Gun Cleaning Kit

C

Cassera

New member
I recently purchaced a Savage 16 .300wsm. Before I fire it for the first time, I want to have a cleaning kit for it. It is the only gun I have right now. I am looking for a good cleaning kit (willing to spend $100 tops) that I can rely on time and time again and will have everything I will ever need for the rifle.

I am new to guns (let alone rifles) so I really look forward to cleaning my rifle and getting to know the in's and out's of it before I fire it for the first time.
Basically my two options are either Dick's Sporting Goods or Gander Mountain (In Middletown,NY). I would preferablly like to just go to Dick's seeing as It is located inside the mall that I work at.

Any good reccomendations? Will I need to spend more than $100 on a good reliable kit that has everything I will need?
 
Cleaning kits look good all layed out nice and neat in their little boxes, but (especially if you have only one rifle), they aren't really all that useful. Also, not many are going to be long enough for your rifle.

What you need is a decent one-piece cleaning rod, a bore guide, a jag tip, and patches of the correct size. There is quite a selection of powder solvents and oils, and many heated opinions about which is best. A lot of shooters continue to use Hoppe's No. 9, though there are more modern products available.

I haven't seen a cleaning kit that includes a bore guide, and you really should have one to clean from the breach and protect the muzzle.

It's really easy to order this stuff through the mail from Midway -

bore guide to fit Savage bolt-action

one-piece cleaning rod

jag tip

patches

The bore guide helps feed the patch into the bore from the breach end and keeps solvent from dripping into your trigger. The one-piece cleaning rod won't trap dirt in the joints that can damage the rifling, and carbon fiber resists nicks better than nylon coated steel (Dewey), though they are also acceptable. The nickle plated jag tip won't give you "false positive" indications of copper fouling like brass jag tips can. And the cotton patches are the correct thickness and are cut to the correct size, and are much better than using just any old rags out of a rag bin.

The above list is around $70, I think. By the time you pick out a bottle of powder solvent and gun oil, you'll be near your budget, and you will have what you need. IMO, stay away from cleaning kits.
 
+1 to what dmazur said.

I would like to add the following:

Bore foam cleaner - spray in the barrel (from chamber end), come back later (for me, sometimes 15 min, sometimes overnight), 2 patches through, oil, 2 patches through, done.

Lately, I've stopped using the cloth patches. I've been using a smaller diameter nylon brush than the bore I'm cleaning (.243 brush for cleaning a .30 bore), wrapped with heavy duty paper towel (tear by hand 2"x5"). I find it more absorbent, durable, much cheaper, and always available.

Butch's bore shine - I've owned and tried several other common cleaners but keeps going back to BBS. It seems to clean much better and priced right.
 
Second (or third) the motion...

Cassera--You want to choose what YOU want in a cleaning kit, not what Outers or some other company decides to sell you. I agree with Dmazur and Twins on the contents of that kit.

2 things I'd add: (1) a used fishing tackle box to hold all the "stuff." You will accumulate more stuff as you continue shooting, so extreme compactness is not to be sought. In my area, fishing tackle boxes are to be had commonly at garage sales. Used ones are cheap. I use used fishing tackle boxes as cases for lots of things that have nothing to do with fishing. (2) a case for the one-piece cleaning rod--You need something to protect it so's it won't get bent. I make cases for mine out of a length of PVC pipe, with a closed cap at one end, and a screw-on cap at the other. Diameter of the pipe is determined by the size of the rod handle. PVC pipe, fittings, and the "welding" glue for same are to be had at any hardware store, for not too much $$. Just one trip-and-fall, or one shift of the junk in your car, producing a bent rod, and you've lost considerably more than the cost of the PVC piping.
 
Awesome, thanks for the info guys....Im gonna go to dicks tomorrow to see if they have anything along the lines of what you guys posted....

One more question..
I clean my rifle before it is shot for the first time right?
Im pretty sure you do, im just making sure...or maybe it's just not necessary
 
Some mfgrs proof-test their rifles by firing, and some don't. Some protect the bore with oil and some don't.

My understanding is that you want to make sure there isn't anything in there that could even remotely be a bore obstruction. The practice can be as simple as just running a dry patch through, though some use an oiled patch followed by a dry patch.

After that, you're into the whole thorny issue of barrel break-in or not, what kind of cleaning products, how many passes, do you use a brush, etc. It's a minefield... :)
 
Awesome, I will look into all of those options and discuss it with an employee of dick's.
Thanks guys


P.S.
Don't really know why the thread was moved here, Isn't cleaning a necessity...also wouldn't consider it as gear. Just a thought :p
 
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