Rifle Cleaning
The Importance of Rifle Cleaning
Rifle cleaning is an important part of a rifleman’s repertoire of skills. A well-cleaned rifle can make the difference between making that one-in-a-million shot and missing it. A neglected rifle will not only be less accurate but may reduce a rifle’s longevity. For this reason, you want to make sure to maintain your rifle, adequately.
Rifle cleaning requires sticking to a regular maintenance schedule. The best shooters know that a clean firearm is an accurate firearm. You might be surprised to learn that the art of gun cleaning has made several important strides in recent years. New chemical agents now make it possible to eradicate the gunpowder residue and rust causing agents from your firearm’s barrel as never before. Gun and firearm enthusiasts can now clean their weapons to the point where they feel like they are fresh from the store. There is nothing like the clean, crisp kick of a truly clean weapon as it fires.
Rifle Quality
If you are choosing a new rifle, you might want to consider the quality of your weapon’s internal finish. The accumulation of residue will largely depend on the quality of the internal finish in the barrel of your firearm. A cheap, poorly produced rifle will tend to be more susceptible to erosive effects and to developing an uneven surface where harmful contaminant can get a foothold. These uneven surfaces are like cavities in your teeth where harmful substances can begin to corrode your weapon’s barrel quality. This however, is outside of your control as a cleaner and is a consideration only when choosing a weapon.
Safety First
The first step, of course, whenever you handle a weapon for any purpose other than shooting, is to make sure that the firearm is not loaded. Always make sure to keep your weapon unloaded when not in use and to keep it well out of reach of children. A locked rifle closet makes for the safest storage—especially if you have small curious children in the home.
Proper Support during Rifle Cleaning
You will want to have the use of both hands during the cleaning process, so it is important to have a proper cradle for your gun. Most manufacturers now make cradles especially designed for your gun and this is certainly the number one choice of gun enthusiasts who like to keep their guns in professional level quality. If you choose to use an alternate method of support such as a vice, be sure to place a cloth between the surface of the weapon and the teeth of the vice to avoid unnecessary scuffs or damage to your weapon’s outer finish.
When cleaning, the muzzle should point down to enlist the help of gravity in the cleaning process.
Initial Cleaning
Begin by cleaning out your barrel with steel cleaning rod. Be sure to place an adequately fitted bore guide into the rear chamber of your weapon. The bore guide will keep you from damaging the rifle during cleaning. Swab out the bore of your rifle before adding any solvent. This will remove the outer surface of corrosive substances making it easier for the solvent to reach the more ingrained corrosion in your barrel.
Copper Residue Removal
Now run your bore through with a wet solvent patch attached to your steel rod. About a dozen repetitions should do for this initial cleaning. Dry the interior bore with a dry patch and clean off any left over muck that may have accumulated at the ends of the bore.
Now with a thoroughly soaked patch, coat the inside of your bore with solvent. The idea here is not to wipe out your bore but to leave the solvent in the bore of your rifle.
Let the solvent go to work for about a quarter of an hour.
When you come back, wipe off the interior of your bore with dry patches. If there is a thick coating of green on your dry patches after this step, you will want to repeat your wet treatment with another generous dose of solvent.
Repeat until you get little to no green residue on your dry patches.
True gun enthusiasts do this at the end of every hunting session, but you will want to do this at least after every hunting trip.
Keep your guns clean, and good luck shooting, fellas!