What Needs to Come with a Quality Gun Cleaning Kit (and Why)

Gun cleaning kits don’t necessarily come with all of the same essentials as each other, which is acceptable, up to a point. For instance, a universal kit might not come with a tool that’s necessary for disassembly of a specific model of handgun, rifle, or shotgun, and it’s not reasonable to assume that it should. 

What you can reasonably assume is that a good gun cleaning kit, especially a universal one, will come with most of what you need to clean most platforms, most of the time. Here’s what those essentials are. 

A Cleaning Rod

Without a cleaning rod, you can’t really clean any gun’s bore, so any good gun cleaning kit should have one. Multi-piece cleaning rods are best because they give you the flexibility to clean both long arms and handguns. 

An Adapter (If It’s a Shotgun Cleaning Kit)

Most shotgun cleaning jags and mops are wider and have different thread pitches than those used for rifles and handguns. As a result, if the gun cleaning kit in question is a universal kit, it should have an adapter for 8/32 to 5/16-27 threads, which will enable you to use most shotgun cleaning brushes, jags and mops, especially those for 12 and 20 gauge shotguns, which are the most common anyway. 

A Variety of Bronze Brushes in Different Calibers 

After a cleaning rod, the most essential gun cleaning accessory is a bronze brush. Bronze brushes are the best because they are tough on fouling but gentle on chrome-lined bores and unlikely to scratch them. However, a universal cleaning kit can’t just have one, since guns come in a wide range of calibers. 

As a result, a good gun cleaning kit should come with brushes for .177, .22, .250, .270, .300, .308, .350, and .40 and .50 caliber-class guns, as well as brushes for .410, 20, and 12 gauge shotguns. Common handgun calibers such as 9mm, 10mm, .357, .40 and .45 should also be present.

If the kit does not come with bronze brushes, it should at least come with tornado brushes, which, though they are typically made of steel and not bronze, are used for the same thing.

Mops 

A gun cleaning kit doesn’t have to have mops, but mops are reusable and more durable than patches, which makes them better for really soaking a bore with solvent. It helps if a kit has mops in the same calibers for which it has cleaning brushes. 

Jags for Patches 

A slotted jag is an essential here, and the kit should come with several just to make sure there are redundant backups. Also, some thinner jags for narrower bores and thicker ones for larger bores like .40, .50 caliber handguns and rifles and some for shotguns are useful too. 

Patches 

While the kit need not necessarily come with mops, it should come with a hefty pack of patches. Patches are basically small pieces of cotton (hence the name) that are used to distribute solvent inside a gun’s bore. To a degree, they can also be used to loosen fouling. 

Once a patch soaked in solvent has been run through a bore, a bronze brush can be used to scrub away the fouling, before new, clean patches can be run through to clear out the fouling. Patches can also be used to distribute bore conditioner on the inside of a gun’s barrel. 

Picks 

Plastic picks are also really helpful gun cleaning accessories because they’re instrumental at removing bits of fouling and debris from tight spaces wherein it might be hard to use a brush or a patch. For instance, picks can be used along frames and slides, on grooves and serrations, between action bars, and in other tight spaces.

Brushes (Steel, Brass and Nylon)

A set of general cleaning brushes in steel, brass and nylon are also highly useful in any gun cleaning kit. Steel is the toughest and can be used to scrub away fouling and light surface rust, but where it might mar the finish, brass is more effective. As for nylon, it is the gentlest of all and can be used safely to clean metal, wood, polymer and other materials without worry of damaging the finish. 

Bore Solvent 

Bore solvent is used to loosen or dissolve fouling, either powder fouling or lead or copper fouling or a combination of all three. Depending on how heavily fouled a bore is, the use of solvent is necessary to get it clean. 

Gun Oil 

Gun oil is also a necessary inclusion in any gun cleaning kit, and can be used to lubricate moving surfaces in contact with each other, like bearings, bushings, slide rails, action bars, and other action components. A light coat of gun oil can also be used on both moving and non-moving gun parts to insulate them against corrosion. 

Shop Gun Cleaning Kits Here 

While there are other accessories that a gun cleaning kit might have, like a bore light or choke wrench, the essentials are covered here. Check out our collection of gun cleaning kits and if you have any questions, get in touch with us and we will be more than happy to help.