Cleaning solvent Lubricant, or gun oil A bore brush A patch holder and patches Cleaning rod A nylon cleaning brush Flashlight Cotton swabs Microfiber cloths for polishing

After opening the chamber, look through the barrel from back to front. Confirm that no round remains inside, either in the chamber or stuck in the barrel. No gun can be considered unloaded until you have looked through the barrel.

Semi-automatic pistols and rifles will generally be stripped into their major components: barrel, slide, guide rod, frame and magazine. Revolvers, shotguns, and most other sorts of guns will not need to be stripped to clean them. Field stripping is not necessary to clean the gun thoroughly. Don’t take apart your gun more than you have to unless it requires repair. Likewise, some guns can’t be stripped at all and it won’t be necessary to do anything but open the chamber to clean it.

Cover your work surface with plastic bags, newspaper, or old towels you’ve saved for the purpose. Head out to the garage and put the door up, or clean your guns on a bright and dry day to get them cleaned properly.

To thoroughly clean the barrel out, push a solvent-soaked patch through the bore until it exits the other end. Remove the patch, don’t pull it back through. Pulling it back through will just redeposit all the gunk you clean off. [5] X Research source

Run one more dry patch through to dry it out and inspect it closely for any build-up you may have missed.

Next, lubricate the moving parts of the action lightly. A light coating helps prevent rust. A heavy coating gets gummy and attracts debris, so only use a small amount.

If you don’t have a particular cloth designated for cleaning guns, old t-shirts and pairs of socks work really well for the purpose. Use something you’ve got lying around and won’t need to reuse.

The whole cleaning process, start to finish, only takes 20 or 30 minutes. It’s worth it to do it regularly. You might even consider getting out old guns from the back of the closet and doing them all at once while you’ve got the materials out. Can’t hurt.

Soft or hard cases are available for guns, anywhere as cheap as $15 or $20. If you have a higher budget, there are also lockable gun cabinets and safes made for the purpose of storing guns in a controlled and locked environment. [8] X Research source