With the economy in doubt and a top-down push for gun control under way, now is a time when people are not only trying to find firearms to buy but also doing what they can to make their firearms last.
For those of you who find yourself in the latter category of wanting to make your firearms last as long as possible, here are some options for cleaning and protecting your firearms.
A common means of cleaning and maintaining a firearm is to buy a reliable bore cleaner with which to clean your firearm after shooting it or before storing it for extended periods of time. Hoppe’s 9 Bore Cleaner is extremely popular for this application.
Once the gun has been cleaned with bore cleaner, an extremely thin coat of gun oil is usually applied, and on semi-automatics a small drop of oil is placed on the metal contacts in the frame that holds the slide in place. Because oil attracts lint and dust, some people forgo putting the extremely thin coat of oil on their guns, and opt instead for just putting a small drop on the frame-to-slide contacts.
A common and proven oil for this application is Rem Oil, a gun oil made by Remington.
To be clear, some old schoolers–especially Vietnam Combat vets whom I’ve been fortunate to know–forgo the use of Hoppe’s 9 Bore Cleaner in the above listed process and choose instead to use WD-40. After cleaning the gun with WD-40, they will apply Rem Oil or something comparable.
Another gun-cleaning option for people who want to cut two steps down to one is Corrosion X for guns. It is both a cleaner and a lubricant in one, and was designed by a chemical research firm with an aerospace and military market background.
Corrosion X literally bonds to the metal of your gun when applied, so that it lubricates and protects while it cleans. An ultra-thin layer of Corrosion X sticks to the metal of your gun to prevent rust, “even in the rain.”
My first exposure to Corrosion X came via samples of the product the company sent me to try. Upon using it, I was immediately impressed by the fact that it actually did everything advertisers had claimed it could do.
When I took my Glock 19 9mm and my Smith & Wesson M&P .45 apart to clean them, the Corrosion X literally coated the barrels of both guns with an ultra-thin layer of protection that held to the metal even after I repeatedly wiped it away.
I’ve passed samples of Corrosion X to former FBI agents who’ve seen guns cleaned in a variety of ways, and they’re still using it.
To be sure, there are other options out there for avid shooters with 20 guns or for the person who just bought their first gun and wants to be sure it lasts. But the bottom line is that I’ve used all the products listed above or seen them used by Vietnam Vets (in the case of WD-40), and I don’t think a gun owner can go wrong with any.
My personal choice is Corrosion X because it cuts two steps down to one.
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