Firearm cleaning

[gregr]

Ok, just a quick explanation.I started hunting when I was 18 years old, just rabbit and squirrel. I taught myself because I didn`t know anyone else who hunted. So I went alone and figured everything out alone, from hunting to cleaning game to cleaning firearms. Way back when I was just 18, all I did to clean a shotgun or rifle was to lay out a thick pad of newspaper and go to work.

Fast forward to today-I`m nearly 67, and I still clean like I did back then. Newspaper on a card table. I don`t have a good gun cleaning set up-I just set the card table up in my office and cover it with newspaper and get to it. But I have to be extremely careful because if I got gun solvent or oil on the carpet or anything else, my wife is going to kill me. Does anyone use one of the commercial felt-like cleaning pads? I`ve thought about those, but don`t know how absorbent they are, and then how you would clean and store them?

Anyone use them?

 

[Joniki]

After shooting, I clean my firearms in the garage. I do use a cleaning mat that I have had for years. Back when I did black powder handguns those went thru the dishwasher on HOT.

 

[chadm]

I find CLP, a used microfiber rag, and q-tips do me just fine. I have used Hoppes and Ballistol. They all work the same in my opinion.

 

[Sniper 79]

I don't buy guns that need a lot of cleaning. I use whatever is on the workbench out in the garage. Hit it with compressed air and back in service it goes. You may try a bore snake out in the field with a silicone wipe down before you get home to avoid the mess.

 

[TJ Kackowski]

You got your answer in this thread ... that you started ... https://www.indianagunowners.com/threads/gun-cleaning-mats.548849

The PigMats look like an awesome solution to your concerns about your wife. They'll absorb any spills and are disposable.

 

[Michigan Slim]

I can vouch for spills on the carpet. Lost a pint of Hoppes off a card table in my den a decade ago. Still a nice stain. Last room in the house to get new carpet the year before. Room smelled almost good enough to cancel out my wife b****ing.

 

[firecadet613]

I just use the little lint free gun cleaning squares, like $10 for a thousand, something cheap like that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07T3K27PD?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title&th=1

I had a rubber back, green felt lined cleaning mat for years that I cleaned them on.

Just bought this a month or so ago, so far I'm a fan.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08YQYPF52?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

And to match what Chad said above, I just use CLP now. I used to heat treat with FrogLube paste when I first got it in and used a separate cleaner and then an oil. But now, CLP fits the bill for me...

 

[LtScott14]

When i first bought my house, decided to clean my shotgun on Thanksgiving. Wifey came i and said, Oh no, not today and scooped up the cleaners, rags and old towels and put them in my car trunk.
I said Yes Dear!
Ordered a built shed from Menards on Black Friday, got delivered in couple days, ran electric from garage, hooked up a window unit/heat pump, lights and a TV. Work bench, 2 bar stools, and is my workshop ever since. She knows where to find me if not in the house.
Add: Clean guns every time fired, and if caught outdoors in bad weather.
Even have a stereo receiver and speakers turned on, rockin 70's tunes. Perfection.

 

[Amishman44]

I have a thin roll-up rubber pad that I place over a wooden table (for protection) and then place a old towel folded in half over it, and then do my cleaning on top of that! Simple...works...and everything is still clean! Been doin' it this way for years!

 

[jwleeper]

I guess I'm lucky as I have a gun room in the house. They get cleaned in there on my gun cradle with a old rug under the muzzle to catch drippings. The room always smells nice . I finally tried using foaming bore cleaner on my Win 71 and that is the way to clean that one. I normally use Hoppes, CR-10, and Carbon out.
Have a great day.
Jim

 

[Dean C.]

I clean my guns in the garage to avoid solvent smell in the house. I just lay down a moving blanket down on the concrete and go to town. Works great and unless you spill an entire bottle of hoppes will catch any mess. Another plus is that it is double layered so if you drop anything you have a bit of extra protection.

https://a.co/d/a2NDk9L

They work great and I just take it to a laundromat to clean it about twice a year. You could just drape this over your coffee table and have it 100% covered.

 

[Patched]

Does anyone use one of the commercial felt-like cleaning pads? I`ve thought about those, but don`t know how absorbent they are, and then how you would clean and store them?

Anyone use them?

I have a couple - made by Tekmat. I think I got them off Amazon for not a lot of money. I mainly shoot handguns and clean every 500 or so rounds. I found the mats to be reasonably absorbent - but then again I'm not slinging a lot of oil/solvent around. I like them. Haven't had to clean one yet as I keep losing them!

 

[Gunmetalgray]

Rubber anti-fatigue floor mat. Nice and big. Doesn't absorb anything (edit; meaning it won't allow anything to soak thru to damage a tabletop). Padded & protects both table tops and delicate parts like shotgun barrels/fancy wood stocks. Wipe it dry with a paper towel when done & roll it up.

 

[GunsCarsPlanes]

There are so many ways to clean a gun on something other than carpet; having carpet under foot is asking for it and it's literally a matter of time.

Get a wide/thin rubber floor mat that can be rolled up. Stained carpet is gross

 

[Bill2905]

Most of the mess made when I clean a rifle barrel comes from solvent spraying forward as the bore brush exits the muzzle. I recently watched a Erik Cortina video with Speedy showing how he cleans a barrel. He places a plastic bottle (soda, water, etc.) over the muzzle to catch anything that sprays or drips from the muzzle. It I haven't tried it yet but plan to one of these days.

When I was younger with a smaller home, no basement and chilly garage, I would clean handguns in a spare bedroom where I set up my reloading press. I switched to using Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber because it was a lower odor petroleum type solvent and not as aromatic as Hoppes.