Shotgun cleaning

[Proudly]

What products do members recommend for cleaning their guns? Separate products or are there reasonably priced kits available? Just bought a Beretta 686s & although its an older 2nd hand gun its a step up to what I’ve been using since getting my licence earlier this year. My first job is to move my cabinet out of the loft as I don’t think being up there has done my old guns any favours.

[Farmboy91]

Just now, Proudly said:

What products do members recommend for cleaning their guns? Separate products or are there reasonably priced kits available? Just bought a Beretta 686s & although its an older 2nd hand gun its a step up to what I’ve been using since getting my licence earlier this year. My first job is to move my cabinet out of the loft as I don’t think being up there has done my old guns any favours.

Snap, literally picked my 686's up 2 weeks ago. Gave it a good going over with cleanzoil. 

Wouldn't believe how much grime came off it, buffs up really nice too. 

[guzzicat]

Save your wallet & make up some Red,s oil,equal parts power steering fluid ,diesel & acetone (oily polish remover from cheap shop)

[walshie]

I haven't cleaned my shotguns since I moved here, but then I've only been here 3 years.

[gotgcoalman]

garden cane (ramrod) bog roll and wd40 🙄

[Old farrier]

Hi 

hope you’re enjoying the new gun 

first get some cleaning rods patches and a proprietary brand of gun cleaner and another of gun oil and some soft linen rags (old pillow case) 

1 put a patch on the jag and push through from the chamber repeat with clean patches then gun cleaner up the bore have a cup of tea then scrub with bronze brush repeat with patches and jag when patches are clean lightly oil sheepskin mop and push up the barrel to lightly coat with oil 

wipe clean all outside metal work especially under the ejectors lightly wipe a oily cloth over metal work 

the treatment of wood work is done depending on the finish you have 

Hope this helps 

all the best 

of 

[Proudly]

I should have said I have the cleaning rods etc & a bottle of oil a mate gave me. It just seems there are oils for doing the bores, oil for outer metal, oil for wood then grease for rubbing parts? 

[Old farrier]

32 minutes ago, Proudly said:

I should have said I have the cleaning rods etc & a bottle of oil a mate gave me. It just seems there are oils for doing the bores, oil for outer metal, oil for wood then grease for rubbing parts? 

There are and there all for different purposes 

different dirt in the bore to the outside and obviously you need a different oil for wood to metal 

Seldom use grease as I find it catching the odd bits of sand and can be a bit abrasive so I regularly oil rubbing parts 

its your investment a few £ on cleaning only preserves the second hand value 

[Westley]

55 minutes ago, Proudly said:

I should have said I have the cleaning rods etc & a bottle of oil a mate gave me. It just seems there are oils for doing the bores, oil for outer metal, oil for wood then grease for rubbing parts? 

You missed out 'Mugs that buy them'  !

[Old farrier]

24 minutes ago, Westley said:

You missed out 'Mugs that buy them'  !

Why’s that? 

Whats wrong with buying the recommended product for the job ? 

The op is comparatively novice I’m sure he’ll work out which of the products work best for the type and amount of shooting he dose along with the best way to store them in time

[Ricko]

Quick clean; bore snake pulled through a couple of times.

Long clean; Fine bronze brush to loosen debris, woolly mop to shift it out and polish the bore, Fourbytoo with fine gun oil to coat the bore. Wipe the outside; barrels, action etc with fine brushed cotton cloth with clean, fine oil on it.

This is pretty much how I've always done it, but I like hearing how others do it.

[Proudly]

1 hour ago, Westley said:

You missed out 'Mugs that buy them'  !

What is your cleaning process? 

[johnnytheboy]

For barrel cleaning use the cheapest of the cheap, wd40 or gt85 with a boresnake 

On the blueing, action and ejectors I use synthetic gun oil 

I grease the hinge pins and chokes with Lucas red and tacky 

lately I have given the stock a wee shine with slippery ***** but it’s really just the same as decent car polish 

 

always store the gun barrel down 

[Westley]

1 hour ago, Proudly said:

What is your cleaning process? 

GT85 pedal cycle cleaner for inside the barrels when required,  ( I use Cheddite cartridges and they are very clean) normally twice through with bronze brush then split plastic jag and loo roll. Microfibre towel with car engine oil on outside of metalwork. Lucas red gun oil on chokes, Lucas red tacky grease on knuckle (Lucas products on fleabay). The grease is in a large tin at around £5, the oil used just on the chokes and the bolt rails on my auto, will last around 2 years. I do use a VERY SMALL amount of CCL stock oil, a couple of times per year and a beeswax household polish if it forecasts rain before I go out !  If it is raining when I get to the shoot, I spray the outside of my barrels and the vented ribs with 3 in 1 spray oil, before I start shooting. I keep a kitchen roll in the boot and wipe the wet gun down before leaving the shoot.  My guns are also stored in gun socks,  in my cabinet. This prevents accidental knocks too. I clean the piston and inside of my auto with car brake cleaner. I have used that stuff for around 10 years and my Beretta auto is spotless, even after 30 years of use.

