Hello all....
Well having 2 guns now I'm compeled to ask, whats the proper way for cleaning?
My first gun was a single shot 16 guage new england shot gun....
I have a hoppes shotgun cleaning kit and this is my procedure...

Get the slotted end, place a patch in it, soak the patch with solvent (hoppes #9) run it through the barrel a couple times, replace the patch soak again and keep doing this until it comes out fairly clean....
I then leave a slight film of solvent on it and let it set for about 30 minutes then run back through with some solvent soaked patches again....
Once they come out clean I run through dry patches until they are dry, then put about 2 drops of lubrication oil on a patch and run it through the bore to leave a coating of oil and thats it...
Now when I got my shotgun and the guy sold me the cleaning kit he also sold me a "swab" is what I would call it, looks like a big elongated cotton ball....
What am I supposed to use this for?
Also there is a bronze looking wire brush too.... I was told to never reverse directions with this brush in the bore??
Why??
I have used the wirebrush once and I think it scratches the bore a little....
What is the proper procedure for shotgun cleaning?
How should I use these products?

Secondly and more complex, my second gun is a handgun, its a taurus Model 627 7 shot revolver full stainless steel...
My procedure for cleaning it is the same.....
I use either a slotted end or a end that looks like a bullet with a spike on it, to run solvent soaked patches through the barrel (from the end of the muzzel towards the cylinder) until it starts to come clean, then run a soaked patch through and leave a solvent film and let it set for 30 minutes or so. I then run a few more solvent soaked patches through and then a few dry ones, put a couple drops of oil on one and run it through a couple times and leave it at that. I do the the same for the cylinder as well....
While they are "soaking" I usually take a solvent soaked patch and by hand clean the muzzle ports and front and back fo the cylinder and where the cylinder sets in the gun...
I then dry it off and apply a light coat of lubricating oil over the entire gun...
Now with this method I cannot get all the powder stains off the front of the cylinder or out of the muzzle ports...
I see that there are alot of brushes and other accesories out there, rods of different materials, different brushes etc...
So how should I go about cleaning my stainless steel revolver?
I see alot of different solvents out there for copper fouling etc....
I really have no clue what I'm doing here just guessing so any an all help is greatly appreciated.
I would allso like to stay with one brand of cleaners....

Thanks guys!

Here is a picture of my cleaning kits, the top is the shotgun kit the bottom is the pistol kit......
You can see up top the swab and brush I'm talking about.
On the bottom one on the patches box you can see the slotted end and spiked bullet things I was talking about..

Here is a picture of my shotgun barrell (as best as I couldget) you can kinda see the scratches in it from using the brush....

and lastly most importantly to me, is these....
as you can see I have some powder stains on my gun that just wont come off....
I have even soaked patches and laid on the stains for up to 48hrs and they still wouldn't come out....
what do you all reccomend?

Thanks guys! Your help is greatly appreciated!

I recommend you not worry a lot about it :)

Actually, sounds like you are being very dilligent in cleaning the gun. Frankly, you are putting a LOT more effort into it than I do, LOL.... I should probably try a bit more myself.

Mostly, I just shoot lead bullets through my guns and don't get much of an urge to clean the bores as there always seems to be a little lead build-up, not too much.

You can take the jacket fouling out with Sweet's, Shooter's Choice, Barnes CR-10, etc., and no telling how many other choices there are these days. Jacket fouling generally won't build up to the degree that it does in rifles, so the only big no-no is leaving jacket fouling in the bore before shooting lead. That can make them lead up worse as lead will stick to the jacket fouling.

When I do get the wild urge to clean out the lead from my handguns, I use one of the Lewis Lead Removers (once sold by Hoppe's and I've lost track of who is marketing them now, maybe Brownell's). This does a bang-up job of getting MOST of the lead out by little brass screens that you drag through the bore. What little is left comes out easily with a normal bore brush.

One of the motivators (to me) for lapping handgun barrels is so you DON'T have to deal with much lead fouling with any reasonable load. In the barrels that are pretty smooth, mostly they get a wipedown around the cylinder with Hoppe's #9, then the chambers cleaned with #9 and left nearly dry, and then a lite wipedown on the outside of the gun with Break-Free.

Yes stainless will 'stain' on the front of the cylinder and there's not much you can do about it. I suppose you could polish it off with Flitz but I'd be nervous about doing that all of the time. Save that level of detail for when you need your 'Sunday Best' look on the gun :)

What is copper fouling and how can I tell when I'm starting to get copper fouling/lead fouling?
Thanks!

Copper fouling (well jacket fouling anyway which is mostly copper) is streaks inside the barrel that are basically the same color as a bullet jacket.

