Rifle cleaning kit - what do I need?

[Will_]

I'm trying to figure out what cleaning equipment I need to invest in.

I'll be buying a Remington 700 Police in .308.

All my previous cleaning experience is limited to the Army kits for the SA80 and GPMG.

I'm keen to spend as little as possible but want tough kit and a good result.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Will

[MrCetrizine]

Tipton Carbon Fibre one piece rod.

Don't buy a segmented rod, they can ruin your rifling.

Don't buy a bare metal rod for the same reason.

Buy a plastic coated rod if you want to save money but you'll have to buy another when the coating splits, then another, then.....

 

Get a spear tipped jag, if you go for a Tipton rod then I'd recommend a Pro-Shot jag.

 

Get some patches, again, I like Pro-Shot ones as they don't leave fluff in your barrel.

 

Get some carbon remover, I like KG1 but there are loads and most are good.

 

Get a good copper remover like Sweet's 7.62 or Butch's Bore shine.

 

Get a nylon brush for your bolt face.

 

Get a microfibre cloth for the outside.

 

As you'll no doubt see from the replies you'll no doubt get, everyone has a different method for rifle cleaning and theirs is always the best way.

 

There are also a lot of wonder products that promise to do amazing things for high prices.

 

I'm not going to tell you how to clean a rifle but the above equipment is what I use and all I use.

[Martin52]

Don't forget the bore guide too.

[jcampbellsmith]

Old toothbrushes are handy. Make sure the cleaning rod is long enough to work when you use a bore guide. Something for cleaning the bolt lug recess is handy too.

 

http://www.sinclairintl.com/gun-cleaning/action/chamber-cleaning-tools/action-cleaning-tool-kit-prod35492.aspx

 

Regards JCS

[gunner]

2nd a bore guide , you dont want to be wearing the throat / rifling area , get one specifically for your firearm it will fit perfectly . I use shooting shed guids made in polished aluminium and made to your requirements and all for not that much more than an mass produced plastic one . As above , one piece rod thats coated , obviously a jag and patches . I and many dont ever use a nylon or bronze brush or very rarely do , iv no need really as butch bore shine and patches do it in about 7-10 patches , good luck with the remmy , my first CF was a 700 and it shot very well . atb .

Ps i always carry an old toothbrush to get any crap out of the bolt face and in behind the extrator claw . Thanks jscambells . Oh that claw on my remmy was quiet sharp from the factory it would shave off a bit of brass off the case head every time a round was chambered , a needle file sorted it !!!!

[Shuggy]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with a bare metal rod. If you have the correct size bore guide and a properly fitting jag and patch, it will do no harm to the bore.

[gunner]

I don't think that there is anything wrong with a bare metal rod. If you have the correct size bore guide and a properly fitting jag and patch, it will do no harm to the bore.

Its the crown area when jag and rod exits and then pulled back in , there will be metal to metal contact ( not if coated ) , over time it could wear a little , i always take jag off before pulling back thru bore , but thats me being fussy maybe . Atb

[Shuggy]

Its the crown area when jag and rod exits and then pulled back in , there will be metal to metal contact ( not if coated ) , over time it could wear a little , i always take jag off before pulling back thru bore , but thats me being fussy maybe . Atb

Maybe so. There are a couple of ways of avoiding this though. Firstly you can use a stop with a thumbscrew on the rod, to stop the jag from coming out too far. Or secondly, use the plastic bore rider jags from Spud. Expensive, but they work very nicely indeed.

[bradders]

I'm keen to spend as little as possible but want tough kit and a good result.

Any advice would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Will

 

Will

 

Parker Hale rod with an adapter for a spear tip jag.

Don't bother with a bronze brush, get a nylon one for applying the solvent to the bore.

