iDoHunting.com: Gun Care, Cleaning and Maintenance

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This informative article was written by one of our Gold Members -
Wade Boardman (ruger2506).

With the colder weather making ice, many outdoor individuals are starting to shift their attention away from their hunting gear in preparation for a new season. As anxious as we all are for the new season our firearms still need a few more minutes of our time. I can’t think of many things more disappointing than opening that gun safe or cabinet only to see a rusty firearm. Doing proper preventative care on your firearms before they are put away for the season means they’ll be ready for action as next fall approaches.

While we are discussing end of season care I would like to spend some time on basic field care of our firearms. If I pick up a firearm, be it to show a friend in my home or to spend the day afield. That gun will get wiped down with an oil based protectant each and every time. There is natural oil in our skin that among other things contains salts. Salt can be a fairly caustic substance to the metal in our firearms. Not to mention whatever a person may have touched during the day (salty foods, cleaning chemicals in the home, soaps and antibacterial gels, etc.). I like to wipe the gun down with a chamois cloth that was soaked in Remington Oil and stored in a jar. About twice a year I feel the need to “recharge” the cloth with a shot or Rem Oil. It’s a quick and easy way to be sure I’m not putting a gun in the safe with any caustic substances eating away at the finish.

Another basic care I do for my firearms if they’ve been fired (even once) in the field or at the range is to run a Hoppes Boresnake through the barrel. If you’ve ever looked down your shotgun barrel after just one shot, you’ll see a fair amount of powder residue and even some plastic residue. Running the Boresnake through the barrel a couple times will clean that right up. Hoppes makes a Boresnake for almost all calibers and gauges.

Barring dropping your firearm in the mud or water, I don’t do much deep cleaning until the end of the season. With that being said, my waterfowl guns tend to get broken down to parade rest quite often.

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At the end of the season it’s time for me to do a deep cleaning on my firearms. I understand that breaking a firearm down to parade rest can be an uncomfortable feeling. None of us want to tear a firearm apart only to find we cannot get it back together. If you honestly feel that you cannot do this task I recommend a couple different options. You could ask a friend to show you how to break your firearm down or simply bring it into a gun smith and have them do it. However, it is surprising how simply built a firearm really is.

For the rifle, it is much easier to clean the barrel before the rifle has been disassembled. The barrel should be cleaned from the receiver forward, NOT THE END OF THE BARREL BACK. If you go from the end back towards the receiver, you can damage the crown of the rifling and this can greatly affect your accuracy. I learned this the hard way. One tool that makes this job so much easier is a gun vice (Image #1). I’ve used a number of different solvents over the years and found most of them to be OK for most applications. I have used Hoppe's Copper Solvent , Butch's Bore Shine, Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber 2 in 1 Bore Cleaner with limited success. They are actually decent products that do a good job. However that stubborn copper fouling in the barrel can be a huge pain to get out. The best luck I’ve had is with Barnes CR-10. It a nasty chemical to breath and should be used in a well ventilated area. But it does do the job. Whichever product you chose, simply follow the directions on the bottle/can.

Here are the typical instructions off a solvent bottle;
1. Run a clean patch of cloth through the barrel to remove and large chunks or residue and grim.
2. Soak a fresh patch with solvent and run it up and down the bore. Throw that patch away, get a fresh patch, soak it with solvent and run it up and down the bore. Let that solvent sit in the bore for a few minutes.
3. Soak the bore brush with the same solvent and run the brush up and down the bore 5 times.
4. Run a fresh patch up and down the bore.
5. Repeat #4 until patches come out clean.

I’m not going to get into the “how to” of breaking a firearm down. There are simply too many varieties to detail. The owners manual or a number of websites can help you with that. I would like to point out that a breaking your firearm down in a well lit area with a cloth or table area designated for the parts, especially small bolts or screws is recommended.

Ok, so assuming the firearm is disassembled and laid out in front of you. I start with the trigger assembly as this has is the most tedious part of the cleaning. (Image #2)

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I spray the trigger assembly down with the Rem Oil and use a tooth brush to clean in the hard to reach places. Once the assembly has been brushed, I use some paper towel to clean off the excess oil along with any grit and grease that may be on there. Throughout this process, I take the time to inspect the trigger assembly for any loose or broken parts. I’ve seen a number of springs in the trigger assembly wear and break. After the trigger assembly has been cleaned, I take my chamois cloth and wipe it down one more time to ensure no chemicals or salts are left on it. Make sure that all the excess Rem Oil has been wiped away. You want the metal to be coated, but not soaked as this will allow dust to gum up in the oil.

Next let’s address the bolt or breech bolt (Image #3).

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I do not recommend disassembling a bolt as the spring/s in there are usually under high tension and seem to go everywhere unless you are prepared. Simply inspect the bolt and make sure nothing looks outside normal wear and tear. Also make sure there is no residue or grease built up in the small nooks and crannies. Here to I spray them both with Rem Oil and then wipe away with a paper towel. After the assembly has been cleaned, I take my chamois cloth and wipe down the assembly one more time to ensure no chemicals or salts are left on it. Make sure that all the excess Rem Oil has been wiped away. You want the metal to be coated, but not soaked as this will allow dust to gum up in the oil.

The breech bolt of a pump or semi-auto shotgun are much simpler and can be disassembled if you so choose. Just be sure to pay attention to how the firing pin and spring came out so you can put them back in the same way. If you are not comfortable with this, just clean the breech bolt as described above for the rifle bolt.

On the shotgun, I now move my attention to the barrel. Here I usually remove the choke and then I’ll Boresnake the barrel. Take the choke and spray that with a powder solvent like Hoppes No. 9 or some other mild solvent and then wipe away the residue. Once the chokes have been cleaned and the barrel has been boresnaked, put the choke back into the barrel. At this point, I take a paper towel and toothbrush and wipe down the interior portion of the receiver making sure to get any residue, dirt, etc. out. Then I use my chamois cloth and wipe everything down, inside and out. Then the shotgun can be reassembled. Once reassembled, I wipe down the entire gun again and put it away. (Image #4)

For the rifle; while it is disassembled, I can now clean out dirt, leafy material, etc. out of the stock. After the stock has been cleaned and inspected for any cracks it is ready to be reassembled. Oil on the stock won’t really hurt it. However it is recommended to try and keep oils away from your wood stock. The oils can dry out the wood and tarnish the finish. At this point I’ll take my chamois cloth and wipe for the metal parts of the rifle again before I put the stock back on. Again, you’ll want the metal coated with Rem Oil, but not soaked.

Once the rifle has been reassembled I will now take the time to clean the optics (if any). There I use a Lens Pen to clean the glass, making sure not to get any oil or grease on the lens. At this point, you can now put your firearms away and be comfortable in knowing that they’ll be in proper working order when you need them again next fall.

The data above was written from my experience of dealing with firearms. This is not the end all be all of firearm care, but I do hope this has been enough information to help some of you.

Wade Boardman