Gun cleaning supplies list: what a beginner actually needs

This gun cleaning supplies list is written for the person standing in the cleaning aisle for the first time, looking at a wall of brushes, bottles and kits and wondering which of it they actually need. The honest answer: not much. Most of what matters comes in a single kit, plus one bottle and a mat. The rest is nice to have, and some of it you can skip until you've cleaned a few times.

Each item below links to the page where we compare that kind of product. We haven't put these on a bench and graded them ourselves; our picks come from what each maker publishes, scored on the rubric on our how we pick page.

Before the list: two free essentials

1. Your owner's manual. It tells you how to unload your gun, how far to take it apart, and where the lubricant goes. Glock tells owners to "refer to your owner's manual for the proper lubrication points, as well as the proper amounts of lubrication required" ( Glock). If you've lost yours, many makers post manuals online; Ruger, for example, publishes its manuals as PDFs.

2. A cleaning area with no ammunition in it. Before any supply comes out, the gun is unloaded and verified clear the way your manual shows, and the ammunition goes in another room. The NRA's cleaning rule is to make sure the gun is unloaded, keep the action open while cleaning, and "be sure that no ammunition is present in the cleaning area." No product on this list replaces that step.

The must-haves

These are the items you need for a proper first cleaning. A kit usually covers the first four.

• A cleaning rod or cable. This is what pushes or pulls the brush and patches through the barrel. Rods are rigid: Real Avid lists a 2-piece 12.5 inch brass rod in its handgun kit, and Hoppe's uses a one-piece aluminum rod. Cables flex: Otis uses 8 and 30 inch Memory-Flex cables in its 9mm kit. Both work. Compare: bore snake vs cleaning rod.
• Bore brushes sized to your caliber. The brush scrubs fouling out of the barrel. Kits list their brush materials: phosphor bronze in the Real Avid handgun kit, bronze in the Otis kits, and a nylon brush in the Hoppe's pistol kit. Match the brush to your caliber. Compare: best pistol cleaning kits.
• A jag or slotted tip. This holds a patch on the end of the rod. A jag pushes a patch snugly through the bore; a slotted tip holds it through a slot. Real Avid lists both jags and slotted tips, and the Hoppe's pistol kit includes a slotted end and a jag.
• Cleaning patches. Small cloth squares that carry solvent through the bore, then wipe it dry. Kits include a starter supply, and it goes fast: the Otis 9mm kit lists 10 patches, and the Real Avid Universal kit lists 50. Buy extra patches in your caliber's size.
• A solvent plus a gun oil, or one CLP. A solvent loosens fouling; an oil lubricates and protects. A CLP (cleaner, lubricant and preservative) does all three from one bottle. Hoppe's says its No. 9 removes "carbon, powder, and lead fouling"; Break Free sells its CLP to clean, lubricate and protect; Ballistol says its multipurpose oil "cleans, lubricates, protects and preserves firearms." Compare: CLP vs gun oil.
• A cleaning mat. It keeps small parts from rolling away and oil off the table. TekMat says its Glock mat is "oil and solvent resistant" and printed with a Glock parts diagram; Hoppe's says its Gun Cleaning Pad "protects your table/ workbench/ cleaning area from spills and scratches".
• Rags or paper towels. For wiping the slide, frame and your hands. Any clean cloth works.

Nice to have

None of these are required for a first cleaning, but each one makes the job easier:

• A good light. A flashlight or headlamp to look into the chamber when you verify the gun is clear, and through the bore when you check it's clean and clear of patches.
• Disposable gloves. They keep oil and solvent off your hands. You still wash up afterward.
• A bore snake. A pull-through cleaner for the barrel. The Hoppe's BoreSnake Den comes in one size for .357, 9mm, .380 and .38, with a T-handle and a case. It cleans the bore only. Compare: bore snake vs cleaning rod.
• A utility brush, cotton swabs and an old toothbrush. For the slide, frame and corners a bore brush can't reach.
• A small kit for your range bag. The Otis 9mm kit comes in a 4 x 4 x 2.5 inch soft case. See: what to put in a range bag.
• Kit extras. Some kits add small tools. The Otis 9mm kit, for example, lists an obstruction remover, a Bore Reflector+ chamber flag, picks, a punch and a scraper.
• A bag for used patches and rags. Keeps the dirty patches in one place until they go in the trash.

For your hands: soap and wipes

Cleaning is dirty work, and it isn't only oil. Ruger's LCP MAX manual warns that cleaning firearms or handling ammunition may expose you to lead, and says: "Have adequate ventilation at all times. Wash hands thoroughly after exposure."

Soap and water at the sink is the baseline. For the range, where there may be no sink, lead-removal wipes fill the gap. NIOSH's guidance for indoor firing ranges, written for range workers and people who shoot for their job, says "hands should be washed with soap and water or cleaned with lead decontamination wipes after shooting, handling spent cartridge cases, or cleaning weapons." ESCA Tech says its D-Wipe Towels are pre-moistened towels to remove metal dust from "hands, arms, face and body".

Keep a pack in your range bag and a pack by the cleaning bench. Our page on lead exposure at the shooting range covers the rest of the after-range routine.

What you can skip at first

• A giant universal kit, if you own one handgun. The Otis Elite covers .17 caliber through 12 gauge with over 60 components (Otis). That's great for a household with several guns and more than you'll use for one 9mm.
• Tools for taking the gun further apart than the manual shows. A first cleaning is a field-strip only. Anything deeper is gunsmith work.
• A shelf of different chemicals. One CLP, or one solvent and one oil, is plenty. Add more only when you have a reason.
• Anything your manual doesn't call for. If your manual doesn't mention it, you don't need it yet.

Buy a kit or build your own?

Buy a kit. For a beginner, a kit puts the rod or cable, brushes, jags and patches for your caliber in one case, which is most of the must-have list in a single purchase. Then check what chemicals it includes, because kits differ a lot:

• The Otis 9mm kit includes 0.5 fl oz of FP-10; the Otis Elite includes two bottles of FP-10 CLP.
• The Hoppe's pistol kit includes 2 oz of No. 9 bore cleaner and 2.25 oz of lubricating oil.
• The Real Avid Gun Boss Pro kits list no solvent or lubricant, so add a bottle of CLP, or a solvent and an oil.

One detail for later: when you add brushes or jags, check the thread size. Real Avid lists 8-32 threads for its Gun Boss Pro Universal kit. Our best gun cleaning kits roundup compares kit contents side by side, and Real Avid vs Otis covers the two systems head to head.

The whole list at a glance

"Usually in a kit?" is a general guide; check the contents list on the kit you buy. If you're packing for the range at the same time, our range bag checklist is the sibling to this one.

What to look for, and our picks

When you shop, look for a kit that lists your caliber (and every caliber in the house, if there's more than one gun), a mat big enough for your gun taken apart, a lubricant your manual is happy with, and wipes made for skin rather than surfaces. If you own a single handgun, our best pistol cleaning kits page has smaller options. For a household with a rifle or shotgun too, these four cover the whole list: