Water is, by far, the the most superior solvent for those who fire corrosive primed ammo or black powder. Nothing else is anywhere close to being effective. Most commercial bore cleaners are merely different mixtures of simple solvents such as kerosene, mineral spirits, alcohol, and a few other organics such as ketones and glycols. Some contain ammonia and ammonium compounds to dissolve copper residue. But if copper bore fouling is the problem, using a product made specifically for copper removal is far better. For a little extra corrosion protection for storage, swabbing the bore with a little oil is recommended as a final step. Synthetic motor oil is the best for that purpose as it adheres well to metal. CLP is basically synthetic motor oil. Surprisingly, light household lube oils such as 3-in-1, sewing machine oil, gun oils, etc are also excellent bore cleaners all by themselves. Try one and see for yourself. You can clean a dirty bore with any commercial bore cleaner you normally use until you get a clean patch. Then run through another clean patch with oil on it, and it will come out dirty.
I know what the legendary "Ed's Red" is, and it is likely as effective as any commercial bore cleaner. But I cannot believe that it is significantly better than anything else. It's just more solvents.
Nothing concerning bore cleaning solvents, but I have always used paper towels for my gun cleaning needs, not cloth patches. Just tear off enough paper towel to make a suitable patch of the proper size. Makes life simpler.
Most military small arms ranges use PD-680 for range gun cleaning. PD-680 is the military's name for high flash point mineral spirits. It works well. Every USAF small arms range I have been on, and that is a large number, cleans their guns with a Safe-T-Clean parts cleaner like you would find in an auto repair shop along with with PD-680.
