Looking for the best gun cleaning kit to help you keep your firearms fighting fit and free of rust?
We’ve tested just about every firearms cleaning kit on the market (and certainly all the ones on Amazon) from 200 piece universal gun cleaning kits, to simple bore snakes to find the ones that are truly worth the money.
These are the kits that we use in our own lives as hunters, competitors, and target shooters.
Table Of Contents
Our Best Gun Cleaning Kits
- M-Pro 7 Tactical Cleaning Kit (Our Top Pick)
- New Hoppe’s No.9 Rifle Cleaning Kit (Best Budget)
- The Otis Elite Kit (Best High End)
- Sage and Braker Bore Cleaning Kit (Best Bore Snake)
- Real Avid Boss Cleaning Kit (Runner Up Overall)
What Is In These Gun Cleaning Kits?
The whole idea behind these gun cleaning kits is that they should have everything you need for gun cleaning. Pretty self-explanatory, but what does that really mean?
Here’s a general list of the things the average gun owner needs to clean a gun:
Cleaning Rod or Bore Snake
You need some way to get your bronze brushes/brass jags, and cleaning material through the bore. This means you need to have a bore snake or a cleaning rod that can swap from bore brush to a brass jag or patch holder with a slotted tip. Obviously you’ll need cotton patches
Cleaning Brushes
You’ll also need bronze bore brushes to scrub the powder fouling and other debris from your bore. These are sized for your firearm, and will be a different size for every bore diameter.
Bore Cleaner
Getting all that carbon fouling and other crap out requires a bore cleaner of some kind. This can be a dedicated cleaning solvent, or something like a CLP that will also work as a gun cleaner and also a lube and protectant.
Lubricating Oil
If you’re not using a CLP, you need a separate product to lubricate the friction surfaces of your gun and to protect unfinished surfaces like the inside of the barrel from rust.
Nylon brushes and/or Cotton Swabs
Used for detail cleaning and getting carbon and other debris out of nooks and crannies.
Carbon Scraper
A dedicated carbon scraper for cleaning semi-auto bolts and other things that get incredibly dirty can be a godsend.
The gun cleaning kits on this list include some, most, or all of these things, and are designed to work together to make buying all this stuff, and then cleaning your gun, less of a hassle.
They’re also typically expandable so you can add your own consumables or other cleaning tools to customize everything to your personal needs and preferences.
What Are The Different Types of Gun Cleaning Kits?
We’re going to separate these kits out into a few different categories.
First and foremost we have the all-inclusive, multi-caliber, universal cleaning kit that has everything you could ever want for every conceivable caliber.
These are typically a little more expensive, but they can be a great value if you shoot a variety of guns, or you just want to be covered forever and not have to worry about anything to do with gun maintenance.
And then there’s the smaller dedicated kits that are only for cleaning a certain caliber or type of gun such as pistol, rifle, or shotgun cleaning kits.
These are good if you only shoot a few guns of the same caliber, like you have multiple ARs or several 9mm handguns. This also includes kits for cleaning muzzleloaders and other black powder firearms.
How Well Do These Gun Cleaning Kits Work?
The only thing less fun than having to clean your guns is the frustration that comes from struggling to clean them when you have subpar materials and tools on hand.
I used to haaaaate cleaning my guns, and frankly I left some of them too dirty for too long, especially my competition guns that get shot almost daily.
With a proper setup though, cleaning guns has become something that I almost enjoy. It’s a little zen moment of my day that, while I may not look forward to it, I at least don’t dread it. And it’s all because my gun cleaning kit has everything in it that I need, and I know it all works with a minimum amount of fuss.
These are the cleaning kits we all use in our daily lives, and for me I use these as a professional shooter and gunsmith. They work absolutely phenomenally, and short of an ultrasonic cleaner (which has its own drawbacks) they’re the best way to clean your guns unless you have money to pay someone to do it for you.
And if you have that kind of money, why are you reading this anyway? Send them to your gunsmith and enjoy more time on your yacht.
What Did We Look For In The Best Gun Cleaning Kits?
When evaluating these kits, I wanted to be sure we had something for every budget and category of gun owner.
If you shoot every different caliber under the sun, there’s something here for you. If you want the cleaning process for your one handgun to be as short and quick as possible, we’ve got you covered there too.
I also wanted to make sure that all the included pieces were high-quality, and that any consumables included would work well. There’s no real point in buying a universal kit instead of buying piecemeal if you have to turn around and buy a bunch of individual items to get a kit that actually works, right?
These are hands down the best cleaning kits on the market, and you’ll find every cleaning accessory you could possibly need to make gun care something that, while maybe not your favorite chore, at least isn’t the worst part of your day.
The Best Gun Cleaning Kits We Reviewed
Of all the cleaning kits we have looked at, these are the ones we keep coming back to as the best of the best. There are some good ones that aren’t on this list, but other than building a whole kit yourself, these really are your best options if you’re looking to buy a gun cleaning kit that’s already got everything you need in it.
Let’s start with our top choice…
M-Pro 7 Tactical Cleaning Kit (Our Top Pick)
M-Pro 7 is my personal favorite gun cleaning and maintenance product manufacturer, so I was excited (but not surprised) when their M-Pro 7 Tactical Cleaning Kit took first place in our testing.