[Old farrier]

4 minutes ago, Westley said:

GT85 pedal cycle cleaner for inside the barrels when required,  ( I use Cheddite cartridges and they are very clean) normally twice through with bronze brush then split plastic jag and loo roll. Microfibre towel with car engine oil on outside of metalwork. Lucas red gun oil on chokes, Lucas red tacky grease on knuckle (Lucas products on fleabay). The grease is in a large tin at around £5, the oil used just on the chokes and the bolt rails on my auto, will last around 2 years. I do use a VERY SMALL amount of CCL stock oil, a couple of times per year and a beeswax household polish if it forecasts rain before I go out !  If it is raining when I get to the shoot, I spray the outside of my barrels and the vented ribs with 3 in 1 spray oil, before I start shooting. I keep a kitchen roll in the boot and wipe the wet gun down before leaving the shoot.  My guns are also stored in gun socks,  in my cabinet. This prevents accidental knocks too. I clean the piston and inside of my auto with car brake cleaner. I have used that stuff for around 10 years and my Beretta auto is spotless, even after 30 years of use.

Very good positive post 

much more informative then the 

the mugs that buy them 

[Westley]

Just now, Old farrier said:

Very good positive post 

much more informative then the 

the mugs that buy them 

Yes, but I was called away from my laptop, before I got the chance to elaborate  !

[Proudly]

Thanks Westley, very helpful. I did store my gun in a sock but was told its counter productive. 

[DUNKS]

OK use bore cleaner "any" from the shop, will do the job.

But for value Ed's Red. "Google it". Is by far the cheapest and it works. If you shoot plastic wads then add the Acetone, if you only shoot fibre you can leave it out.

If you should use Acetone keep it well away from your stock.

Cant see any problem with gunsocks and they do stop Hanger Rash!

Edited October 29, 2018 by DUNKS

[figgy]

I have lots of cleaning products and all I use now is cleanzoil on Napier superclean run the jag up and down the barrels half a dozen times and wipe the action face and ejectors over along with barrels and sides of action with oily rag. Bores are spotless need no mopping or anything else quick and effective. About every thousand carts the gun gets fully stripped and all greases wiped off and replaced choke threads cleared of old grease and new put on. Ejectors oiled with zero friction gun oil. Been doing this for a while now and it’s the easiest quickest method I have found.

only thing I find a struggle is cleaning the car on and tar off the mag tube on my semi auto after shooting a hundred or so fiber wads. The cleaners today are absolute cack. I end up using a green scotch pad and anything nasty that’s been banned I can find in my garage collected over thirty years. 

Edited October 30, 2018 by figgy

[Proudly]

Thanks everyone 

[HW95J]

Ballistol for the bore, Parker Hale Express for the metal, Philips Walnut Oil if giving the wood some attention. Bore snake to pull through. 

 

[Westley]

22 hours ago, Proudly said:

Thanks Westley, very helpful. I did store my gun in a sock but was told its counter productive. 

I have used 'socks' for around 10 years without any problems. When you have a 'few' guns in your cabinet, the socks do prevent damage from minor knocks against each other and also taking them in and out of the cabinet. I fail to see how they could be counter productive as they were originally sold as 'silicone impregnated' to protect the gun from any moisture.

When shooting 'away' from home, I use a bore snake as a temporary job, until I get home and clean the gun fully. I also use the Lucas oil on the ejectors, but sparingly. Try and get yourself a couple of the aluminium type rods and leave them assembled. I got a piece of the cardboard tube used in carpet stores, cut to length and 1 end taped over or capped, stores both my 12 and 20 bore rods safely and cleanly.

Edited October 30, 2018 by Westley

[figgy]

I also use a boresnake when away but I add a cleanzoil patch to the front of it. Works quite well for a quick run through. 

[Cheesefiend]

I occasionally put Napier gun grease for choke threads, on the o/u: sides of the action, and on the semi-auto: bolt feet and rails. 

Most of the time I just use a paradox rod to get the muck out of the barrels and then pull through cotton patches with wood/metal Legia spray which seems to do the business for both cleaning and lubricating. Then I give everything external a quick wipe with cheapo yellow dusters and legia spray. Any tight spots, trigger group, ejectors etc I use cotton buds with some more spray on to clean. 

The only other thing I use is a couple of drops of Bisley gun oil in the side by side barrels, and leave the gun upside down in the cabinet so the oil doesn’t potentially soak into the stock.

[hod]

I only tried a boresnake for the first time a week ago. After a round of clays using fibre wad carts, two pull throughs and I couldn’t tell the difference between that and my usual clean with rods etc. Pleasantly surprised.