Lead fouling will be visible as chunks of 'stuff' in the barrel, usually down in the rifling.

Copper fouling (well jacket fouling anyway which is mostly copper) is streaks inside the barrel that are basically the same color as a bullet jacket.

Lead fouling will be visible as chunks of 'stuff' in the barrel, usually down in the rifling.


Well after only 300rnds or so I don't believ I have seen any copper fouling, however I have seen the "chunks" in my shotgun after shooting....
I though it was unburnt powder clumps though?

I guess my cleaning question was more gearead towards what the brushes are used for and when you should use which brush....
Also what the large swab is for?
Why they say not to reverse the brush direction in teh barrel..

Cheaper than dirt a long time ago said there was something called "carters compensator spray" that would remove the stains and keep them easily removeable however I can't find this product any longer....

and lastly most importantly to me, is these....
as you can see I have some powder stains on my gun that just wont come off....
I have even soaked patches and laid on the stains for up to 48hrs and they still wouldn't come out....
what do you all reccomend?

Thanks guys! Your help is greatly appreciated!

Yeah, I have most of the same stains that your revolver does. Mine's not ported, so I dont have that problem- but I do have stains on the front of the cylinder that wont come out. I also get some staining on the top inside of the frame and on the back of the cylinder, but they cleaned up pretty well with some solvent and a brass brush. The stains on the front of the cylinder really seem baked on though, no matter how well I clean it there is still always a faint stain- guess there's nothing to be done about it.

Those powder stains are usually the toughest part of my cleaning, as I shoot alot of WinClean ammo and it doesnt seem to leave too much mess in the cylinders/bore.

Hello 99 ( was tempted to say Agent 99 from old tv show GET SMART) but I won't.
You are doing a good job on your weapons maintenance but I don't think you need to get them crystal clean each time you clean it. The large cotton looking deal is a bore swab. I put my patches on them and it more closely fits your bores diameter rather than when you just put a patch folded up on the little attachment that goes on your cleaning rod. The bronze wire brush is a bore brush and that is used to help get out the plastic residue that is left behind from the wads. You don't really need to use that every time you clean your shotgun, just when you see a large build up of plastic accumulating. It doesn't hurt your bore as bronze is softer than your steel barrel. If it leaves a few superficial scratches behind, don't worry about it. You can always follow up with JB bore paste as this is a polishing agent and will make your bore nice and "purty". It doesn't hurt to go back and forth with it. Just make sure you go all the way out of the barrel before you reverse direction.
As far as the "stains" on the front of the cylinder of your revolver, I wouldn't worry about those either as that is normal. If you really want to clean them up for show off, try some BRASSO and patches or even some fine steel wool and it cleans those right up. I hope this helps clear up a few things for you and good shooting ahead. Pistolpete

i hope the moderator won't kill me if i send you some cleaning files i got from other forum. haha.

well, that forum sucks big time, but it does have some cool tips.

i'll load it up for everyone to see. it is nice.

http://www.geocities.com/kemays/

the information is at the near bottom of the page. cool. click this if you're lazy to search for it.

http://www.geocities.com/kemays/pistolclean.html

i got a video tape of how my friends and i clean our guns. it is pretty cool. we cleaned 20 types of guns ranging from revolver, 1911, ak47, ar15, to fal, cetme, enfield, and all types of guns we have among our self. it is very nice. we got it on dvd.

sorry, it is for sale because we isn't into that business. we'll trade the dvd for your kimber or taurus though. j/k

go easy on those metal brush on your gun buddy. invest in a bore guide or a coated rod (rod with platic coating) and you'll won't scratch or harm your barrel crown. people say that the gun metal is tougher than the rod metal so it is cool, but i like my guns more than the typical person, and i am broker than the average person when it comes to buying guns.

99touring,

u r a nut in gun safety, gun cleaning, gun choice, and just about anything else. you're a mirror image of me. are we long lost twin.

i am under 25 and very new to this gun stuffs. i like guns a lot, man. guns rocks. i like to see a 3999 dollars ring protect the house or the car. crap, it may invites more harms than good, if you ask me.

Nah I just like my hobbies and try to take care of whats mine.....
That and I know the **** my stuff goes through (especially my Mustang) so it has to have good care to last :)

Where can I get a bore guide? I have never really used one and to be honest haven't been carefull when cleaning.....
what damage can be caused by the rods?

