Basic cleaning routine?

[Nial]

I've got my first gun, and a cleaning kit.

 

What's the routine for giving it a good clean after a day's shooting?

 

 

Thanks,

 

Nial.

[triscrx]

What gun is it to start with?

 

Routine for a shotgun varies from a rifle but roughly the same the basics are there.

 

Good pull through and oil working parts at the end of each shoot suits me. And when you store them in your cabinet have the barrels down so any excess oil residue runs down the barrel and not back into the stock/breach.

 

Lightly wipe the barrel/s over with a cloth to remove any residue damp prior to stowage. I always spray the stocks with a furniture polish as well if they have got wet or been out all day.

 

just my 2p's worth

[Nial]

What gun is it to start with?

 

Routine for a shotgun varies from a rifle but roughly the same the basics are there.

 

Good pull through and oil working parts at the end of each shoot suits me. And when you store them in your cabinet have the barrels down so any excess oil residue runs down the barrel and not back into the stock/breach.

 

Lightly wipe the barrel/s over with a cloth to remove any residue damp prior to stowage. I always spray the stocks with a furniture polish as well if they have got wet or been out all day.

 

just my 2p's worth

 

It's a 12b over and under.

 

Thanks for the pointers.

 

What do you do with the brass brush? I presume it's for dislodging any stuck residue, do you just give it

a few passes with that first?

 

 

Nial.

[wannabefisher]

generally you don't need to use the brass brush unless its been wet or youve shot a lot. I squirt WD40 in and run through a patch or two, and repeat this until it comes out clean. This takes between 2-15 cycles depending on how much shooting I've done, and can take up to 30 mins. Most people I know don't clean their guns this thoroughly!

[landrover]

get yourself a boresnake, and some napier gun cleaner quick squirt then use the boresnake, then wipe over the gun with a cloth with some napier sprayed on the cloth, then store with the muzzle down as said above so any fluid runs away from the breech and stock

[Nial]

Thanks guys.

 

What about cleaning round the ejector mechanisms, the pin the barrels hinge

around, the 'receiver' bits of the stock etc?

 

Do you ever get in with solvent, give these a really good clean out and re-grease

them?

 

 

Nial

[George1990]

Hi Nial.

 

If you've been out on the clays it'll probably need a good clean For a sparkling finish, spray down the barrels with some Napier gun cleaner or Legia spray, then run through the phosphor bronze brush - this gets off all the plastic from the wads which sticks to the barrels and also loosens the black stuff.

Next put down some Napier Super Clean wrapped round your jag, then do it again. Finish off with a tight fitting jag (with lots of super clean on it) so it's a job to push it through. Every once in a while remove the chokes and clean under 'em to stop corrosion. If you plan on storing the gun for a long time run a wool mop down with some Napier gun oil on, again to stop corrosion - this is the only time when you need store it barrels down, otherwise the barrels are dry.

 

For those other bits just spray with the spray cleaner and rub off the old grease and dirt round the firing pins then re-grease with Napier VP90 grease. The ejectors should only be oiled as grease might make them sticky.

 

Hope this helps and no, I'm not a representative of Napier

 

http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/pl3_SHOOT...C_GUN-CLEAN.htm Mole Valley sell all this stuff much much cheaper than anywhere else

Edited September 14, 2008 by George1990

[dogfox]

a bore snake is far easier!, a squirt of wd40 and 1 or 2 pull throughs and its all done, then you dribble some oil into the working parts then give the outer gun a wipe down with some oil

[clayman]

Cleaning a shottie:

 

First soak the barrels with some bore cleaner, 009 or similar - this softens any residue.

 

Then pass patches or bog paper through to remove the immediate ****.

 

Then a good working with a wire spiral brush, or a bronze brush - this is for lead and plastic fouling removal.

 

Pass a patch or bog paper through again, and view the barrels in LOW light ( if you view through them in bright light, you only see bright light reflected, not the remaining lead or plastic fouling) Look sideways into the barrels, and roll then around to see the walls properly, don't simply look through the hole out the end!

 

Re-apply bore cleaner if needed, and keep working till no grey stuff left.

