Pump it Up! Best Shotgun Cleaning Kits

Shotguns got to be cleaned like all other tools or items that you simply use frequently. Some gun owners just don’t realize that each time they fire their shotgun, it leaves a little bit of residue inside the barrel, action, and chamber of the gun. This residue is really made from tiny particles called “fouling” which come from the shells that you’ve fired.

The fouling particles are generated from the used birdshot, buckshot, slugs, wad, and gunpowder. whenever you fire a shell, a little bit of this residue is left behind inside the shotgun. If you don’t pack up the residue on a daily basis, it'll build up over time and eventually impair the functionality of the weapon.

Additionally, excessive sweat and moisture build-up within the shotgun could cause the weapon’s metal parts to become corroded. Once this happens, these parts of the gun will become rusty and cause your gun to malfunction. There are four sorts of fouling you’ll commonly find inside a second-hand shotgun; carbon, copper, lead, and plastic. Carbon comes from the burnt gunpowder which is employed to propel the ammunition out of the chamber and through the barrel. You don’t usually see the carbon particles, but they spread inside the chamber and even get on the shooter’s hands.

Copper particles could also be there after you shoot if the slugs are jacketed with copper (sabot slugs). As for the projectiles inside the shotshells, they're all typically made out of lead material. This suggests once you fire the shotshells in your shotgun, lead residue from the projectiles will get left in your barrel after you fire them. and eventually, the plastic from the wads of the shells will create a plastic residue that gets left behind also.

What to Look For in a Shotgun Cleaning Kit

In any major shotgun kit, you're getting to have 3 basic cleaning components in the best shotgun cleaning kit: a bore brush, a bore mop, and a cleaning rod. Since the barrel of a shotgun is what’s getting to be cleaned the foremost, these are often the sole tools you would like to try to do a fast cleaning after a hunting trip. If you are doing tons more shooting in between cleanings, otherwise you have a more complicated or finicky semi-automatic rifle, you're going to need a way better cleaning kit.

The addition of picks, utility brushes, and perhaps a punch or two are getting to be required to disassemble your shotgun and provide it the clean that it really must operate properly.

Bore Brushes

When it involves an honest shotgun cleaning kit, your set of bronze bore brushes should look almost exactly like all other cleaning kits, only bigger. Since the 5 commonest sizes are going .410, 20ga, 16ga, 12ga, and 10ga, you're not going to need to have a good sort of different bore brushes. In many cases, a 20ga and 12ga brush is going to be all that you simply need. you'll need to confirm that the kit you're buying has the right sized brushes as rifle and pistol caliber bore brushes are going to be way too small to effectively clean your shotgun. These larger brushes are getting to be a touch costlier, but you're also getting to need a way smaller selection, so it'll all even out.

Bore Mops

A shotgun cleaning kit is usually the sole kit that I consider the addition of bore mops to be a bonus. Since shotgun barrels don’t get nearly as dirty or corroded as rifle barrels and cleaning them may be a much easier task, bore mops work great for giving the barrel that final shine and coat of oil. A bore mop seems like an outsized blob of cotton that screws on to the top of your cleaning rod and comes in many various sizes. I tend to remain faraway from the smaller rifle and pistol caliber mops, but the shotgun mops work great, and that I love using them to place the finishing touches on my nice, clean shotgun.

Cleaning Rods

Since shotguns have much larger bore diameters, finding a cleaning rod that matches isn't a drag. During this case, you'll want to travel with the thickest cleaning rod that you can find. It takes quite a little bit of force to push those large bronze brushes from breech to muzzle, and therefore the small brass cleaning rod you employ to wash your .22 with probably won’t cut it. you're getting to need a sturdy, thick aluminum or brass rod. you'll also get to confirm that you simply get a cleaning rod long enough. Shotguns typically have much longer barrel lengths than rifles, and a cleaning rod that will run the entire length of your 16” AR-15 with a couple of inches to spare isn’t even getting to compared to cleaning your 30” shotgun barrel. you'll want to form sure that you simply get the thickest, longest cleaning rod that you simply can find to effectively clean your shotguns.

