Whether you wait to clean your guns until they develop an STD or let your obsessive-compulsive disorder run wild on the gun cleaning table, the products you use (probably) don’t claim to make your guns more accurate.
Modern Spartan Systems is different. The company claims that its suite of gun cleaning products not only busts through carbon and copper but also improves accuracy and velocity.
That’s because, unlike most gun oils, MSS Accuracy Oil binds to metal surfaces to provide lubrication even after the oil layer is gone. Used in conjunction with the Carbon Destroyer and Copper Destroyer, Accuracy Oil practically eliminates friction and improves a firearm’s performance.
“We’re making the surface on the metal smoother and tighter,” Marcus Kahn told me. Kahn is the Founding Partner & CEO at Modern Spartan Systems. “You’re changing the physics on the barrel and, you’re taking 90 percent of the friction out of the barrel. It makes the guns more accurate.”
A Complete System
The MSS starter kit comes with five products: Accuracy Oil, Carbon Destroyer, Copper/Lead Destroyer, Accuracy Grease, and Crystal Clear lens treatment.
The Carbon Destroyer is for organic deposits and the Copper and Lead destroyer is for metallic compounds. The Destroyers strip metal to its surface while the oil builds a protective layer over it. This protective layer reduces friction and prevents fouling.
The Accuracy Grease is for applications that require longer-term lubrication, and the Crystal Clear lens treatment is great for shooting glasses and optics. It would probably be great for windows as well, but the 2-ounce bottle wouldn’t last very long.
I won’t claim that the Destroyers are some kind of miracle product. I’ve used MSS cleaners on a variety of rifles and pistols, and they always perform as advertised. They get all the crap off my guns, which is all I need them to do.
What I like most about the Destroyers is what they don’t do. They don’t stink. MSS products are inert and non-toxic, and the company describes them as “green.” I’m not a hippy-dippy tree hugger, but I don’t like inhaling toxic fumes any more than the next guy.
The MSS cleaners don’t smell, they can be used in confined spaces without risking a headache, and they’re safe to use around pets and kids.
“MSS products will not etch metal or etch the inside of your brain, like some copper removers can sadly do,” Kahn told me.
I’d rather have a product that cleans my guns than a product that doesn’t smell, but fortunately for me, MSS cleaners do both.
Faster and More Accurate?
More intriguing than a stink-free gun cleaner is a lubricant that improves accuracy and velocity. Accuracy Oil is MSS’s flagship product and what truly sets the company apart from its competition. Accuracy Oil is nontoxic like their cleaners, and it offers some pretty serious lubrication. Check out this video of accuracy oil going head-to-head against other gun oils.
Good lubrication is essential for semi-auto actions, and I haven’t had any trouble using Accuracy Oil on my AR-15’s or my semi-auto handguns. But I never had much trouble with other oils, either. Guns are designed to be used under extreme conditions, and that includes a lack of lubrication. The AR-15 has a reputation of running better when “wet,” but modern iterations of the design don’t actually need much lube to operate reliably.
I was far more interested in MSS’s claims related to accuracy and velocity.
I’ve used Accuracy Oil on all my firearms over the last 6 months or so, and my results have been mixed.
On some rifles, I’ve seen an accuracy improvement. GunsAmerica readers might remember the AR-15 from this 2020 article, “Six Strategies for Accurizing Your AR-15.” That gun produces great accuracy with heavy .223 Rem. bullets, but I’ve been a little disappointed with how it’s shot 55-grain pills.
After treating the chrome-lined barrel with Accuracy Oil (3-5 shot groups with oil treatment between each group), I noticed the groups shrinking. Where before the gun posted groups larger than one inch with Hornady 55-grain HTBT bullets, now the gun easily shoots sub-MOA.
On other rifles, I’ve seen an increase in velocity rather than an improvement in accuracy.
I’ve had a Ruger American rifle chambered in .308 Win. for several years now, and that rifle has been put through the ringer. For several years, I was bound and determined to turn that rifle into a tack driver, so I spent a lot of time developing and testing different loads for it. Nothing panned out. My best groups measured about 0.7”, but the average was closer to 1.2”.
I recreated that load for this test and shot groups after treating the barrel with Accuracy Oil. The group sizes didn’t shrink, but I noticed that the bullets traveled about 150 fps faster than they used to. I’ve kept meticulous load data on this rifle, so I’m confident in saying that velocities increased.
Increased velocity doesn’t improve accuracy at short ranges, but it can keep bullets flying flatter at distance, which can improve long-range accuracy. So, you could argue that Accuracy Oil made even the Ruger American more accurate.
Accuracy Oil can also improve accuracy over time. As any long-range competitive shooter can tell you, barrels wear out and become less accurate after several thousand rounds. Theoretically, a product like Accuracy Oil could reduce wear and extend the life of a barrel by reducing friction and throat wear.
I haven’t had Accuracy Oil long enough to confirm that theory, but Josh White has. White currently works as a field engineer for SSK Firearms and formerly held the same position for Lehigh Defense. He’s also a long-range competition shooter, and he told me he saw Accuracy Oil work wonders on his 6mm Grinch barrel.
“We saw greatly improved wear,” he said. “The dollar value and ROI from using Accuracy Oil is significant.”
In White’s test, he treated one 6mm Grinch barrel with Accuracy Oil and the other he did not. After 1,500 rounds the untreated barrel had .005” of throat erosion and was losing accuracy. But the treated barrel was just beginning to show signs of throat erosion after 4,500 rounds.
White explained that while “accuracy” can be difficult to differentiate in two custom barrels, wear and tear is not. In this case, Accuracy Oil made a clear, long-term improvement.
Final Shot
If you’re anything like me, you’re suspicious of miracle products that claim to be better than anything currently on the market. Truly innovative products are uncommon, and companies that claim to be truly innovative need to show their work, so to speak.
From my experience, Modern Spartan Systems has shown its work. The cleaning products remove copper, lead, and carbon without any foul odors. Accuracy Oil increases velocity and accuracy, reduces friction, and helps barrels last longer.
You may not experience profound improvements, but for $60, the MSS Starter Kit is worth a shot. You’ll pay nearly that much for traditional products, so why not give them a try? Worst case scenario, you get your guns clean without stinking up your shop.
Interesting product and at least it is affordable. I’m a retired oilfield Engineer and pseudo-chemist with over 40 years of experience and most of my chemistry and metallurgy knowledge were learned on the job working elbow-to-elbow with several PhD chemists and metallurgists working both in the field and in our labs. I’m also a second-generation FFL and hunter but not a long range shooter. I’m highly skeptical of any miracle type product after having tested hundreds of them myself within oilfield applications on a variety of steel and steel alloy products. So although it is possible that a newly discovered “green” lubricant product can somehow reduced erosion, I’m highly skeptical of that claim. Although a claim of side-by-side comparison of throat erosion on two custom barrels is worth noting, that simple test does not rule out other factors such as metallurgical differences, manufacturing differences, testing bias, etc. A test using a larger group of barrels would be required to illustrate the differences in wear with and without the Accuracy Oil. For example, several barrels from the same manufacturer could be treated with the Accuracy Oil, an equal number with at least one other common lubricant, and an equal number with no treatment. That begins to address the question of whether or not the treatment itself with a lubricant is responsible for the reduced erosion, or is Accuracy Oil the true miracle product.
Been using these products for over a year now. Cleaners work well, but the game changer is the oil. Absolutely nothing i have found that works as well. In particular, I have a couple 1911s with very good slide to frame fits. This Accuracy Oil is the only thing I will use to keep them that way and running friction free.