Cleaning Guns

As a gunsmith, I've spent many hours repairing firearms for my valued customers. I don't mind, that's how I earn a lot of my paydays. However, no one likes to see a good gun ruined by neglect or carelessness. There were many repairs that could have been avoided by routine maintenance. Cleaning firearms on a regular basis is one of the easiest ways to keep your gun working reliably. I have had many guns brought in that had frozen actions due to the fact that they had never been properly cleaned. Accumulated powder and lead residue can disable many guns in short order. Semiautomatics are especially prone to malfunctions when not properly cleaned. The discontinued Winchester Model 190 .22 rifle is a good example of this. In order to clean this particular firearm, the trigger group had to be removed first by pushing a large pin out of the side of the frame, then pulling the trigger guard down at the back and out.. While simple to do, most owners never bothered to perform this task.

Detailed instructions for breaking down a gun for cleaning are found in the owner's manual. The owner's manual should always accompany a gun when sold or traded, so the new owner can learn to operate the firearm safely. If you buy a modern gun without the manual, contact the manufacturer for a copy. For old or discontinued firearms, the internet or gun parts suppliers may have the schematic you need.

It would require an encyclopedia to list every step of thoroughly cleaning every firearm model out there, but the following steps apply in general to most guns. Be certain the gun is unloaded. After the gun is disassembled to the stage recommended by the manufacturer, take a good bore brush, cleaning rod and a good bore cleaner and get started. Wet the bore brush with the bore cleaner and push it from the breech or rear end of the barrel to the muzzle or front of the barrel. Push all the way through the barrel in one smooth pass until the brush exits the muzzle completely. Then reverse direction. Be certain that the brush exits the barrel with each pass. Do this until the bore is thoroughly scrubbed. Ten passes in and out should be sufficient unless the bore is heavily fouled. If your particular gun has to be cleaned from muzzle to the breech, exercise great care to avoid damage to the crown of the muzzle. Now that the fouling is loosened, use a cloth patch wet with bore cleaner on your cleaning rod to run through the bore. Again, make complete passes so that the patch exits the barrel completely at each end. You'll need to change patches as they get dirty. When the bore looks clean, run a dry patch through the bore. If it comes out clean, put two or three drops of a good quality oil on the patch and wipe the bore several times. Clean and oil the action as per the manufacturer's instructions. Wipe all metal surfaces lightly with an oil dampened cloth.

Firearms are like any other tool. They must be cleaned and maintained for safe operation. While many guns will operate for years with even poor care, the best accuracy and reliability is obtained with a clean gun.