Cleaning smooth bore shotgun

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Hello all!

I own a UTAS XTR-12, 12GA 3” on an AR15 platform. It’s my first gun that I’ve owned(don’t judge) and I’m relatively new to the whole gun care thing.

Anyways, it’s smooth bore (I believe that’s what it’s called, when the barrel is clean it’s all shiny and smooth inside) and trying to keep it clean is a nightmare. I’m not sure how important it is but I like to clean the barrel until I see absolutely no crud in it, and it take hours and hours of repetitive scrubbing with brass bore brush and then pushing pads through over and over again.

I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong, because other posters seem to just run brushes through their barrels a few times and be done with it.

I was using M-Pro 7 and I recently switched to Hoppe’s 9 since I used half a bottle of M-pro just getting the barrel clean one time

I also bought a bore snake because I read such wonderful things about them but honestly it doesn’t do squat.

So my questions are:
1) I’ve been tempted to hook my brush rod up to my cordless drill and just spin the **** out of it until it’s clean. Does anyone see a big problem with this?

2) I ordered a can of wd40 specialists cleaner stuff because I read it can help. Any drawbacks to this stuff? Should I just spray a good amount down the barrel and let it sit for a few minutes?

3) I currently own a cheap $15 dollar gun cleaning kit and I’m wondering if it’s actually worth spending like $80 on a higher end one off of amazon like the Marksman Precision universal gun cleaning kit (my girl inherited hand guns in 4 different calibers so I do use a few different sizes)

4) Does anyone have some advise on making cleaning this gun easier? I’ve read that some people use soap and hot water but the idea doesn’t really appeal to me. Any handy tidbits from experienced gun people would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
 
Hello all!

I own a UTAS XTR-12, 12GA 3” on an AR15 platform. It’s my first gun that I’ve owned(don’t judge) and I’m relatively new to the whole gun care thing.

Anyways, it’s smooth bore (I believe that’s what it’s called, when the barrel is clean it’s all shiny and smooth inside) and trying to keep it clean is a nightmare. I’m not sure how important it is but I like to clean the barrel until I see absolutely no crud in it, and it take hours and hours of repetitive scrubbing with brass bore brush and then pushing pads through over and over again.

I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong, because other posters seem to just run brushes through their barrels a few times and be done with it.

I was using M-Pro 7 and I recently switched to Hoppe’s 9 since I used half a bottle of M-pro just getting the barrel clean one time

I also bought a bore snake because I read such wonderful things about them but honestly it doesn’t do squat.

So my questions are:
1) I’ve been tempted to hook my brush rod up to my cordless drill and just spin the **** out of it until it’s clean. Does anyone see a big problem with this?

2) I ordered a can of wd40 specialists cleaner stuff because I read it can help. Any drawbacks to this stuff? Should I just spray a good amount down the barrel and let it sit for a few minutes?

3) I currently own a cheap $15 dollar gun cleaning kit and I’m wondering if it’s actually worth spending like $80 on a higher end one off of amazon like the Marksman Precision universal gun cleaning kit (my girl inherited hand guns in 4 different calibers so I do use a few different sizes)

4) Does anyone have some advise on making cleaning this gun easier? I’ve read that some people use soap and hot water but the idea doesn’t really appeal to me. Any handy tidbits from experienced gun people would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
My advice......don't clean it so much.



I own a plethora of shotguns that I clean once a year.....shoot Clay's with them and spend days on end in the field hunting with them. On a wet day I spend about 15 minutes wiping it down and oiling it to get the water out. Other than that on good weather days they get the fingerprints wiped off and get put back in the safe. Decades of hunting and shooting use with a yearly breakdown for good cleaning. No rust.....no problems.
 
I think firearms are worn more by excessive cleaning than actually firing them. About the only firearms I have a judicious cleaning practice for are by bench rifles. They have their own dedicated bore guide, rods and jags. Even that's a little excessive but it makes me feel better.

Typically though, a few passes with sweets 7.62 and a stiff nylon bore brush, let it soak while I work on the bolt/action, then pass a few snuggly fitted cotton patches through the bore until they come out white. If I know that rifle isn't going to be used for some time, I might follow up with a final pass with a lightly oiled patch.

For shotguns that see a lot of use, just a few scrubs with Hoppes #9, let soak, and then I wad/roll up a section of paper towel and run it down the bore and thats it.
 
The bore of a shotgun does not have to be spotless. As has been said, a bore brush or a snake will do. I use Hoppes and cans of non-chlorinated brake cleaner.

