What cleaning equipment do I need?

[majordisorder]

I've got to the point where (I think) I need some proper cleaning kit. I've got quite a few solvents from Shotgunning days like Action Blaster, Bisley Bore cleaner and some Express clean 'n' lube stuff but nothing specifically for rifles.

I'm looking for recommendations for the kit I need for cleaning a .22LR GSG-5 and a .45ACP Remington 700. Is there an all in one kit that will suffice or do I need different components bought separately? I'd like good quality for the .45ACP since it's rather pricey and I'd like to keep it in top notch shape.

Do I need different cleaning rods for each rifle? A bore guide for the Rem? What about brushes, jags and patches? Other solvents?

Any tips?

[Primer]

I currently just use bore snakes on both my .22 rifles and shotguns, just spraying some napier gun cleaner on the end (head) of the snake and run it through a couple of times and the bores come out nice and clean and just use tooth brushes and bottle brushes on the action with cleaner and lint free patches.

I'm sure someone will say i shouldnt use the above for some reason

[dromia]

Make some Ed's Red for fouling cleaning and use household ammonia for copper fouling. No point in getting ripped of with by buying named cleaning substances.

Pro shot rods and jags, I use bulk buy cotton and flannel rags (from decorators wholesalers) cut up for patches.

Use a nylon bristle brush for frothing the ammonia in the barrel not a bronze one.

Keep some of the ATF fluid from the Ed's red for an excellent gun oil.

Fluid Film makes and excellent overall external cover if you are going to be taking your rifle out in the wet.

A bore guide for your action is a good investment.

For in the field or at the range for taking oil out of the barrel or a fist clean when packing up them pull throughs are good. I like the Otis system and I also use Bore Snakes.

[ovenpaa]

I tend not to use bore snakes despite owning one, I would worry about snapping it off in a .22LR especially given the number of copies on the market these days. I do agree for field work the Otis system takes a lot of beating and I keep one with me at all times when I am shooting.

Bore guides are important and even an improvised one is better than nothing. Get a good cleaning rod, PH or Dewy both work well and face up to the fact they will only last for a few years so be prepared to buy another at some point. Always keep your cleaning rod clean as well. These days I seldom use brushed however if I do then they are nylon, I do use PB brushes but only for burnishing the inside of case necks.

You will need chamber brushed/swabs, a thick wooden knitting needle with a slot sawn in it and lumps of flannelette work for virtually no outlay, the Sinclair International version is good and somewhat more refined, they also make a very nifty lug cleaner however I use on of my own make these days.

Cleaning solvent - ask 20 shooters and you will get 20 different replies. We have been testing a new product for the last few weeks and I am very impressed with it plus it strips both copper an carbon, the product is currently out with some of the top UK shooters for evaluation and depending on the results it should be released in the new year.

[Charlotte the flyer]

I was reading the other day that Sweets 7.62 solvent shouldn't be used in a chrome line barrel (In an Australian training manual for shooting an SLR from a helicopter razz ). Are there other combinations that shouldn't be used together? I just use Hoppes No 9 for everything.

Regarding boresnakes, if you happened to use the wrong size, would that be a big problem? I only had a 9mm one to hand and decided that as I couldn't get it clean using patches it would be a good idea to put it though a 303. Once it got started it was impossible to reverse it so we had to keep going. It was tight but it got a lot of muck out.

[Gaz]

For bolt action rifles I use:

Parker Hale rod
Jag & flannellette (4x2) either for loading oil and solvent onto or for drying out afterwards
Wool mop, for oiling the barrel prior to storage
Various solvents - personally I have an ancient bottle of Young's 303, some light oil and some Sweets copper solvent.
Old toothbrush for cleaning under the extractor claw and other hard-to-reach areas
An SA80 flick brush - which is pretty much just a shaving brush - for removing dust and other crud from the exterior.

Personally I avoid using pullthroughs on my rifles - strikes me that there's too much potential for causing uneven wear to the leade and the crown.

[murphwiz]

I just use boar snakes, got one for each calibre, squirt a load of cleaner down the barrel, couple of runs with bore snake, barrel seems to be very clean, squirt of oil to protect.
Apart from nagant, I use boling water on that, due to the corrosive ammo, even cleaner and bore snake would lead to a gentle rusting after a few days, problem solved with boiling water.

[LeighC]

I just use a bore snake and either Napier or whatever light gun oil is to hand. Rods and jags/bronze brushes also make an appearance now and again, but having snapped God knows how many brass rods over the years, a pull through is always my fall back position. An old toothbrush or similar is useful for the chamber. As others have said, ask 20 shooters, you'll get 20 responses and most of the time the proprietary cleaners are nothing more than over priced variations on a theme that we all have under the kitchen sink.

[dromia]

Never known a bore snake of any type to snap yet. I do check them regularly for wear though, as I do with any pull through type.

Be interesting to see if it has happened to anyone on here or if anyone has first hand knowledge of it happening to someone else.

Screw together rods are not a good idea. As I have replaced rods over the years I've moved from Parker Hale to Dewey and now use the Pro Shot range.

Do try the low cost home made cleaners as I have found that they are as good as and in many cases better than the labelled products which I have found to be an expensive waste of money. People have been cleaning guns effectively for decades but still every year new wonder products appear that are the "bees knees". Not because there is a need but consumables like cleaning products are where there is money to be made. Also they are beloved by the shooting fashionistas who need to set trends regardless of worth.

[meles meles]

Properly used, a bore snake shouldn't harm a barrel. Think about the process: you're pulling relatively soft phosphor-bronze bristles and a textile through a tube made of hardened steel. Which do you think will wear first? If the snake is pulled through the barrel at an angle then there is a possibility of uneven wear at the breech or crown, though to put that into perspective* it is going to be far less than the wear arising from the supersonic passage of a bullet and high temperature gases. If you clean more often than you shoot then there may be an issue with wear, and if you clean badly, more so.






*we're not saying that cleaning causes no damage, just that you should be realistic about it. A lot of clever metallurgy goes into barrels, if yours wears out then maybe, just maybe, the fault lies elsewhere, not with the cleaning regime.