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Cylinder & Slides Dunk-Kit Cleaning System
Dunking is not just for doughnuts!
By D.K. Pridgen

What so I like most about shooting? Shooting! What do I like least? That's a toss-up between hand-loading and cleaning firearms. Progressive presses have gone a long way towards reducing my displeasure at the former. (Having someone else do reloading for me would be even better but remains just a fond dream of mine.) However, until they invent firearms that are self-cleaning or never get dirty, the onerous chore will remain.

Unlike progressive presses, there are few thins that come to mind to reduce the pain of cleaning. One such product is is Cylinder & Slides's (Dept. GW, P.O. Box 937, Fremont, NE 68025: 402/721-4277; www.cylinder-slide.com) Dunk-Kit system. Dunk-Kit is certainly not the first thing to mind when C&S is mentioned. (Custom handguns, great accessories and their new Safety Fast Shooting System for 1911s and Browning High Powers would be at the head of my list, but that is another story.)

However, for a number of years C&S's Bill Laughridge has been marketing the Dunk-Kit. OK, but what the heck is a Dunk-Kit? Take a two-gallon polymer bucket, fill it almost full with solvents, cleaners and lubricants, slap on a label and top and you've got a Dunk-Kit.

Well, not quite. Speaking as a chemist, I can tell you that odds favor your ending up with something that will not only fail to remove undesirables that accumulate with each shot fired but could make you wind up dragging a completely remodeled pistol from the liquid- and not necessarily a positive remodeling! Having seen the results of certain solvents on polymer, the danger is even greater for pistols with such parts.

Formulating this solution is best left to the likes of Bill Laughridge, sort of like the old commercial slogan "and leave the driving to us." Whereas darn near every handgun known to man had been dunked in the original formula with great results, including those with plastic parts (but not those with nickel plating), some folks were a little leery about dropping their "combat Tupperware" into a solution. Just to assuage their fears, Bill developed a polymer frame formula.

This new Dunk-Kit formula for polymer frames has been extensively tested (in impressive way I am not allowed to disclose) to ensure its safety. As a bonus, one can still use the Polymer Dunk-Kit on non-polymer framed handguns. 

So how is Dunk-Kit used? Cylinder & Slide says the entire handgun can be dumped into the bucket, after  removing grips, and  allowed to  soak five to 15 minuets. After the handgun dries the handgun will be ready to go with the addition of lubricant in high stress areas. For those who procrastinate before cleaning, such as moi, the best route is field stripping, dunking the allotted time, a quick once over with a toothbrush , and a final slosh in the bucket to rinse away the last of those unwanted traces. Lube as needed after drying.

Sound like a good thing? It is. I don't see any reason to spend all the time I used to in a chore I really don't enjoy! I'll just Dunk-Kit.