1/25/2006
Post-Season Gun Care
by Joe Wilkinson
The white cotton patch went into the bore clean. Pulling it out of my 20-gauge "deer gun," it had picked up streaks of dark gray; residue from shots fired. Normal, you might say, except that my gun was clean. Rather, I should say, I had cleaned my gun. There's a difference.
With Iowa's pheasant and deer seasons closing (okay, except for a few January late season deer tags) most firearms are headed to storage. And most will get at least a cursory cleaning before being locked away in the gun cabinet or closet. Running the cleaning rod through your firearm should pick up most powder residue and microscopic flakes of lead. That's what blackens your cleaning patch on the first swipe. However, getting most of it is not getting all of it.
"We see more and more guns not getting routine maintenance," acknowledges Iowa City gunsmith Pat Childs. "At the end of the season, (a hunter) should clean the barrel of all that residue and lightly oil it; external surfaces, too." Often, by the time a hunter brings a gun in for work, problems have developed. "Upland hunters, might have something as simple as a weed seed that has worked into the gun; into the trigger group or the bolt, causing a malfunction. Maybe a bur has developed on a part."
With the boom in deer hunting, plastic-cased sabots fired down rifled barrels leave their own calling cards. "The biggest culprit is plastic residue left in the barrel," notes Childs, who works the gun shop at Fin & Feather in Iowa City. "Rust develops underneath that plastic and can pit the barrel. Besides that, recoil increases. Extraction of the shell is less efficient; especially with the semi-automatics."
And, obviously, accuracy is affected. Childs suggests looking at the rifling visible at the edge of the barrel. It should show a "square" appearance. A build up of plastic will round off that precision-milled rifling. "That rifling is to spin the sabot. If it doesn't go spinning out of the barrel, the slug is not stabilized (in flight)," he says.
That's what sent me down to the basement. For years, I have used a pretty well known cleaning solvent and lubricant; a company that makes gun cleaning kits. You might use it, too. Child suggests getting more aggressive. "Get a potent enough solvent to dissolve plastic particles. Use a bronze brush, the same gauge as your gun barrel. It is going to take several cleanings," he urges. "If (your patch) comes out gray, keep working on it." I took his recommended solvent (Shooter's Choice) and ran a patch through a couple times. It came out charcoal gray...from a gun that I had already cleaned. Though not a high-end firearm, it is a nice semi-automatic deer gun; one I want to use for years. I ran 10 or 12 cloth patches through it; alternating between solvent, dry and lubricants and was still getting a 'touch of gray'.
Childs also recommends taking your firearm completely apart and cleaning those internal parts, not just working a rod through the barrel and rubbing down the external parts.
If you plan on keeping your gun for years to come, a family heirloom, it makes sense to spend the extra time and effort to keep it spotless. If you just want to trade up in a few years, it also pays dividends. "A clean gun, one that functions properly, is worth more than a rusty one," Childs declares.
I better swab one more time. That patch isn't white yet.
End of Season Gun Care Tips
 | Clean it before you put it away. Wipe down all external parts, too. Do
NOT store in its carrying case. That will trap moisture. |
| Store it in a dry location. A dehumidifier now can avoid problems
later, if your guns will be in the damp basement for the next eight
months. |
| Give your gun a heavier coating of oil if you are storing it. Don't
forget to clean it, though, before using it again, going back to the light
coating for hunting season. |
| Tear down the entire firearm to clean and lubricate it. The
instruction manual should have a schematic of the parts if you get lost.
|
| For muzzleloaders especially, clean it after each use. Modern "in
line" models are pretty easy to clean. Removal of the breech plug allows
you to clean the entire barrel. And blackpowder models, even cleaner
burning powder pellets still cause a lot of fouling. |
| If you're not sure how to do it, have a gunsmith keep your firearm investment in good shape. Expect to pay $30-$40 to have it torn down, cleaned, de-burred and inspected. |
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