Shotgun Cleaning Setup – What Are You Actually Using (Oils, Wood Care, Tools)?

ModestDaniel

ModestDaniel

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Hi Clay Target Shooters!

Trying to dial in a simple, effective cleaning setup for a clays gun. Seeing a lot of mixed info out there, but not much consolidated.

Curious what guys are actually using day-to-day:
  • Oil / CLP (Ballistol, G96, Hoppe’s, etc.)
  • Grease for hinge / locking surfaces
  • Bore cleaning (snake vs rod/brush) <— probably the highest maintenance component of your shooting system.
  • Wood care (oil, wax, nothing?) <— Ah the wood!
  • Must-have tools vs overkill kits
Not looking for a science project — just what works and holds up over time.

Thanks,
Dan
 
I use Permatex synthetic lube on the hinges. I use a bore snake with brush after every session to prevent wad build up in the barrels and chokes. I use G-96 on all metal surfaces to prevent rust, and Howard's feed and wax on stocks. To clean the trigger and hammer mechanisms, I use lighter fluid. I use anti seize on choke threads, and I only need to clean the chokes and relube once per year. For semi autos, I clean the gas system with Hoppes #9, and then flush with lighter fluid. I use synthetic oil on all bolt and mechanism parts where there is metal on metal contact.
 
stubblejumper said:
I use Permatex synthetic lube on the hinges. I use a bore snake with brush after every session to prevent wad build up in the barrels and chokes. I use G-96 on all metal surfaces to prevent rust, and Howard's feed and wax on stocks. To clean the trigger and hammer mechanisms, I use lighter fluid. I use anti seize on choke threads, and I only need to clean the chokes and relube once per year. For semi autos, I clean the gas system with Hoppes #9, and then flush with lighter fluid. I use synthetic oil on all bolt and mechanism parts where there is metal on metal contact.
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Thanks for the feedback. This is awesome information.

Do you find the bore snake is enough to keep the barrels clean, or do you do a deeper cleaning session on occasion. It sounds like if someone is running the bore snake (with brushes) after every session, that would be all you ever need?

Thanks again stubblejumper
 
I shoot my Perazzi a lot and other than greasing the trunnions and barrel lugs, oiling the triggers and running a bore snake through it after shooting, I don't worry about serious cleaning except maybe twice a year. I take it right apart and use Brakekleen to clean everything up and then put it back together greased and oiled. Never had an issue with dirt fouling anything. Of course, other guns may not be so forgiving. Brownings seem to need more cleaning or are more susceptible to dirt fouling.
 
Ballistol on metal and wood
Bore snake
Accidentally discovered I prefer Hilti tool grease for its great temperature range
I don’t pull the stock off or deep clean the barrels very often
So far so good
I don’t shoot the volume some others do
 
ModestDaniel said:
Thanks for the feedback. This is awesome information.

Do you find the bore snake is enough to keep the barrels clean, or do you do a deeper cleaning session on occasion. It sounds like if someone is running the bore snake (with brushes) after every session, that would be all you ever need?

Thanks again stubblejumper
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Unlike a rifle, you don't get copper fouling or a carbon ring, so I find a bore snake adequate, unless you find that wad fouling is increasing, then you may need a brass brush and a drill to remove the plastic. On the other hand, I will never put a bore snake in a rifle bore.
 
Picked up some of these product recommendations today. Thanks to all for all the feedback back.

Can’t wait to get back to the range with my clean guns.
 
I will get flamed- but for me wd-40 cleans the plastic and carbon out of a shotgun barrel as easy as anything. I have a wood dowel that I run some paper towel patches after a few sprays and letting it sit in the barrel. wd-40 makes everything just wipe out- easy as pie. Then after that I wipe down with gun oil of some sort- currently hoppe's.
 
After every outing I wipe the grease from the barrel trunions and regrease with Permatex.
I don't worry about the barrels much, my high use guns are mostly Perazzi with non chrome lined bores so if storing for a while I'll lube them with a light coat of oil but other than that I just chuck a rod in the cordless drill with steel wool on the end and run that through the barrels with a bit of oil a couple of times a year to get rid on the plastic buildup.
Choke tubes I clean up a few times a year but they get lubed with permatex often.
Stocks get a rag with warm water and dish soap if I've been wearing sun screen or bug juice other wise they don't get that much attention other than once in a while with wax.
The drop out triggers get blasted with brake cleaner, G96, gas or whatever else I happen to have on hand a couple of times a year but they get lubed with light oil several times a year.
About once a year my guns get a deep clean where the action is taken out of the stock and thoroughly cleaned.

The nice thing about over and under guns is that they can run a long time without much attention if need be but if you want them to last then maintenance is a great investment.
 
