opinions on some stuff

goz83

So I was glancing through ebay for a couple of items. I want to pick up some eye protection in particular, but want to keep the spend low if I can.

1) 28 piece cleaning kit.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/331568563875?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

2) Eye protection.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/161879544076?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

3) MacWet Gloves. They sell the black ones in Courtlough for €39.99
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/MacWet-Climatec-Gloves-Long-Cuff-Horse-Riding-Gloves-Sports-Gloves-/221348377579?var=&hash=item33896433eb:m:mI85sldd3f3UxpFn89mS56Q

4) hard case for shotgun.
http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Goplus-53-Aluminum-Locking-Rifle-Gun-Case-Lock-Shotgun-Storage-Box-Carry-SF-/121845685135?hash=item1c5e919b8f:g:WqcAAOSwSdZWeBtR

Also, earplugs, or earmuffs?

Cass

The glasses should be fine and the WetMac gloves are good. I have a pair myself. They sre not the best you can get in terms of cold protection, but they give you a great grip on the shotgun or rifle and in wet/rain they will not allow slippage.

The cleaning kit is a waste of money, imo. Stay away from two or three piece rods. They tend to flex at the joints when being used and can cause scrapping or scoring over prolonged use in the barrel. Plus most of the heads for the rod are unnecessary for the calibers you'll have. Stick with a one piece rod and preferably one with either a coating (plastic) or non brass rod as this can give false positives when cleaning.

You need to spend a bit more on a decent rod and jags/accessories (around €50 - €60) but it will be well worth it to keep your rifle clean and in good order. Look to Parker Hale, Dewey, ProShot or my personal favorite Bore-Tech. Intershoot in the North do these. Just check out the "Cleaning" section of their website.

Thing is you'll also need a second cleaning kit for your shotgun. Get a one piece if you can, but a two piece for a shotgun is fine. The reason why is the rod body is less than half the width of the bore, and with the width of the body (twice as thick as a rifle rod) the tendency for it to flex is much much lower.

Witcher

Don't bother with that cleaning kit, any kit with a sectional rod like that is a heap. You need a proper one piece cleaning rod, a bore guide, a jag, patches, and a nylon brush. You could also go with the VFG felt system instead of the jag and patches. The best cleaning kit is the one you build up yourself over time because it only has what you need in it. If you're getting a shotgun too you want a rod, patches, patch loop, and a nylon and bronze brush.

Those glasses seem to be ok, they're made by a company in England apparently. You want good glasses shooting clays, I saw a shard of clay cut a branch from a tree one day.

I couldn't tell you about gloves really, the only gloves I use are an old pair I use shooting clays. If you're using them for hunting youre better off checking the hunting forum, I'd say there are some threads on it.

You want plugs and muffs, plugs will do for the .22, anything more than that and you want both, even for the shotgun.

Cass

^^^^^^^^

Great minds, eh.


As for your hard case for the shotgun. Personally i'd save money by buying a soft case/slip and put the extra money into cleaning kits for the rifle and shotgun. If you're using the shotgun for clays and then hunting it's either going to be in the back of the car, your hands or the safe. In your hands and safe it doesn't need the level of protection a hard case offers. When going shooting a soft slip will provide the protection you need against scraps while transporting. Unlike your rifle, which would need a hard case, the shotgun has no scope to protect against getting a bad bang in transport. Now this rarely occurs and even less so to the extent it can knock your scope of zero, but i'd put the extra protection into the rifle over the shotgun.


In terms of cleaning go for the one piece cleaning rod. Stay away from 2/3/4 piece rods. Good makes would be;

• Parker Hale
• Bore Tech
• ProShot
• Dewey
• Tetra
• Tipton

Next on the list would the cleaning products. For rimfires there is no need for solvents as the rounds contain no copper to cause serious fouling. A good oil would be all thats really needed.

• Brunox
• Hoppes
• Kirkland
• Napier
• Tetra
• Butch's
• M-Pro
• KG

Another good product designed for rimfires is Bore-Tech rimfire blend. It's designed to remove carbon, lead and other fouling found only in rimfire calibers. It can be hard to get and most countries won't ship as it's a liquid, but some will. Other solvents that may be unnecessary or even "overkill" for a rimfire would be:

• Hoppes No.9
• Butch's Boreshine
• M-pro 7
• KG 12
• Wipe out
• Forrest Foam

They are designed more for centrefire rifles which suffer from copper build up as well as other fouling.


A "vital" piece of kit (IMO) is a bore guide. They are not overly expensive but provide a good deal of protection to your chamber when cleaning. They simply sit in your rifle where your bolt should be and allow easy insertion of the cleaning rod and will not allow it to constantly strike the "face" of your chamber. Some good makes are;

• BoreTech
• ProShot
• Hoppes Universal Bore Guide
• Lucas
• Anschutz (Own brand for rimfire rifles)
• Dewey

Next for rifle would be the attachments for you rod. The standard would be a;

• Jag (for your patches/felt)
• Nylon brush (to agitate the fouling)
• Mop (to polish after all is done)

Lastly a bag of patches or felts of proper size depending on the caliber you use. As in 2" round/square patches for a .308, but not for a rimfire as it would not go through the rifle.

