Did you know that the average price of a gun is $500? The price can shoot up to $1000 or more, depending on the quality that you want. After dishing out that kind of money, you want to protect your investment.
The best way to ensure that your firearm keeps going for years to come is to learn how to clean a gun. If you don’t take it apart and scrub it down every now and again, the hardware will suffer. Besides, a dirty firearm is a dangerous firearm.
Does the idea of taking your gun apart make you feel nervous? Check out this step-by-step guide to learn how it’s done.
Contents
1. Familiarize Yourself With Your Gun
Taking apart a new gun so you can clean it can feel overwhelming. That’s why it’s important to do your research on your firearm before you get started.
It doesn’t take a lot of knowledge to remove the parts of your gun so you can clean it, but you should at least read your user manual or watch a YouTube video.
2. Prepare Your Workspace
Now that you know the ins and outs of your new firearm, it’s time for you to get your workspace ready to go. You’re going to be using chemicals, so you’ll want to set up in a room that has plenty of ventilation.
Avoid cleaning a gun in your dining room. You can crank up your ceiling fan, but you’ll be near food with hazardous chemicals.
It’s also recommended to not choose a place with carpeting. If you drop a tiny little spring, that’s it. It’s gone forever or it will be difficult to find at least.
Most people scrub down their firearms in their garage. It should meet the ventilation requirements and then some.
Wherever you decide to set up shop, make sure that you put some kind of tarp down. If you don’t have a tarp handy, a trash bag will do the trick.
3. Make Sure Your Firearm Isn’t Loaded
When your firearm is sitting in storage, it shouldn’t be loaded. That’s rule number 1 of being a responsible gun owner.
If you’re cleaning your gun right after a hunting trip, however, you’ll need to follow along with this step. Scrubbing your firearm while it’s loaded is an accident waiting to happen.
Remove the magazine from your gun and check the chamber to make sure that it’s all clear. Set your ammunition somewhere safe that’s away from your cleaning area.
4. Grab Your Materials
Every gun is different when it comes to cleaning. Some need certain brushes that others don’t need.
In general, you’re going to need a cleaning solvent that’s specially made for firearms, cotton swabs, patches, gun oil, cleaning rods, safety glasses, a cloth, and a bore brush.
5. Scrub the Barrel
Before you start taking your gun apart, put on your safety goggles. If a spring in your gun were to pop out, it could hit you in the eye. That might sting a little bit.
When it comes to cleaning a gun, the barrel and chamber are the two most important parts. If you fail to keep them spotless, they’ll get gunked up with carbon. After a while, your gun will stop firing.
Grab your bore brush and attach it to the cleaning rod. Run it through the barrel to break apart any residue.
Saturate one of your cloth patches with solvent and attach it to your cleaning rod. Run it through the barrel of the gun in a forward motion. If you go backward, you’ll only redistribute the carbon.
When you’re done, let the solvent settle for a moment before you wipe it away with a dry patch.
6. Clean the Chamber
Spay the inside of the gun chamber with a light coating of your cleaning solvent. As you did with the barrel, let the solvent chill for a bit so it can break apart any residue.
Use your bore brush to scrub the inside of the chamber. Attach a cloth patch to your cleaning rod again to dry it.
7. Go Over the Action
Spray the action with a cleaner. The space around this area can be kind of tight, so you’ll need a cotton swab or a tiny brush to get into the cramped spaces.
Once the action is clean, go behind the solvent with gun oil. It needs lubrication or you’ll have metal rubbing against metal. That’s a recipe for disaster.
8. Scrub the Magazines
You won’t have to clean your magazine every time you scrub down your firearm, but it does need the occasional TLC. Don’t remove the magazine without consulting your firearm’s user manual first.
Spray the magazine with a brake parts cleaner and go behind it with a brush.
9. Reassemble the Gun and Pat Down the Outside
Using your gun’s user manual, put everything back together. After all the parts are in place, check to make sure everything works (without using ammo).
If it’s good to go, wipe down the outside of the gun with a dry cloth. That will get rid of any extra oil and cleaner that’s managed to seep out of the inside of the gun.
That’s it for us. If you don’t have a gun to clean yet, and you’re looking to buy one, visit secure.arnzenarms.com today.
How to Clean a Gun the Right Way
Part of being a responsible firearm owner is learning how to clean a gun the right way. If you don’t perform regular maintenance, your expensive firearm will fall apart.
The build-up of carbon and other residues can make the gun dangerous for you to use. Keep yourself and those around you safe by scrubbing down your firearm after every use.
For more tips that will help you keep your gun in good shape, feel free to explore the rest of our blog.