Cleaning,guns

[Scott]

I am up this morning getting ready to go shooting,and am recleaning my handguns.I would like to know what cleaner,and lube you guys use on your guns?I Just use brake cleaner to start,and use some hoppes.I do have some break free clp for lube,but I am a little leary of putting it in my bore.Is it ok to use?

[butchlambert1]

Scott, I know that in our benchrest guns it will send bullets all over the place for about 5 rds. Thebarrelman

[gunzilla]

Maybe to much time in military armories, but if I had to pick only one bottle of stuff, it would be break free -- During a recent operation, I spent a lot of time in the armory checking the condition of weapons as they came back, keep in mind these guns were subject to terrible conditions, we cleared them and then dropped them in a barrel of diesel to wash off the majority of the crud...

Then, tear down, dry and wipe with break free -- Make sure to wipe off as much excess as you can, I attribute nearly as many problems to over lubricating as not lubricating. Break free is fine in the bore, but as with any lube, dry patch it to remove all possible lube from the bore before firing.

There are some special concerns for extreme cold, but temps that are far lower than what we routinely see here in PacNorWest... especially this winter!

Naturally, there are lubes that are designed for a specific application that are better for their intended job than any "all around" lube... Specialized bore lubes, high drip point greases and such, but good old break free is still a great choice.

BTW: It is a great day, heading to the range myself...

[kurt]

For centerfire, jacket bullets, Butchs Bore Shine, for lead ether Iosso, for bad leading, or Bore Tech Rim Fire Blend.

[GeneT]

I like shooter's choice and / or Ed's Red (ER is a home-mix: equal parts Kerosine, ATF, Acetone, and Mineral Spirits). About every 100 rounds of rifle I'll do a cleaning with Barnes CR-10. (In a *well* ventilated area.) I haven't found Hoppes to be very useful in the gun room (Oh, am I gonna hear about that...) but I keep a bottle in the shop, 'cuz it seems to work real well for removing the coolant stains from the machines.

[Al_Messer]

You guys will get a chuckle out of this: My youngest son says that the woman he marries is gonna have to think that Hoppe's No. 9 smells like perfume!! He's 26.

[kurt]

AL you have a smart son.

[Bryan]

In my hay day, I used to use one of those Teflon containing gun lubes... after a few cleanings you can "feel" the action move with much less effort...
When going into very dry dusty condintions (often the case in Oz), we would wipe everything dry after a clean and lube... this way, using the gun "dry", the dust and dirt would not stick to the lube and act as an abrasive... at the end of the day, we would clean and lube again...

[BrianPeterson]

I was thinking about posting a topic discussing everyone’s preferences in cleaners and lubricants just yesterday, but being the new guy I didn't know if that would be considered off topic or not. Hopefully my reply won't be too off topic to this post.

Working in and out of firearms shops for a little over 2 years I saw and heard several stories of "the" best and "the" worst cleaners and lubes, often those stories would contradict each other from customer to customer. Since I had the resources I figured I would find out what would work best for my own needs.

I'd been trying new lubes ever since the Gun Slick craze started, I've since then tried several others including Break Free and MPro7. I was quite happy with both Break Free and MPro. About a year ago I decided to try a few products from Tetra Gun. All I can say about Tetra is that while they, in my opinion, may not be the absolute best, they are very active and bold in trying to deliver the best.

My current regimen includes Tetra Grease, Tetra Lubricant, Tetra Copper Solvent, Hoppes No. 9, and TriboTech Engine Treatment.

Tetra Grease is sticky and lubricates very well. Tetra Lubricant works great on applications that need something thinner than grease but not as thin as standard oils. Tetra Copper Solvent is a very aggressive copper solvent, but doesn't do a whole lot on nitro. Hoppes No. 9 works great on nitro and it is a true classic! TriboTech is a very thin oil that I couldn't be happier with, even though I am not using it for it's intended purposes.

I am certainly no expert, but I enjoy sharing my experiences with what works for me as well as keeping an open ear towards what is working for others.

[artk]

I too like Tetra gun grease anywhere I can reach. For a semi-auto pistol I put a light coat on the barrel where it will rub the slide or bushing and the rails. For the nooks and crannies I use Tetra gun oil. I have tried to use lithium grease but for me it attracts powder fouling too much. By the way, Fulton Armory recommends using Tetra gun grease and even buffing it dry. The claim is that on sear engagements, etc. it will still leave a dry protective surface.

For the bore, I typically use Hoppe's #9 unless I have a real issue with copper fouling. Then, I too use Tetra. Most of my pistol shooting is with lead so for them, copper is not an issue.

Regards,
-Art K

[Scott]

About half the posts are from Oregon.Make me feel much better.Being a native Oregonian,I wouldn't even mind if more californians moved here along as they owned guns.Maybe its time to turn back at the border, non gun toting Californians.

Thanks all, for the good info.

[GeneT]

Heck yeah, it's time! It's way past time. Any gun-toter fleeing the wretched tyranny that is Kali is welcomed by me. It's those that flee and then want to make OryGUN just like Kali that I can't stand. When I lived in Klamath (near the CA border) we considered a number of 'ideas' for turning them away at the border.