When I was young I spent a good deal of time riding dirt bikes. My friends and I would ride our Yamahas, Hondas, Kawasakis, Suzukis, and even a few Husqvarnas in the mountains and woods of the Northeastern United States. It was an awesome time in life. After a while, it became apparent to me that those who regularly maintained their motorcycles would be ready to ride at any time. Those who put little effort into caring for their equipment sometimes missed out as they focused on repairs.

I suspect it was my early experience with motorcycles that led me to become somewhat compulsive about caring for the equipment I’m fortunate enough to own. This has carried forward with other types of vehicles. For example, our only four-wheel mode of transportation at this time is a 2003 Honda Pilot. It looks and runs quite well despite the fact that it will be twenty years old this June.

I realize that there are various schools of thought when it comes to gun cleaning and maintenance. Some seldom clean their firearms and have no issues at all when they need them. Others meticulously clean any firearm after it’s been fired. Most shooters likely fall somewhere between these extremes.

I find the history and engineering developments behind modern firearms fascinating. Cleaning and maintaining them on a regular basis allows me to be more familiar with their operation than I would otherwise be. This being the case, I may be one of the few who enjoy disassembling, cleaning, and reassembling my guns almost as much as I like shooting them.

My motivation for writing this article is based on my experiences with a product called Wipe-Out Bore Cleaner. This is manufactured by SharpShoot-R Precision Products. This has been around for years, yet I only started using it about a year ago. I’ve found it to be very effective.

After 100 or more rounds through my ARs, especially the one with a stainless steel barrel, it would normally take me twenty or so patches until they came out as clean as I like them to be. This was after a series of using bore brushes, solvents, etc. I don’t recall where I first heard about Wipe-out, but the first time I used it I was amazed.

Although the product website claims that Wipe-Out is a “brushless” bore cleaner, that’s not how I use it. After removing the upper from the lower, I place a Wheeler Engineering bore guide into the upper. I run a nylon bore brush through a few times, and then spray Wipe-out in while holding the bore guide’s solvent port closed. This is important because Wipe-Out is pressurized and expands quickly. I spray in enough to completely fill the barrel, and then block the muzzle end with an ear protector. I then clean the rest of the firearm, which doesn’t take very long. I set the barrel aside for a few hours, or even overnight.

When I eventually return to the barrel, I run a few patches through, and it’s clean. Whereas my previous method would take a good deal of scrubbing and twenty or more patches, using Wipe-Out has drastically reduced the times that tools needed to be run down the barrel. This is not only more convenient, but my view is that the less tools that come in contact with the inside of a barrel, the better.

I have an older AR that I almost never shoot anymore. The last time I took it out of the safe I saw a note on it confirming that it had been thoroughly cleaned a few years prior. An inspection of the barrel further confirmed this. Just for fun, I used the method outlined above with Wipe-Out. To my surprise, the next day the first few patches I ran through it came out a deep blue. This indicated copper fouling that I had no idea was present, and I was that much more please with Wipe-Out as a bore cleaner.

I’ve read a few online reviews about this product. Some love it, others not so much for a variety of reasons. I’ll keep using it for a while as long as the results are as good as they have been. Let us know in the Comment section below if you have any experience, good or bad, with Wipe-Out.

I’ve also recently started using Shooter Lube gun cleaning Solvent and gun Oil. These products are said to be very effective, and also non-toxic. I’m testing to see if using Wipe-Out and the two Shooter Lube products might allow me to replace some of the various other products I generally use. A few of these are shown on either side of the image above. It would be nice if this works, yet if it does I would certainly miss the wonderful aroma of Hoppe’s Number 9. This scent brings back so many memories from childhood that I’m not sure I will be able to part with it.

It needs to be said that I am not a gunsmith or firearms industry expert. I’ve simply enjoyed shooting for as long as I can remember, and also enjoy taking good care of the firearms I’m fortunate enough to own. This being the case, any feedback or advice you may have with regard to gun cleaning products or methods would be very much appreciated. Please feel free to Comment.

As always, remember that Panoplia.org has no affiliate relationships with manufacturers or retail suppliers, nor do we participate in third-party advertising. We simply share our views about gear and supplies that work well for us under hard use.