Weapons Cleaning Crash Course w/ Items Index

“For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost,
For the want of a shoe, the horse was lost,
For the want of a horse, the rider was lost,
For the want of a rider, the battle was lost,
For the want of a battle, the kingdom was lost,
And all for the want of a horseshoe-nail.”

Benjamin Franklin

At AP, we believe in proper equipment maintenance. Without it, you lose. Period.
Cleaning guns isn’t very cool or sexy, but it’s my favorite part of shooting. Right next to after hours barbecue and whiskey. Cleaning weapons is about as cool as the “Department of Horseshoe-Nail Acquisitions”, but, I take this time to inspect and tighten up my gun. I even marvel at my weapon’s utility, our birth rights, what they represent to our nation, and the meaning for western civilization. I take pride in all my gear, especially if it’s made in America.

I fix all problems immediately.

Consequently, I saw two guns go down because of poor maintenance during the last “Fighting Kalashnikov Course” offered by Brushbeater Training. 100% operator error. Totally avoidable. Properly torque your optics, stocks, pistol grips, and muzzle devices. You need a torque driver, or torque wrench for this. There are many different brands. The engineers didn’t make these numbers up for no reason. I use the one linked below. Buy once, cry once.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/general-gunsmith-tools/wrenches/general-wrenches/fat-wrench-prod56976.aspx

During normal business hours, AKA peacetime, the average shooter doesn’t use much in the way of patches, solvents, or gun oil. I can assure you, when you are running around in the woods getting rained on and sleeping on the ground, you will go through patches, solvents, and oil with regularity. Multiply that by two, or three, and you have a bit of a logistics problem on your hand.

When you sleep on the ground, the moisture from the ground is drawn to your weapon because of the difference in temperature. This will cause your weapon to rust even if you live in the middle of the high & dry deserts of Wyoming. Plus, you will spend time near the water. For obvious reasons…
You’ll go through all your field patches pretty darn quick. I went through 40 or so patches the other day cleaning 2 Carbines.

That adds up…

The patches I use come in 200 piece packs(Linked later in the article). That’s 5 days of cleaning during periods of overtime and night shift. BTW, bore snakes are almost useless. I keep one handy, only if I have water, or dust, in my barrel from a mounted patrol and/or a swim. Then you will want to give it a good sweep or three with a snake. Cleaning corrosive ammo with a bore snake isn’t a good idea, if so, mark that bore snake with some pink nail polish as a warning, and remember to wash it out with hot water and some light soap. A bore snake won’t remove a mud plug from your barrel. You need a cleaning rod for that. Cleaning rods are mandatory field kit. You’ll never get a stuck case out of your chamber or a mud plug out of your gun without a cleaning rod of the proper length.

Logistics win wars.

A rusty barrel in the field=First Round Point Of Impact (FRPOI) shift. Which means you just missed your bad guy, his buddy, his truck, and the machine gunner. Plus a large, bright, red rust cloud flies out the end of your gun. You can see the problem here adds up real quick. All for lack of a proper weapons cleaning kit and some discipline. Firearms aren’t cheap, and the ammo isn’t either. It’s poor practice to not care for our tools, toys, and training aids.

Yesterday, after cleaning a few guns in storage, I threw away a 12 gauge bore brush, a handful of old 5.56 bore brushes, a 5.56 chamber brush, and a few .30 cal brushes. I don’t normally clean my 12 or 20 gauge shotguns after every single trip to the range, but I do use the 12 gauge brushes for cleaning other parts of my guns. Just the same way that I don’t own a .17 HMR caliber firearm, but I keep those little bore brushes around because those things are great for cleaning those little hard to reach places.

You’ll also need targets and a couple extra rounds nearby to keep those weapons zeroed. A site sponsor, Brownells, has great deals on cleaning supplies and targets. I probably have $1,000 in cleaning supplies and targets laying around. Here are some of my favorites. Targets are my next topic, for another post later this week or early next week.

1) Let’s start with the first thing I was ever issued by Uncle Sam to clean an M4. The not-to-bad “Militec Oil”. This stuff works pretty well, but the cap doesn’t stay on. It literally just comes off for no reason.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/oils-lubricants/lubricant-protectant-oils/militec-1-oil-prod19643.aspx

2) Next, we have the ever faithful “Break-Free CLP”. CLP stands for Cleaner, Lubricant, and Protectant. It is probably the industry standard for cleaning weapons in the field. The carbon just falls out of the firearm. It’s pretty amazing stuff. But it’s pricey and like most “all-in-one” products, it fails in some areas, like cleaning, and excels in others, like pack weight and volume. I primarily don’t use it anymore because its not a good bore solvent. It takes a while to act on the copper and lead fouling and it’s frankly a little time consuming. Good for packing into the woods, not so good for the work bench and target shooting.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/oils-lubricants/lubricant-protectant-oils/break-free-clp-prod1683.aspx

