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• Firearms

Taking Care of Your Rifle

Cleaning your gun after a day on the hunt is just as important as preparing the gun for the hunt, having the right equipment such as scopes, and taking care of it while you're out. While this isn't the part of gun ownership that is exciting or sexy, it's certainly a very important part of the process.

Immediate gun cleaning after using your weapon is essential to avoid rusting and pitting. For shotguns, there are many vital cleaning tips that will help you to keep your gun in great shape.  While some of these require you to purchase products to clean the weapon, others are items that you can make yourself or find at home.  You don't have to spend a lot of time or money cleaning your gun - but you do need to do the important and proper maintenance to guarantee a gun that works well when you want it to perform at its best.

Cleaning Your Riffle

Use phosphorus bronze brushes wound on a core since they are more durable and flexible. You can actually make your own patch rod with a 5/8^th-inch wooden dowel. Use a bicycle handlebar fastened to one end. For a great cleaning patch, you can use paper towels folded and rolled to bore-filling diameter size. Soak the towel with a quality bore cleaner and push it through the entire length of the bore from the chamber to the muzzle. Use a toothbrush to scrub your bearing surfaces with a purchased cleaner. Then, wipe it off and coat the metal areas with a quality moisture displacer.

Storing Your Gun

Storing your gun the proper way is also an essential part of its maintenance. Often times, people only use their shotgun or rifle during hunting season and they store it the rest of the year. If the gun isn't stored in the proper way, it can start to corrode. Before storing your weapons for an extended period of time, follow these instructions. The bore should be cleaned and the action should be scrubbed. Then, degrease the action with a quality degreaser and follow this with a light coating of gun grease. Use a small coating of a quality water-displacement to spray the action. Use a rust preventing spray that you can purchase from a gun dealer and run this down the bore and over the outside of the gun. Then, you'll be ready to store your gun. Remember that it should be locked at all times, and kept far out of the reach of children.

When you're ready to use your weapon again, run a wet patch down the bore. Then use a dry patch, wipe it down and get ready for a great shooting experience!