Hunting seasons begin in the second half of the year, and it will start even before you know it. That’s why successful hunters stay prepared before entering the woods, which begins before the hunting season is here. Long summer days are just right for preparing your firearm for the next hunting trip. If you are thinking about hunting in western areas, hunting seasons in those areas often begin earlier in the year.
That means you need to start your preparation sooner to get everything aligned with your needs. We all know that successful hunting will heavily depend upon the preparation and performance of your firearms.
If the bore and other parts of the firearm are not cleaned or maintained properly, it will be hard for you to pinpoint accuracy. So, if you are looking for a way to get your firearm prepared for this hunting season, we have covered everything to prepare your firearm and ensure that you get the best assistance from a gun to make precision shooting.
Why Is It Important To Clean Your Gun?
✔ Enhance Your Shooting Performance
We will know that if you don’t maintain your firearm, it will eventually cause performance issues. Even though safety is a major concern, you must focus on your shooting performance for a successful hunting session. The dirty firing pin may begin to strike lightly, which can prevent the primer from busting the bullet powder.
Firearms are integrated with rifling, carefully crafted to stabilize the projectile spin while ensuring utmost accuracy. Remember, if you notice grime and dirt in your barrel, it can potentially affect the performance of your firearm. Plus, it will negatively affect your downrange and make it hard for you to hit your target. If your gun features complex and more moving parts, it is more likely to fail when you expect it to perform just right.
For instance, having a semi-automatic firearm will fail to perform well due to various moving parts, and a breech-loaded gun would require less maintenance and will still work great. However, you should know that burnt gunpowder, old lubricant, and dirt build-up can cause your firearm to malfunction and result in a temporary jam.
✔ Safety Of Your Firearm
Every firearm enthusiast, marksman, and hunter knows that safety is the most crucial factor to consider when talking about anything related to firearms. So whether you have a semi-automatic rifle, bolt-action rifle or shotgun, firearms are crafted with care and precise measurements to ensure each delicate part remains intact during heavy recoil.
With continuous use, dirt, unburned powder and small bullet fragments build up in the barrel. You should know that it does not take much space for jamming the barrel or triggering a misfire. Any of the above scenarios can create unsafe situations for the shooters and might even cause severe damage.
That’s why it is necessary to keep your gun maintained and cleaned after every hunting trip to ensure optimal performance and protection for your investment for the upcoming years.
✔ Safeguarding Your Investment
Whether you are a firearm enthusiast or a professional hunter, every firearm is a type of investment. They offer the best value of money and don’t depreciate like other products when appropriately maintained. However, before looking at the value of money, you must know that firearms are not available at a cheap price and replacing a broken part can cost a lot.
That’s why it becomes necessary for every hunter and shooter to maintain and clean their firearm after every week, as it will allow you to reap the benefits of making a purchase.
Remember to choose a product that makes your investment worthwhile and enables you to perform well during this hunting season. You must understand the importance of keeping your gun clean and tidy to ensure that your firearm remains operational and effective during hunting activities.
How Often Should You Clean Your Firearm?
Most hunters and shooters often wonder, “do they have to clean their firearm after every use?” The answer depends upon the usage in every hunting trip and how frequently you use them. However, it is recommended to clean your firearm after every 300 rounds and thorough cleaning after every 3000 rounds.
As in the latter case, unburnt powder, bullet fragments, and dust starts to build up, blocking the barrel and causing the gun to misfire or away from the target. Once you have established why it is necessary to clean your gun, you will understand when and how to clean it.
So, hunters and shooters must know that it is compulsory for your own safety as cleaning your firearm will ensure optimal performance and long-lasting usage.
Steps For Maintaining And Cleaning Your Gun!!!
Before you begin the cleaning process, you must ensure that the chamber is empty and the gun is unloaded. You should remove the magazine while pointing the barrel in a safe direction so that you can avoid getting another round to be chambered.
After that, you should open the slide to remove the pre-chambered round if it has anyone and check to ensure that it is properly cleaned. Once you have done that, you must follow the below to ensure thorough cleaning and proper functionality.
- Organize Your Space
After unloading your gun, you have to organize your space for starting the cleaning process. First, you should choose a properly ventilated and clean place, like outdoors or an open garage.
You need to place a mat on the surface and ensure it is well protected. Be mindful when choosing a surface to work on because many firearm cleaning materials are integrated with hazardous chemicals to you and furniture or the surface.
- Gather All Cleaning Supplies
It is recommended to use cleaning agents specially developed for firearms as it helps you clean your firearm properly without causing damage. Fortunately, you can find these types of cleaning kits on the market that are integrated with everything you need for thorough cleaning.
