If you want your gun to be perfectly ready every time you need it, it’s really necessary that you spend time on its maintenance. Whether you’re looking to hunt deer in excruciatingly cold weather or are simply up for some target shooting with your close buddies- a properly maintained gun will always help to meet the expectations of your weapon.\
While some people aren’t really comfortable with cleaning their firearms; moderate to light cleaning is indeed necessary to maintain its overall efficiency. But even if you want to clean your gun, what should be your cleaning schedule? Is there any specific procedure that you’re required to follow? Well, that is exactly what we are going to find out in the following section.
1. When To Clean Your Gun?
While your gun cleaning schedule usually depends on your personal preference, there are also several instances when you can’t really avoid cleaning your guns because at that point they absolutely require the necessary cleanup.
One of the ideal times for cleaning your gun is when you’ve used some corrosive loads in it. This is particularly relevant for older guns because our modern ammunition doesn’t really need extensive cleanups. Cleaning your gun right after using corrosive loads is important as they often tend to leave chemicals that affect the quality of metal in the guns.
In addition to this, you should also make it a point to clean the gun when you’ve used cheap ammo or have fired several back to back rounds with your firearm. If you’re looking to keep your device in shape and hand it down to future generations, it is really important that you ensure this basic cleanup.
2. Read The Owner’s Manual
When it comes to maintaining the efficiency of your gun, one of the best practices is to clean the device right after your shooting session. In case you’re planning to store it, always make sure it’s clean and properly lubricated before you’re putting it away.
And that’s not all! Before you clean the gun, always read through the manufacturer’s manual. Most guns require being disassembled for a proper cleaning. So even before you start out, make sure you are absolutely comfortable and familiar with the entire process of assembling and disassembling the gun.
After you’ve read through the manual, go to a well-ventilated area and then start your clean up. This is particularly relevant because the chemicals emitted during shooting are highly toxic and so are substances that you’ll use for cleaning and lubricating the gun.
3. Use A Cloth To Wipe The Gun
When it comes to cleaning the body of the gun, always use a cloth or a dry rag. Take this rag and gently remove the carbon buildups, powder, and oil that, is visible to you. After you’re done with that, apply some solvent in order to remove the gunk that you couldn’t really wipe with your rag. Let this solvent soak for a couple of minutes. As it soaks, it will loosen up the powder, oil and dirt buildup. Finally, when you feel that the solvent has soaked for a decent amount of time, use a brush to scrub away the buildup.
4. Clean The Barrel With Solvent
You can try the following guidelines for cleaning your gun’s barrel.
- Start out by applying gun solvent to a bore brush.
- After this, gently run the brush through your barrel for a couple of times. Add some extra solvent, if needed.
- Finally, when you’re done add a patch holder to your cleaning rod and run it down your barrel.
- Keep following this step with a new patch of cloth till your gun looks visibly clean.
- Add some gun oil to the patch as you run it down the bore.
In case you’re cleaning a revolver, you’ll have to clean all its chambers following the same method for cleaning your barrel.
5. Use Lubricant After Completing The Cleanup
After you’re done with cleaning the gun, apply some lubricant on it. You can browse through the manufacturer’s manual in order to get an idea about the types of lubricants that can be used for your particular handgun.
Finally, once you’ve cleaned and lubricated your gun, take some time for reassembling it. Put the parts back in their original position and then apply some gun oil or metal preservative on your gun. Use a cloth to wipe it down.
Final Thoughts
Once you follow these guidelines, your gun will be ready for your next shooting session!
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