Picks, Brushes, and Punches

These are all cleaning items that you simply are going to need if you've got a more complicated semi-automatic shotgun, otherwise, you want to try to do a really detailed clean of your firearm. An honest set of picks (like the type they use at the dentist) goes to assist you to get into the nooks and crannies of your shotgun and scrape out that tough to succeed in fouling. These are a godsend on gas-operated semi-automatic shotguns, as there are numerous crevices where fouling can build up and simply cause malfunctions. Basic utility brushes are great when it involves deep cleaning your shotgun. you'll want to form sure you get multiple different head shapes and material types, because the more options you've got, the cleaner you'll be ready to get your shotgun. I find that 3 different head shapes (large, notched, and small) and three different head types (bronze, nylon, and steel) are enough to try to do what I want. These brushes are great for cleaning your receiver and the other flat surfaces of your shotgun. If you would like to try to do a really detailed clean of your shotgun, a couple of punches are getting to be a requirement. Most shotguns are often easily disassembled with only a punch, but some require other tools also. you'll want to form sure you buy any of these tools separately. commonest shotgun designs, however, have the hearth control group held in by two pins, and driving these out will allow you access to get rid of the trigger assembly and finish disassembling the rifle.

Cleaning Kit

Cleaning kits essentially perform all equivalent functions and in many cases, the kit is predicated on personal preference. All kits should contain the right tools and materials for your weapon. The cleaning rod must be long enough to wash the whole inside the barrel.

Your kit should contain a bore brush, patches; bore solvent, toothbrush, and gun oil for rust prevention and lubrication. Some wish to have wire wool available to assist remove rust. Use a top-quality cloth to use oil to exterior metal parts. you do not want to use a towel or cloth that leaves lint or threads behind. The bore solvent is to loosen fouling within the barrel and from the receiver. Patches are for cleaning and applying solvent and oil.

The bore brush is stiff wire usually made from brass for essentially scrubbing the barrel. you'd not typically use the boring coat any metal aside from the within of the barrel. The wire bore brush can damage the bluing or other plating on the outside metal parts of your weapon. Remove surface rust promptly using fine wire wool or maybe scrubbing with cheesecloth and oil. If you had cleaned your weapon previously and haven't fired it since the last cleaning you'll check for rust within the barrel using your rod and a clean dry patch. Run the patch through the barrel and check for rust-colored residue on the patch.

If there's evidence of rust, run a little piece of wire wool down the barrel or use the bore brush to get rid of it. Swab the barrel several times with a clean patch, then oil a clean patch and run it down the barrel. To clean the barrel of fouling use a patch dipped within the bore solvent and let the surplus drip back to the container before pushing it down the barrel. Let the solvent work for several minutes before using the bore brush. you'll need to run the bore brush through five or six fold, counting on what proportion residue has built up. You'll not have cleaned your weapon after the last shooting so, in fact, the weapon would require more effort to wash it. Swab after running the bore brush through the barrel several times to ascertain what proportion residue remains.

Inspect the barrel for shine, and if you do not see any dull spots, you'll now oil the within of the barrel. Once the barrel and receiver are cleaned, you'll oil the outside metal components. you do not want oil dripping from any parts after oiling so always apply oil using an absorbent cloth. you would like a protective sheen and not have oil pooling. Inspect the weapon periodically if you store it for long periods between shootings.

Excessive oiling without firing the weapon will clog the works so to talk. The oil will collect dust over time and this must be removed. Reapply fresh oil after touching up. Use the solvent and a toothbrush to wash the weapon's receiver. ensuring to grease the receiver, after swabbing up the solvent with clean patches, and take care that you simply don't leave any brush bristles behind. repose on the receiver can cause a malfunction.

Follow the manufacturer's recommendations to wash and protect your wooden stock. Otherwise, you'll treat it like all fine wood, using quality wood cleaners and preservatives. don't use gun oil or gun solvent on a wooden stock. The solvent will remove any wood preservatives and protective coatings, causing the wood to dry out, shrink and crack.

What is Shotgun BORESNAKE?