3) I personally use this product linked below. Lucas Oil Gun Oil for the field/kit/vest. These things are great. I keep one in my field cleaning kit. It hasn’t leaked or bent or broken to date. It’s wrapped up in a few rags just in case it does. That seems to keep it safe and sound from the harsh world. The cap is similar to the Elmer’s glue “screw top” cap. It works great. “Field-Proof” is a word that comes to mind.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/oils-lubricants/lubricant-protectant-oils/gun-oil-prod71170.aspx?psize=96

4) I use these needle oiler bottles linked below. I ordered the 3 pack, but I should have ordered 6 of them. They work great, are pretty small, and the cap stays on surprising well considering the size and the contents. Any small needle oiler will work, but these are well made and appear to be quality. I keep High Performance synthetic motor oil in them. I have no shortage of HP Mobil One laying around.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/shop-accessories-supplies/liquid-squeeze-bottles/3-needle-oilers-sku084000361-44434-99905.aspx

Gun oils have rust protection additives, so motor oil isn’t a true substitute during long term field use, but it works just fine if you regularly clean your guns at home or in the field. I try to clean one of my guns every other day or so. Just to inspect them and practice my manual of arms. It keeps me dangerous.

5) My favorite solvent is this stuff below, good old Hoppe’s #9, I like the the smell and it works great. Let some marinade in the barrel for a few minutes, or maybe 5-10, if it’s really cold out, and keep running patches through till its clean. Dedicated bore solvents are the best, they work very well because they have a high molar concentration of additives and solvents. You can use the bore mops, or cattails as some people call them, those are the furry bore brushes that don’t work very well in my personal opinion. They come in most combination kits. I think it’s best to just scrub your barrel a few times and run a patch covered in solvent down the barrel. Repeat till the barrel is bright and shiny. This stuff comes in cases of 6 bottles. You should buy a whole case. It goes pretty quick, but you only need to use it after you fire live ammo or blanks. I remember cleaning .22s with my grandfather using this stuff. Reminds me of the Maryland Eastern Shore on the Wye River every time.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/solvents-degreasers/bore-solvents/5-oz-hoppe-s-no-9-sku699000005-9806-41125.aspx

On to the topic of patches. These things can be hit or miss. I’m gonna let you know how I feel about bore brushes soon enough, but the damn patches are my least favorite cleaning accessory. First, Let’s talk about thickness; There needs to be a standard, but there isn’t, so you can waste a bit of time dealing with this. I prefer to use the “Allen” 3 inch Shotgun and General Cleaning Patches from Amazon or Chinamart.

6) Type this into Amazon, using our link in the sidebar, I had trouble linking for whatever reason “Allen 200 Cotton Gun Cleaning Patch Absorbent General Cleaning” Get the 3 inch patches. Trust me, I love cleaning guns. I wrap them around used bore brushes sometimes and use them as half brush/ half jag combo. They work great. These patches are tough, they scrub nicely, they are big enough to get around the bull barrel on my free-floated bolt guns, can be trimmed to size, and they don’t leave cotton threads on everything. They come in a resealable bag of 200. They survive multiple passes down a barrel, so you can really make sure they are dirty before you toss them out. They rock. 10/10
Remember, one pack of 200 patches is only enough patches for you, two buddies, and two-three gunfights or range trips. It’s that simple. You can’t beat logistics.

7) On to bore brushes, chamber brushes, and jags. There are two things to know. First, there are two different thread pitches for brushes and rods. The military is a bunch of geniuses and had to have their own thread pitch. Second, don’t buy the cheap brushes at the gun show. They are almost worthless and you pay top dollar. Check your thread pitch first. One is military; The other is commercial. The military guys probably noticed that sometimes their brushes fit, and sometimes they don’t. Now you know.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/brushes-amp-bore-snakes/bore-brushes/standard-line-bronze-bore-brushes-prod1277.aspx?avs%7cQuantity_1=12

These 12 packs of Brownells house brand linked above are the way to go. $20 bucks for 12 brushes? Yes please. I ordered one pack of damn near every size they have. And I ordered 6 5.56 and 6 7.62 AR chamber brushes. You can clean basically any weapon chamber with these things, and detail quite a few other hard to reach places as well. Some people argue that the “Nylon Brushes” and the tornado style brushes are good. Maybe I’m just old school, but I frankly haven’t noticed a difference, and you pay more.

