Gun care supplies getting scarce?

Not really. But that’s mostly because I haven’t been looking. Soap and water are still east to get and I’ve got a decent amount of motor oil as well as cut up t-shirts for patches. Don’t need much else (but I do HAVE more than that)

Yep, noticed it too. Fleet Farm is decimated of cleaning supplie for guns, ammo, and guns themselves.


Also, Lysol said they won't have wipes back on the shelves until mid-summer 2021.

7 million new gun owners; companies decimated by Covid for either employees or for raw materials from their suppliers; manufacturing shift from gun care to health care where they can - and on and on.

BlueHeelerFl said:

Over the last 2 days I've noticed the amount and variety of gun cleaning supplies being low at Wal Mart , Bass Pro, and Academy.

Very little to no Remington products (which makes sense with the bankruptcy), but other brands were low as well.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Makes me wish I stocked up on Rem oil spray and those disposable wipes.

Click to expand...

Walmart's a joke when it comes to those things.

We don't have the other two.

Cabela's had quite a bit of stuff, but strangely no 12ga. bore brushes.

I had absolutely ZERO problem finding gun cleaning supplies for ANY caliber on Amazon, and stocked up on what I didn't have.

BlueHeelerFl said:

My local Wal Mart used to have a decent amount of Gun cleaning products.

Click to expand...

Until I moved to a place with Walmart literally on the other side of a parking lot, I didn't go to Walmart much. All I remember is the basic junky Outers type cleaning kits.

Until the Hsi Jin Flu, I bought most of my stuff at gun shows, since it was of VASTLY better quality and variety, followed by actual gun stores.

It's Christmas!!!!
Gun cleaning supplies are a common gift. Shouldn't be a surprise.

Yes, I've noticed gun supplies of all categories getting spotty. The thing is about these products though is that there are so many alternatives that will do the same job. I like Rem Action Cleaner, for example, and haven't been able to buy it or my second choice of Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber at any of my usual local sources. So I stopped at my local Harbor Freight and picked up some aerosol brake cleaner, which works just fine for the most of the same purposes.

Not like it's a big surprise...

New gun owners = new buyers to anything related to firearms

I can’t think of anything I need but from a very brief search it seems that I can get whatever I want delivered before Christmas using my thumb and my phone. A good portion of what I might use I could find at the auto parts store tomorrow.

Oh NO! Gun cleaner shortage,along with ammo, TP, cleaning wipes..... But it,s done online from a comfortable location. Plus I'll bet a kitchen isn,t far away. Please stop whining.

Yeah - Flitz Metal Polish.

I already have some... somewhere around here. Can't lay hands on it though.

No big deal, I'll pick some up in town while I'm finishing my Christmas shopping.

Bass Pro had none, but I wasn't really surprised. They haven't had anything gun-related that I wanted these last six months. Lowes is nearby so I stopped there. Big nope for them as well.

Now I'm hacked off so I googled "Flitz Metal Polish Gainesville FL" (where I was at). Ok, Advance Auto Parts and Ace Hardware both carry it. They're close to home so I stopped by... and struck out. In spite of the search saying they carried it none of them actually did! Home Depot supposedly carries it, but by then they were 30 miles away.

By that time I said "F it!" and ordered from Amazon and a bigger tube than I was originally going to buy.

Other gun care stuff I have plenty of everything. If I could find the tube I know I already have I wouldn't have had to go through all of that. Oh, the aggravations we could spare ourselves if we were just better organized!

Haven't really noticed.... if anything I can used old car oil I haven't recycled yet to lubricate guns and do rudimentary cleaning with. It's not that big of a deal to have gun BRANDED oil at your disposal when you probably have other things in the house already that can work

Clenzoil is local to me, my local gun range has a big shelf area filled with wipes, spray oils, swabs and bore wipes

Allow me to be the first to say: I probably have enough "gun care supplies" on hand to last me the rest of my life, let alone enough to see me through the current crises of Walmart "being low" on them.

I'm prepared. Little I need to buy now. May not need to buy any for the next 30yrs. Bought a lot of the snake and frog oil when I was younger and more gullible. Now, I stick to what I like and have plenty. No longer feel the need to spend $10 for an oz of "special" SEAL (never met one who was a chemist nor petroleum engineer) oil nor magic stuff which has no chance of meeting 1/2 of the label's claims.

This to shall pass, but in the mean time get some Mobil 1 and a tee shirt from a crappy band (Taylor Swift comes to mind) to clean with till then.

I use Mobile 10W-30, old cotton tee shirts for patches, and old tooth brushes to clean my guns.

Nothing fancy needed, except some Hopps #9 and I’ve got probably half a gallon left.

Sorry, total lack of digital situational awareness.

But!
The product must say "Gun....", in order to work well on a weapon.

I'm curious what the RAF used in its Lancaster bombers', Mosquitos' and Spitfires' or Hurricanes' famous Merlin engines---out of mere curiosity.
There was a squadron of fast twin-engine Mosquitos which flew for a few hours nonstop over the North Sea to Norway (cold water and no chance of rescue), to steeply dive into an enemy-controlled fjord to fire rockets at a battleship, then immed. fly nonstop back to the UK-if the plane wasn't hit too badly.

That engine oil might have had lousy Lubricity and Preservation characteristics for guns, because it never said "Gun..."?

I think christmas could have something to do with it. It is a common gift like someone else said and the fact we have a bajillion new gun owners it only makes sense. I bought quite a bit of cleaning supplies over last couple years, got a half gallon of hoppes for $12 this past summer, I probably wont have to buy again, ever.

As mentioned, so many household substitutes around.

Best penetrating solution, 50/50 mix of ATF (Auto Trans. Fluid) and acetone.

Add mineral spirits or kerosene to the above and you’ve got a form of Ed’s Red bore cleaner.

Patches are available in your T shirt drawer, you know which ones are ready for patch duty.

Best rust protector in tests was shown to be WD-40 Professional Long Term Rust Preventer, avail. at Lowe’s or HD.

Also as mentioned, it doesn’t have to say gun to be just as effective or better.

So, no excuses now, get those guns out and start cleaning! lol

BlueHeelerFl said:

Thanks for pointing out that I was whining vs just asking a simple question. I had no idea. Since I am at the low end of the income spectrum I usually just buy what I need at the moment for gun care and replace them when they get low. Which I cannot now.

Also, thanks for being a thoughtful member of the THR community that shares insightful information with us all /sarcasm

Click to expand...

Buy the cheap stuff or like speedo66 said, mix your own. The stuff can be made really cheap and with mostly readily available stuff found in your garage.