Gun Cleaning Solvents

Series Summary

A gun is a machine or tool, usually a weapon, that propels projectiles. The projectile is generally fired through a hollow tube known as the gun's barrel. The barrel's diameter determines the size of projectile used, which is usually designated in fractions of an inch or in millimeters. Most modern guns are rifled with a series of grooves spiraling along the barrel. In this free video series, the owner of a gun store provides tips for cleaning guns, making adjustments to guns and shooting guns safely and accurately. Learn about gun-cleaning solvents, gun-cleaning supplies and how to clean a gun. Discover how to load a semi-automatic handgun, how to adjust a rifle scope and how to shoot a gun accurately. With these tips on using guns, any hobbyist or hunter will be able to use their guns safely and efficiently.

Video Transcript

"We're going to talk a little bit about different types of gun cleaning solvents that are in pretty common use today. There's way more in use and available then I'm going to show you today, but I'll try to give you an overview of different types, what you might want to use one as opposed to another and why you would be using that one as opposed another depending upon perhaps what type of ammunition you're using in your gun. So I said, there's a lot of different stuffs, a lot of different ways. Most people shoot either lead or copper jacketed bullets in their firearms. So, if you're shooting a copper jacketed bullet you should try to use a gun cleaning solvent that is designed to help soften copper and allow you to get it out of the bore of your firearm easier. One of the types is Hoppe's Bench Rest, Hoppe's number nine. This stuff has been around forever. This is a special copper solvent that is designed by its chemical make up to help soften copper a little quicker, make it a little easier to clean out of your bore. There's another one Hoppe's has come out with now that's called The Copper Terminator. I don't know that's it's any better but it's a new solvent, a new one they've come up with for copper bullets. Give it a try. It should work pretty well. The other one that seems to work good is Shooter's Choice. This softens copper a little quicker than some of the other standards. It works real good and all of these are, I won't say non-toxic, I wouldn't want to drink them for a shot. But, generally they won't harm you. One of the things that I didn't mention, whenever you're cleaning your gun if you have any kind of sensitivities wear rubber gloves, perhaps even a nice apron to keep it off your clothes. Some people, you can break out from any of these solvents. Here's a regular Hoppe's number nine. This will work on copper but it works slow. It's designed to soften lead a little better and they both take out powder filing which you will have in the bore of your gun every time you shoot it. Here's one that Birchwood Casey comes out with. It comes in a spray can. You shake it up, squirt it in to your bore, let it set. We just started trying this and it works really so far on lead and powder. It's pretty easy to use. I'll go in to a little bit more about these later. Here's another one for ultimate easy called Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. it comes in a large can and you can spray it right down the bore. Spray it in to the action of your gun. It will loosen and actually flush out a great deal of what you might be trying to scrub out with a toothbrush. The important thing about this particular one, this gun scrubber, it takes everything off, all the lubrication. So if you use this make sure you lubricate your gun when you're finished. That's always a good idea. But with this stuff particularly because there will be no lubrication left on your gun. It's good stuff, it's an easy job but it's no substitute for some of these others that are designed for a specific purpose. These ones here, you'll squirt this in and let it set. All of these guys work better if you let them set for five minutes, ten minutes, then use your copper brush, stainless brush, through the bore of your gun to help loosen everything up. All these solvents are no good by themselves. It takes a little brush, a little elbow grease. Help them where it can do their job. They're all good stuff and as I said there's way dozens more out there as well. So check it out, talk to your local gun person, gun shop. Ask them what they'd recommend for what particular use."