8) The brass/nylon brushes on the twisted wire stick/loop work well, I have a few of those that I bent at a 90 degree for cleaning my M1A chamber because it’s not an “open style” of action. I run it like a ratchet, It works better than you think. That’s linked below. This is a good tool for field use with a pistol.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/brushes-amp-bore-snakes/bore-brushes/handgun-cleaning-brushes-prod1205.aspx

9) On the topic of tactical toothbrushes and detailing wire brushes, I have never noticed one is significantly better than the other. (Link Below) When I clean my piston head on my piston guns, I use a small wire wheel on my cordless drill, and it works like a beast. That’s not a good solution for the field, obviously, but I can not carry enough ammo to notice anyway. So that’s not an issue for me personally. Very clean, bright, and shiny is perfect before the big game(or preseason kickoff) These brushes below are industry standards right here. You’ll get years of use out of them.
https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/brushes-amp-bore-snakes/gun-cleaning-brushes/all-purpose-cleaning-brushes-prod22941.aspx

10) For cleaning dust off my gun, and my optical lenses, I use a small, clean nylon paint brush that I cut the handle off of. Plus the countless lens polishing wipes I have. This saves weight and space. I had a few of the military barber brushes laying around, but they started to rot and fall apart so I threw them away and use a small nylon paint brush like the one I use on my work tools. The nylon paintbrush is much, much better for sweeping your gun and optic. Make sure you brush the gun BEFORE you put oil all over it. You don’t want oil on your gun mixing into your brush. Works good for brushing electronic screens and keypads too.

For optics, I make sure the battery cap is tight and the lens is clean. Wiggle the optic to check for loosening. During the winter, and summer, you will notice that if you run outside with your firearm, the optic fogs up immediately. Test this right now. See what happens. I already know the answer. I promise your optic fogs up in 30 seconds. It also happens during mounted operations in vehicles with A/C or heat pumps. I had it happen to a hunting revolver I had under my riding jacket once, and one time I checked the horses and had a very foggy rifle optic.

Good luck keeping the wolves away with a foggy optic… This problem is caused by the temperature change. Military optics are dense, and have a considerable heat sink. You’ll spend a considerable amount of time wiping fog from your optic, your eye pro not so much.  Have you factored this into your home defense plan? The waxes that are used by divers and snorkelers are the best. I like the little jars of green/blue/yellow wax. They work great. And I use a soft clean, optics wipe to clean off the excess goo. Eventually the wipe gets enough wax on it you won’t need to add much for it too work. So the process speeds itself up. If you acclimate your weapon, by an open window for instance, this can be avoided if you lack the proper anti-fog.

11) Type this into Amazon “Z Clear Lens Clear 3 pack”. You need this stuff. Good luck responding to your neighborhood defense plan with a foggy lens, foggy eye pro, and foggy NODs. Have fun unscrewing your killflash, wiping the lens, and screwing it back on before reacting to contact. I learned this lesson in Baghdad MANY times. You should too. It can occur during ANY time of the year especially after a rain with a temp shift.

12) Cleaning tools and cleaning rods come in a mix of quality. All things Amazon and Walmart are basically junk, but not useless. Unless you have spares, I wouldn’t risk my life on that stuff. Buy some quality rods, and a good set of jags. I don’t care for the loops. They take WAY too long to clean a weapon in my experience. The style linked below is best, in my opinion. I bought two sets just in case I misplace or lose one. But you can wrap an old bore brush in your solvent patches and skip the extra weight and have less items to keep track of on your kit. One or the other works in my experience. https://www.brownells.com/gun-cleaning-chemicals/cleaning-rods-amp-accessories/cleaning-rod-jags/copper-eliminator-male-thread-jags-prod44035.aspx

Any style of rod, preferably extra long for rifles, and short for pistols is best. There are free spinning versions, with bearings, and fixed varieties for different tasks. The free spin variety prevents the brush from unscrewing in your barrel. This is a safety issue. I have seen an AR pop because a bore brush unscrewed from the cleaning rod. The weapon completely detonated, and the shooter lost a few pieces of his hand, and some dignity, in front of 200 shooters. The fixed variety is nice for scrubbing chambers and those other nooks, niches, and notches in your firearm. You don’t have to worry about damaging your barrel or chamber. The amount of energy you are exerting on the weapon is nothing compared to firing a cartridge. Just be careful not to excessively offset your rod from the centerline, and you’ll be just fine. The important thing is to clean your weapon, because this is the best way to extend the service life of your investment.

13) Remember, You need to clean your weapon three or four times to fully detail it after hard field use, or an expensive day at the range. Don’t forget to pick up some packs of 500 cotton swabs. They are cheap and have a million uses.