Also why shouldn't you reverse direction in the bore with a brush? I figured you would just stick the brush in and scrub up and down while twisting? Seems like running straigt up and down wouldn't be to effective?

well, the metal brush is still metal. it may be softer than your gun bore, but if you really rough it up within the bore, you'll damage the rifling in the micro amount. that will hurt your accuracy. in addition, it will give room for gunk to fill in. if you don't clean those gunk out, the gun bore can be rusted.

it is good to make a smooth pass of the brush through the barrel. i do pull the brush backward though. my way of doing it is to pass the brush completely through the bore until it comes out the other side, then i pull it back.

a lot of folks clean from the chamber, so they don't want to pull it backward because they can't afford to mess up their high dollar crown (the tip of the barrel that control accuracy).

with revolver, u got to clean from the crown or you need to get a bore snake, which is a rope like thing with a built-in brush. i have that for my tracker. i use a chop stick as a rod when i need to run patches down the bore of my handguns. i don't want to scratch it. i also don't like shooting full metal jacket ammo in my handgun neither. blazer sells very good and cheap ammo that is lead covered. it is very easy on your bore. winchester got some lead free ammo made from some good soft material too.

i used to think i don't need to use the bore brush to get all the gunk out. i tried to just use a lot of patched soaked with mobil 1 synthetic oil because i can't stand the small of hoppe solvent. if it smell bad, it is bad for u. period.... the oil will loosen up the gunky stuffs in the rifling. leave it in their for 10 mintues while you clean the outside ofthe gun(S). then you go back and run patches after patches through it. it will come out clean eventually. now put a clean brushed filled with oil or solvent down there. run it a few time. then run a clean patch with some oil or solvent in it. that patch will come out black again. that was when i knew that only a brush can get that stuffs out.

if you have a revolver with barrel less than 9 inches. u can actually use a old tooth brush for clean it. it is much better than way. it takes longer, but your gun will last longer than u. i promise. i use toothbrush for my handguns.

i do use metal brush for my ak and other surplus rifles. they're built tough and i already treat them better than most peole would, so i won't build a brush for it. i just cut down on how often i use the gun, so that i won't have to run the metal brush down there as often. i shoot about 1k rounds each time i go shooting. this is for the riflle only. for the handguns, i shoot about 200 rounds each. i spend about 10 hours minimum (summer is better because the sun doesn't go down until 9 pm) shooting when i get a chance to go shooting. i'll be out thre at 6 in the morning setting up. as soon as the my watch hit 6.30, i start shooting my rifle. i shoot my handguns when it get around 10. i takes my time 2 and enjoy the shoot instead of trying to make the trip count by sending 10k rounds downrange without aiming.

well, the metal brush is still metal. it may be softer than your gun bore, but if you really rough it up within the bore, you'll damage the rifling in the micro amount. that will hurt your accuracy. in addition, it will give room for gunk to fill in. if you don't clean those gunk out, the gun bore can be rusted.

it is good to make a smooth pass of the brush through the barrel. i do pull the brush backward though. my way of doing it is to pass the brush completely through the bore until it comes out the other side, then i pull it back.

a lot of folks clean from the chamber, so they don't want to pull it backward because they can't afford to mess up their high dollar crown (the tip of the barrel that control accuracy).

with revolver, u got to clean from the crown or you need to get a bore snake, which is a rope like thing with a built-in brush. i have that for my tracker. i use a chop stick as a rod when i need to run patches down the bore of my handguns. i don't want to scratch it. i also don't like shooting full metal jacket ammo in my handgun neither. blazer sells very good and cheap ammo that is lead covered. it is very easy on your bore. winchester got some lead free ammo made from some good soft material too.

i used to think i don't need to use the bore brush to get all the gunk out. i tried to just use a lot of patched soaked with mobil 1 synthetic oil because i can't stand the small of hoppe solvent. if it smell bad, it is bad for u. period.... the oil will loosen up the gunky stuffs in the rifling. leave it in their for 10 mintues while you clean the outside ofthe gun(S). then you go back and run patches after patches through it. it will come out clean eventually. now put a clean brushed filled with oil or solvent down there. run it a few time. then run a clean patch with some oil or solvent in it. that patch will come out black again. that was when i knew that only a brush can get that stuffs out.

if you have a revolver with barrel less than 9 inches. u can actually use a old tooth brush for clean it. it is much better than way. it takes longer, but your gun will last longer than u. i promise. i use toothbrush for my handguns.

i do use metal brush for my ak and other surplus rifles. they're built tough and i already treat them better than most peole would, so i won't build a brush for it. i just cut down on how often i use the gun, so that i won't have to run the metal brush down there as often. i shoot about 1k rounds each time i go shooting. this is for the riflle only. for the handguns, i shoot about 200 rounds each. i spend about 10 hours minimum (summer is better because the sun doesn't go down until 9 pm) shooting when i get a chance to go shooting. i'll be out thre at 6 in the morning setting up. as soon as the my watch hit 6.30, i start shooting my rifle. i shoot my handguns when it get around 10. i takes my time 2 and enjoy the shoot instead of trying to make the trip count by sending 10k rounds downrange without aiming.

oh, go to walmart and get yourself a coated rod for 9 dollars. or you can do what i do; tape your current rod with duct tape or use chop stick. let me know if you want a set of chop sticks.

