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Improper gun cleaning,and lack of proper maintenance is something many people are guilty of.
Every time you fire your weapon,you have to clean it,not when you get time,not when you get around to it,not when you feel like it,not when you have 3 or 4 guns to clean-you have to clean every gun every time you fire it-no exceptions.
Well,being in combat could be an exception-for a day or so.
Guns that are not properly cleaned lose accuracy,they tend to malfunction more,they tend to jam,they tend to have problems extracting rounds,with bolt actions the bolt tends to get hard to cycle,and cartridge casing get difficult to eject,and cartridges can become hard to chamber.
Triggers and some types of safeties can malfunction due to excessive dirt,dust and grime.
*please note-any questions,criticisms,complaints,comments,death threats etc can be posted in comments section at bottom of post*
When you get ready to clean your weapon (s),first be certain it’s/they’re unloaded- use a gun cleaning mat-or a piece of cardboard,or some old newspapers-whatever works for you,disassemble the gun as much as is practical,remove the bolt,the magazine,the forearm on a single or double barreled shotgun, etc. and lay the parts out on the mat.
Start by running a brass bore brush of the proper caliber/gauge down the barrel-always go from breech to muzzle,unless that’s not possible with your weapon.
Next,run a patch that’s been soaked in bore cleaner/powder solvent-Hoppes #9 or similar down the barrel,same way-from breech to muzzle. Let the barrel soak for a few minutes,then use the brass bore brush again,run the brush down the barrel several times.
Next run a clean patch down the barrel,then another,after that,run another patch soaked in solvent down the barrel. Let that soak for a few minutes,then run dry,clean patches down the barrel,using a clean patch each time,until a patch comes out clean.
Last step for the barrel is to run a lightly oiled patch down the barrel.
For the bolt-if you’re cleaning a bolt-action,use some solvent on a brass brush,not a bore brush,a brush with a handle on it-looks sorta like a toothbrush-scrub the bolt face,then wipe the solvent off with a clean cloth. Using a plastic pick,clean out all the dust,dirt,grime from around the extractor,and the rest of the bolts moving parts,and around the firing pin.Then what I do is use some lighter fluid-Zippo type-not charcoal lighter-to clean all the old oil etc. from the entire bolt,especially where the firing pin is located,fill it with lighter fluid,then use a wood dowel to push down on the pin-repeat several times-all the gunk-for lack of a better term- will be flushed out this way.
The lightly oil all the moving parts,wipe the bolt off with an lightly oiled cloth,and that’s it for the bolt.
Next,the trigger assembly needs to be cleaned every few times you clean your weapon-unless you are using it in a very dirty/dusty/sandy area-then it should be cleaned every time.
I use either lighter fluid-or brake parts cleaner,both are great at cutting through old oil,and the gunk it makes as it collects all the dirt and dust that gets into the assembly.
Either squirt the lighter fluid,or spray the brake parts cleaner into the assembly,make sure you get the safety too.
Move the safety through all it’s positions several times,pull the trigger back and let it move forward a few times,then repeat a few times with whichever solvent you are using( brake parts cleaner or lighter fluid-not powder solvent-powder solvent is not good for trigger assemblies,it creates a thick film that attracts dirt).
Lightly oil the assembly,wipe it off with a clean cloth-(you can use the same clean cloth for the whole process)-re-install the bolt,and wipe down all metal parts of your weapon with a lightly oiled cloth-unless your weapon is coated with Cerakote,etc.
Another thing I’ve noticed a lot of guys don’t do is use copper solvents.
If you are shooting FMJ military surplus ammo-it’s a must,even if you shoot mostly hunting ammo-it’s still a must,it just takes a couple hundred more rounds to foul your barrel.
What happens is every time you fire a round,a small amount of copper from the bullet gets deposited on /in your barrel’s lands and grooves the copper builds up over time,and it effects accuracy-more copper = less accurate.
The same thing happens with lead,and with the polymer tips used on many of today’s bullets.
There are multiple products out there that all claim to solve copper fouling.several stand out, a few of them are J-B non imbedding bore cleaning compound, or Birchwood-Casey’s bore scrubber used in combination with a penetrating oil called Kroil-I use the combination of one or the other of the bore cleaners+ the Kroil on really badly fouled barrels, for regular use,I use Hoppes Benchrest #9.
These products all require some scrubbing with a bore brush,and leaving them in the barrel to soak overnight-be sure to keep your barrels pointing downward,you do not want these products running into your trigger mechanism,or soaking into your stock.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/1322137203/kano-kroil-penetrating-oil-and-bore-cleaning-solvent
Another bad habit I see is the use of far too much gun oil-the key is to use a very light coat,as oil attracts dirt and dust.
Another problem too much gun oil creates is that in cold temps,it gets thicker,and can gum up parts that are supposed to move freely,and prevent them from moving.
Parts such as your firing pin-as I found out on a late season extremely cold Ohio deer hunt when my first shot was low-saw the snow fly slightly beneath and behind the deers belly-as it had gone under the deer-when I racked the pump on the shotgun,aimed and pulled the trigger for a second shot-all I got was a click-same with the third and final shell-click.
The excess oil in the trigger assembly prevented the firing pin from traveling far enough forward to hit the primer hard enough to detonate it.
After spraying liberally with brake parts cleaner,moving all the moving parts by hand,and pulling the trigger several times after cycling the pump with a spent shotgun shell in which I had placed a pencil eraser in place of the old primer to prevent damage to the firing pin due to having no shell in the chamber.
The shotgun worked fine after that-now I clean the trigger assembly thoroughly before deer season.
Remember that a clean firearm functions as intended,has fewer malfunctions,and is far more accurate than a dirty firearm.
There is sort of an exception to the rule-some rifles just are not accurate until a round has been fired through them,I had an old Winchester model 70 in.270 that was like that-used to keep a box of cheap ammo,and fire a round into the dirt in front of the targets at the range before I started shooting at my targets,did the same the day before deer season started-and left the rifle like that-with the one round having been fired through it- left it like that until the end of hunting season,or I got my deer- whichever came first.
Clean your guns-every time you shoot-no exceptions-other than the examples I gave-every time-no excuses.
A dirty gun can jam or otherwise malfunction at the worst possible moment-see above scenario that took place when deer hunting.
Read.
Learn.
Train.
Do more PT.
Starvin Larry 