The most important thing to remember is to protect your barrel, lube your weapon, and fog proof your lens. That’s 90% of the struggle right there.  Your eye pro, and your NODs too, but I’m not gonna ask you to do that. Call the manufacturer first and listen to their directions for fog proofing NODs. Honestly though, the product is just wax. It provides a hydrophobic coating to the glass.
Don’t forget to wear eye pro when working on weapons with liquids and springs under pressure.

14) Also, wear latex or nitrile gloves. Anything that touches your skin is absorbed into the bloodstream within 30-60 seconds. Solvents full of lead powder and sulfurs included. Don’t die of liver failure or some horrible brain disease. We are trying to win; Not lose. This is a long-term struggle gentlemen. Expect to spend somewhere around $500-$1,000 bucks when this is all said and done. It’s worth it. My weapons and optics are better than brand new, they are clean, well worn, accurate, and shiny in the right spots.

The video below is great. I use the same presoaked patch trick he uses. Great Idea.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WRO17sk_dI

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About the Author: Johnny Paratrooper

Born and Raised in Baltimore City, Maryland. History Degree. 8 Years Airborne Infantry and Scouts Platoon. Iraq Veteran. 4-5 Years as a doorman, bar back, and bouncer in Baltimore. Worked in Construction, Heavy Equipment Demolition, Corporate Security, Sales, Forest Service contractor, and the Hospitality Industry. Raised Catholic. Hobbies are race cars and sport bikes. Side projects are HAM radio credentials and long range shooting. MY EMAIL IS [email protected]. Founder of Green Dragon Academy https://www.patreon.com/GreenDragonAcademy

57 Comments

  1. Anonymous February 5, 2021 at 07:05

    5

  2. VAdeputy February 5, 2021 at 07:09

    This is a great article, thank you sir.
    I have the anti-fog paste in my Amazon cart right now.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 07:46

      Thanks brother. Antifog paste is great. It lasts a good while.
      I forgot my anti-fog once on a great snorkeling trip in St. Barts, way off the tourist path, I spend more time cleaning my mask than looking at the fish and coral. Never forgot it since.

  3. wwes February 5, 2021 at 07:58

    Hoppe’s #9 works well for me too, but in my experience don’t buy the newer version that is called Synthetic Blend, iirc. I tried some that was on sale, and tried to like it, but it never did a good job for me personally.
    Also, if you’re shooting corrosive ammo, boiling water is the best thing to wash the bore out with before any kind of chemicals. A small pot or two of boiling water will rinse those salts out and dries almost immediately, then you clean and oil like normal. Corrosive ammo isn’t the horrible gun-eating black magic stuff that a lot of people seem to think it is.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 08:14

      The Synthetic Hoppes #9 separates in cold weather, or if it’s sitting long term. I don’t like it either.
      You are correct on the corrosive ammo meme. Black powder is the real gun eater. Water solves both problems.
      Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.

    • Cavguy February 5, 2021 at 10:47

      I was advised to use Windex after shooting the corrosive stuff. Fill the bore and any area that the salts have effected/landed. Any thoughts?

      • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 11:09

        Windex or Hot water. Windex allegedly dissolves and neutralizes the salts chemically.
        Several other commenters on various forums, and posts, have claimed the same results.
        I simply give my corrosive guns very good cleanings, and inspect them regularly for a few days.
        You knowledge matches that of other well vetted, and well seasoned, shooters.

      • wwes February 5, 2021 at 11:54

        I’ve used Windex before, it worked ok for me, but not as good as water. I would think it would work well to clean out the bore in the field until you get the rifle home. The old milky looking GI bore cleaner from the WWII era works pretty good too, and you can find it cheap usually.
        I have heard ballistol mixed with water will clean the corrosive salts out too, but I haven’t had a chance to try that.
        Make sure to clean the bolt head, and the gas system if it’s a semi auto as well.

      • SemperFi, 0321 February 6, 2021 at 16:25

        Windex has ammonia which breaks down the salt from corrosive primers and black powder. Used it for decades to quick clean a black powder gun at the range, then do a deep clean at home.
        Boiling water alone is not enough to clean salts, very hot soapy water (a shot of Dawn dish soap) and a patch do well to scrub down the bore and bolt face, then rinse with clear boiling hot water to heat the metal to dry it. An air hose in the shop is a blessing too. Once you’re positive there’s no moisture remaining, then oil well. Follow up in a day or two to insure no rust. People panic at the mention of corrosive primers, but those days are about gone, shoot them all you want but clean well afterward. They don’t eat your rifling out either, unless you forget to clean.
        Look up the old ’03 Springfield manual, they continued on with the same cleaning practice from the black powder trap doors into the smokeless powder rifles, it was to kill the corrosive salts and many people repeated it until recently, but didn’t really know why.

  4. SOG February 5, 2021 at 08:07

    one tip, I keep my old toothbrushes for cleaning, also if you have an old or worn electric tooth brush those spin fast and work wonders busting gunk in hard to reach places like in between bird cage or flash hider prongs that’s been hit with cleaning solvents.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 08:18

      That’s a good trick. I use a presoaked patch and floss it through the cage or the flash. Cleaning weapons takes a bit of time. Any tricks to speed up the process are welcome. One trick I always use is wrapping an old bore brush with a soaked patch and scrubbing the bore. It works like a chemical sponge/scouring pad. Breaking down and soaking up the carbon and copper. Unwrap the patch and go again. It also keeps the old brushes pretty clean, albeit a little fuzzy.

  5. Anonymous February 5, 2021 at 09:37

    2.5

  6. Rooster February 5, 2021 at 09:59

    All great tips! Thanks Gentlemen!
    R

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 12:19

      Thank you sir.

  7. oughtsix February 5, 2021 at 10:00

    Fine effort, Johnny, really comprehensive and very good advice. To which I would only add the following:
    1. Bore Snakes are fatally flawed in any sort of high risk situation, guaranteed to break off in your rifle’s bore at the worst possible moment… or at least they could, and they do. Nearly impossible to remove in real time, and a damned frustrating task when you don’t have all the time in the world. You can’t push a rope!
    2. There are far, far better bore cleaners than “good ole Hoppe’s No. 9.” I have solved countless complaints of “sudden” loss of accuracy in hunting rifles every fall just before deer season. “This gun always shoots a minute or two and this year I went to confirm zero and it shoots a good shotgun pattern!” Did you clean your bore? “Sure!” What did you use? “Good ole Hoppe’s etc” You have copper in your bore, degrades accuracy having built up over time. “Bullwash!” Let me show you,
    One patch through an apparently shiny bore with Bore Tech Copper Solvent or Bore Tech general bore cleaner comes out LOADED with the blue/green evidence. A thorough cleaning and the astounded fellow is sent home to check zero. I have never had anyone come back telling me the cure failed, all other possible causes having been eliminated: scopes, bases, rings, crown, etc. I recommend Bore Tech because I have used it for over 15 years since a friend and colleague recommended it. There may be other products as good or better but I haven’t seen the need to try them. I’m sure there are many such products that leave “good ole Hoppe’s” in the dust… chemistry marches on. Non toxic, water soluble as well.
    Forty years a gunsmith, and I have nothing good to say about either of those products except that the smell of Hoppe’s is instant fond reminiscence for me too.
    [Edited for clarity by Johnny Paratrooper]

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 11:06

      I will test this product ASAP. And yes, the Bore Snakes can break.
      Thanks for the advice. I will purchase some immediately.
      It’s amazing how much fouling can mess up your groups.

  8. BePrepared February 5, 2021 at 14:20

    I got a sample of ALG Defence Go-Juice and tried it out, super-slick stuff. Smoothed out my mil-spec AR triggers and significantly improved my AKs trigger. Dabbed a little here on one of my pistols and it runs a LOT smoother now. Might want to try some.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 14:22

      I’ll take a look at it. Thanks brother.

  9. Freya Valentina February 5, 2021 at 17:21

    Nice article. I’m glad to hear your masculinity is not threatened by buying pink nail polish :)

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 18:02

      Thanks!
      You would be surprised how many different colors of nail polish I inherited when my sisters moved to NorCal and SoCal.
      I literally have like 50 different reds…
      And 25 pinks…

      • James February 5, 2021 at 20:26

        “You would be surprised how many different colors of nail polish I inherited when my sisters moved to NorCal and SoCal.”
        Hmmmm…..,OK Johnny!
        Please tell me you are not eating Wheaties!

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 20:47

          I eat communists, and their jihadi allies, for breakfast.

          • James February 5, 2021 at 20:59

            Thank you,the nail polish thing was a bit worrisome!
            Time seems short,lets laugh while we still can.
            We will have plenty of time to aquatint in the dirt/mud/snow as things move forward,then,more then willing to share what I have with like minded folks!

      • Colombo February 7, 2021 at 01:16

        Anybody still mark screws and such with nail polish for a quick visual warning if they loosen / back out? Used it on cars, guns, heavy equipment… Saved me some grief a couple of times.

        • NC Scout February 7, 2021 at 07:45

          I do.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 7, 2021 at 14:34

          Not nail polish specifically, but I have, on occasion, used hardened tool steel to scratch a mark into troublesome screws or nuts. I was later told by a machinist that, technically speaking, screws, nails, nuts, and washers are 1 time use. Which is why some of them fail. We all know that depends on the task, but he has forgotten more then I’ll ever know on the subject. So I just listen to him whenever he speaks. He also went on to say it’s most important on motorcycles, or boats, where your safety can mean life and death at the cost of a $3 part.

