Gun Cleaning Techniques: Keep Your Firearms in Top Shape
As a prepper or just an enthusiast, your firearms are among your greatest tools. They can defend your property, put food on the table, and provide endless fun at the range. But to ensure your gun performs when you need it most, you have to maintain it properly. Neglecting to clean your gun can lead to malfunctions that turn your prized weapon into an oversized club. Trust me, you cannot afford to stake your life on a dirty gun!
A Clean Gun is a Happy Gun
No matter what you use your firearm for, whether it’s self-defense or hunting, keeping it clean is essential. A well-maintained weapon runs smoothly, shoots accurately, and lasts longer. Cleaning your gun may take some time, but I assure you, the effort is well worth it.
Let’s go through some simple yet effective gun cleaning techniques to keep your firearms in tip-top shape.
Gather Your Cleaning Supplies
First things first—let’s talk about supplies. You don’t need to break the bank when gathering cleaning gear. Head to your local hardware, sporting goods, or department store (like Walmart) and pick up a cleaning rod, along with a hard brass barrel brush to attach to it.
It’s vital that the wire brush matches the caliber of your firearm. For pistols, a small pistol cleaning kit is perfect. They usually come compact and are available in most stores for a reasonable price.
You're also going to need a brush with nylon bristles to scrub those hard-to-reach areas. An old toothbrush works like a charm—no need to shell out cash for a fancy three-brush set.
If you own shotguns or rifles, invest in a universal cleaning kit. These kits come with everything you need, including cleaning patches and various brushes.
Disassemble Your Firearm
Before you start the cleaning process, make sure you’re working on a flat surface away from pets and kids. Safety first! Lay your weapon on a mat or towel, and proceed to field strip it. If you’re not familiar with this, check your owner’s manual or look up a guide by searching “[Your Gun Model] field stripping.” You’ll find plenty of resources—videos included!
Scrub with Care
Once the weapon's broken down, inspect it for any unusual wear and tear. If everything seems good, grab your cleaning solvent and dip your nylon brush into it. Start cleaning the metal parts to remove the residue left behind from firing. Make sure to also clean the stock or grip since residue can build up there too, especially on polymer or all-metal guns.
For wooden grips, be cautious with solvents as they can damage the finish over time. I’ve learned this the hard way, unfortunately!
Deep Clean the Barrel
Next up, attach the hard bristle barrel brush to your cleaning rod and dip it into the cleaning solvent. Scrub the barrel until the brush comes out clean and smooth. If needed, dip the brush in the solvent multiple times during the process. Once that’s done, attach a plastic tip to your rod and run a clean patch through the barrel until it comes out clean, with no black residue left on it.
Gun Cleaning Techniques Final Touches
After scrubbing away the dirt, use a can of gun scrubber to remove any lingering solvent. Remember: steer clear of wooden parts when using gun scrubbers—it's harsh on finishes. For polymers or metals, feel free to spray away without worry. Let the parts dry out for 10-15 minutes on your cleaning mat or towel.
Next, grab your gun oil and shake the bottle for about a minute to mix it well. Different firearms have varied lubrication specs, so consult your owner's manual to avoid over-lubricating or under-lubricating your weapon. Once you've lubed everything correctly and put it back together, cycle the action to ensure that the oil gets into all the necessary crevices.
Conclusion
Once everything is back together, take a moment and wipe down the exterior surfaces with a silicone gun & reel cloth. There you have it—a clean, well-maintained firearm ready for whatever you need it for.
Effective gun cleaning techniques may not be difficult or expensive, but they are vital to maintaining your firearms. By following these steps, you can prolong the lifespan of your weapons and ensure they’re ready when you need them most. Thanks for reading, and happy prepping!
Up Next:
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on Jan 16, 2016, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.
I gave up all that for boresnakes and militech. Works great, much lighter to carry, more compact to store and can’t bend or scratch a muzzle crown. Add a rag, and your kit’s complete.
Also, if you don’t know where or how much to lube, get an owners manual – they’re pretty knowledgeable about that!
Watch the Boresnakes! Especially for small caliber rifles. If the pull string breaks, you will NOT be able to get it out of the bore unless you can hook the end somehow and pull it out. Trying to push the boresnake through w/a cleaning rod will only compress it.
Keep all your worn out cloth, such as socks, bed sheets, etc. and cut them up for cleaning rags and bore patches.
Rex
Solvent and Gun scrubber? That is like taking a bath before your shower. It doen nothing but waste time and money. Use one or the other they are the same thing. Bore snakes. Ok for a quich clean in the field but constant use destroys guns FAST. The rub of the cord riding on the muzzle can trash a crown in a few cleanings, After one pass the snake is a hazzard as it puts back and grinds in everything it just cleaned out on the first pass. So unless you are fully washing and drying it between each pass throught the bore you are causing damage, avoid snakes and any pull through. There is a reason the US military stopped using pull throughs 60 years ago. Except perhaps the otis system and it is just grossly over priced and a waste of time.
