakes is the length and although you can still use a rifle boresnake but it may flop around a little too much.

I have always liked Hoppes boresnakes, but I recently dug out a Ruger GP100 that was a rack queen and took it to the range for a day.   I didn’t put that many rounds through it, but after spending years of range time with Glocks, XD’s and Sigs, it was fun to break out a .357 magnum and do a range  report.  The Hoppes Boresnakes that I have for my handguns have not been used that much, and when it came time to clean the gun, i popped open the cylinder, rang the bore snake through each hole, then the barrel and was trying to figure out what else I needed to do.   That was it!

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