It doesn’t matter if the hunt is in the backcountry or back forty—a dirty firearm can be the difference between success and a long walk back. Pack a cleaning system versatile enough to handle every condition, without packing extra weight. Contains the brushes needed to clean .22, .270, .30, .38, .45 cal. rifles/pistols and 12/10 ga. shotguns. Patch cleans all .17-.50 cal. rifles/pistols, .410 – 12/10 ga. shotguns and all in-line muzzleloadersThe Tactical Cleaning System from Otis is engine
$ 44.99
Confused by two star reviews,
Here’s another opinion on what makes the Otis kits so worthy of consideration by comparison and why they deserve more than the two stars some reviewers gave.
What exactly do you get in the Otis kits from a feature standpoint?
Caliber Range? Includes bore brushes, jags, and swabs capable of cleaning anything from .22 to 12ga.
Assembled Bore Cleaning? Yes. Breech to muzzle bore cleaning capability on a fully assembled semi-auto or rifle. Disassembly is optional (though recommended for a more thorough cleaning) but not “required”.
Rifling/Crown Protection? Yes. Coated cable and soft brass connectors provide rifling and crown protection not offered by some rigid and segmented steel rods found in kits like the M7Pro.
Total Cleaning effectiveness? Basic tactical kit does not include picks, scrapers, or all purpose brushes for cleaning AR’s, slides, or breech faces but they do offer a “LE Tactical” kit that includes those items. Or you can just trim the handle down on your old toothbrush and carry a cleaning rag in your bag to round out the Otis kit.
Portability? Compact “hockey puck” design small enough to be worn on a belt, tossed in your range bag, or stored inside your pistol/rifle hard cases.
Cost? Basic Tactical kit runs under $50 that includes a couple of add-ins like some bore cleaning fluid and a bore reflector. Law Enforcement tactical kit includes additional components like the brass picks, scrapers, and all-purpose brushes desired by some and runs around $70.
So what do we need if we want to duplicate ALL those capabilities across the same range of calibers by assembling our “dream kit” using standard cleaning products?
Caliber Range? We’ll need some version of a standard all-purpose cleaning kit that includes all the necessary bore brushes, jags and segmented cleaning rod (possibly steel) to cover .22 to 12ga. This will cost us anywhere from $25-$90 depending upon the kit and may not include the desired picks, scrapers or all purpose brushes. Cheaper kits will include segmented steel rods, low bristle count brass brushes, and lint prone swabs and mops.
Assembled Bore Cleaning? No. You’ll need a few different bore snakes sized to the same range of calibers each running about $15.
Rifling/Crown Protection? No. For your revolvers you’ll need muzzle guards to protect your crown from a rigid rod (approx $4 each). For your semi autos, rifles, and shotguns you may also want to invest in a single piece carbon or coated cleaning rod to replace the segmented rod that may have come in your kit…especially if it’s steel. This will run you around $30.
Total Cleaning effectiveness? Depending upon the all purpose kit you purchased you may still need to purchase picks, scrapers, and all purpose brushes for cleaning AR’s, slides, and breech faces and that will run you around $10.
Portability? Well, let’s see…..we have a standard all purpose kit that probably came in a plastic, aluminum, or wooden box that’s probably somewhere around 18x9x2. (As one reviewer said….he leaves that at home…..nuff said.) Then we have all our bore snakes to contend with….I’m thinking we tuck those in a medium sized nylon drawstring pouch or take only those we need and leave the other’s at home. We also may have a single piece push rod to deal with which we can partially tuck into our range bag but is sure to stick out so we probably leave that at home too. Then we’ve got a handful of muzzle guards to put somewhere. They can probably share space in our makeshift “snake duffle” but since we’re fairly committed to thourough cleaning at home now…we probably leave them home too.
All in all that’s a far cry from the puck sized kit Otis offers and is not the sort of setup that easily travels to the field or range with you.
Cost? Adding it all up including the full range of capabilities for all calibers offered by Otis? Remember we need to round up an all purpose box kit, the full compliment of bore snakes, muzzle guards for our pistols, a coated one piece push rod, and picks and scrapers for our AR fans…..we’re talking a conservative $150-$200 when we are all said and done. And we leave most of it at home for lack of portability.
The fairest comparison is probably made against the Otis Law Enforcement Tactical kit priced at $70 that includes picks, scrapers and brushes. So we find in Otis a complete kit that covers a wide range of calibers, offers rifling and crown protection, allows for abbreviated fully assembled bore cleaning all in a single kit that can fit on your belt or in a small pack pocket making it field/club/range portable. And we find it comes in under the wire for about $100 less than we’d spend trying to acquire all the same capabilities with a combination of other products that ultimately lack portability.
Look…if you only own one gun or have no need to thoroughly clean…
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|AWESOME! i will nevr go back to cleaning with rod based kits,
The otis cable based cleaning kits are head and shoulders above any rod-based cleaning kit out there. Ideally, guns should be cleaned moving the patch smoothly from the chamber to the muzzle, which is impossible to do to some guns using a cleaning rod. The otis kits make it easy to draw the patch through the barrel smoothly and cleanly without any risk whatsoever that the metal cleaning jag with scrape against the bore. The jag is always safely surrounded by the soft cotton patch. This is of course not the case with a rod based cleaning set. When using a cleaning rod, it’s very easy to get the patch stuck or have the patch shift to one side of the jag so the jag is being dragged against the bore. This of course can be very damaging to your bore, which is completely unacceptable, especially when you are a cleaning a delicate or expensive firearm you are attempting to preserve. When you pull the otis cable through the bore, as long as you use a properly sized patch, the pull is always very smooth. The patch always shields the bore from the metal jag and does an excellent job of cleaning all sides of the bore simultaneously. With a cleaning rod, sometimes the patch is scrubbing the top of the bore, sometimes its wiggling around and loosely scrubbing the sides. There is no tight, consistent seal on all sides of the bore. The patches that come with the kit are made from excellent, heavy cotton. I don’t like bothering to buy replacement patches, but that’s ok since it’s very easy to make replaceement patches from old pairs of underwear. You just cut rough circles using an otis patch as a pattern, and then poke one or two of the necessary holes with a pair of scissors. If you buy this kit not only will your guns be significantly cleaner in less time, you will never again have to listen the grating sound of a metal rod scraping down your bore. To a collector who loves his guns that sound can be like torture!
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|Gun Cleaning Kit,
This kit is a great way to clean guns, in the field or at home. The kit is very complete and works great. Not all guns can be cleaned from the breech end, but the coated cleaning snake protects the muzzle if it is necessary to clean from that end. I would suggest using the included patches as templates to make patches for yourself out of pieces of cotton, since the Otis patches are somewhat costly. Either way, this is a great product and highly recommended.
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