In my experience, firearm owners cleaning their guns seem to run to two extremes. One group loves to clean and maintain their firearms nearly as much as they love shooting them. The other would rather not mess with it until things get so “gunked up” that they can’t make their favorite gun go “bang.”

Why Cleaning Your Guns is Important

Of course, there are those in the middle who don’t see it as their favorite thing. However, they still clean their guns regularly, knowing that to ensure performance and longevity, a clean gun is a happy gun.

Whichever type of person you—as a new shooter—eventually become, there’s one thing for certain: Cleaning your gun is an important aspect of lawful gun ownership and should be done regularly for the best results.

Practice Safe Handling During Cleaning

There are so many types of guns, actions, takedown methods, etc. So, it’s impossible to write a story telling you exactly how to best clean your new gun. However, we can tell you that, just as with other aspects of gun ownership, safety is of utmost importance.

The fact that so many people say their self-inflicted gunshot wounds came from “cleaning a gun they thought was unloaded” should tell us all something. Before starting any cleaning task, always be 100% sure the gun is unloaded. That means both the chamber and the magazine. Once you are sure, double-check. Now, you’re ready to clean your gun.

The best cleaning advice you can get for your particular firearm is to follow the instructions provided in your owner’s manual closely. The next best is finding a video on YouTube from a reliable source on cleaning your particular model of firearm.

Either way, you are going to need a good cleaning kit. So, let’s look at a few options for rifles, shotguns, and handguns.

Cleaning Kits

Rifle cleaning kits can be as simple or as intricate as you want. Likewise, they can be quite inexpensive or fairly high-dollar. One to consider is Birchwood Casey’s 21-Piece Rifle Cleaning Kit. Another is the M&P Compact Rifle Cleaning Kit, which can be used to clean all .22 to .30-caliber rifles.

For cleaning pistols, some good options include Real Avid’s Gun Boss Handgun Cleaning Kit and the Dewey Mil/LE Pistol Cleaning Kit. Outers also offers a quality Pistol Cleaning Kit that includes a brass cleaning rod.

Cleaning your shotgun will require different tools and accessories than those used for rifles and pistols. However, plenty of manufacturers offer cleaning kits for scatterguns. One such is the Real Avid Gun Boss Shotgun Cleaning Kit. It contains everything needed to keep your shotgun in tip-top shape in the field.

Another to consider is the Otis 12 GA Patriot Series Shotgun kit. It offers all the essential firearms maintenance gear to properly clean your scattergun from breech to muzzle. But it doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

There are also specialty kits for cleaning the AR-15, America’s most popular rifle. A couple to consider are Birchwood Casey’s AR-15 Cleaning Kit and the super compact Otis AR-15/M16 MSR/AR Cleaning System.

For those who plan to have more than one type of firearm, an all-in-one kit that has all the tools and accessories necessary to clean all types of guns might be the best choice.

The RangeMaxx All-In-One Firearm Cleaning Kit is designed to be the one kit that can be utilized to care for rifles, handguns, shotguns, and AR-15s. Another all-around kit to consider is Hoppe’s Deluxe Gun Cleaning Kit. Finally, the Real Avid Bore-Max Master Cleaning Kit and Mobile Workstation is a one-kit solution for all of your guns.

Final Thoughts

In the end, remember two things. First, if you keep your gun clean and well-maintained, it will never let you down. Second, always double and triple-check that your firearm is empty before starting any cleaning or maintenance task.