I don't use Water Displacement formula #40 i.e. WD-40 on any firearms. Once the aerosol carrier evaporates, it leaves a sticky residue which is NOT conducive to proper operation.

Hot soapy water is for Black Powder or other corrosive ammo.
 
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This topic comes up all the time and will eventually turn into the debate between the ones that don't clean guns after every shooting session and those that think the guys that don't clean them after every shooting session are committing crimes against humanity and are anti American. Lol

My opinion.....if you have time to clean every gun after every range trip.....you don't shoot enough! You need to put down the break free.....step back....breath deeply.....remain calm.....put the gun in the safe......and shoot it tomorrow night....and again this weekend.

If you shoot regularly.....ain't nobody got time for cleaning after every trip to the range. Pogues that hammer guys that put guns away dirty......are generally the once a month shooters.....or shoot even less. I shoot 2 to 3 times a week......yeah my guns get put away dirty.
 
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Hello all!
1) I’ve been tempted to hook my brush rod up to my cordless drill and just spin the **** out of it until it’s clean. Does anyone see a big problem with this?

Problem? I've used a cordless on charge holes of a revolver before, but removing fouling and leading from charge holes is actually important, removing it from the bore, not so much. A wet patch isn't abrasive, but a wet patch impregnated with carbon might be. Still, I don't worry about any of that "you'll wear your gun out by cleaning it" nonsense. To me the point is that removing all the carbon fouling is wasted effort. You shoot that darn thing one time, and you're back to square one. Give it up. Run a bore snake through a few times to pull out any granules and such, and leave most of the carbon fouling right where it sits.

4) Does anyone have some advise on making cleaning this gun easier? I’ve read that some people use soap and hot water but the idea doesn’t really appeal to me. Any handy tidbits from experienced gun people would be greatly appreciated.

Let safe solvents (e.g. Ballistol, Hoppes #9, stuff like that) work for awhile before trying to run one patch through after another.
 
Spray it down with CLP, run a boresnake through it a couple times, and call it a day. Clean the gas system a couple times a year or when it starts to jam.

You really don't need much more than that. About once a year I take a bore brush and some copper mesh and scrub the plastic out of the forcing cones, but that's about it.
 
Run a bore specific brush and Hoppes thought the bore several times
Let sit
Run a slotted jag with a couple patches soaked in Hoppes several times
Let sit
Run dry patches in the slotted jag till patch is clean
You can then run a bore mop with small amount gun oil to make a shiny bore
or...
Boresnake per Hoppes directions.

Dont overthink it. Enjoy and Good luck
 
I've used a boresnake or these things that look like big foam q-tips heads that screw into my cleaning rod with some Hoppes to clean the bore then another q-tip thing to dry it.
 
I used to clean every range trip, now it’s every few or if I haven’t given one of my guns much attention in a while. I only clean 3 of my guns religiously, and they’re the ones I’d try on if I really needed a gun for some reason. The rest get any obvious crud wiped off with a cotton cloth and put away. When you do clean you don’t really need to do such a meticulous job that you don’t see any gunk, just focus on moving parts.

The bore of a shotgun is less important than that of a precision rifle so don’t sweat it too much, especially with a pump.
 
Are you shooting slugs out of it ?
You will get lead fouling that can be somewhat tough to get out.
My trick when it gets bad is to wrap a piece of 0000 steel wool around a 3/8 dowel that you rough the end up with a knife to grab the steel wool and chuck it in the drill.
Remove the barrel first because you don't want steel wool pieces all through your gun and run it slowly up and down the barrel at about half speed.
You won't believe how much leading will come out on that steel wool.
It's something you wouldn't want to do all the time, but it works when it gets bad.
Been doing it with my hunting shotgun for 30+ years and it's never hurt a thing.
 
Never, ever, let a power tool near your firearms. Gunsmiths love power tools because owners use them to damage their firearms thus bringing in high-fee repair business.

Hoppes #9 applied with a patch and allowed to sit for 10-15 minutes, followed by a boresnake or Otis ripcord or equivalent pull-through, will be all you need. There is no need for perfect mirror finish in the bore.
 
Quick run with a soft bore brush and a wipe down to remove fingerprints is all I do after a day at the range. Depending on how frequently I’m shooting, I may do a more detailed cleaning. It’s worked for me over the past 20 years.
 
Are you shooting slugs out of it ?
You will get lead fouling that can be somewhat tough to get out.
My trick when it gets bad is to wrap a piece of 0000 steel wool around a 3/8 dowel that you rough the end up with a knife to grab the steel wool and chuck it in the drill.
Remove the barrel first because you don't want steel wool pieces all through your gun and run it slowly up and down the barrel at about half speed.
You won't believe how much leading will come out on that steel wool.
It's something you wouldn't want to do all the time, but it works when it gets bad.
Been doing it with my hunting shotgun for 30+ years and it's never hurt a thing.


Copper's a better option imo. 0000 might be fine, but I wouldn't want to run steel chucked up in a drill through my barrel personally (says the guy who puts thousands of steel target loads through his gun every year [rolleyes]).

Use this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Chore-Boy-Copper-Scouring-Pad-2ct/dp/B006K3XS5A Pure copper will be better in the long run.

That said, I have chucked up my brass brush and gone to town on the removable chokes though. You wouldn't believe the plastic I pull out of those and the forcing cone.
 
Copper's a better option imo. 0000 might be fine, but I wouldn't want to run steel chucked up in a drill through my barrel personally (says the guy who puts thousands of steel target loads through his gun every year [rolleyes]).

Use this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Chore-Boy-Copper-Scouring-Pad-2ct/dp/B006K3XS5A Pure copper will be better in the long run.

That said, I have chucked up my brass brush and gone to town on the removable chokes though. You wouldn't believe the plastic I pull out of those and the forcing cone.

Rifled lead slugs leave behind a fair amount of lead.
The key is "Carefully " and infrequently.
I've been doing it with the same gun for 30 years and the old girl has never malfunctioned and shoots as accurate as the day I got it.
I might only do it every two or three years depending on how much I've shot it , but you would be shocked at the amount of lead that picks up even after your getting clean looking patches.
 
Rifled lead slugs leave behind a fair amount of lead.
The key is "Carefully " and infrequently.
I've been doing it with the same gun for 30 years and the old girl has never malfunctioned and shoots as accurate as the day I got it.
I might only do it every two or three years depending on how much I've shot it , but you would be shocked at the amount of lead that picks up even after your getting clean looking patches.

Oh I'm sure. Those soft lead slugs are a bitch. Why not spray it down with a de-leading agent and let it sit awhile? Seems easier than chucking up a brush and going to town.
 
Oh I'm sure. Those soft lead slugs are a bitch. Why not spray it down with a de-leading agent and let it sit awhile? Seems easier than chucking up a brush and going to town.
Any that you would recommend ?
I'll try anything once, twice if she doesn't call the police .
 
I use a copper brush, dipped in No. 9, screwed onto a brass rod, After scrubbing a bit, but not like a crazy man, I spray with WD40. Then use the screw on cotton mops to wipe clean inside. It will look like new
 
Hello all!

I own a UTAS XTR-12, 12GA 3” on an AR15 platform. It’s my first gun that I’ve owned(don’t judge) and I’m relatively new to the whole gun care thing.

Anyways, it’s smooth bore (I believe that’s what it’s called, when the barrel is clean it’s all shiny and smooth inside) and trying to keep it clean is a nightmare. I’m not sure how important it is but I like to clean the barrel until I see absolutely no crud in it, and it take hours and hours of repetitive scrubbing with brass bore brush and then pushing pads through over and over again.

I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong, because other posters seem to just run brushes through their barrels a few times and be done with it.

I was using M-Pro 7 and I recently switched to Hoppe’s 9 since I used half a bottle of M-pro just getting the barrel clean one time

I also bought a bore snake because I read such wonderful things about them but honestly it doesn’t do squat.

So my questions are:
1) I’ve been tempted to hook my brush rod up to my cordless drill and just spin the **** out of it until it’s clean. Does anyone see a big problem with this?

2) I ordered a can of wd40 specialists cleaner stuff because I read it can help. Any drawbacks to this stuff? Should I just spray a good amount down the barrel and let it sit for a few minutes?

3) I currently own a cheap $15 dollar gun cleaning kit and I’m wondering if it’s actually worth spending like $80 on a higher end one off of amazon like the Marksman Precision universal gun cleaning kit (my girl inherited hand guns in 4 different calibers so I do use a few different sizes)

4) Does anyone have some advise on making cleaning this gun easier? I’ve read that some people use soap and hot water but the idea doesn’t really appeal to me. Any handy tidbits from experienced gun people would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for your time!
Congrats on your new gun. For cleaning, do a complete field strip, clean, reassemble and function check. Make sure the gas tube is clean (use a pipe cleaner) and scrub your bolt face thoroughly. Don't over oil your bolt carrier. Enjoy that gun!
 
Try these and report back...

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