I agree with William. Gun scrubber is good, but seems like a lazymans way. I guess if you didn’t have time to break down & clean properly, it would be s good, quick temporary fix till cleaned properly. If you have broke down and have a unused away hard area to get too & don’t have gun scrubber, carb cleaner works good. (metal only). Q-tips work wonders too. I prefer synthetic EEZOX for cleaning & oiling with a very small amount of synthetic gun grease on slides & high friction areas.
thanks for the good information!!!
If you do not have gun scrubber, starting fluid is good and usually cheaper both are mostly compressed Either. i alway’s keep a can in my kit spraying the gun down will remove any oil and you should be sure to put a light coat on everything when you are done personally I use silicone. not the type you by at an auto store which really doe’s not have a high quality silicone putting a gun away for storage wiped down well with silicone oil and /or silicone high vacume grease will last year’s but it should be wiped OFF of all the heavy silicone again before use but it will store good for year’s without worring about any rust
I have only been using one solvent to clean, lubricate and protect my weapons for years: Breakfree. In fact, it is called CLP. I realize that you made mention of using the manual, which is good. But, I always emphasize CLEARING the weapon before disassembly. In magazine fed firearms, this includes: 1) Drop the magazine. 2)Pull the bolt to the rear, extracting any potential chambered round. 3) Visually inspect the chamber to make sure it is clear. 4) Ride the bolt/slide forward. 5) Squeeze the trigger with the gun pointed in a safe direction.
A small amount of solvent should be poured into a container to dip brushes in. Dipping directly into the bottle contaminates the entire supply rendering it unusable in a short time. A patch saturated with bore cleaner will deposit more solvent in the bore than a dipped brush. Allow the solvent to soak in about as long as it takes to switch to a brush then scrub in one direction by pushing the brush out the muzzle unscrewing it then reattach for another pass from the chamber end. If you run the brush back and forth the wires break off very quickly. Prove that to yourself by taking a small wire and bend it back and forth to see how long it takes to breake it. If you want to scrub use a nylon brush.
Just some observations from 60 years of cleaning guns.
Smilinjak
Good points about the solvent container and running the brush in one direction
Some points to consider regarding cleaning:
Most cleaners remove copper fouling from bullet jackets sliding down the bore. The cleaners will also attack the brushes since they are made of similar material. Use nylon brushes for most cleaning, and the bronze brushes for stubborn spots – then rinse the metal bristle brush in alcohol to prevent the brush from deteriorating and bristles breaking during the next use.
Gun Scrubber (carb cleaner, break shoe cleaner, starter spray, etc) works by dissolving oils that keep the dirt stuck to the metal. The spray “blasts” grime loose, but leaves the metal unprotected. (Rust will be more difficult to remove than dirt, so relubrication is important to do in the tight spots.)
Since dirt sticks to oil, I like using Dry Slide. You apply it and let the fluid evaporate, leaving dry graphite to keep the parts friction free. It doesn’t freeze in winter and because it’s dry it can’t get dirt stuck in it. I have cleaned barrels and chambers with Break Free, but the heat from firing cartridges cooks it into a weird goo. Try to avoid using Break Free in these 2 areas – otherwise, its one of the best. NEVER USE WD-40 as it turns to gum during storage and jams up the workings.
To protect the outer surfaces of your firearm, use Turtle Wax car polish or equivalent. 2 coats and buffed off will prevent water and air from starting rust. Also good for sealing the wood stocks to prevent the wood from “twisting” due to absorbing moisture from the environment, elevation, or atmosphere – which affects bullet impact.
Hope my hard lessons will enlighten
thanks to all of you for some good idea’s and thoughts.
The only thing I use to clean my guns (and man am I picky about my guns), is Rem Oil. After making the gun safe I break the gun down, spray the parts down and use soft cloths, Q-Tips and brass brushes to clean the parts and the barrel then put them back together.
I have seen where some of the gun cleaning solvents destroy gun finishes. I have never seen or had problems cleaning all of the powder fouling or lead out of my guns with Rem Oil (yes I reload and shoot lead out of my pistols).
Good comments all. Thanks for the suggestions.
Latest tests by major gun makers and hobbists; cheap and work great!
Employ ATF as a small arms cleaning agent, and follow with 20 weight synthetic motor oil as a lubricant.
Hopes No9 for copper cleaning if needed
Just a word of caution, after a field stripped cleaning and the gun is re-assembled make sure it will still go “Bang.” Especially if it is your CC weapon. After I finish practice at the range I clean my CC pistol at the range than I fire it to insure that it will go “Bang”. I don’t want any surprises if I have to use it..
Scrub, scrub, scrub is not a good description of how to use a bore brush. If the brush is not pushed all the way through the barrel before pulling it back it will get stuck and may damage the brush and the barrel. All the way through and all the way back out is the only way to use a bore brush. Also, as another poster said, the first thing you should do is clear the gun before doing anything — make sure it is unloaded INCLUDING the chamber and don’t use live ammo to function check your gun. Otherwise, good article.
A lot of good comments & suggestions. A word about “dry firing” though. Most all CENTERFIRE firearms (especially newer ones) will alow the dry firing of a weapon, the exception generally is the .22 rimfire…