Okay, everybody prepares for lean times in one way or another, whether it be for total economic collapse, nuclear war, civil unrest, or just plain ol' everyday hard times. You can be saving money, planting a garden, stockpiling weapons and ammo, whatever, but everybody practices one or all of these in one way or another for different reasons.
My focus right now is on the resisting end of the spectrum along with stockpiling supplies to live off of. Because I'm kinda sorta new to this (about a year) and I freely admit I don't know everything, so I read a lot on the subject of survivalism. Books, magazines, periodicals, and especially blogs and websites.
Now, depending on who you read, must-have POL supplies vary. Gasoline, heating and motor oil. The one thing I have never seen listed for buying in bulk are gun cleaning supplies.
Like everybody else that owns firearms and shoots them, I own a cleaning kit or 12. I'm serious, I've got one in my rifle case, one in my truck, and about a million different bits and pieces from a hundred old kits in the reloading room. But I've only got 3 small bottles of Hoppes #9, 3 small bottles of light viscosity oil and 2 cans of Break-Free, again for the truck, rifle case and reloading room.
Now, cleaning rods will last one hell of a long time, in fact for a lifetime unless you bend them. Bronze brushes do wear out and flatten down, but they've got a pretty long lifetime. So there's no worry on those.
But what about solvents and oils to keep your weapons in top shape? Hey, it doesn't take long to burn through your fluids particularly when you're using the hell out of your firearms. Just ask any dedicated benchrest or trapshooters. In damp climates, you'll clean your weapon every day whether it was fired or not as any Vietnam Vet can tell you.
So you might want to think about laying in a good supply of those items.
Look up Ed's Red for gun cleaning. A mixture you can make yourself.
ReplyDeleteYeOldFurt
You're going to hear more about this, but here is a link to the original Ed's Red bore cleaner and gun lube. It doesn't smell great like the old Hoppe's, but it works, even as a gun wipe (if it includes the lanolin), and you can mix several quarts at once from common stuff.
ReplyDeletehttp://home.comcast.net/~dsmjd/tux/dsmjd/tech/eds_red.htm
Ahhh, cool. Thanks, guys. I'll check it out in the morning and order some.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I never gave any thought to solvent and gun oil.
Good post. I just bought two cans of Break-Free and some shotgun patches this morning.
ReplyDeleteThose little bottle of light machine oil are actually hydraulic oil.
ReplyDeleteA 4 litre/gallon of that will last a LONG time- and only costs a few bucks.
Sure, I use Hoppes #9 and break-free too, but they are wasted just wiping down the barrel and action- use the good stuff on the working parts and bore!
Excellent post, Ken!
ReplyDeleteI was going to mention the do-it-yourself cleaners and lubes, but everybody beat me to it!
I've made and used Ed's Red. It's good stuff.
ReplyDeleteMix it up in a big gallon mason jar and you can drop the tough pieces, like your AR-15 bolt & carrier, in for an overnight soak.
Having a quart bottle each of Break-Free (liquid) and automatic transmission fluid stuck in the back of the closet will do in a pinch. Clean with the first, lube with the second.
About 7 years ago, I bought a dry box a little bigger than a 20mm ammo can. All the cleaning liquids I use are in spray cans and made by Birchwood Casey. (Bore Scrubber solvent, Gun Scrubber de-greaser, and Barricade rustproofing/lubricant.) I can fit 3 cans of each in that box along with 10,000 patches, a bottle of Militec (great stuff BTW), a can of Hornady One-shot for handloading right at the bench (I have a kit for that too.), .17 cal. and .22 cal segmented cleaning rods, 2 silicone cloths, and a mini Maglite with the fiber-optic nose for a bore light. The box also has a top compartment seperate from the inside big enough to hold bore brushes, 2 tubes of Iosso bore cleaner (cleans the carbon off of cylinder faces), toothpicks, a super soft baby toothbrush, boresnakes, and a small set of sight-adjustment size screwrivers. Going to the range, I just throw the whole box in the truck or if I'm having a cleaning session, I just grab the box then. Whenever I need something, it's all in one bundle and there's plenty of it.
ReplyDelete+1 re: Ed's Red.
I forgot to mention there's a rifle-size cleaning mat that sits folded on top of everything else in the gun cleaning dry box described in my previous comment.
ReplyDeleteFirst, look into some of the new firearms coatings out there. Yes, getting a firearm Black-T'd or buying a titanium nitride'd bolt carrier group for your AR is a pain, but the ability to pretty much eliminate surface rust is A Good Thing in humid places like the South.
ReplyDeleteSecond, the great dirty cheap secret to lubing firearms is one pound tubs of wheel bearing grease. I got into using it on my Garands, then it was the frame rails and locking lugs on my 1911s, then I tried it on my AR. Stays where you put it, and if it will lube automotive wheel bearings, it will lube everything. Five years and I'm only halfway through my first tub.
a-yuh, I keep a gallon thinner can full of Ed's Red. A prepper is all set by having components on hand: Mineral spirits, ATF, Acetone and Kerosene/Diesel and you're good to go. That's all good stuff to have a stash of anyway.
ReplyDeleteAdding lanolin is just gravy if you can get that. I worked my google-fu and bought bulk lanolin online.
Actually having bulk lanolin on hand might be useful barter in hardtimes, come to think of it.
Kroil is a great penetrant and cleaner.
ReplyDeleteI've been using Kriol for probably 40 years..."Kroil....The Oil That Kreeps"!
ReplyDeleteI use Gunzilla.
ReplyDeleteA real good protectant for steel is Eezox. Pretty good cleaner, but as a protectant it's great:wipe on a light coat, let it dry.
ReplyDeleteYou can get a gallon of light machine oil used to lube paper shredders at Staples or any office supply. High quality and much cheaper than by the ounce.
ReplyDeleteA good clean-lube-protect product is Ballistol. It is non-toxic and does not contain any carcinogenic substances.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ballistol.com/
Use straight for smokeless ammo.
Mix 1 part Ballistol to 10 parts water for black powder cleaning.
Useful on leather, wood, and metal.
You can buy Hoppes #9 in quart bottles now, I get it from Sportsmans Guide. I also use Kroil, it cuts carbon and turns lead loose from the riflings like nobodys business!
ReplyDelete