All of the above stuff is for rifles, but also for shotguns. It merely comes in bigger sizes. As with a rimfire, a shotgun never has serious fouling and usually a good brushing, oiling then polishing will keep her right.

A lot of people overlook cleaning gear yet spend a fortune on the gun itself. I know that i want the best i can afford to minimise any potential damage to my firearms because of a cheap kit. It could cost you more in the long run.

Cass

Lastly the cleaning procedure. Everyone will have their own and my method below is more aimed at centrefire rifles, but it works for rimfires too. All you do is substitute the products you are using for the ones for a rimfire.

I use KG & Forest Foam products mostly. KG 1 for carbon removal, and Forest Foam or KG 12 for copper removal. It's important to remove the carbon first otherwise when the patches come out clean you think the barrel is. It's not. It's only the carbon cleaned out. The copper will stain the patches a blue/green colour. When the the copper solvent patches are running wet, and clean then the barrel is clean.

My routine would consist of the following:

1. KG/Forest Foam for regular barrel cleaning. (Wipe out/Butch's Bore shine now and then for heavy cleaning.)
2. Run a KG1 soaked patch through the barrel. This is a carbon remover to get the grime out first.
3. Leave to sit for a few minutes.
4. Run another wet patch with KG 1 through the barrel to moisten the fouling, and remove the first lot of carbon..
5. Run a nylon brush up and down the barrel about a half a dozen times. Clean the brush each time with a spray oil to prevent a build up of gunk on it.
6. Run another KG 1 patch down the barrel to remove fouling while treating the barrel again.
7. Leave to sit for a minute or two.
8. At this stage have about 15 or so oiled patches at the ready.
9. Start running them down the barrel one after the other until they run clean. The patches need to remain wet to prevent dry carbon sticking to the bore.
10. If they come clean before the 15 great. If not use more or repeat steps 2-9 again.
11. When they run clean and wet, then start using the dry patches.
12. Run as many as is needed until there is no more oil on the patches coming out.
13. Now repeat steps 2-9 using the copper solvent instead of the carbon remover. You are looking for wet, and clean patches. If there is any hint of blue or green then there is still copper in the barrel.
14. Use KG 12, Forest Foam or in the case of heavy fouling Wipe out. In the case of Forest Foam you simply fill the barrel and let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes or so. The KG 12 can be left to sit for a little while also, but make sure you use wet patches when patching.
15. When you are all done and have dry patched the barrel use the mop and run it up and down the barrel again about a dozen times. The Mop should be clean throughout this. Any sign of dirt and the barrel is not clean.
16. On the last run leave the mop half protruded from the muzzle. Wipe around the muzzle and clean any fouling on the crown. The mop will prevent anything running back down into the barrel.
17. Remove the bore guide and use a tooth brush, patches and bore brush to clean out the chamber, breach, etc.
18. If you have it use a shotgun mop/nylon brush to clean the chamber thoroughly as a fouled up chamber can cause stiff bolt lift and ejection problems.
19. Wipe down the rod, brushes, jag, and bore guide. Never leave them up dirty.
20. If the rifle is being stored away for a few weeks i roll up a soft cloth and place it into the chamber up against the breach and store barrel up.
21. On the off chance that i have somehow missed some residual this will collect it.

Most will have there own method. Its as personal as ammo choice, rifle choice, etc. One small tip though. Each time you run the rod up the gun have a cloth in hand to wipe the rod. This prevents any residue or gunk from the barrel sticking to the rod, and being run up and down the barrel like a paste.

goz83

When I bought my safe, it came with a cleaning kit inside.



It looks decent, so maybe now I just need one for the shotgun?

Also, a cleaning kit comes with the rifle I am buying

goz83

I agree with the rifle protection. tbh, I was just thinking about a case for the shotgun, because it doesn't come with one. I might be jumping the gun (pun not intended) but I am positive about getting my applications approved.

Cass

goz83 wrote: »

It looks decent, so maybe now I just need one for the shotgun?

Also, a cleaning kit comes with the rifle I am buying

Then you're sorted for the rifle.

For the shotgun look at something like these:








As said above the width of the rod and the good connection points mean they don't flex or bend (so little it's unnoticeable). Most will be timber and this prevent any damage.

goz83 wrote: »

I agree with the rifle protection. tbh, I was just thinking about a case for the shotgun, because it doesn't come with one. I might be jumping the gun (pun not intended) but I am positive about getting my applications approved.

You can get one by all means, but a slip will do the job. I'd look into putting the cost of such a case into the cleaning gear instead. If you can stretch to it go for both. If not go for the cleaning gear, good one, and buy a slip then get a better case down the road for the shotgun.

As was said above you'll find yourself buying little bits over the years for your cleaning gear as you find you need them or something that works better than what you have.

goz83

So this kind of shotgun cleaning kit?

Cass

That kind, but you'll get better for the same price or as good much cheaper if you shop around. €60 for that is a bit steep.

Don't forget to ring a few dealers here as they usually have something in stock.

ligertigon

OR

You could look at Decathlon in Belfast for shooting accessories at very reasonable prices.

Hard case for shotgun 25 quid
cleaning brushes a fiver