  10. James February 5, 2021 at 17:43

    Very nice article,will say a thousand in cleaning stuff a large collection!Unless totally worn keep old brushes around for other cleaning jobs not firearm related/t-shirts that have no other cleaning value get cut up into patches(after they are washed from whatever earlier ugly jobs they worked/have had great luck using various Ed’s Red mixes,link here for any interested:http://frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm .
    I agree about torque specs ect along with blue locktite,you use red by mistake/just had to use can get screw ect. to bust after heating it a bit with a soldering iron,ask me how I know!
    Anyhow,a nicely packaged article on cleaning/maintenance.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 5, 2021 at 18:07

      Thanks Brother.
      Technically, between the torque wrench, Allen key sets, micro drivers(Mostly for electronics), micro levels, gauges, and some nice 36″ stainless cleaning rods(Which Brownells doesn’t sell so I couldn’t link them) I have like $200-300 in tools alone. At least.
      I didn’t list everything because I didn’t want to sound like a braggart. I have the same amount in targets.
      The pasty sticker targets for known distance DOPE were much cheaper than steel targets at the time.
      I also have a couple rolls of IPSC targets. Those make great targets at any range with the proper rig.
      It adds up quick man!

      • hitman February 6, 2021 at 09:44

        IPSC targets are great. Can make some cheap stands from PVC and then just need the targets and wood lath. I still have most of a box of 100. A lot easier to frag a few hundred yards down range than steel too.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 09:53

          IPSC is the poor man’s steel. But, they are a better training aid than steel IMHO. In real life, you can’t really tell if you hit your target unless their head explodes, or they collapse “Just right” after a CNS hit. The lack of feedback is realistic. Steel is good for training the new guys, or extreme long range shooting when you can’t confirm hits with a spotting scope.
          Every single day people are shot multiple times and walk into the hospital. You could argue it happens dozens of times a day sometimes.

          • Matt Bracken February 7, 2021 at 10:45

            Old rusty (and positively empty) 20# steel propane tanks (BBQ grill size) are free for the asking, and make great steel targets, just not for close up work (potential ricochets etc.
            Their dimensions are about that of a human torso. You can easily hang them from branches or set them on stumps. Even when turned to swiss cheese they still clang and swing to indicate hits. When they are totally torn to pieces, recycle them.
            Unlike flat steel plates, old propane tanks work as targets from any direction. These look and are “junky,” and are not for pristine square ranges, but they are great for “jungle lanes” and other tactical training that you cook up with your competent tactical buddies. Just don’t shoot at them from closer than about 100′ and you’ll have no safety issues, just a lot of good training fun.

          • Johnny Paratrooper February 7, 2021 at 14:12

            Great Idea. The positive reinforcement of hearing steel hits really helps new shooters get confident. I have seen nobodies turn into a regular Carlos Hathcock within a day on a steel range.

      • Georgiaboy61 February 7, 2021 at 00:36

        Thanks for a helpful and informative article. Any idea who sells a quality three-piece segmented cleaning rod? Suitable for common calibers of long gun, that is… Brownells seldom lets me down, but they did this time. Coated, 1-piece Dewey or Hoppes rods are great in the shop, but not so much in the field.
        Folks of a certain vintage may remember Lubriplate. Its the lubricant developed by the WWII-era government especially for lubricating Garand rifles, and it is great stuff. You can get a tube of the stuff for a song, and it works as advertised,not just on your grand-dad’s M-1, but other things as well.

  11. Quietus February 5, 2021 at 23:47

    My big take from the article, was how cleaning supplies may be consumed, and quickly. What then?
    A person should never throw away a T-shirt. Get out your pennycutters and make bore patches. You may not survive the first salvo of the upcoming shit show, but the people who use your sacrificial T-shirts may have good memories of your contribution.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 10:03

      Old t-shirts work. Nothing wrong with that. I use my old white undershirts as rags all the time. Old shirts are still one time use, and your gonna need more of them than you think if you are sleeping in the woods. Especially with a surplus rifle, or a rifle that doesn’t have a chrome lined bore. I personally prefer dedicated, presoaked patches over a t-shirt. Watch the video linked below.

  12. Mike February 6, 2021 at 10:58

    Excellent article, thanks! Scotts blue shop towels are great to have on hand. In a pinch you can cut them to size and use them as bore patches. They’re also great to put parts on while they soak with solvent.
    I usually just run a bore snake through my ARs but the Dewey coated cleaning rods are worth the money IMO if you’re going to use something like that. I use one with my Rem 700.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 11:59

      Thanks brother. I 100% have plenty of Scott’s shop towels laying around. What a great invention.
      A quality extra long cleaning rod is mandatory kit for a long gun or carbine. I bought two just so I don’t have to switch back and forth between jags and brushes.
      FYI, Bore snakes are good for clearing out dust, surface carbon, light rust, and water but your rifle is by no means clean. I bet you shoot better groups if you give it a good scrub.

      • Mike February 6, 2021 at 13:53

        I’m going to give my barrels a proper cleaning this weekend! I forwarded your article to a couple friends who are relatively new to shooting. This really is an excellent resource.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 14:14

          Glad to hear it brother.
          I had only fired a few shotguns and a few .22 pistols and rifles before I joined the military.
          Guns are like cars or radios. There is a lot to learn. I learn something new about guns, cars, and radios every couple days.

  13. RHT447 February 6, 2021 at 14:51

    Great Article. Here’s my added 2 cents as an old MOS 45B, FFL, and NRA Highpower Master.
    I keep old worn bore brushes. They are the best patch holders ever. As mentioned, I use cut up t-shirts. Wrap a patch around a brush and it’s not going anywhere.
    Bore solvents that remove copper also eat your bore brushes. I hose mine off with brake cleaner.
    I switched from Hoppe’s #9 to Shooter’s Choice decades ago. At home, I leave it in the barrel over night with the muzzle down on a white paper towel. The “green ring” in the morning can tell you a lot about what is going on in the bore.
    For GP lube, I have settled on Mobil One 15w-50. Works great, stays where you put it, If you need something lighter, thin it about 10% with ATF. If you run out of lube in the boonies, find a vehicle, pop the hood, and pull the dip sticks (or the drain plugs, if you have time).

  14. RHT447 February 6, 2021 at 15:05

    Another tip I forgot to mention. Stripping rounds from a loaded mag.
    Use the skinny end of a toothbrush (or similar tool). Hold the mag horizontally with bullet tips down and depress the 2nd round down. This will allow the top round to fall free. Repeat until empty.

  15. SemperFi, 0321 February 6, 2021 at 16:00

    I have a plastic 6 place fishing rod holder next to my gun bench, in it hang my cleaning rods of various sizes. Pistol rods are just above.
    I too have gotten away from the fancy lubes and gone to Mobil 1, nothing works harder than an engine/machine gun. It should work just fine in an AR/AK. Some of the new gun lubes are nothing but money makers. And after SHTF, you’re back to engine oil anyway.
    And how many carry a real cleaning rod with their rifles? Shoved the muzzle into 6″ of clay? Bore snake won’t fix that. Or how about a broken shell extractor? If your rifle doesn’t have a butt trap (M-16), carry a nylon M-16 rod pouch with you in your pack. Can hardly think of anyone I know who carries that gear with them, you might piss and moan about it now, wait until you get a bore obstruction out in the sticks and no way to clear it, front or rear.
    Former USMC small arms repairman and 40+ yrs gunmaker.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 17:06

      Yes sir.
      Delta carries rods duct taped to their guns.

      • Quietus February 7, 2021 at 00:00

        Funny you mention that. There’s VN-era pics that show the same solution, done on triangle handguards with this gun.
        If those same sort of pics appear over the course of fifty years, then I’d take a whack at the idea that user confidence continues to be not the best. Other issues are involved, I know.

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 7, 2021 at 14:21

          I rarely have issues with my AR’s. I keep my guns lubricated and I inspect every round that gets loaded into it.
          The cleaning rod taped to the gun is for a variety of reasons. 1st, You gotta clean your weapon anyway.
          2nd, a broken extractor, or cracked rim on a cartridge is gonna get stuck with no way to correct it in the field.
          I’d carry enough rods to clean my gun and clean a failure to extract no matter what rifle I have.
          I suppose you could argue the extractor on the AR is a little small, but it seems to work just fine for tens of thousands of rounds. And it costs like $4 to replace.

      • Matt February 7, 2021 at 13:14

        I took a couple of classes from a gent who kept a full length rod (minus the handle) attached to the forearm of his carbine. It was snuggled up underneath the right hand picatinny rail and extended partially back along the right side of the receiver. I can’t now remember if it was held on by zip ties or paracord, but it was held very securely while still being able to be slipped out for use. Seemed like a really good idea.
        Matt

        • Johnny Paratrooper February 7, 2021 at 14:24

          The heavy hitters carry cleaning rods attached to their guns. Kinda like paintballers keeping barrel squeegees in their pockets. It’s a good idea. Although I have personally never seen it needed. Those kinda guys operate in some pretty gnarly places. So their weapons are exposed some wild conditions and are pushed to the limit with 600-1,000 round engagements.