One of the ways to thoroughly clean the barrel is to use a BoreSnake. This particular gun cleaning product is manufactured by a corporation that focuses on gun cleaning named “Hoppe’s” 

Their BoreSnake product may be a super-fast bore cleaner that only requires you to pass the “snake” through the bore several times to wash it. you'll literally loosen the massive residue particles inside the bore pulling it just 5 times. 

To use the BoreSnake, you initially need to confirm that each one of the shotgun’s ammunition is emptied from the chamber and therefore the magazine tube. Then you stick the BoreSnake into the empty chamber and let the smaller end slide right out of the barrel. then, just pull on the cord and watch the fatter end of the BoreSnake make its way through the bore. Hoppe’s bore snake features a built-in bronze brush and braided floss scrub to wash and oil the bore.

They are also versions for pistols and rifles also. The snake itself is formed out of woven cotton floss which makes it very easy to draw in particles thereto. The BoreSnake features a cleaning area that's 160 times greater than a typical cleaning patch. Each BoreSnake is manufactured for a selected bore size. 

This ensures the BoreSnake will fit the bore of your shotgun and provides it the simplest cleaning possible. And since it's made from cotton, the cord is often washed then reused again and again. the worth of the BoreSnake varies counting on the gauge size it's getting used on. But you ought to expect to pay between $10 and $50 in most cases. 

It is very handy once you get to clean your shotgun but don’t have time or tools to disassemble your shotgun. you'll roll in the hay almost anywhere. I tried doing it in the shooting gallery after training and therefore the outcome was a bore that shines and appears newer than ever.

Brownells Heavy Weight Nylon Bore Brush and Standard Line Bronze Bore Brushes

Most shooters find the necessity to use bore brushes in other areas on their weapon and do then|every now and then">sometimes use steel brushes and then find they need to be scratched to the finish. With the tough nylon bristles, you'll rest assured that you simply wouldn't scratch the finish when used for other odd cleaning jobs on your weapon. However, the nylon bristles are tough enough to wash even the toughest fouling deposits and yet won't affect the barrel’s rifling. 

With a smooth bore, of course, you do not have this worry but several models of shotguns allow you to modify out barrels rather easily from a smoothbore to a rifled barrel and you'll need the right cleaning tools available. Some users are concerned about the nylon bristles not being tough enough for embedded fouling. 

If you employ a top quality solvent and permit it to soak long enough to melt the fouling the nylon brushes will work. Even with bronze or chrome steel brushed you would like to let the solvent do all of the heavy liftings. 

Allow the solvent to soak. Wearing your rifling down employing a wire brush isn't the solution to tough deposits. Following the directions on the rear of the solvent will make sure you get the work through with minimal effort. In some cases, if the fouling is heavy, you'll need to allow the solvent to figure for several hours or maybe overnight. This is often one more reason for correct weapons maintenance.

Allowing a weapon to urge to the purpose where it's quite an easy chore to wash is one that's probably not well cared for in other areas also. Bronze is softer than your barrel material but chrome steel is another matter and may wear your rifling down over time, so once more the right use of solvent and touch patience will make the work considerably easier and fewer destructive to your barrel.

Always use a wet brush albeit you've got used patches soaked within the solvent because friction may be a problem with dry brushes and can increase your cleaning time. Clean your brushes after each use particularly the nylon ones. albeit the nylon is meant to face up to the solvent, allowing the solvent to stay on the bristles for an extended period isn't ideal.

Best Shotgun Cleaning Kit Final Thoughts

If you would like a cleaning kit that's capable of both deep cleaning and field cleaning all of your shotguns, you're getting to need a kit that contains an ample quantity of brushes, tips, jags, mops, and picks. While all of the kits listed above are great options for cleaning your shotguns, there's one that stands out well above the remainder. 

The universal cleaning kit from Winchester features everything the opposite kits have and more and blows the competition out of the water when it involves utility brush and picks selection. One thing is sure, with the universal soft-sided kit from Winchester, you won’t be at the want for the other shotgun cleaning equipment. So now that you simply have all the knowledge that you simply need, you'll go purchase the right shotgun cleaning kit for you today!

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