Gear

The least exciting part of shooting is the followup: cleaning. Some shooters shrug it off. "With modern powders, you don't have to clean every time." They don't get to use my guns. Others attack metal fouling and debris with religious fervor. "A clean rifle is an accurate rifle." Well, that's like saying a clean Jeep is a fast Jeep. Hosing off the mud won't make it a Maserati.

But clean guns do, on balance, shoot more accurately, function more reliably and last longer. And just as with a coupe that gets detailed every Saturday before the dance, a clean gun reflects well on its owner.

Tetra Gun Care is showing up more often on shop benches, partly because its product line is expanding, partly because it's earned the allegiance of discriminating people. Feinwerkbau, the precision airgun company, uses Tetra Gun lubricants in its German manufacturing plant. So does Walther. Stateside, you'll find Tetra Gun in Savage and Marlin factories and in the Freedom Arms shop. Wildey and Para-Ordnance include samples of Tetra Gun products with their pistols. Kimber recommends Tetra Gun, as does the bow manufacturer Hoyt.

So what's wrong with Hoppe's No. 9? Nothing. And no solvent smells better. But Tetra Gun claims its products outperform traditional gun-cleaning products. Tetra Gun's line includes lubricant, spray and grease. There is also copper solvent and Action Blaster, a grime-fighting spray.

According to Tetra Gun, the seizure point for parts lubed by its products far exceeded seizure points of metal protected by other oils. In fact, Tetra Gun products kept seizure at bay beyond the 160 ft-lb. level. Alternative brands failed at 130 (lubricant), 120 (spray) and 60 (grease).

You must go further in organic chemistry than I did to understand what's in Tetra Gun fluids that makes them superior - and if you have that much background, you're among few who care. On the other hand, any shooter can appreciate products that not only protect guns but boost both accuracy and velocity. Tetra Gun labs found that super-clean bores with a film of Tetra Gun oil delivered superior results.

Reducing friction while filling microscopic cavities in the bore speeds the bullet on its way and helps keep pressures more uniform, shot to shot. Of course, for Tetra Gun spray to work, you must have a clean bore to start with. Here's how to get it:

Spray the bore, or saturate a mop and swab it with Tetra Gun copper solvent. Let the solvent work 15 to 30 minutes. Brush the bore, then clean the brass brush with Action Blaster to neutralize the solvent and prolong brush life. Spray Action Blaster in the chamber. Dry-mop the bore and chamber until the mop or patches come out clean. Saturate a mop or patch with Tetra Gun lubricant, and swab 10 to 20 times; follow with as many passes using a dry mop. A light film of lubricant will remain to protect against rust and "seal" microscopic pores.

Action Blaster in bolt faces frees up plunger extractors and flushes brass shavings. It also dissolves black-powder residue. Tetra Gun copper solvent removes plastic-wad residue in shotgun barrels. Keep these compounds from stocks, wood and synthetic. After giving them a once-over on exposed steel with an oily rag, I wipe guns with a soft, clean rag, then store them muzzle-down so solvent won't leak into the tang of the stock.

Tetra Gun markets blue and rust remover and cold blue. Relatively new is the ProSmith line of gun-cleaning hardware. Stainless steel rods with DuPont TufCoat sheathing feature Delrin handles and brass centering collars. Choose 29-, 36- or 44-inch rifle rods with 8/32 threads or a 34-inch shotgun/black-powder rod with 5/16-27 threads. A Twin Tip double-ended eight-inch pistol rod is available; so, too, are assorted tips and brushes and a Universal Bore Guide for rifles.

ValuPro cleaning kits--in four sizes each for rifles and pistols, two for shotguns--complete the Tetra Gun list of products for the least exciting part of shooting.