    • Quietus February 6, 2021 at 23:38

      I do carry that shiite. Magpul fixed stock for an AR allows for more supplemental tools to be in the buttstock than USGI butt traps, if you pack it right. A ruptured case extractor is in that area.
      Back a long time ago, the CSM of 1/8 FA 25th ID appeared at Guernsey as part of of their evaluator team of my Guard unit while we were shooting big guns. He was quizzing me about the M-60, laid, as part of the howitzer battery. He did not know how to use a ruptured case extractor (politics?) on the M-60. He gave me his unit coin as the lesson ended.

      • SemperFi, 0321 February 7, 2021 at 13:12

        But I would expect it from you, you’re not the average shooter.
        Hope all is well up your way.

  16. Berglander February 6, 2021 at 16:01

    Great article, Johnny! Hope to see more like it!
    One bitch/gripe/complaint though: Amazon hates us. Seriously consider cutting all ties with them. Enough of us do it and they’ll feel it.
    I know they’re convenient and it’s hard-nothing worth doing was ever easy.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 6, 2021 at 17:04

      Thanks Brother.
      You aren’t wrong about Amazon.

  17. Jack February 6, 2021 at 19:24

    Carbon-i just push it out.
    Almost everytime, but …. not every time. Plastic bore brush front to back, 3 patches at the most for the most part.
    Big Clean (barrel)-i only do when groups open up off my zero. This is the only time i scrub.
    Copper-tryed the foams, eh. Messy pain in the ass to get it in. Have used and have no pref, wipe out, m-pro, hoppes etc.
    If ya wanna really, get the copper, Sweet’s 762, you’ll push a Bag O’ blue patches with it. This i do when groups go to hell, straight to and not passin go at 100.
    Lube-Slip 2000 ewl
    Only thing i use in my gas and pump sg.
    Bolt lube-(ballistol in the winter) or a (slip2000 weapon grease in the summer) on the back of the lugs.
    Bout it

  18. singlestack February 7, 2021 at 11:33

    My father was a gunsmith and I grew up around guns and have been handling and cleaning them all my life. For most of my life the universally used gun cleaning products were Hoppe’s #9 and Hoppe’s or Remington gun oil. I’ve used just about everything on the market to clean guns that was available at one time or another, except some of the newer “high tech” products the have come out in the last few years.
    I stopped buying the small bottles of cleaning chemicals years ago. I buy mine by the quart (except Ed’s Red which I make by the gallon) and put it into small solvent bottles from Brownell’s for both bench and field use. I buy cleaning patches by the thousands. This has saved me a lot of money and inconvenience.
    I use Ed’s Red for general cleaning, including bore cleaning. Enough fixings to make 2 gallons is less than the cost of 2 quarts of Hoppe’s, and in my opinion does a better job. I still keep bottles of Hoppe’s in my range and field kits, as well as on my bench. For guns that aren’t easily disassembled, like my Ruger 22 auto pistol frames, I use non chlorinated carb cleaner to blast out gunk.
    For copper fouling and corrosive ammo I use Bore Tech Eliminator. Whenever I shoot corrosive ammo when I finish I pour a bottle of water down the bore from the chamber end and follow that with a couple of patches soaked with Hoppe’s. When I get home the gun gets a good cleaning with Bore Tech.
    For corrosion protection I use Eezox. Of all the anti corrosion products I’ve ever used it is hands down the best. Nothing else even comes close.
    At least once a year all of my guns are detail stripped, inspected, and treated inside and out with Eezox. Running an Eezox soaked patch down the bore and chamber is the last step when I clean a gun. When I’m finished I stand the gun muzzle down on a rag for a couple of hours before I put it in the safe.
    For lubrication I use wheel bearing grease and 40 wt oil. They’re designed for high pressure, high temperature applications, and water won’t wash them out. I bought a 1 lb tub of wheel bearing grease over 20 years ago and I still have enough to last at least another 10 years.
    I keep small bottles of Ed’s Red, Hoppe’s, and Eezox, an M1 grease pot, needle oiler, a ziploc bag with patches and q-tips, some toothpicks, a couple of rags, a sectional brass cleaning rod, and a bore snake in each of my range and field cleaning kits, as well as a screwdriver with the correct bits.

    • Johnny Paratrooper February 7, 2021 at 14:54

      You sound like you know exactly what you are doing.

  19. RHT447 February 7, 2021 at 12:06

    Here is an info source. Sadly, Glenn has made his last trip to the range. Yes, his site is geared to NRA Highpower, but there is a lot of useful info there, in PDF form, and downloadable for free.
    http://www.zediker.com/articles/articles.html

  20. Anonymous February 7, 2021 at 16:46

    4.5

  21. […] that you have the basic necessities for cleaning weapons. “Weapons Cleaning Crash Course w/ Items Index” Let’s get you zeroed like a real shooter, and throw you some “quick & […]

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