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schmellba99 · January 17, 2008, 12:49 AM

I've been using Hoppe's for 20 some odd years, and my grandfather before that. I've got a shotgun from the early 40's that has never been cleaned with anything other than Hoppes, and probably has had 250k rounds (or more) pumped through it. Never had a problem, and I adhere to the old saying "if it isn't broke, don't fix it".

I've tried CLP, and while it works ok, I wasn't really thrilled with the results. Leaves too heavy of an oil finish. It works great for my MP5, but I have to be careful with my trigger group - if I shoot a lot of rounds and use CLP to clean it with, I either have to give it a couple of shots of carb cleaner and then RemOil afterwords, or let it sit upside down and "drain" for a couple of hours before reassembling the weapon. Too much oil is just as bad as too little oil, and CLP tends to be on the "too much oil" side more often than not.

One thing to remember about cleaners - too harsh a cleaning agent can damage the metal inside your barrel. It might only be a few molecules thick, but using harsh chemical agents over time can eventually cause enough damage to the bore of the firearm to create problems. Stick with what works, and something that has been around since the invention of firearms is still used for a reason.

January 17, 2008, 12:49 AM	#35
schmellba99 Senior Member Join Date: January 8, 2008 Posts: 803	I've been using Hoppe's for 20 some odd years, and my grandfather before that. I've got a shotgun from the early 40's that has never been cleaned with anything other than Hoppes, and probably has had 250k rounds (or more) pumped through it. Never had a problem, and I adhere to the old saying "if it isn't broke, don't fix it". I've tried CLP, and while it works ok, I wasn't really thrilled with the results. Leaves too heavy of an oil finish. It works great for my MP5, but I have to be careful with my trigger group - if I shoot a lot of rounds and use CLP to clean it with, I either have to give it a couple of shots of carb cleaner and then RemOil afterwords, or let it sit upside down and "drain" for a couple of hours before reassembling the weapon. Too much oil is just as bad as too little oil, and CLP tends to be on the "too much oil" side more often than not. One thing to remember about cleaners - too harsh a cleaning agent can damage the metal inside your barrel. It might only be a few molecules thick, but using harsh chemical agents over time can eventually cause enough damage to the bore of the firearm to create problems. Stick with what works, and something that has been around since the invention of firearms is still used for a reason.