It will contain a lubricant, lint-free patches, solvent spray, and calibre-specific bore snake or brush. That way, you won’t have to struggle to find the right cleaning material for your firearms.
- Dismantle The Parts
Of course, every firearm will have different procedures to dismantle, as each firearm will have a number of parts joined together. For instance, some models are easy to dismantle, and others are integrated with many parts. That’s why you need to read the owner’s manual for dismantling the firearm quickly.
Stay careful when disassembling the firearm and setting aside every part, spring, and pin separately so that you can easily put back each part in the right position. If required, you can also keep a smallholding tray for storing small parts.
- Clean The Barrel
Once you have properly dismantled the firearm, you should start cleaning the barrel. First, you must use a dry bore brush to remove larger dust and grime deposits. Once you have thoroughly removed the largest grimes and dust deposits, you can use a lint-free patch or a microfiber and dip it in a bore solvent.
Now, place the wet microfiber on the cleaning rod and run it back and forth to clean the barrel thoroughly. After that, you should change the lint-patch and, use a new one and continue this process again until every dust particle comes out.
- Clean The Action
After cleaning the barrel, it’s time for cleansing the Action. First, you should use a copper or nylon brush as initial scrubbing to remove grime and dust. After that, you need to spray a thick solvent coating on each piece.
Ensure that it holds the slide or bolt in a way to let the solution drip out on the mat. Let the solvent rest for a few minutes to work before you start scrubbing them with your brush. After that, use patches to clean down the Action.
- Lubricate
After cleaning every piece of your firearm, you must apply lubricant to every piece. These solutions are often stored in a tube with a tiny applicator. That way, you can apply it in tight and precise locations.
Of course, the lubrication area would vary from one firearm to another, but generally, you are required to lubricate those areas, which are likely to face friction. Lubrication is important for your firearm to work properly, but that doesn’t mean you should apply it in excess.
Excessive lubrication will collect debris, unburnt powder, carbon, and dust easily, resulting in thick, sticky slime, which makes it challenging for your firearm to operate properly.
- Reassemble And Check Functionality
At last, you need to reassemble the parts in the way you dismantled them so that you won’t get confused. First, make sure you have put everything back together and nothing is left. After that, you should check the operation of your gun. Before checking the functionality, you must ensure that the chamber is empty and move the bolt and slide back a few times to ensure equal distribution of lubrication.
It will also ensure that everything is back in its place and ready to operate. Next, you should check the safety switches and magazine release button to ensure you have lubricated every necessary part. Finally, before you place back the magazine, you should ensure that it is empty. Now, repeat the wrack a few more times to test its functionality.
- Clean The Exterior
Now, use a lint-free cloth to remove excess lubrication, leftover dirt and fingerprints on the firearm. You can use it as a protective coating so that your firearm won’t catch dirt and grime on its surface during hunting seasons.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Is It Necessary To Clean Your Gun For Hunting?
Yes, it is necessary to clean your firearm before starting your next hunting season. You must know that the build-up bore can affect your shooting accuracy. However, it is not required to clean your firearm after every hunting trip unless you did an intense shooting session or got debris or dust into the barrel.
- What Is The Best Cleaning Agent For Your Gun?
A bottle of hydrogen peroxide would work great when cleaning the dust and debris that got inside the gun. When you mix hydrogen peroxide with another cleaning agent in a 50-50 solution, it will help remove the metal deposits on your gun and clean the burned metal particles.
- Can You Oil The Outside Of Your Gun?
It is not recommended to lubricate the bore using gun oil. However, if you are storing your gun for an extended period, then you can apply a heavy lubricant like a barricade. But first, you must remove the existing lubrication by cleaning the barrel hood, exterior, feed ramp and barrel lug.
- How Often Should You Clean Your Hunting Rifle?
It is better to clean your hunting rifle after every shooting session. Also, you should clean your defensive firearms occasionally, even if you don’t use them often. You should conduct a thorough inspection and consider cleaning your firearm every month.
- Can You Use Rubbing Alcohol For Cleaning Firearms?
Rubbing alcohol also works as a great solvent for cleaning guns. It can displace water anywhere In your firearm and evaporate quickly so that you can apply oil afterward. In addition, the alcohol removes existing oil from your weapon when used as a solvent or degreaser.
Conclusion
Now that you know how to prep your firearm before hunting season, you can follow the steps mentioned above to protect your investment for the upcoming years. It is always recommended to clean your firearm before entering the Woods to remain operational and highly effective. Plus, you can have unparalleled performance that will help you get the most out of your hunting season.
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