Here's something you don't see every day... a shotgun shell that goes bang (er, okay, it's more of a pop), flings a string out the end of your shotgun barrel, and contains a patch & CLP combination that allows you to clean a semi-skanky shotgun barrel quickly and easily. At roughly four bucks a pop, they ain't cheap, but they are convenient.
- Very nifty and attention-getting.
- They work as advertised.
- Contains a well-known brand of CLP (Mil-Comm TW25B/MC2500).
- Fast and convenient.
Cons
- Very hard to pull through a barrel, especially the first time.
- Not cheap.
After One Use
Description
- 12 gauge shotgun shell containing a bore cleaning/lubricating insert.
- Load shell in shotgun chamber just like any shell. Point gun in safe direction, and fire.
- The primer pops, and the end of a string comes out the end of your barrel.
- Grab the string and pull the cleaning insert out of the shell and through the gun's barrel.
- Remove the shell from the chamber.
- If you want, you can drop the string through the barrel and pull the insert through again.
- Requires a lot of effort to get it through, especially the first time.
- I wrapped the string around a hammer handle in order to get the grip I needed to pull it through.
Guide Review
Okay, so by the time you've reached this point in the review, you know what we're dealing with. It's a shotgun shell with cleaning goodies inside. And if you just skimmed over the description, you might still be wondering what everyone else wonders: Do I just shoot this thing through my barrel to clean my gun?The answer, to our mutual disappointment, is no. As if such a thing were practical! I wish.
You load the Stinger, fire it, and then the work begins. Is it a lot of work? No, not really. Certainly less work than giving your gun a real thorough cleaning -- but this product is not designed to replace a real thorough cleaning. What it is, is a stop-gap measure, and I admit it's a pretty good one. It's meant to hold you over until you get off your butt and give that scattergun the thorough cleaning it so richly deserves.
Let's say you go on a dove shoot, and afterwards you're so tired and sweaty and having such a good time goofing off with your buddies that a thorough cleaning of your shotgun is a chore you'd rather not tackle. So what do you do?
After a Few More Passes
Unload the shell and drag the cleaning insert through another time or two. Then pack your gun away and grab yourself a nice refreshing beverage, feeling like you earned it.
Just be aware that passing Stingers out to all your friends who "just gotta try it!" could get expensive.
For what it is, this is a good product, and bound to draw attention among scattergunners. In fact, I would have given it five stars, had I deemed it to be truly cost-effective... but spending at least four bucks for each one of them isn't the thriftiest way to hold you over until your next shotgun cleaning.
- Russ Chastain
