All posts tagged Shotgun cleaning

Do you still need a cleaning rod for your rifles and what gun cleaning supplies should you consider?

Gun cleaning suppliesI have atleast 2 Hoppes gun cleaning kits that I purchases probable more than 20yrs ago and never finished off all of the gun oil that they came with because I never really needed to use that much lube on the bolt action rifles I first owned.   The one thing I learned real fast with a 22 Caliber rifle is to not get your 30 caliber gun cleaning patches mixed in because any 3 piece gun cleaning rod is not going to handle being stuck in a barrel and will easily get bent up and you might as well consider it trash due to the fact that it’s highly likely you’ll damage the riflings in the barrel.  I learned that lesson and picked  up a one piece rod and it’s still in great condition.   There are several different types of metal brushes you can use but in my opinion its more about how  you clean the firearm and not so much about the make up of the brush.   Brass rifle brushes, Nylon brushes and even Bronze gun cleaning brushes.

Most of the type you can use a given rifle caliber brush on several calibers that might be close to it and it will get the job done.  I’ve actually avoided worrying about cleaning all of my firearms after every range trip because I’ve seen so many semi-auto guns run just fine for thousands of rounds just because they were properly lubricated, and not because they need to pass a white glove test.   Whether you are looking for a kit or few gun cleaning supplies to cut your time down, the type of gun you are using and the configuration the kit comes might mean not needing much more.   Some of the Otis gun cleaning kits are caliber and rifle specific which is pretty cool if you want to keep it in a range bag or you are going to be on a road trip.   Some of the .308 or 7.62 gun cleaning kits have optic cleaning tools which is something you might not have thought about until reading this blog post.  A Leatherman Mut might be another accessory to keep in the same bag.

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More feedback on the Otis System

I recently had a walk in customer look up at all of the Otis gun cleaning systems that we have in stock and mentioned that he never got into the Otis thing.   Well, the gun rod thing works well if you have a good cleaning rod and not one of those 3 piece starter kits that you got for your 22LR.   I’ve bent them myself and seen others do catastrophic things to them.   I’m not going to rave that the Otis System works better than any cleaning rod system, but there are advantages.

About the only disadvantage of the Otis system is that you might not be able to push forward on the cleaning patch as well, but yet again, what the hell are you doing that you need to push a cleaning rod that hard?   The Otis gun cleaning kits are small, compact, they hold the lube, and there is almost no chance that you will have to carry a bottle around with you that will leak all over your gear.   The cleaning systems are advanced or simple and can be used specifically for an AR15 style rifle.

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Some guns were not designed to be cleaned very well

My first semi-auto was a Russian SKS which was when they were going for under $100.   The Russian SKS is a very well thought out semi-auto because in my opinion, I like the operation and disassemble more than the M1 Garand.   I think the Garand is  a fine rifle and far more accurate than an SKS, but the stripper clips and lighter ammuntion is better suited for WWII combat although it was not introduced that early.   The AK ended the short adventure of the SKS much in the same way the M16 shortened the life of the M14.   They were all very well designed and reliable firearms, but they were not modern enough for combat.   One gun I have found that I still enjoy shooting and operating with is the FAL.   The triggers on these guns are a little hard to drop in weight, and the mounts on them really need to be locked in place with something other than just a screwdriver.   The .308 caliber will do a number on scope mounts especially exposing any operator failures to properly “lock it down”.

One thing that made me a fan of the DSA FAL I own is that it was designed to be easy to operate and maintain.   I’ve heard many firearm instructors that I respect say that the M16 does not need to be cleaned as much as people think and lubrication is more important than scrubbing every spec of carbon off the firearm.  I still enjoy cleaning some of my firearms just because I like inspecting the geniousness of the designs.   I literally can clean and FAL with gun cleaning supplies like the Hoppes bores snakes.  The Otis gun cleaning kits aren’t necessary on one of these guns and more appropriate for more complicated designs.  The FAL is hands down the simplest battle rifle to clean.

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Advanced gun cleaning for the obvious idiots

I don’t read gun boards very much anymore.  I have had good experiences with some of them and I know some people just like to bash the BS that they see, but not talk about the good.   I have met many people from the forums  in the Northeastern United States and found the vast majority to be above average in intelligence and responsibility.   I say this because I just read some of the dumbest stuff about gun cleaning and think that it may be time for some of these people to turn in their firearms due to showing since of being on the lower level of human evolution.

When you are choosing the cleaning tools for your rifle, make sure you match the cleaning brushes and cleaning patches to the caliber you are using.  If you are using a 22 caliber firearm like an AR15, do yourself a favor and use 22 caliber bore snakes.   I know that may not be common knowledge, but there are idiots out there that  may try and jam or pull a 30 caliber bore snake through the barrel, and guess what, it won’t fit.   You can mess a barrel by doing something as stupid like this, but it happens.  I’ve had pistol cleaning patches get stuck, but I was smart enough to dump a bunch of CLP into the barrel to loosen it up and then back it out, there’s your advanced gun cleaning tip of the day.

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Beware of over cleaning

I admit that I have been called a perfectionist.  I have several years experience in working in the music industry and in that line of work, only the best work gets noticed.   When it comes to maintaining a car, you can waste a lot of time working on things that aren’t going to increase your mileage or prevent it from getting hit by another car.   Although many of us like to take our favorite firearms out of the safe from time to time, and wipe them down and look everything over, there can be a point where shoving a cleaning rod down a barrel too often will cause excessive wear and tear.

In a Carbine course, we got a good lecture on some of the BS that people are claiming about the amount of maintenance the AR15 direct impingement guns need.   The reality is that they sure as heck do need to be cleaned more than any other semi-auto military rifle, but not as much as  some people claim.  The reasons the military makes soldiers do this so often is to basically just keep them occupied.   Keeping the gun lubricated and putting a few drops where it’s needed is all we  had to do while running a Carbine course and not a single one of us had an issue.  Be careful about how much you use your gun cleaning supplies on your firearms, but also, make sure you have the right tools for the firearm.   There are some neat cleaning brushes and tools that you can get from Otis gun cleaning kits and they will help you get into the areas that are hard to reach.

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Thorough cleaning of firearms

Otis gun cleaning kitThis past weekend I got to test out an Otis gun cleaning kit.     I was issued the LEO deluxe cleaning kit and was amazed at how much stuff this thing had in it.    I’ve been using bore snakes for several years now and I have been pretty happy with how much time they have relieved me of when it comes to cleaning.    I have a few rifles that I spend more time with when it comes to cleaning the barrels with and every once in awhile I still dig out my rifle cleaning rod to clean them.    I was listening to a discussion with a LEO that was the PD sharp shooter and he mentioned some issues with using bore snakes.    I was a little sketical when I first heard him talk about it because I was always very happy with my previous cleaning methods.

The Hoppes bore snake is much faster to  use than a cleaning rod, brush and patch system, but If you need to do some serious chamber cleaning, especially on an AR15, you’re still going to have to use something else.   The Otis gun cleaning systems best advantage is that it is small and compact and basically does everything that a cleaning kit should do and will fit in your pocket.    There are always advantages and disadvantages to various cleaning methods, but gun maintenance is important for those are deployed.   Bore snakes can be hard to repackage once they get lubed up and you’ll have to do your own research on how to pack one up and bring it with you.   The Otis gun cleaning kit is already organized and compact, and depending on the cleaning system you use, you may be able to clean pistols, rifles and shotguns with the Deluxe Law Enforcement cleaning system.   I say again, the real benefit of the Otis gun cleaning kit is it can be as thorough as a traditional kit, but far more compact and mobile.

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