makeshift gun cleaning

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silverlance

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someone in another thread said that at TEOTW he would grab all the gun cleaning supplies he could get.

which made me think.

people always stock up on ammo (i know i do.. i have 5000-7000 and i feel that i could still use about 20k more). but how many stock up on cleaning supplies?

okay, let's put it this way: TEOTWAWKI is coming. we have to hunker down for two years until the S settles.

there are no more cleaning supplies to be had in nice little hoppes bottles.

how can you clean your guns?

for that matter, I imagine that the combloc military figured it would be unable to reliably supply solvent to its military. what was their solution? could one clean guns with water? melted fat as lubricant? lime juice? i dunno..
 
good question....this is why id grab all the cleaning stuff lol.

Remember you likly arn't going to shoot much. Not going to the range every week anymore are you? And presumably at least you arn't going to be doing a ton of fighting. If you keep a low profile you likly wont get more then a stragler here and there but you wont be facing that much fighting in all liklyhood. And if you do I think you would have to worry about running out of ammo before cleaning supplies.

Given though you wouldn't have much cleaning to do except for an oiling every now and then to prevent rust in which case Im sure most oils would work in a pinch. Olive oil is good for damn near anything im sure it would be for gun oiing as well lol
 
Simple Green, Windex (I'll be using 30-year-old 8mm), hot soapy water, and an old toothbrush will work. Oil with Mobil-1 or any other mineral-based oil that you can find.

Hoppe's and CLP are good things that do the job well, but there are other things that will do in a pinch. :)
 
Don't use Simple Green on aluminum. If you do, make sure you get it all removed. Simple Green and aluminum don't mix.

Jeff
 
Whaddya mean TEOTW ?

You mean you folks are using dedicated gun solvents, oils and rods - now? Like in normal times? :D

Sigh...

Hot Soapy water, rinsed with HOT water is hard to beat. ATF to lube, pc of T shirt pulled thru the bbl with a length rawhide works...I mean how do you think I just cleaned one of my CCWs?

NAPA anitifreeze container, turned on side, and cut out to make a cleaning container for using gas, kerosene, lantern fluid, or mineral spirits work. See then you undo the cap from "homemade" antifreeze parts cleaning pan, pour the solution used into a container and save for next time. Piece of T shirt can be used as filter.

Lighter Fluid cleans well...
Sea Foam works to remove carbon.
Lewis Lead Remover can be replaced with wisps of copper Chore Boy pot scrubber.

Shoelaces, length of rawhide, wooden dowels, brake line metal lines and similar to make rods.

ATF, motor oil, and any light oil works.

Lithium grease and similar to use as grease, or protect externals.

Vaseline is 'poor man's" cosmoline.

My good long rifle cleaning rods are gone, somewheres I have a Otis kit and a Military 3 pc steel rod or two.

Then again like I said, the rawhide,Tshirt , toothbrush, pipecleaner, Zippo lighter fluid and ATF - has one of my CCWs all clean and on hip as I type.
 
Bore snakes- get one in each caliber you shoot. They are relatively cheap and very portable especially if you store them away in a small ziplock bag. True, they won't scrub out all of the copper fouling, but then again, noone is going to be shooting benchrest or bullseye matches when society falls apart.
 
uhh, buy in bulk, it's cheaper that way. I have enough on hand to easily go two years.
 
RD-
Is that now or after the end of the world? Remember now you (I am assuming here) shoot fairly reguarly meaning you have to clean your guns reguarly as well.

TEOTW means you wont be shooting at the range every week, or even shooting reguarly beyond maybe a bullet here and there to bring down some game but traps would be far more effecient if the world ends. So keeping that in mind you will seldom really need to clean your guns to remove powder etc. And you can use any oil really to prevent rust. Animal fats like lard might work in a pinch but I would be a tad concerned since they can contain moisture.
 
True and the sampler of FP-10 will go a long way, but I bought a quart because it wasn't that expensive. A quart of FP-10 will get me through a very long EOTW spell. If you need stuff regularly, always buy in bulk.
 
Cleaning supplies? HA!

I use bits of papertowel for patches, and Q-tips for standard cleaning... Ballistol(CLP) and dish washing soap and water, that's all. If I dont have cleaning rod with me, I make a bore snake by rolling strips of paper towel down the barrel. Works great.
 
I clean a lot of guns every week, like 3-4 dozen. Wouldn't dream of using any of the hype products. Do use CLP ocassionally but only because someone gave me a gallon of the stuff when he couldn't take it on a PCS.

Mineral spirits, chore boy, qtips by the gross and lube with the left over CLP or ATF. Patches are worn out pillow cases, unless one of my friends in the patch business happens to give me a sack full. Wipe with shopcloths.

If you need to long term preserve, use paste wax, and most guns I work on end up with paste wax on the exterior. It just works well, protects from rust and doesn't oxidize or attract dust.

The bottom line is that cleaning supplies are the last thing you need to worry about having on hand at the end of the world.

There is a jar of Hoppes in the shop that I open before starting, I like the smell.

Sam
 
I have heard that back in the olden days they used boiling water water and would run a brush through till it came out clean. The last water that goes through the barrel has to be BOILING to make sure that it all evaporates leaving no moisture behind for rust to form.
 
Before I ever saw a boresnake I used a piece of parachute cord and a worn out size 13 sock to clean the 12 gauge. That bore came out squeaky clean. I imagine a similar method could be used on rifled bores.

If it is stupid and it works it isn't stupid. I think in a SHTF situation simple maintenance would work out okay. I don't think there's going to be tons of shooting going on unless you are talking about a revolution. Then there'll be plenty of CLP to scrounge off the bodies of JBTs.

Excuse me while I go tighten my tinfoil hat. :neener:
 
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