Well what is the crown? Is that at the cylinder end or the muzzle end?

Well so far I haven't used any brush on my revolver....
I have used the metal one on my shotgun though...

I think I'm going to look into a nylon one for the revolver..

the crown is the tip of the barrel at the front end where the bullet exist. this that dedicate part.

i am not sure if you suppose to use the brush the shotgun. shotgun has no rifling (the twisting lines) so you don't need to brush nothing out. a good thick patch soak in mobil 1 synthetic oil will be more than enough to loosen up any gunk. let the gun sit for 10 minutes and run 2 patch through it. then you can use the hoppe 9 stuff that you bought to get the stubborn gunk.

i want to get a double barrel side-by-side shotgun for home defense. it is the revolver of rifles in my opinion. i am looking forward to finding one.

here is something extra for you to play with dude.

http://www.rb-treasures.com/kb/clean_tips.htm

a good gun cleaner is also a safe gun owner.

Where can I get a bore guide? I have never really used one and to be honest haven't been carefull when cleaning.....
what damage can be caused by the rods?

Also why shouldn't you reverse direction in the bore with a brush? I figured you would just stick the brush in and scrub up and down while twisting? Seems like running straigt up and down wouldn't be to effective?

Because the brush will either get stuck, or the bristles will be torn off of it.

Brass/bronze brushes will not harm a steel bore. Period! Same basic material as bullet jackets... think about it.

Check out Midway, Lock Stock & Barrel, etc., for some sort of muzzle protector (and bore guides for rifles). They are simple and once you see them you can easily make one from an old cartridge case or two so the cleaning rod doesn't rub up against the rifling.

Ok, so basically the brushes are scrubbing, nylon = ok, brass is more scrubbing action, and steel is the most scrubbing....

But about bore mops..... do you use the mops to dry the bore? soak the bore with solvent? or for oiling the bore? I've seen 3 differnt websites that used them each way ?

u ask 2 much man, we're going to have to charge you for this service. j/k

We're lucky here that we have a supplier of benchrest grade cleaning supplies. This gent doesn't like wrecking his $500 barrels, so he gets the right stuff in.

DON'T use a stainless steel brush on a gun barrel, PERIOD. They will scratch your barrel. Use bronze brushes for general cleaning, shotguns included. Nylon brushes are good for applying the more violent ammonia based copper solvents, as they eat bronze brushes as fast as copper fouling. I prefer a jag to hold the patch on small bore barrels, but I wrap a patch over a mop when I'm doing shotguns. It keeps the mop clean and fills up the barrel. As for oiling the barrel, I'm testing FP-10, but normally I use Hoppes No.9 for anti-rusting as well as cleaning. Which reminds me, I just emptied my pint bottle of Hoppes.

Bye
Jack

Yeah I do kinda post alot, however I've noticed these forums aren't as active as the other one I'm on....
http://forums.modulardepot.com/flyshow.php?&s=&showid=243
:)

I'm kinda used to posting alot.... sorry...

I figured you would use the mops to dry the barrels?
Doesn't the solvent soak through when you put the patches over the mops?

The solvent does soak though the patch. Minor detail, you don't need as much on the next patch. When you're done, squeeze it in a piece of tissue or toilet paper. Or run a dry patch down the barrel and you'll leave that trace of oil or solvent you want left in the barrel.

Bye
Jack

i know...i was on this one forum that was kinda slow 2. i came in and post over 2000 message in less than 2 months. now, that forum is packed because i got them started on weird topics like:

"helm deep: how would you defend it if you are in the lord of the ring: 2 towers movie"

i put the same thing here and no one respond.

i know...i was on this one forum that was kinda slow 2. i came in and post over 2000 message in less than 2 months. now, that forum is packed because i got them started on weird topics like:

"helm deep: how would you defend it if you are in the lord of the ring: 2 towers movie"

i put the same thing here and no one respond.

The reason no one responded is because I delete the thread. Please don't fill this forum up with mindless posts, they eat up server bandwith and serve no purpose.

There is no need to get people here 'started on wierd topics.' We have plenty to discuss, as is.