The REAL answer is.. first understand the question.
From October through January, the dog and I will be out hunting pheasants about three times a week. I run through maybe 3 boxes of shells through about 4 different shotguns.
One shotgun is almost family, one is the last gun I will ever part with, one I am coming to love, and one is for when it's raining, snowing, winter-mixing and because I wanted a side-by-side.
At the end of the season, I give them a cleaning with Hoppe's No.9 because it's a reasonable solvent and it's what my Granpa used. It makes me feel good, almost like the smell of bread baking in the oven. It's the smell of a end of good day with my Grandpa or Dad.
Serious shotgun shooters go to the range and might easily shoot 6-8 boxes of shells down one gun in a weekend. Some of those guys maintain guns at shooting ranges of for clubs. What they need and what I need are different. They are dealing with very large deposits of plastic wad material, gunpowder and primer residue and lead. Most of them swear by "Ed's Red", a home brew mixture because they need buckets of it.
https://www.vkhgc.ca/documents/Ed gun cleaner.pdf
1 part Dexron Automatic Transmission Fluid, GM Spec. D-20265 or later.
1 part Kerosene - deodorized, K1 (such as for burning in heaters)
1 part Aliphatic Mineral Spirits (Varsol)
1 part Acetone
(Optional 1 lb. of Lanolin, Anhydrous, USP per gallon, or OK to substitute Lanolin, Modified,
Topical Lubricant, from the drug store)
The article will explain how the formula is adapted from the Frankford Arsenal Cleaner No. 18 and what each component does for the cleaning process using modern materials since things like Sperm Oil are no longer readily available and Turpentine is more flammable than necessary and also more expensive.
The acetone? You need something to get in and attack layers of plastic buildup.
Soak the barrel well and wait 10 minutes for the stuff to work.
Then use a Tornado brush on an electric drill powered shotgun rod to get out a palmful of melted plastic gunk.
Then patches and maybe a rust inhibitor like wd-40 or clenzoil.
WD-40 is not going to do that.
If you have not shot 8 boxes of shells, your brass brush will take care of the plastic.
Mark Novak has a very entertaining and educational Youtube channel with many tips on gunsmithing restoration.
He knows many big words and many times he uses these words, um, incorrectly.
He does some stuff that would have made the metal shop supervisor at the Physics Department shop scream at him with Irish curses.
He's a real gunsmith and does good work and shares many very practical tips that motivate me to do more restoration work.
I would not let him work on my Hamilton Bowen Blackhawk.
Bill DeShivs? He makes knives that are to a man what my wife's custom jewelry is for women. Heirloom stuff. He doesn't have a camera man for his youtube videos!
When it comes to metal, I will go with Bill's opinion every time.
About Tico Sticks-
I liked to shoot skeet about 25 years ago. Here was my gun cleaning trick-
Take a clean old white cotton sock that has a hole in the heel. Tie about 3 feet of sturdy fine hemp twine around 2/3 of the way down. Tie a figure 8 knot in the other end and crimp a spent .22 shell as a weight to the knot.
Where you tie the sock will determine how thick it is when pulled down the whatever gauge shotgun you are using.
After shooting a round of skeet while the barrel is still hot, drop the weighted end of the sock string from breech to barrel. Stand on it. Pull the sock through your barrel. Repeat with other barrel. An amazing about of crud fouls the sock your wife was going to throw away.
Within 4-6 pullings, you''l know when to toss that sock in the trash. Don't wash it, why gum up the washing machine with that foul crap? Get another sock.
Tico Stick? Bore Snake? Spend money or use an old sock.