 

When all clean, pass the wool mop through with a drop of oil to leave the barrels clean and oiled.

 

Action should be cleaned with 303 action cleaner or similar, a tooth brush, feather, cotton buds all good for getting unburnt powder etc out. Lightly oil everything with good gun oil and wipe off excess.

 

Dont get WD40 anywhere near any moving parts WD stands for WATER DISPERSANT, and thats what its for, dispelling moisture and keeping it away. IT IS NOT a gun lubricant. Because its a light oil ( mainly diesel oil) it simply dissolves away the proper oils and makes the gun "addicted" to constant oil replacement.

 

Use moly grease on hinging / bolt action parts, again sparingly and wipe off excess.

 

Use the cotton lint free cloth you use for wiping away to give all metal parts a light coat of oil before storage.

 

Bore snakes a great for a quick clean, but all guns need a proper clean when you are back home after a shooting break. If you have spent less than 20 mins, you haven't cleaned your gun!

[Nial]

If you have spent less than 20 mins, you haven't cleaned your gun!

 

 

Thanks for another thorough reply Clayman.

 

I spent ages trying to get the crud out of my barrels last night and just couldn't shift the

stuff in the first couple of inches. This was with Napier gun cleaner squirted down the

bores, multiple passes with the bronze brush concentrating on this area, multiple

passes with kitchen roll over the cleaning rod jag.

 

I also tried some Napier gun oil on the bronze brush to see if it would do any better.

 

I gave up in the end 'cos it was time to go to bed, I've to head home to pick

something up today so will try to shift the rest.

 

Is there better that the Napier spray for getting this crud out? Is it a good idea to

spray it and let it soak in for a while (20 mins) before cleaning?

 

Thanks again,

 

Nial

[George1990]

Am I right in thinking this was after using D&J cartridges like mentioned in another of your posts?

Never used 'em myself, but a phosphor bronze usually loosens it all from other cartridges.

[Nial]

Am I right in thinking this was after using D&J cartridges like mentioned in another of your posts?

Never used 'em myself, but a phosphor bronze usually loosens it all from other cartridges.

 

 

It was yes. I used the phosphor bronze brush first, a squirt of the Napier gun cleaner

then 15 ish passes down each barrel.

 

I then ran strips of Napier super clean sprayed with the gun cleaner down, about 10

down and up strokes for each patch. I must have used 8 strips for each barrel.

 

I then realised there was still a lot of crud left so used the bronze brush again

soaked in gun oil for 20 passes each barrel followed by 4 strips of Napier

super clean.

 

At this point I got frustrated with the super clean, it's fiddly to wrap, apply oil

and get down the barrel, so I reverted to sheets of kitchen roll which immediately

seemed to ramove more crud.

 

I then 'soaked' the barrels in the gun cleaner and left them for 10 mins before another

set of passes with the bronze brush and kitchen roll.

 

They still weren't clean!

 

 

Nial.

[Maiden22]

.

Edited December 3, 2008 by Maiden22

[smith271973]

Hi Nial, I have found that if you want a really deep clean try a squirt of forest bore foam. Its for cleaning rifle barrels but does a great job on any stubborn powder residue. Just fill each barrel with foam, leave for 30 mins then swab out and finish off with an oiled patch. Got the barrels on my old winchester 101 gleaming.

[bisondan]

If you have spent less than 20 mins, you haven't cleaned your gun!

 

 

Thanks for another thorough reply Clayman.

 

I spent ages trying to get the crud out of my barrels last night and just couldn't shift the

stuff in the first couple of inches. This was with Napier gun cleaner squirted down the

bores, multiple passes with the bronze brush concentrating on this area, multiple

passes with kitchen roll over the cleaning rod jag.

 

I also tried some Napier gun oil on the bronze brush to see if it would do any better.

 

I gave up in the end 'cos it was time to go to bed, I've to head home to pick

something up today so will try to shift the rest.

 

Is there better that the Napier spray for getting this crud out? Is it a good idea to

spray it and let it soak in for a while (20 mins) before cleaning?

 

Thanks again,

 

Nial

 

Try some Tetra Gun Copper Solvent on your patches, that stuff will remove anything.