Editor's Note: this post comes from Field & Stream's 'The Total Gun Manual' by David E. Petzal and Phil Bourjaily.

While I leave major jobs to a gunsmith, I like to be able to take guns apart and put them back together, mount scopes, switch stock shims, and so on myself. My gun bench contains the following:

THE BASICS
• A gun cradle to hold guns so I can work on them with both hands
• A Phillips-head screwdriver for removing recoil pads
• A large flat screwdriver for removing stock bolts
• Mini versions of both flat and Phillips-head screwdrivers
• A socket wrench with extension for removing stock bolts that don’t have slotted heads
• A spanner made for removing pump forearms
• A set of roll pin punches
• A set of gunsmithing screwdrivers with interchangeable heads so I don’t mar any screws

CLEANING AND LUBRICATING SUPPLIES
• Cleaning rods with phosphor- bronze brushes and wool mops in all gauges (10-gauge brushes make good 12-gauge chamber brushes)
• Old toothbrush
• Round brushes
• Plastic pick (looks like a dental tool)
• Cotton patches
• Rags
• 0000 steel wool
• Shooter’s Choice Grease for hinge pins and magazine cap threads
• Loctite (blue) for scope mounting
• Scope levels
• Allen and Torx wrenches for scope mounting
• Brass/nylon hammer for tapping without denting
• A vise-grip pliers for grabbing things that are really stuck or for holding small parts while I butcher them. Also, good for pulling teeth.
• A set of jeweler’s screwdrivers for very small screws.
• A Leatherman Wave multi-tool, mostly for its needle-nose pliers
• A complete set of hex wrenches
• A trigger-pull scale
• Birchwood Casey Choke Tube grease
• Gun oil in spray cans and bottles (Not WD-40)
• Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber or Liquid Wrench for thorough action cleanings
• Spray can of powder solvent for bore cleaning
• A box of Q-tips
• A can of lighter fluid for small degreasing jobs

ON MY WISH LIST:
• Brownell’s padded magazine cap pliers
• A Hawkeye Bore Scope that connects with a TV screen so I can really get a good look inside a barrel.

I AM ALWAYS OUT OF:
• Spray cans of compressed air
• Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber
• A bottle of lens cleaner for cleaning scope lenses. Also, lens tissue.
• A jar of Brownell’s Action Lube (pretty much the same stuff as choke- tube grease)
• A bottle of clear nail polish for freezing trigger screws in place
• Many jars of J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound
• Shooter’s Choice Powder Solvent

To purchase the 'The Total Gun Manual,' with 335 shooting tips from David E. Petzal and Phil Bourjaily, click here.

Comments (10)

from buckstopper wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Be careful some solvents will ruin a duracoat finish on a gun.

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from 99explorer wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Another very useful tool is a telescoping magnet for picking up tiny parts in dark corners.

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from Happy Myles wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Hawk eye has a bore scope that connects to a TV screen? My old eyes are getting so they have tough time with the old garden variety. Sounds interesting

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from ingebrigtsen wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

with my guns i go specialist eery time.. i have a set number of brushes and kit for my rifles and shotgun thats specialised for theire intended purpose.. im not a gunwriter and dont need a generalist kit suitable for anything my bosses see fit for me to test out.. my kits r definite for theire intended gun and doing it right first time takes all the guesswork out of it..
u dont wanna be guessing on what kit to use when u r weary and tired and honetsly rather go to bed than clean yer gun after a haggard hunt.. u wanna know u can do it right fast with the right tools for the job at hand and not have to use a minute more than u have to to be able to hunt another day..
usually i put on a favourite tv show and a newspaper on the floor and get the guncleaning out of the way in comfort and practise enough to do it the norwegian way the first time ;)

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from deadeyedick wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

Those and a few thousand more will do the trick.

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from FirstBubba wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

A "Russian Dozen" from Brownell's would be nice!

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from deadeyedick wrote 34 weeks 2 days ago

N0 matter how many tools I have in my gun cave. I always seem to need another. A set of taps and a tap driver comes in mighty handy for all those goofed up screws as well as a good supply of the most common gunscrewws. I bought a scope mounting kit a couple of years ago and it has proved to be invaluable,cost around a hundred bucks.

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from bberg7794 wrote 32 weeks 2 days ago

Wish list!

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from New Age Bubba wrote 29 weeks 2 days ago

Just time for my X-mas wish list to Santa!

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from 99explorer wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Another very useful tool is a telescoping magnet for picking up tiny parts in dark corners.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from buckstopper wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Be careful some solvents will ruin a duracoat finish on a gun.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Happy Myles wrote 34 weeks 5 days ago

Hawk eye has a bore scope that connects to a TV screen? My old eyes are getting so they have tough time with the old garden variety. Sounds interesting

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from ingebrigtsen wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

with my guns i go specialist eery time.. i have a set number of brushes and kit for my rifles and shotgun thats specialised for theire intended purpose.. im not a gunwriter and dont need a generalist kit suitable for anything my bosses see fit for me to test out.. my kits r definite for theire intended gun and doing it right first time takes all the guesswork out of it..
u dont wanna be guessing on what kit to use when u r weary and tired and honetsly rather go to bed than clean yer gun after a haggard hunt.. u wanna know u can do it right fast with the right tools for the job at hand and not have to use a minute more than u have to to be able to hunt another day..
usually i put on a favourite tv show and a newspaper on the floor and get the guncleaning out of the way in comfort and practise enough to do it the norwegian way the first time ;)

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from deadeyedick wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

Those and a few thousand more will do the trick.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from FirstBubba wrote 34 weeks 4 days ago

A "Russian Dozen" from Brownell's would be nice!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from deadeyedick wrote 34 weeks 2 days ago

N0 matter how many tools I have in my gun cave. I always seem to need another. A set of taps and a tap driver comes in mighty handy for all those goofed up screws as well as a good supply of the most common gunscrewws. I bought a scope mounting kit a couple of years ago and it has proved to be invaluable,cost around a hundred bucks.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from bberg7794 wrote 32 weeks 2 days ago

Wish list!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from New Age Bubba wrote 29 weeks 2 days ago

Just time for my X-mas wish list to Santa!

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All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.