The cost is a little high at around $55, but it comes with everything you need to clean most handguns, shotguns, and rifles, especially if you’re shooting anything in a common domestic calibers. The five included bore brushes will clean everything from 12 gauge shotguns to .22 caliber rifles such as your ARs and most things in between.
You also get M-Pro 7’s gun cleaner, gun oil, and copper remover, 50 cleaning patches, a nylon brush and AR-15 chamber/utility brushes, and it all comes in a plastic case.
Rounding everything off you have a foam gun mat to protect your workbench/dining room table, and a lint-free cleaning cloth.
All that, and it comes in a carrying case? Easy to see why this one won.
Pros:
- Best gun oil, carbon remover, and copper cleaner on the market
- Most brushes included
Cons:
- A little pricey
- Might be overkill if you only own one or two guns
Buy The M-Pro 7 Tactical Cleaning Kit Here
New Hoppe’s No.9 Rifle Cleaning Kit (Best Budget)
It seems like we can’t have a list of anything to do with gun cleaning without having a Hoppe’s product on the list, but that’s okay because their Rifle Cleaning Kit is absolutely great.
This is a very compact kit with just the basics. The upgraded version comes in a nice wooden box, but for the basic kit you get gun bore cleaner, Hoppe’s legendary No. 9 gun oil, a stainless steel cleaning rod, and phosphor bronze brushes in your choice of caliber.
This basic kit works well as a rifle or handgun cleaning kit, and other than the fact that I wish they’d included brass rods instead of the steel ones, it’s pretty much perfect for anyone looking for a cheap, effective cleaning kit.
Brass cleaning rods would also make it a few bucks more expensive though so, just don’t be a dingus and scrape the rifling inside your gun barrel with the steel ones and you’ll be fine.
Pros:
- Cheap
- Compact
- Good consumables included
Cons:
- A little bit limited in cleaning ability without additional brush purchases
Buy The New Hoppe’s No.9 Rifle Cleaning Kit Here
The Otis Elite Kit (Best High End)
Otis Technology is another highly-regarded name in the gun cleaning, gun maintenance, and general gunsmithing realm, so I wasn’t surprised when their Otis Elite Kit turned out to be the best option for serious users.
It’s pricey, but if you’re doing any serious gun maintenance on a wide variety of firearms, this is the kit for you. This is the kit I picked up when I started doing more hobby-level gunsmith stuff, and I haven’t had any cause to regret it.
It actually comes with things like scope lens cleaning supplies, punches for disassembling ARs and most handguns, 16 bronze cleaning brushes (.17, .22 limited breech, .22/.223, .243-.260, .270/7mm, .30-06/.300/30-30/.308, .338-.35, .357-38cal/9mm, .40/10mm, .44/.45, .50cal, .410ga, 28ga, 20ga, 16ga, 12/10ga to be specific) and 6 memory-flex cables of various lengths for breech to muzzle cleaning.
Overall, if you have the money to spend, this is where I’d say spend it.
Pros:
- Everything you could ever need
- High-quality brushes
- Multiple tools for serious gunsmithing challenges
Cons:
- A little expensive
Sage and Braker Bore Cleaning Kit (Best Bore Snake)
Sage and Braker is another favorite of mine, and their Bore Cleaning Kit is the reason why.
Sometimes when I’m hunting or competing or just otherwise in the field and away from my nice cozy workbench and need to clean a gun. When that happens, if I don’t have a bore snake, that gun isn’t getting cleaned.
It’s just not. I know I’m not going to drag a cleaning kit to the range or on a hunt, but a tiny bag that’s half the size of my water bottle that I can clean my gun with in about 45 seconds? Sign me up.
It doesn’t clean as deeply as these other kits (except for the Hoppe’s one) but it carries easily and it does everything you’re likely to need for a quick clean.
Pros:
- Quickest clean you can get
- High-quality materials
Cons:
- Caliber-specific
- Can’t clean areas other than the bore
Buy The Sage and Braker Bore Cleaning Kit Here
Real Avid Boss Cleaning Kit (Runner Up Overall)
The Real Avid Gun Boss is another excellent little cleaning kit that you can get in pistol, rifle, or shotgun flavors based on your needs. It includes everything you need for basic cleaning and it comes in a nice little carrying case.
I know I just talked about not carrying a cleaning kit to the range, but sometimes I do. I know, I lied, sorta. Sorry. But when I do carry a kit to the range, like when I’m teaching a class, I usually bring one of these so I can diagnose and deal with any minor maintenance issues a student might have.
Beyond that, it’s just a nice little kit to have, and while it’s not as cheap as the Hoppe’s kit or as complete as the M-Pro 7 one, it is a really high-quality kit in it’s own right.
If you’re looking for a middle-of-the-road option on the price and features front, but you want something that’s still well made and effective, this is the option I’d go with.
Buy The Real Avid Boss Cleaning Kit Here
Final Thoughts On Gun Cleaning Kits
I tried to include something here for everyone, whether you’re looking to improve your current cleaning system, or you’re looking for a deluxe gun cleaning kit that has everything in it that you could possibly need.
The gun cleaning kits we’ve covered today are all a good value for the money, and they work well enough that we all use them around the office (and we shoot stuff professionally).
What do you think of these gun cleaning kits? Which ones do you use, or are you thinking about picking one up? Let us know in the comments!