pistol cleaning advice

If you buy any Bore Butter (GREAT stuff for rust prevention), don't put any in your action. Just use a light coating of oil. I greased up a .357 Mag revolver with Bore Butter and packed it away for about 15+ years. Took it out, no rust, mint condition, however, the bore butter hardened in the action, gummed up real good. I had to get some 3/1 oil inside the action and work it hard to loosen things up.
 
dcollins8:

For my Colt 1911's and my four inch revolvers I remove the grips and soak them in a half ammo can of solvent for several hours. Then I slouch the can every fifteen minutes. or so. Then I put them on a table to dry. After they dry I put the grip frame in a padded vice and give the barrels a good scrubing with Hopies #9. After the barrels are clean I lub with Break Free. When I was young and dumb I put half an ammo can of gasoline in the trunk of my car and I put the pistols in it, the vibrations of the car cleand the pistols for me. DON'T DO THIS, IT' DANGEROUS! Diesel would probabilly be safe. Just remember to lub good because the solvents remove the oil from the pores. The trouble is worth it, you finins with a clean gun.


Semper Fi.

Gunnery Sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired
 
The main issue with boresnakes is that once they are dirty, you are putting that crud right back in your barrel the next time you use it - so unless you keep it cleaned, you are better off to just get some patches, a cleaning rod, brush or two, solvent of your choice, oil of your choice, grease if necessary

If you shoot a lot of lead bullets, you might want to also get the Lewis Lead Remover
 
I agree with building your own kit. You need a proper fitting jag that will fit tight with your specific patches you cut or buy. Makes everything easier with a good ftg jag.

A good kit to stock yourself is the KleenBore PocKit. Everything stores in the handle, and it has a tapered muzzle guide which comes in very handy when cleaning revolvers. It has two rods so you can clean shorter barrels or longer barrels.
 
I disagree with all of the folks recommending bore snakes and Otis kits. They simply aren't necessary for a casual weekend handgun shooter. A proper one-piece rod with jags and brushes, along with some Hoppe's 9 solvent and 10w40 (synthetic preferably) engine oil is all that is needed. It can all be contained within any old fishing tackle box or suitable improvised carry case.

Fancy-shmancy "handgun/firearm lubricants" are overpriced marketing hype and do not contain any special properties that makes them suitable only for firearms. A quart of 10w30 synthetic costs $7-$8. A pint of Hoppe's 9 costs $10-$11
 
Fancy smanchy...

I disagree with RC's remarks.
If you want to clean & protect your firearms, you should buy the proper gun care products and equipment.
"Saving" $3 or 4 bucks isn't going to break you. I used a single can of Ballistol for approx 4 years. ;)
I'd add that Boresnake Vipers(the improved format) and "high tech" CLPs like Weaponshield & LPX can clean-protect a pistol. They also aren't costly or hard to buy.
I don't follow the; use motor oil, oven cleaner, rust remover, etc crowd.
Many shooting industry firms like Remington, S&W, Hoppes, Slip2000, Mpro7, etc sell cleaning/gun oil products made to clean firearms.

Clyde
 
One thing to remember if you're going to clean a revolver from the muzzle end with a fixed rod - you must stop the brush or jag as soon as it clears the forcing cone - it's very easy to slam it into the breechface and make some nasty dents around the firing pin hole - very bad. One trick a lot of guys use is to wrap a rag around the breechface and under the hammer to absorb the blow if you slip. There used to be a little plastic plate available that had a couple of rubber bands that slipped around the hammer and held it in place against the breechface. Or you can just run the rod through from the muzzle and then screw the brush/jag onto it once it clears the forcing cone and then pull it through. I still have and use the old GI .45 rod and brush. We used CLP or diesel/jet fuel for cleaning solvent. Let it soak a few minutes and brush away.
 
For my main shooters, I don't really have much of a use for kits like the Otis or the Bore Snake that are made to clean the inside of barrels only because I don't clean my pistol barrels that often. I figure the next bullet fired cleans the crud and lube that the one before it left behind. Yes, I know I'm making the Olympic ISSF shooters cringe with horror here, but I'm an IPSC shooter who shoots minor 9 production and accuracy isn't that big a deal in this sport anyway. My barrel looks as dirty shooting my home cast lead after 5,000 rounds as it does after 50. I don't bother unless it's being put away for some time, or being sold.

Because my gun fires and thus cycles between 300 and 1000 times each week, there are way more important things to worry about cleaning than the barrel anyway, things where brushes and Q-tips come in handy. It's not unusual that I will dismantle my gun to clean and lube the rails, barrel hood, link etc. 3 times at the range during a practice if the wind is blowing and some sand is in the air. I think I might dismantle and clean my extractor more often than my barrel.

Now a Boresnake and a shotgun are a different story...
 
I've become a fan of KleenBore PocKit Handgun Cleaning Sets. Everything fits in the handle (except cleaner & lube), standard thread replacements.

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Amazon

I also keep bore snakes around.
 
I'm curious -- does one need to use a jag when running a patch through the barrel? I usually thread the patch through that slotted thing on the end of the cleaning rod and run it through that way.
 
I'm curious -- does one need to use a jag when running a patch through the barrel? I usually thread the patch through that slotted thing on the end of the cleaning rod and run it through that way.
Click to expand...

A jag gives you a tighter fit. I prefer them.
 
Walmart/Academy have very cheap cleaning materials. You'll need the pistol or rifle set. If you're concerned about a container and want seriously inexpensive then just stick that stuff in a shoebox.
 
One thing to remember if you're going to clean a revolver from the muzzle end with a fixed rod - you must stop the brush or jag as soon as it clears the forcing cone - it's very easy to slam it into the breechface and make some nasty dents around the firing pin hole - very bad
Click to expand...

A few better ideas I have seen and used - a small piece of wood across the breech face, or a firm piece of leather - like the toe rest shotgun shooters use - either will keep the rounded tip of the brush from slamming onto the breech face
 
Go to WM but get a tool box instead of a tackle box.

Then get a Dewey coated cleaning rod-shot for handgun. Buy appropriate jag, brushes. NEVER a stainless 'brush' unless you want to ruin barrel. Dewey will sell you brushes, jag, patches and rod. If you want a clean barrel get a jag-the slotted thingy is good for who knows what?

Patches and gunzilla or Ezzoz for solvent.

Box will be full in couple years. Rag, RIG rug and some RIG if blued gun to keep rusty fingerprints off it. Soon you will have one of those preloaded syringes for lubbung the parts that need grease.
 
Trying to keep things simple, I use Hoppes #9 and bulk patches from Wal-Mart. I use a patch worm for the bore.

http://20-20.8m.com/patchworm.html

Then some Power Blast or similar for a final clean.

Finally some sort of gun oil for mechanics and an oil patch for a final rub.

The kit is small, easy to store and cheap to keep stocked.
 
Hoppes Cleaning Kit @ Academy for $19.99 has all your looking for, works excellent, doesnt include bore brush but thats an extra $1.50. Mine works just like a cleaning kit.
 
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