Pro Shot or similar patches

Hoppes or similar (any will do really and I use Mpro 7)

Stick a plastic Coke bottle over the muzzle to catch the patches and solvent

 

Bore guide optional, but nice to have

[maximus otter]

1. A good quality, plastic-coated cleaning rod with a ball bearing handle.

 

2. A bore guide to suit your Remmy.

 

3. A spear point jag and brass brush to suit your cleaning rod and rifle calibre.

 

4. Pre-cut patches for the correct calibre (I order mine off eBay).

 

5. Hoppe's No.9 to remove products of combustion etc.

 

6. KG-12 copper remover ( http://www.laniganperformance.com/kg12testresults.html )

 

7. An old toothbrush for hard-to-access areas.

 

8. An old plastic pop bottle to slide over the muzzle to catch used, soiled patches.

 

9. Almost essential: a good device to support and hold your rifle in the correct alignment. I use an MTM Case-Gard Gun Vise.

 

10, Lighter fluid to clean the remnants of Solvent A out of the bore before moving on to Solvent B.

 

maximus otter

[Will_]

Thanks for all the good advice. I now have some things to buy.

Are pull through kits not used because they're slow or because they damage the barrel/crown?

[gbal]

Will........both -you have very little control of how the cleaning surface comes out-and it's slow.

Pull through is also less flexibility-the rod can carry a pierce jag with cloth/cleaner and separately a brush,and the brush allows fairly rapid and vigourous cleaning when needed.

 

Some might use a pull through at the end of say a shooting session to get some cleaner to work ASAP.

 

But as a serious means of removing copper (etc) it is inefficient. Removing copper matters,but isn't a 'must do' for some users-but the old military pull through really is not good enough to maintain top barrel surface condition.

gbal

[Davy]

I only use uncoated cleaning rods these days, I wipe them down every time they are removed form the rifle, I found the plastic coated ones would pick up carbon and debris from the cleaning process no matter how carefully they are cleaned, stainless steel ones seem to fair better in this respect. Correctly used I cannot see how they would damage a bore.

[MrCetrizine]

When I was using a plastic coated rod with a bore guide and a nylon brush, the rod would still bow enough for the rifling to cut the plastic coating.

 

If the coating weren't there then I'm sure a steel rod would have some effect on the rifling.

 

I no longer use a brush at all so bending is not an issue but I'm sticking to carbon fibre.

[bradders]

There is one other option everyone is neglecting to mention....

After shooting your rifle, put it in the cupboard and have a cup of tea

[MrCetrizine]

My ARs, my Enfield and my lever action get that treatment. In fact the only thing that's ever been up the barrels of my ARs are bullets. I did once clean the Enfield but that was because I dropped it muzzle first into sand.

 

I clean my Tikka because if I don't, it stops shooting as well. I clean my Feinwerkbau because it came with a little card that said I should and it cost a stupid amount of money so it gets babied.

[jab]

Get a good quality one piece cleaning rod.Tipton rods are very good but the handles for two of my rifles are too big and fouled the comb of the stock.I replaced them with alloy handles similar to the Pro Shot ones. The Pro Shot rods although bare metal are also very good. I condition all my rods with 3 in 1 oil before use. Never had problems with bare one piece rods.Been using these since the late 70's. Plastic coated Parker Hale rods are very good too if you can find a straight one and get on with the handles.

A good quality bore guide would be recommended also.

A good spear tipped jag ( Pro Shot do an aluminium jag that seems OK ) for your rod and also phosphor bronze brushes for the bore.

Dick Saunders in the states was a specialised 17 calibre smith and shooter. He was a great believer in solvent only down the bore using OMC Engine tune on patches.No PB brushes down his bores. I followed this procedure religiously for years in my 17 Remington until one day I tried a PB brush down the bore after a bore clean. I stopped the solvent only method of cleaning from that day on !!! If you are a solvent only man try the PB brush after cleaning your bore?

Shooters Choice and Butches Bore Shine and M Pro 7 are the solvents I use regularly, mostly Butches. Sweets 7.62 copper solvent and J B compound I have but rarely use.3 in 1 oil aint bad at cleaning the carbon muck out of the bore either. Its good also to protect the bore and general lubricant.

Rifles shoot better when their bores have been cleaned properly after use!