I tried bore snakes and found they didn’t really clean the bores that great
Local gun store owner sold me an otters shotgun cleaning tool and it works great
It’s literally a giant fuzzy pipe cleaner for shotguns lol
 
Interesting to see Permatex coming up a few times — seems like a lot of guys are using automotive-grade synthetic grease for hinge and locking surfaces instead of gun-branded products. Makes sense given the load those areas see. Curious if anyone has done a side-by-side with something like Lucas gun grease or Slip 2000 and noticed any real difference over time.
 
I've never done a side by side test of grease using automotive type vs gun-branded stuff. In that past I used Amsoil grease and liked it but it doesn't come in a handy tube or at least it never used to. I also used to use white lithium grease and it works well but I found that if I didn't used a gun for a few months then the grease dries out a bit, the synthetic stuff doesn't do that.
Gun-branded grease and oil is over priced as far as I'm concerned, I figure if a grease is good enough for bearings running fast and hot then it's certainly good enough for slow moving barrel trunnions.
 
stubblejumper said:
Unlike a rifle, you don't get copper fouling or a carbon ring, so I find a bore snake adequate, unless you find that wad fouling is increasing, then you may need a brass brush and a drill to remove the plastic. On the other hand, I will never put a bore snake in a rifle bore.
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Interesting. Please elaborate a little more about why you avoid using a bore snake in a rifle. Thanks.
 
I started out using STOS on my hinges, then it appeared that they changed the formula, so I switched to Krieghoff lube, but then when I went to reorder, it was not available, so I tried the Permatex grease. The Permatex seems to work well, but the tube is twice the size, for half the price, of the Krieghoff product.
 
Falconflyer said:
After every outing I wipe the grease from the barrel trunions and regrease with Permatex.
I don't worry about the barrels much, my high use guns are mostly Perazzi with non chrome lined bores so if storing for a while I'll lube them with a light coat of oil but other than that I just chuck a rod in the cordless drill with steel wool on the end and run that through the barrels with a bit of oil a couple of times a year to get rid on the plastic buildup.
Choke tubes I clean up a few times a year but they get lubed with permatex often.
Stocks get a rag with warm water and dish soap if I've been wearing sun screen or bug juice other wise they don't get that much attention other than once in a while with wax.
The drop out triggers get blasted with brake cleaner, G96, gas or whatever else I happen to have on hand a couple of times a year but they get lubed with light oil several times a year.
About once a year my guns get a deep clean where the action is taken out of the stock and thoroughly cleaned.

The nice thing about over and under guns is that they can run a long time without much attention if need be but if you want them to last then maintenance is a great investment.
Click to expand...
Great explanation. Just because I'm interested in learning from others: why steel wool opposed to a pure copper pad? I've read that the steel can be hard on bores whereas softer copper is less likely to cause scoring and premature wear. I'm genuinely interested in your experience and opinions on what works and why. Thanks
 
I use Lithium based grease on my hinge points for my break action guns, and G96 or Ballistol for general bore cleaning in my smokeless shotguns.
For stuff like plastic wad build up, I use Amzoil foaming Engine tuner or Mercury Quicksilver Power Tune and a Torpedo brush on a drill.
Afar as rods go, I obviously use one for my muzzle loading shotguns, but use a bore snake for the most part on all my other guns- both smokeless and black.
Borne snakes and rifle bores do not live in the same domain in my house either , I use one piece cleaning rods and bore guides for my rifles, mainly because of chance the pull through rope bearing on the muzzle as well as pulling any loose carbon through the bore .
Just not worth it IMO, but many disagree.

Just a note- ask ANY bench rest, fullbore, or Fclass champion if they use a Bore Snake on their match rifles and I am pretty danged certain the definitive answer will be " NO!"
Cat
 
DogTazmania said:
Great explanation. Just because I'm interested in learning from others: why steel wool opposed to a pure copper pad? I've read that the steel can be hard on bores whereas softer copper is less likely to cause scoring and premature wear. I'm genuinely interested in your experience and opinions on what works and why. Thanks
Click to expand...
While it's true that steel wool is harder on bores than copper, it will take a long time to wear out a shotgun barrel with it if only using it to remove plastic wad buildup a couple of times per year. In fact, it takes a lot of shotgun rounds to build up any amount of plastic in a shotgun bore if you have nice smooth barrels so often times once a year is plenty. Some guys go years between cleaning out plastic wad buildup if they even do it at all! Doing it often means you only make a couple of quick passes to clean it up.
I do use pure copper wool to remove lead buildup from rifle barrels shooting cast bullets though.
 
Falconflyer said:
I do use pure copper wool to remove lead buildup from rifle barrels shooting cast bullets though.
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I have used strands of copper scrubbing pad wrapped around a brush for some really badly lead fouled bores in a couple of black powder cartridge guns in the past. It worked very well and restored the accuracy of them. I was told each time that "they needed to be re barreled"
It saved a lot of elbow grease for sure!
Cat
 
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