All posts tagged Handgun cleaning kits

Gun Cleaning Supplies if you want it run, and run for a long time, you have to maintain it

Gun Cleaning SuppliesThere are a lot of technological changes taking place with synthetic oils and I have a ton of friends that are using things like Mobil 1 on their firearms, but if you are a hunter, you have to pay attention to lubricants that have rust corrosion abilities.  I’ve had my stories in previous blogs but I have lawn chairs and grills that I never paid attention to and watched them decompose over time because screws rusted or hinges corroded.  You can extend the life of a firearm if you keep in from rusting out and although we are getting close to having composite material rifles, there are plenty of things that can rust through or wear out like gun springs and trigger springs if you don’t watch how you maintain them.  The beauty of modern gun cleaners like Slip 2000 and Frog Lube are that they are going to clean, lubricate and protect your firearms and also non-toxic.

We’re working on some restocks of our best selling items this year and there are some really good Slip 2000 gun cleaning packages with bore cleaners and copper cutters that you might want to think about.   Gun cleaning supplies like boresnakes and one piece cleaning rods are going to make your life easier and I highly suggest using both.   Otis gun cleaning kits tend to be better for those that are mobile and might be doing cleaning on a trip.   We have several Border and Security personnel that use them while they travel State to State for Carbine Instructor courses.   Having the correct chamber brush for an AR15 is the difference between cleaning the chamber and not cleaning the chamber.  And don’t forget that taking  your magazines apart and checking them from time to time for rust and corrosion is another way to make them last.  I’ve seen base plates rust out and drop fully loaded mags on firing ranges.   A slight wipe down of a protective lubricant can stop all of this.

Top

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.

Top

Gun cleaning supplies… depends on the firearm

We all know we need to have good working magazines and a firearm that is ready to go if we are serious about protecting ourselves but many people tend to not stock up on gun cleaning supplies.   I understand not everyone shoots as much as I do and sometimes a 32oz bottle of Break Free or MPro7 is going to last a decade but for those of us that shoot a lot, it’s good to know what we have at hand.  I’ve changed my gun lubrication standards and have moved away from using CLP on everything.  It just does not seem to stay on the firearms as long as the Mpro7 gun oils.

It’s one thing to keep your guns clean, but its another to know that the gun is going to stay lubricate even if you aren’t going to be shooting it anytime soon. Having gun cleaning supplies doesn’t mean just brushes and cleaning rods it means  having everything that you need to maintain the firearm.   Most firearms might just need a wipe down but for firearms that are being stored you need gun lubrication that stays on and will keep the gun at its optimum operation standards.  I’ve seen firearms go down after a few hundred rounds just because they had not been lubricated.

Top

MPro-7 does what it claims

I guess I’m going to have to say that I am well on on board with the MPro-7 gun cleaning supplies.  I still haven’t personally used all of their products myself, but I will continue to post after trying them out.   I attend a great many gun shops and trade shows and have plenty of sample gun oils and lubricants from various manufacturers but that’s not something I would jump on board with because quality control with liquid products is something that I have learned to be aware of.   Even something like a bottle of Coca-Cola can change from lot to lot and don’t forget all of those variances with rifle ammunition and accuracy.

When it comes to gun cleaning supplies, the biggest criticism that I would have to make that is from my expereince, valid, is that CLP is not consistent unless you shake it properly, CLP will stay in my gun cleaning supplies box, but I have given up on depending on it for firearms that I consider might be a defensive firearm.   I’ve seen gun stocks melt and barrels glow red and for anyone taking serious training or wanting to replace something that the military has issued, it’s time to move on to the MPro-7 gun  oil.

Top

Revolver cleaning and tools

I finally got around to hitting my Dillon 550B and loaded up a ton of my favorite 38 Special hand loads.   I’m amazed at how well I shoot with some of these bullets because I’m usually doing most of my training with semi-auto guns and the ammo is rarely very accurate.   Hits are usually what I am looking for in defensive shooting, but when I am shooting a Smith & Wesson Model 19, I can actually go for a bulls eye.  A few months ago I dug up a bunch of SWC lead bullets and used  up a  full pound of Unique gun powder.

The one bad thing about getting in a good range day was that I had to clean all of gun gun out of my gun  before I put it away.   I don’t mind shooting lead in revolvers, but I won’t do it in semi-autos anymore.   I used my Otis gun cleaning kit because not only did it have the brushes to get the job done, it had a nice scraper to get in to the areas that needed to be cleaned.   When I used a 1911 and shot lead bullets, I found compacted lead in so many areas that I didn’t think the gun would be reliable if I didn’t get it all out.  The extractor areas can be a tipping point if  you gunk them up.

Top

Otis butt stock cleaning kit

The first time I ever got a hold of an Otis gun cleaning kit I was kinda overwhelmed with the amount of brushes and tools that were in it.   It was a universal rifle and pistol cleaning kit and I was kind of bothered by how much stuff was jiggling around inside the pouch.   I know now that this was a little more than what I really needed, but once I figured out how to use the kit and what all of the tools were for all of the other cleaning kits from Otis were easier to use.   This is from someone that started out with a bolt action 22LR rifle and a Hoppes gun cleaning kit from K-Mart.

The gun cleaning that I have grown to hate usually is from the AR15 direct impingement guns I own.   I have heard numerous firearms instructors tell me that there is such a thing as too much cleaning, and knowing exactly what parts to lube and clean on an AR15 is the key to firearm maintenance.   The Otis gun cleaning kits I use now are specific to the firearm I am cleaning. Hoppes boresnakes have served me well, but getting into the parts of an AR15 especially the locking lugs is difficult without an AR15 brush designed for that type of chamber.  There are times you will need to literally scrape the locking lugs of an AR15 and Otis has the tools and gun cleaning kit for your needs.

Top

gun cleaning on the road

I’m fortunate enough to have the opportunity to travel and witness some hard core firearms training events.   I think it should be part of everyones training to know approximately how long people should go before doing gun maintenance because the reality hits you that you may be wasting your time if you are cleaning it too much.   There are many times when an instructor will just say that it’s time to lubricate your firearm, but not break it down.   I’ve heard from many of my fellow instructors that 80% of gun cleaning is unnecessary.   According to some posts I’ve read, some say that it can actually cause more wear and damge than not cleaning.

If you are shooting a precision rifle, cleaning the barrel is of the utmost importance, but we have to realize that even though our AR15 rifles or handguns may be accurate, if we are taking real defensive or tactical training, we gotta treat them like the combat weapons that they are meant to be.   That way we have a good idea how long they can go so we can gain their trust.  When we are choosing gun cleaning supplies we should also look into the portability of the items we are brining and if we are just risking ruining our range bag because the bottles are not meant to be carried around.   Otis gun cleaning kits are probable your only real option in this category of gun cleaning unless you assemble your own.

Top
Page 1 of 1