Gun Cleaning Solvent?
- Thread starter Tree Spud
- Start date
Terrific_tom
5 year old buck +
M-pro 7. Works great and it is odorless.
Jerry-B-WI
5 year old buck +
Shooters choice for the powder fouling and Sweets 7.62 for the copper fouling.
356
5 year old buck +
As a former FLL and gunsmith, I can say “don’t overthink this.” Use Hopps #9 if you like the nostalgic smell, Remoil if you like a spray product that is cost-effective or CLPs break free. M-Pro 7 is a good product if you want to go the odorless route.
When I had barrels with significant leading, I used diesel fuel, brushes and a cleaning rod attached to a drill (go slow). At 4cents per ounce, it’s a great bang-for-the-buck and is a good cleaner.
When I had barrels with significant leading, I used diesel fuel, brushes and a cleaning rod attached to a drill (go slow). At 4cents per ounce, it’s a great bang-for-the-buck and is a good cleaner.
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
356 thanks. What about a lube for storing? I have cleaned the muzzleloader bore with hot water patches then wiped down with dry patches. Use solvent on the rifles.
I have typically used Bore Butter on the barrel after cleaning on my muzzleloader and a gun oil on my rifles. Are there better products out there?
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356
5 year old buck +
Remoil, CLP and diesel all have a protectant effect, so if you use those, you should be fine. Some of the Hopps produces are also great protectants. I personally use Remoil on all of my firearms. I do use Bore Butter on my black powder firearms (and Remoil on the actions). I have former clients who have used nothing but high-end synthetic gun oils, which is fine if the extra cost provides peace of mind. My outfitter friends who make their living by guided hunts in extreme cold, heat, sand, etc…use Remoil. I am sure if a sponsor came to the table, they would change.
On the marketing side of the business, the goal is to sell the peace of mind or set you apart. The good news is that I am not aware of major brand products that would hurt your firearm.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
I use several different things. Shooter's cleaner, shoter's copper fouling, and shooter's lead fouling for 22's. Hoppe's #9 at times too.
I use remoil to lubricate most things. I have the old 1980's formula hoppes #9 for blackpowder patch lube on caplock guns. Soap and water followed by WD40 for blackpowder guns.
A gun or two with nice wood like my CZ 22lr gun, I use furniture wax on the wood and metal. 6 years so good so far.
One thing I am for a loss for is removing copper fouling on stainless steel barrels. Ammonia isn't good for the barrel I hear. For now, it's only my 450 marlni I don't shoot much and my modern muzzleloaders, which only see plastic fouling. I use the shooters on that. That stuff removed plastic fouling well on my shotguns when I did trap/skeet alot.
I use remoil to lubricate most things. I have the old 1980's formula hoppes #9 for blackpowder patch lube on caplock guns. Soap and water followed by WD40 for blackpowder guns.
A gun or two with nice wood like my CZ 22lr gun, I use furniture wax on the wood and metal. 6 years so good so far.
One thing I am for a loss for is removing copper fouling on stainless steel barrels. Ammonia isn't good for the barrel I hear. For now, it's only my 450 marlni I don't shoot much and my modern muzzleloaders, which only see plastic fouling. I use the shooters on that. That stuff removed plastic fouling well on my shotguns when I did trap/skeet alot.
Jerry-B-WI
5 year old buck +
Most every cleaning solution that brags about removing copper fouling has some form of ammonia in it. Just don't leave it sit in the barrel for long periods of time. Swab your barrel let the chemical reaction go for 5-10 minutes then clean it out with some Gun Scrubber rinse and repeat until your patches come out clean (no blue coloring)
Jerry-B-WI
5 year old buck +
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
I have not used a lead or copper remover. Should I?
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Almost all my guns are stainless these days and they rarely get cleaned. CLP for corrosion protection usually. Boretech carbon and copper solvents. I also like to use gunslick foaming bore cleaner which is now discontinued.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I have used several varieties of solvents over the years. My favorite bore cleaner is a 50/50 mix of Shooters Choice and Kroil. You would find lots of competitive shooters using this brew. Lately I have been using Ballistol for general purpose oiling....just not as a bore cleaner....tho it may be fine for that too? Saw it on the Hickok Channel.....so I tried some. I like the smell of it and it seems to be a fine product. Normally I use Remoil for the same purposes as Balistol. (General Lubricating / protecting)
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
At some point in time, most precision rifles will benefit in accuracy from removing part of the copper fowling. However, most people overdo it. I believe in letting the rifle tell me when it is time to clean the bore, but even then, it is counterproductive to remove all of the copper fowling.
I will mention that I do believe in the routine recommended by some manufacturers of lightly cleaning the bore after ever shot for the first 25 rounds or so. My theory is that you want the copper to fill and smooth the tiny, almost invisible imperfections, but you don't want carbon as a part of that filling in. A light cleaning will tend to accomplish that goal.
I broke in my latest 300 Mag that way and it is still shooting a ragged hole at 100 yds after not being cleaned now for about 40 more shots. If the groups ever do start opening up, I will clean it, but I won't try to take it back to factory cleanliness.
For bores I like Shooter's Choice and Boretech products. For general oiling I use Remoil for light lubrication and CLP for some applications. I also generally rub grease on the parts of a bolt action rifle that is hidden by the stock.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Back when I was getting a degree in bird shooting and beer drinking in North Dakota and burning through a bunch of cases of 12 gauge every year we started to avoid rem oil because it gummed up worse in cold weather and the autos got sluggish.
Edit to add: breakfree clp was the alternative.
Edit to add: breakfree clp was the alternative.
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Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
I had the same issue and stopped using it.
Native Hunter
5 year old buck +
I'm going to have to add an edit to my above post. This bad weather has had me inside doing a bunch of gun maintenance and bore cleaning. I said in my earlier post that I used Bore Tech products and Shooter's Choice for bore cleaning. Well, after today, I have decided to go strictly with the Bore Tech Eliminator for my bore cleaning. Until today I had not tried it on a badly fowled rifle, but after seeing how well it worked, I am completely sold. Before I had only used it on lightly fowled bores and had doubts about how effective it would be on a harder job. Here is why I like it so well:
1. It has no smell but seems to cut copper and carbon just as well (if not better) than the stinky stuff I have used in the past.
2. I don't know exactly what is in it, but they advertise it as completely biodegradable, and completely 100% non-hazardous.
3. One of the guns I cleaned today was a neglected 243 that had not had the bore cleaned for decades. The Eliminator made short work of it with only a nylon brush and patches.
It feels nice to do a lot of gun cleaning and not come out smelling like a chemical train wreck.
1. It has no smell but seems to cut copper and carbon just as well (if not better) than the stinky stuff I have used in the past.
2. I don't know exactly what is in it, but they advertise it as completely biodegradable, and completely 100% non-hazardous.
3. One of the guns I cleaned today was a neglected 243 that had not had the bore cleaned for decades. The Eliminator made short work of it with only a nylon brush and patches.
It feels nice to do a lot of gun cleaning and not come out smelling like a chemical train wreck.
bigboreblr
5 year old buck +
Don't even wanna guess how many times my hands were loaded with wd40. The one that worries me most is lead remover and 22lr's. Got enough dain bramage already.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
It’s good stuff!
