gun cleaning

[tooldummy]

Great story GOB. Some people just can't listen or learn I don't guess. I think it would really upset me if he was telling people I "messed up" his gun though. But I reckon if they know him too well they probably know what kind of guy he is.

I use a lot of different things to clean my guns. I've used Hoppes and Sweets and other stuff over the years. I am pretty fond of plain old carburator cleaner anymore. I'm carefull not to get it on the steel or wood though. After scrubbing the bore good, I like to wet a patch with Stihl 50:1 2-cycle gas mix and run it down the bore. I had a fella I respected tell me that is what he used and I started doing it too. Right or wrong, that's what I do. A Stihl chainsaw can run upwards of 14,000 rpm and generate a lot of heat. His thinking was that should be good enough to protect a rifle bore and I'm inclined to agree.

I have used several diffent oils to lubricate my guns. I've used Remington's aeresol oil, 3 in 1 oil, Marvel's Mistery Oil (got a case of the little cans at a flea market a few years back that I really like) and others. A buddy was showing me his collection of nice guns a few years back and asked what I used. I told him and asked what he used, expecting to hear about some sort of exotic hard to get imported specialty lube. He told me he just used non-detergent Dollar General 20 or 30 weight motor oil. That's what I've been using the last several years and I am very pleased with it. I picked up a little oil can at a farm supply store to store it in and to dispense it with and it works great. I do use something thinner on the firiing pin though, depending on the weather. This time of year in Illinois heat I put a drop of light oil In the winter when I'm coyote hunting, a drop or two of WD-40.

I like to use a soft oily cloth to wipe the gun down with. When the wife and daughters go rummage saling I send a couple of bucks and tell them to buy me either some flanner shirts or baby gowns. For a few dollars I have enough patches/rags to last a year or more. My wife cuts the buttons and snaps off to save as repair parts and I get the cloth.