I bought my Gun Boss AR15 cleaning kit last week, in a moment of unrestrained retail therapy. I’m a bit of a sucker when it comes to firearm cleaning kits. I own far too many rods and bottles of solvents, and I don’t use half of them. My AR15 cleaning routine basically consists of running a boresnake through the chamber and down the barrel a couple of times. And then wiping off and lubricating the moving parts. I also understand that over-cleaning a rifle actually does far more harm than good. Since I am inherently lazy, there isn’t much risk of that happening.
That being said, I am not entirely happy with my jury-rigged approach. Especially when I look at all the gunk that accumulates in the rifle’s star chamber. The Gun Boss AR15 cleaning kit may be the solution to my AR15 hygiene problems.
What is in the Gun Boss AR15 cleaning kit?
It’s a cute (well, cute for a cleaning kit) and compact little kit from Real Avid, and it’s packed with stuff I need:
- You assemble the rod from 7 steel pieces that screw into each other.
- The kit contains a phosphor bronze bore brush, as well as a star chamber brush.
- There is a nylon slotted fitting for the cleaning patches (the kit includes 50 of those).
- Straight and angled cleaning picks to scrape carbon deposits off.
- A little luminescent green chamber flag.
- 5 wool star chamber cleaning pads (sent straight from heaven! Gosh, how I needed these!)
- A bolt carrier brush.
OK, cool. But does it work?
So, I spent part of my Saturday hauling my Daniel Defense M4A1 out of the safe, and finally giving its dirty star chamber some tender, loving care. And boy – was it filthy in there! It’s got about 3 years’ worth of intermittent competition shooting through it, and the chocolate starfish – er, star chamber – has never really been on the receiving end of a decent cleaning regimen. Not that the filth actually ever impaired the rifle’s functionality as such. But that isn’t really the point of periodic basic maintenance. It is prevention as much as cure.
Everything was as easy to assemble and use as you would expect. The kit is well-designed and of quality manufacture. I especially like the rugged texture of the case, which is supposed to be weatherproof. Being winter in Cape Town, I was tempted to leave it outside overnight and test it. But I don’t feel like making something I dropped money on soggy just to prove an insignificant point.
Everything was easy and straight-forward to use. The chamber brush and star chamber cleaning pads work really well. Even though the kit only contains 5 pads, you can easily obtain refills. I still prefer running a boresnake down my AR15’s barrel, as opposed to a barrel brush and a nylon jag with patches. But that’s me. I know a lot of people like more conventional methods, and the Gun Boss AR15 kit definitely satisfies those needs. The steel pick and carbon scraper are quite useful in tackling hardened carbon deposits. To be honest, I am kind of depressed that I had to make do this long without the proper tools for that specific job.
When I was all done, it was not a hassle to pack everything neatly back into the case.
Conclusions – is it worth buying?
Look, there isn’t an awful lot I can say about a cleaning kit. It comes with a set of instructions, and it expects you to be vaguely familiar with what you intend to achieve. The kit’s purpose is to make that job easier to do.
So, does it work as advertised? Yes.
Is it quality? Definitely.
Is it portable and easy to use? Yes on both counts.
Do I feel that it was worth the money? Absolutely.
I’m not going to get overly verbose and mince my words: I recommend the Gun Boss AR15 cleaning kit. It works. It’s cool. And as of time of writing, you can pick one up from CHS Guns and Ammunition for R825.
Yes, I know that isn’t small change. But this is one of those cleaning kits that will last you a very, very long time. And if you calculate how much a stand-alone cleaning rod, brushes, patches, carbon picks, and whatnot will leave you out of pocket, the price difference really isn’t all that significant. So far I am very happy with my purchase, and I am definitely going to take a look at what else the Real Avid has on offer.
Written by Gideon Joubert.
Gideon is the owner and editor of Paratus.
