Most everyone loves to get out and shoot their guns, I do not know anyone who enjoys cleaning them afterward. That said, I would like to share a few tips and tricks to make the unpleasant task a little less painful.

Most folks have some sort of cleaning kit, solvent,lube some brushes and a cleaning rod of some type. There is no real shortcut to bore cleaning, only the extent of clean you want to achieve.

Some like the pull thru type as in the Bore Snake or Otis kits, others prefer the rod style. Personally I use both as each serves a purpose for different levels of bore cleaning. Maintenance cleaning and final wipe through I use the bore snake type or swab, it is quick and easy and has little chance of getting stuck as long as you use the correct caliber size. More aggressive cleaning tasks like heavily fouled or copper removal require specialized solvents, a bore brush and multiple passes. When using a cleaning rod it is super important to clean from the breech end where permitted. Revolvers and some rifles are not possible to clean from the breech so you must take care not to ding the crown or drag the rod on the edges of the bore. Just a small dent or worn spot on the edge of the rifling can cause accuracy to suffer.

Aluminum and coated rods are the worst for muzzle end cleaning, they can get debris embedded in the shaft and accelerate wear on the crown. Carbon fiber is the way to go for the best results or just stick with an uncoated steel rod for cost savings.

I get many firearms in the shop with rods stuck in the bore, this is costly to remove and sometimes results in the barrel having to be replaced. This is easily avoidable by always using the correct caliber brushes and proper sized patches. It is almost always an oversized patch that causes the problem. Some folks prefer to use the caliber specific swabs like the ones from Ramrodz, https://ramrodz.com I like them for semi auto pistol barrels as a final cleaning and oiling procedure. The basic jist of bore cleaning is to soak the bore with your choice of solvent, let it sit for a few min and scrub away. Always make sure you pass all the way through before reversing direction, especially with a bronze or stainless brush, reversing half way through is the best way to get it stuck. Next you will want to mop up the mess inside, this can take may passes to get it clean and dry. If you still have a dirty patch or swab you will need to start over and repeat the process. I will say that to get a perfectly clean patch takes a lot of scrubbing and multiple cycles. Most times a little dirty residue is ok when you are finished.

Now you have your bore sparkling but the action, receiver and bolt are nasty. I don’t recommend taking your gun apart any further than field stripping and removal of grips or stocks. Loosing a small part or squishy little spring can take weeks to replace and often the gun must be sent into the manufacturer for repair. Many companies are now restricting the sale of certain parts to consumers and gunsmiths in order to effect control of liability over their products.

The most useful and time saving tool in the cleaning process is an air compressor. It can be big or small, but should have at least 70 pounds of air capacity. Canned air or computer duster can work in a pinch but generally not so much. The idea is to saturate the part, action or bolt. Let it sit for several minutes, scrub with a cleaning brush and blow it off. Most every firearm that comes through my shop for service receives this process before I begin work. It is that quick and effective.

I use Lucas products https://lucasoil.com/products/out-door-line for most cleaning and lubrication, but you can use any CLP, Hoppes or the like. Kroil works really well but the smell is pretty strong. I don’t recommend the gun scrubber stuff as it can ruin some finishes and wood parts. Cautionary note: make darn sure there are no loose parts or stuff that can fly off, that is the quickest way to loose a part forever. I use a rag to hold the part when blasting it with air, this also keeps the crud in the rag and not all over your garage floor. If a part or pin does come out, you can find it in the rag. If you use a CLP product it is not necessary to oil every small part after cleaning. There is much more to cleaning than I have noted here but this is a great place to begin and should help you avoid some common mistakes that new gun owners make when just getting started.

As a final note; If you see oil dripping off your gun you used too much, “Less is better”

Cheers, Scott