firearm rust prevention

[Neognosis]

$50.00 for an Otis Tactical Cleaning kit will give you just about everything you need to clean weapons from .17 cal to .45 cal. Shotguns, pistols, and rifles...the whole mix.

imo, WASTE OF MONEY.

I have one. It works exactly as advertised. A royal PITA. It's great if you want to quickly run a few patches through your gun in the field, but it is a very inefficient and laborious. The flexible wire rod is a tedious. It takes FOREVER to get a really clean bore. MUCH faster and more efficient is taking the barrel off and using a rigid cleaning rod with a nicely fitting o-ring bore jag that uses most of the patch to clean, instead of the little rubber bit that uses a tiny, tiny fraction of the patch.

I shoot sporting clays every sunday, and clean my shotgun every sunday night. I've JUST about had it with the otis system. Like I said, it would be great for quick cleaning a gun in the field without taking the barrel off, just to get some of the gunk out, but I swear, if nobody took a hint and bought me a better cleaning system with a real rod and o-ring cleaning jag, I will be buying one before next sunday's cleaning.

This is just my opinion, from using the otis system weekly for months. It was a mistake. I understand others rave about it, but I couldn't let another shooter buy one without at least putting forth the reasons that I dislike my Otis cleaning system so much. After using it 20 times or so, I have come to hate it.

[mongoose]

The one thing that will make my fun meter go from 10 to 0 is when someone cleans the bore and slathers something on the exposed metal and thinks they did a good job. The real maintenance is under the stock and most important the action.

[auk1124]

imo, WASTE OF MONEY.

I have one. It works exactly as advertised. A royal PITA. It's great if you want to quickly run a few patches through your gun in the field, but it is a very inefficient and laborious.

+1 on the Otis system, I don't care for it either. Rod guide and a GOOD rod (I prefer one piece uncoated steel rods, worth every penny imo) are the way to go for me. For bore cleaning, I like a quality copper solvent (Sweet's or Montana Xtreme or something similar) used in conjunction with Hoppe's No. 9, Ed's Red, or my favorite, Kroil. For surface rust prevention, I've never had any problem with plain old Rem-Oil, but Ballistol is also a very nice product.

[Acmemfg]

"...MUCH faster and more efficient is taking the barrel off and using a rigid cleaning rod with a nicely fitting o-ring bore jag that uses most of the patch to clean, instead of the little rubber bit that uses a tiny, tiny fraction of the patch."

I understand you are not an Otis fan..that's cool. One thing however, certain popular firearms do not lend themselves to popping the barrel off for routine cleaning, my Browning BAR, Marlin 336, Ruger 10/22 and Mini-14 being among them. Hence, unless you decide the optimum method for bore cleaning to be running a rod from muzzle to chamber and scrubbing it out in that direction, I think the Otis system is something to consider as a better option.

For those other firearms with bores that can be easily cleaned in the PROPER direction (most shotguns, bolt rifles, most auto pistols, etc.) for sure, a good rod will work fine and yeah, is probably a tad less tedious than the Otis cable

[Mack The Knife]

All the goop in the world isnt going to help.

Ever wonder why the Army stores all their small arms in open vertical racks?

Air circulation.

Never store any firearm in a case. Oils are made to lubricate, not prevent rust.

An old wall locker, with a light bulb for a heater, and a PC fan for air circulation, and a lock to keep the kiddes out is all you need.

I spent a career in the Army as a small arms tech. All my stuff is in a safe, with a dehumidifier, and fan in it.

and not a drop of anything on them. Except grease on the slides.

BTW my two lube agents are LSA (medium) and Lubraplate.

[hillbilly pick]

I always do a final wipe down with a silicone cloth

[Neognosis]

For those other firearms with bores that can be easily cleaned in the PROPER direction (most shotguns, bolt rifles, most auto pistols, etc.) for sure, a good rod will work fine and yeah, is probably a tad less tedious than the Otis cable

I agree with you.

HOWEVER, I have been thinking about what the "correct" way to scrub out a barrel is. It seems that on my shotgun, the majority of powder, plastic, and lead residue seems to be in the forcing cone. So, if the barrel is OFF, what is the drawback of cleaning it from muzzle to forcing cone? That way I'm not pushing all the dirt from the forcing cone and over the gas ports further up the barrel?

I've not cleaned the barrel from muzzle to forcing cone yet, instead going from forcing cone to the muzzle, but now I'm rethinking whether or not that is the best way, with the barrel off.

[novitiate]

I bought a roll of VCI paper in 2004. Since then, every rust prone item I have is in it. VCI = volatile corrosion inhibitor and it begins to outgas as you unroll it. That coats whatever is in close proximity with an anti-corrosion agent and it is very effective. I have it in my toolboxes as well as store firearms in it. I've even stored some shotguns in an attic with temp swings. Not one bit of corrosion on anything since I began using it! No oil to wipe off, items are ready to use immediately. There are many methods to fight corrosion, this is the one I use.

[Kabong30]

I have Boresnakes for each caliber I own. I love them. I store my AR in a case, but after reading here I'm rethinking it although I do tend to slather the thing in Remoil when I do and I keep a large pouch of that silica desicant gel in there. Haven't had issues, but I REALLY don't want any in the future either.

[locor]

Frog lube!! is the best and smells good.

[OkieStubble]

I concur on the Otis comments. Other than cleaning my Ruger 10/22 because the barrel doesn't come off the reciever during field stripping, every other gun barrel I own gets cleaned with a military uncoated steel rod, even in the field.

I also don't understand why some think Rem Oil gets a bad rap. Been using it for years and never had a problem with rust. It is a cleaner, lubricant and a metal preservative.
It will clean lead & copper from the bore. I have always used it when storing weapons long term and never a problem with rust. However, If I am running hot in a carbine course and need a combat lube? I go to Slip 2000.