Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Quality gun cleaning kit

I need some recommendations on a quality rifle and pistol cleaning kit. I've always used cheap Hoppes kits that break easily. I bought a Remington universal kit a couple of years ago that has the rubber coated pull through cable. I'm not overly fond of either. Thanks in advance for your suggestions.


Ron

I'd put it together myself frankly.

Tipton or Dewey Rod. A set of Tipton brushes and jags. A big ass bag of appropriate patches and some good brushes.

That's what I did anyway.

Wipe-Out foaming bore cleaner.

Unless you like to spend time scrubbing bores unnecessarily.





P

This! It's the only way to go IMO

I've got a tacklebox filled with pro-shot products, love their stuff. Rods are are one piece though so wouldn't fit in a "kit"

This, good rod with guide, jags, patches, no brushes, old tooth brush, leupold lens pen and a bottle of Lucas Extreme gun oil.

Have a big tool chest drawer filled with remnants if about a dozen gun cleaning kits.

Several rods. Several different types of solvent and lubricant.

Not much I can't clean.

Bruno brushes.

And an outers shotgun rod with baby sheep sized bore mops for swabbing out the 1/2 and 5/8ths inch bores on double rifles.

O.T.I.S.

Get a cleaning rod from a 50 bmg. Beats the heck out of using the ramrod if you're a BP shooter.

This.

Thanks men! I used a Tipton rod at work for cleaning my M4 and liked it very much. I think I'm going to get a tool box and make up my own.

Ron

This +1

I clean my bores like a Sommelier tastes his wines.
It is a lifestyle.
Start by buying the barrel. Shilen, Bartlein, Krieger, Lilja, Pac Nor, and Lothar Walther are the barrel brands I have hunted with.
Is your reamer floating pilot or solid pilot?
When you dial in the the barrel in the lathe, are you going to use standard 0.001" increment pin gauge as a spud? Or order the fractional inbetween gauge from MSC?
Is the spider steering the gimbal or flexing the barrel?
Bore coat the bore.
Moly coat the bullet.
No bullets over 3600 fps. That is the speed limit.

OK, now your bore is fouled.

You will be pushing brushes and jags with patches through the bore.
Using a bore guide is like practicing safe sex.
We will need some chemicals to put on the brushes and patches; Carbon fouling cleaner, Alcohol, Copper cleaner, creeping penetrant, and an abrasive.
I like to measure the diameter of the bronze brush with dial calipers. I want it to be an interference fit with the groove diameter of the barrel.
It only takes a few strokes with Copper cleaner in the bore and the diameter of the Bronze brush is too small.
So I clean the Carbon out. Then a dry patch. Then I put in the Copper solvent and wait a few minutes. Then I clean with a dry patch. Then I use creeping penetrant combined with an abrasive on the brush.
This way the brush does not meet the brush dissolving chemical.
Combining penetrant and abrasive for me for a long time was Kroil and Flitz.
Darrell Holland sells Witches Brew that is a combination of penetrant and abrasive. It has a plastic ball bearing in the container for shaking and mixing before using. The spout is not convenient for me squirting on a brush, so I decant to a squirt bottle with my own plastic ball bearing.

How to know the bore is clean?
In the field I shine an LED flashlight in the muzzle while looking through a magnifying glass. If I can see any Copper streaks, it is not clean. Start over.



To hold the rifle when cleaning I have modified CTK rifle vise that is itself clamped in a 350 pound woodworking bench. The Tipton rifle vise is in the storage shed. I can't give it away.
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1014669533/ctk-precision-p3-ultimate-gun-vise
The CTK comes in a T shape. I have added and extra 1" square steel strut painted black, a couple 1/4-20 rubber knobs, and piece of Oak to clamp in the bench vise. I have made a forend of Oak and steel, not shown.
With 100 pounds of force on the rifle, it should move less than 1/2" in all 6 degrees of freedom.

900 miles from here where I hunt, I have supplied my host with another CTk vise and a bench. My host, is still using Hoppes, which to me is like drinking fortified wine.

This place shows and reviews some very nice ones.
Best Kits Compared

+ 2

Don't forget solvent....I use Butches mixed with Kroil.

Wipe out has it's place too but I wouldn't rely on it exclusively.

Congrats.

Most of my stuff is Pro Shot, one piece SS rod, brushes, patches, jags and bore guides. I use Sweets for cleaning the bore, Shooters Choice grease and RemOil.