What makes up a good shot gun cleaning kit?

[Henry Hill]

I'm new to guns and want to keep my new Mossberg in good shape and clean it every once in a while...

This looks like a nice cleaning kit from MidWay and it looks like it has instructions ( which I'll need ) :

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/?productNumber=505608#enlarge

Kit Includes:
# Deluxe three-piece aluminum shotgun cleaning rod with high impact plastic handle
# Adapter to accept 10, 12, 16, 20, 28 and .410 accessories
# Phosphor Bronze brush
# Cotton Bore Mop
# Cotton Patches
# Slotted Patch Holder
# Precision Shooter Oil (2 oz)
# Silicone impregnated field cloth
# Utility brush for cleaning actions, feed mechanisms and hard to reach areas
# Storage box with instructions


Just wondering why is the brush phosphor bronze, and what is the purpose of 'silicon impregnated field cloth'? Is that just to wipe it down after cleaning?

Also what is precision shooter oil? From my understanding I need to keep my shotgun oily, correct? Not doused in oil but it should be oiled when cleaned to allow smoother function of parts? Is this correct? And I would oil the action area of the receiver, correct?

[Henry Hill]

I see that its necessary to keep it lubricated, but then in gun cleaning guides it says to wipe it down to remove any moisture.. Then whats the point of lubricating the gun if your just gonna wipe it down after?

[Clayface]

STOP! Don't buy that , get the bore sneak and some grime cleaner .

Its about 20 bucks its crazy on how in one pass through the barrel it cleans the inside of the barrel and if your smart enough to spray some oil at the end of the snake. Lube it up to. There no need to do that cleaning gimmick. Seriously the boresneak is insanely well worth the money.

[Clayface]

*boresnake, sorry.

[five.five-six]

my kid is only 4, i did have him help me seat a few bullets the other day, but cleaning my shotgun may be a few years

[Henry Hill]

Is this what your talking about?

http://www.hoppes.com/products/ca_boresnakes.html

[Henry Hill]

The bore snake would just be for the barrel, I need to lubricate the action, which is the most important part, correct?

[Hayashi Killian]

Jeez. I can get the kit they're talking about from Wal-mart for $15, and the money saved can go for some extra cleaning patches and some bottles of CLP. Wait, I did exactly that!

I might need something stronger for cleaning, though, still what looks like some crud on the inside of my barrel after a cleaning session. Might want to try that WD-40 and tampon trick that was talked about on Box o' Truth.

[Hayashi Killian]

Lubing the action is most important, since they're moving parts and accumulate very little carbon from shooting.

What I did was disassemble the shotgun and douse the bolt and carrier, the magazine interrupt and stop, the elevator, the trigger assembly and the inside of the receiver in CLP and let them sit for about 20 minutes, wiped them down, and reassembled. I saw very little carbon build-up on any of the parts, and any I did was taken care of by wiping off with a rag after spraying with CLP. If it was any worse I'd get a toothbrush and give it a gentle scrub.

The barrel can survive for a long while without cleaning. But what you should do is spray the copper brush or boresnake with cleaning agent, snake it a few times, then use a cleaning patch to wipe the entire thing down. If there's a lot of lead, it's OK to spray some Windex or WD-40 down the barrel and rinse it out, water won't hurt it as long as it's for a brief period of contact (and you'll be wiping it off later with a mop or cleaning patch anyways!). I also gave it some Breakfree to prevent future damage and make future cleaning easier.

[Rob454]

I see that its necessary to keep it lubricated, but then in gun cleaning guides it says to wipe it down to remove any moisture.. Then whats the point of lubricating the gun if your just gonna wipe it down after?

Moisture is water not oil.

[RobG]

Luckily the Mossbergs are easily disassembled/assembled. I use a bore mop with some Hoppes, then a mop with CLP for the barrel. I break down the reciever/trigger once a year, after duck season. I lightly CLP all moving parts then reassemble. You really only need a couple of mops, rod, and Hoppes, CLP, Or whatever you like. Lubing the action is a simple as pulling it down and putting a drop here and there. My cleaning during the entire duck season consists of a bore mop w/CLP, CLP along the bolt channel, and CLP wipe down of the entire gun. I shoot a bunch of rounds, it gets wet and muddy, my dog steps on it, etc. and I have no issues. Unless you shoot tons of dirty rounds, you shouldn't have to get into the inner workings very often.