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1/21/2012

Happiness is a Clean Gun


Remington Fast Snap™ Handle Uploaded from the Photobucket iPad App
2" Flex Cleaning Rod
24" Flex Cleaning Rod Revolver Adapter
.22 Caliber Slotted Brass Patch Puller
.30 Caliber Slotted Brass Patch Puller
25 Small Size Cleaning Patches
25 Medium Size Cleaning Patches
25 Large Size Cleaning Patches
.22 Caliber Brass Bore Brush (Short)
9mm/.38 Caliber Brass Bore Brush (Short)
10mm/.40 Caliber Brass Bore Brush (Short)
.44/.45 Caliber Brass Bore Brush (Short)
.22 Caliber Mop (Short)
9mm/.38 Caliber Mop (Short)
10mm/.40 Caliber Mop (Short)
.44/.45 Caliber Mop (Short)
1 oz. Rem® Oil (Lubricant)
2 oz. Brite Bore™ (Solvent)
Bore Light with 3 batteries

With my gun purchase pending I jumped on Amazon and ordered this cleaning kit. I chose it because it seemed to have everything I might need for an expanding pistol collection (As you have read I purchased a 9mm & I hope to have a plinking weapon & CCW, maybe .40 S&W or .45 ACP, some day) and was nice and compact. Well, since this purchase my cleaning kit had doubled in size. I added a nylon brush and a brass one, a few kinds of cleaners (including one that is synthetic-safe, to protect my rubber grips) extra patches and a pair of old socks.Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

When I picked up my new baby from the shop the guys handed it to me and said, "...and if you want to learn how to clean it, look it up on YouTube." And that's exactly what I went home to do. The day I brought my gun home I cleaned it, twice. The first cleaning took two hours. I have gotten a little quicker since then, but it's still a messy chore.

As I break-in my new toy, I have been religious about cleaning, but two issues cause me to feel as though I wasn't doing it right; First, my pins keep leaking and my gun always looks greasy. I have realized that all that oil wasn't staying where it belonged.Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos Second, there was grime building up in places not addressed in the demo video, therefore I never felt as though my gun was really clean. I sought advice from friends, (semi)professionals and the Internet...that's when I was introduced to a product I had never heard of: Dry Lube. I have learned that this stuff is fast trying and stays put. It's also known to collect less gunk than regular oil.

The first time I applied Smith & Wesson's Dry Lube after a good cleaning, I was a little annoyed that it came out of the bottle in spray form, getting on surfaces I didn't want it along with those I did. With some practice I have learned to control the spray, and was taught that a bit of lube on the outside surfaces of a steel weapon is far from a negative, just rub it in*. You can tell that the spray has dried because the surface will appear more matte than usual, and then I like to add a very small amount of regular oil to a few strategic places. That's it! Photobucket Pictures, Images and PhotosWhile this is the only Dry Lube I have tried thus far, I would say that it has greatly improved my leaky pin situation. Also, I won't be doing super thorough cleanings after each 100 round range visit. Instead, I'll do the basic field strip, clean the barrel, wipe off the recoil spring and call it a day.

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos And speaking of barrel cleaning, as a bit of a tree-hugger, I hate patches! So allow me to tell you about patch-less barrel cleaning. Remington makes something called the Squeeg-E. It works with a pull thru cleaning system. You spray a bit of bore cleaner into the barrel, run a brush through a few times, then pull the Squeeg-E though once, and you're good to go!


I got mine here:
©2012-GRM

3 comments:

Hillel said...

one bad thing is to not clean enough. the other is to clean too much. if you want your gun to work . . . clean it after range practice. but too much lube or oil and to much fussing around will likely not increase the performance of the gun only lead to more accumulated gunk.

Gabby said...

Thank you Hillel. I think I discovered this by trial and error. I know you have both rifles and pistols, do u have any favorite products or methods?

G said...

Update: DRY LUBE IS AMAZING!! Too many people I speak to haven't tried it, but don't be one of them! It collects almost no gunk and the outside of my gun is no longer an oily mess.

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