my UMAREX airgun cleaning kit review

[DBOdude]

in a nutshell , i don't like it and it's going back to wally world today . 

i picked it up last night came home and checked it out . using my .22 cal 2289/DBOkit with a 24 inch barrel (my only airgun) it takes a bit of effort to get the nylon .22 cal brush (.177 brush is nylon also) down the barrel , the last foot or so having to be done about a half inch at a time ... the .22 mop didn't want to go in at all for me . if i had taken the barrel off it would have been easier .  on a break barrel it wouldn't be a issue i think because the other end of the wire could go in easy to pull the brush out , but it still would be a PITA to try to go back and forth with it in the barrel . there is no adapter to use patches with it probably because the bore mop is supplied with the kit .

maybe i used it wrong or something ........ but i dont want to fight the brush or mop down the barrel multiple times to clean it , i was cursing at it 3/4 of the way in on the first try , the second pass wasn't any easier . it might be great for someone else .... but for me it didn't work out .

[Tater]

Thanks for the review. Maybe it would be better for someone with a shorter barrel.

[breakfastchef]

http://www.mac1airgunshop.com/jl-crown-saver-p/jlcs.htm

Cut patches from old t-shirts and use the salves of your choice.

[eric]

http://www.mac1airgunshop.com/jl-crown-saver-p/jlcs.htm

Cut patches from old t-shirts and use the salves of your choice.

this ^^^^

[Flex]

in a nutshell , i don't like it and it's going back to wally world today . 

i picked it up last night came home and checked it out . using my .22 cal 2289/DBOkit with a 24 inch barrel (my only airgun) it takes a bit of effort to get the nylon .22 cal brush (.177 brush is nylon also) down the barrel , the last foot or so having to be done about a half inch at a time ... the .22 mop didn't want to go in at all for me . if i had taken the barrel off it would have been easier .  on a break barrel it wouldn't be a issue i think because the other end of the wire could go in easy to pull the brush out , but it still would be a PITA to try to go back and forth with it in the barrel . there is no adapter to use patches with it probably because the bore mop is supplied with the kit .


maybe i used it wrong or something ........ but i dont want to fight the brush or mop down the barrel multiple times to clean it , i was cursing at it 3/4 of the way in on the first try , the second pass wasn't any easier . it might be great for someone else .... but for me it didn't work out .

I'm not an expert (but I've pretended to be one on many occasions ). I agree with you in your intent to return the kit to WalMart and get your money back.

I'm sure that many air gun shooters use kits like the one you'll be returning but I believe that the truly serious air gunners don't advocate the routine use of metallic brushes on the bores of air guns. Unlike powder burners that leave products of combustion and perhaps lead that was heated to its melting point by the propellant I.E. gunpowder, along the path of the bullet in the bore, air gun bores suffer very little in terms of contaminants left behind. I've read that some NEVER use a brush of any kind to clean their air guns.

I have an assortment of powder burners in addition to my (now preferred) air guns so I have several cleaning kits complete with brushes, mops, rods and even a couple with the pull cables. With only a couple of exceptions (extreme situations to be sure) I don't use any of those kits on my air guns. Most of the time I use one of several homemade pull thru cleaners. The one that's easiest to use and very easy to make consists of length of weed trimmer line (0.080" for .22 and 0.065" for .177) twice the length of the barrel (plus a few inches) folded in half. Secure the free ends together, side by side, with a 1" piece of heat shrink tubing. I push the folded end from the muzzle to the breech. Enough of the loop will protrude into the loading aperature to slip a length of cloth with some bore cleaner applied to it. Then simply pull the loop back thru the bore and voila` the barrel is clean!

Well, that's one way to do it. Certainly there are others. A couple of pointers regardless of the system you use; clean from breech to muzzle, if using a brush NEVER change direction with the brush still in the bore (could get wedged in and be VERY difficult to remove). If you do use a cleaning rod, avoid steel and always protect the muzzle crown.

You may already know these things but the description of how you were using the Gamo kit made me think otherwise. No offense intended, just tryin' to help out. Flex

[DBOdude]

the kit comes with plastic/nylon brushes . i agree about not using metal brushes in airgun barrels going by what i read on the forums . going from the breech forward would have required me to take it apart since the brush can't fit in the breech area . on a breakbarrel it wouldn't be a issue . i've just used a single length of weed wacker line with a small melted flattened blob on the end to hold a patch of fabric , but sometimes the patch slips over the blob . i'll give the folded line with heat shrink a try . thanks for sharing it

BTW , no offense taken 

[Flex]

the kit comes with plastic/nylon brushes . i agree about not using metal brushes in airgun barrels going by what i read on the forums . going from the breech forward would have required me to take it apart since the brush can't fit in the breech area . on a breakbarrel it wouldn't be a issue . i've just used a single length of weed wacker line with a small melted flattened blob on the end to hold a patch of fabric , but sometimes the patch slips over the blob . i'll give the folded line with heat shrink a try . thanks for sharing it

BTW , no offense taken 

The breech/bolt arrangement on the 13xx & 22xx air guns (as well as many others) do make the use of a rod & brush (even a nylon one) cleaning system difficult to use properly. Unless I have the barrel off the gun for another reason I don't even consider using a brush. Give the folded weed whip line a try, I think you'll like it. I've tried the single piece of line with the melted blob at one end and had the same issue that you did. I also found that if you make the blob large enough to keep from pulling thru the patch, it may be too large to fit in the bore. (Very likely in the case of .177 cal less so with .22 cal). I made another pull thru type cleaner that's more like a Bore Snake (without the embedded brush). I took a length of 3/16" braided nylon cord (again a few inches longer than my longest barrel) melted a tiny sealing blob at one end and let the other end unravel about 3 or 4 inches. I spray a bit of bore cleaner on the fluffy, unraveled end then advance the sealed off (blob) end into and thru the barrel until I can grab it and pull it the rest of the way. As mentioned before, it's considered by many best to clean from breech to muzzle, BUT it's A LOT easier to advance the sealed end of the nylon cord from the muzzle end of the barrel. I've made and used a couple of other pull thru cleaners but found them to not work as well or have other issues.

I hope that you were able to return the Gamo kit to WalMart. I can think of lots of other ways to spend $29
Flex