| The Otis Tactical cleaning kit, and the Otis pull-through system in general, are the best things for gun maintenance I have ever come across. I have tried all types of rods, pull-through devices, etc. The latest thing I used was the high quality Dewey rods, which are the one-piece stainless nylon-coated ones, that rotate in the bore. They are good, but the whole approach of pushing patches through with long, expensive rods, which also requires having a "bore guide" for every gun, or a muzzle guard (if you want to protect your bore from damage by the rod), gets VERY expensive, and bulky with a lot of equipment to buy, maintain, and lug around to the range or on hunting trips.
The beauty of the Otis system is the following set of points: (1) It's inexpensive. For $30 in this tactical kit, you have EVERYTHING you need to maintain ALL calibers of pistols and rifles, from a .177 caliber air gun up through a .45 caliber pistol or .45-70 rifle. And that includes shotgun maintenance as well. In comparison, one Dewey Rod as I described above, for cleaning just ONE caliber, will cost you at least $25. And that does not count the numerous other rods, bore guides, muzzle guards, etc., that you will need to clean all your other stuff. You can easily spend $200 on just basic cleaning equipment if you go with the rod approach, versus $30 for the Otis Tactical kit. (2) It's effective. This is the best, most 21st century cleaning technology available, much more current than the old one-piece rod approach. I have not found ANY rod-based approach that actually cleans my firearms as quickly, or as effectively, as the Otis system. There are many reasons for this, but in short, the patch forms a cone-shape that connects more tightly in the bore, and exposes much greater surface area of the patch than traditional "push" style patches. I can clean so quickly and thoroughly with this kit, it's amazing. Also, note that if you clean with a traditional rod according to the latest and best advice by pro benchrest shooters (see guidelines at places like 6mmBR.com), you should only push each patch or brush through the bore in one direction, and not pull it back. That means that with a brush for example, you should push it through the bore, unscrew at the muzzle end, draw your rod out, reattach the brush, and push through again, if you're going to do it right and not scrape your bore and drag debris back into it. What a hassle, cleaning like that! But with the Otis kit, it's DESIGNED to clean correctly in this way. You never have to reattach your brushes, because you're PULLING them through in one direction to begin with, so it just works better from the get-go. (3) It's portable. Try lugging a bunch of 3 to 4-foot rods and bore guides around when you go to the range/hunting, and then in comparison, put this little hamburger-sized Otis kit on your belt or in your range bag. It's beautiful, man! |