The topic of Gun maintenance is something that bores most gun owners. They only like to use it for practice shooting or hunting, and that’s it. But most of the time, they are also the ones who complain about their weapons don’t work as well as they used to.
Like triggers getting jammed, handle gone loose and whatnot. And that’s on them. If you don’t take proper care of your guns and rifles, they will lose efficiency and precision. Therefore, the meticulous act of cleaning is of the highest importance.
And today I’m going to share some great Gun Cleaning Tips and Tricks with my readers to help them preserve their weapons for years without losing its essence.
Gun Cleaning Tips And Tricks
Before going over the gun cleaning tips and tricks, I want you to know that it isn’t necessary to clean it thoroughly. By that I mean, you don’t have to try to make it spotless. However, if you feel like doing that then great. That’s a choice that every gunman needs to make for themselves. I just want to show you how you can clean your weapons without damaging it anyway. So, let’s talk about real business.
- The first step is simple. Make sure to unload the gun. Sometimes after removing the magazine, still there can be a bullet that was already loaded to fire. So, double check that and then you proceed to the next step.
- The next thing you will do is dismantle the weapon. Open it up to bits for easy cleaning. Then get a soft cloth, preferably a cotton-like fabric. One of my great gun cleaning tip and trick are to use old t-shirts to clean the stuff. Also, get some sort lubricant to clean your rifle or handgun. There are many types of gun cleaning lubricants available in the market. Plus, get a variety of cleaning brushes and some cotton. They will come handy.
- While cleaning with the cloth, keep your eyes open to make sure no loose string from the fabric gets attached to the gun parts. Even the smallest strains need to be carefully removed. If you leave lint on contact with the weapon, when firing, they will burn, leaving residues that could cause failures and interruptions in your weapon. That’s because most of the shotguns used for hunting are now semi-automatic and require a little more attention than parallel or overlapping. So, you will have to carefully clean the gas cylinder chamber or boiler, as well as the bolt head and the extraction nail.
- Cleaning the rifle’s barrel is quite complex. But with proper equipment on your side, it isn’t that hard. To start with, get different kinds of brushes for the procedure. You need to make certain the stick of the brush itself is made of fiber to prevent damage while stroking the inside of the barrel. Meanwhile, it needs to be flexible enough to facilitate the task. You need to know which brush to use for which part of cleaning the barrel. If the barrel contains a large amount of dirt, a metal brush in the form of a spiral must first be passed. By pushing it, you will pick up and get rid of the burned out powder stuck in the pipe. Probably you have to repeat the operation several times. Next, another brush with hard bristles is passed to remove all remaining dust and dirt. If the waste does not turn out well, you can use some cleaning oil, but only if it’s required. Once cleaned, the inside of the cylinder is gently brushed with a third wool brush. It needs to go down there to give it a gloss and to eliminate any excess oil. Always make sure you’ve dried out oil before assembling the weapon.
- Everyone knows how to clean the gun. Still, the gun cleaning tips and tricks are required to provide them with little bits of knowledge that helps speed the process and do the job properly. And such an important trick is to clean your weapon in ventilated areas. Why is that? That’s because the lubricant that is used to clean the gun contain toxic fumes. In a closed room, without proper air ventilation, you can feel the toxic fumes getting in your body making you feel sick. To avoid that, you need to work in places where there is air circulation. Wear a mask if you can to be safer.
- Cover the workplace with plastic bags and papers while cleaning your gun. You will be working with lubricant and oils, so if you accidentally spill them, there will be stains all over the place. A newbie can certainly make a mistake or a lazy gun owner. So, to avoid such unwanted situation cover the area while you’ll be cleaning to prevent any sort of damage to properties.
- Now, coming to the cleaning once again. You now got the idea of how to clean the barrel. That improves your guns efficiency and helps with the precision too. But you have also to take care of the rest of the weapon. You need to clean the entire damn thing too. Now, some of you might not care how your gun looks. You’re all about the business. But cleaning the body isn’t just for the looks alone, it also improves your performance with the gun. Sometimes, the body of the gun gets oily and has some debris got stuck in it which causes difficulties. If you get a cloth and clean that stuff with oil, it will add shine to your weapon. While any rough patch will be worked out and you get the best performance possible. So, be smart and clean the entire thing, not just the barrels.
- You now have learned how to get your guns cleaned. But here in this guns cleaning tips and tricks, I also want to share more than just maintenance knowledge. Like when do you need to clean your weapons? To keep the guns at its peak quality, you require cleaning the gun after every use. However, not everyone has the luxury to go hunting or just practice shooting, and probably your guns might be back in the closet for months, even years getting dirt all over it. In that case, get it out of there to clean it like mentioned above now and then. This way you can keep it in usable shape.
- Clearly, you have nailed cleaning your weapon, and now it’s time to store it. You might not think it’s important to store the gun in a safe place and can keep it anywhere you like. That’s a big mistake. Always, store the weapons inside a gun casing or bag if you have got one. And make sure to store that in a safe and cool place. The cool environment makes sure the guns don’t get damaged. Plus, if you have a hard casing to store your guns, you can strip the entire thing in parts and keep it that way without worrying about losing any parts. It can increase the lifespan of your weapon significantly.
- This last tip is primarily directed towards the shotgun enthusiasts. And if you’re one then you probably might know that shotguns have interchangeable inner chokes. These things require a lot of care. And to do that, unscrew the one mounted on the barrel and carefully cleaned the grooves, both of the barrel and the choke, and re-thread. It is very important that the choke is always threaded thoroughly. Otherwise, it could irreparably damage the barrel. And if does that the gun will lose its efficiency and accuracy big time. In addition to that, double check the exhaust nozzles that tend to clog with burned gunpowder. If they are plugged, the automation will not work properly. It is also desirable to remove the dock surrounding the ammunition store and clean it.
Verdict
I’m pretty sure these gun cleaning tips and tricks might seem like a lot of hassle at first. And probably, you will be thinking your weapon is working better without doing any of them. But with time, the weapon will lose the characteristics that made you fall for it in the first place.
Whether you’re using a handgun, a rifle or a shotgun, that doesn’t matter. If you don’t do the required maintenance work from time to time. The weapon will certainly lose its qualities, and you will end up missing your shots. Just because you didn’t want to spend some 10-15 minutes cleaning the gun. So, be a man and start cleaning up your mess before it’s too late.