Properly Maintaining Your Hunting Rifle

Maintaining your hunting rifle is not only beneficial in prolonging the life of your firearm, but also helps maintain the accuracy of your shooting. It can seem like a tedious task, but once you have become familiar with the process, it is an easy way to get the most out of your firearm.

Learning to maintain your hunting rifle can be pretty simple. There are many products on the market that are one-step total gun care products. These products are usually sprayed on to the barrel and cylinder chambers to remove any dirt and, after it sits for a few minutes, it just wipes right off. If you don’t already own one, consider buying a rifle cleaning kit. They will include rods, patches, solvent, and so on - pretty much everything you will need to clean your rifle.

You will also want to spray the action. Allow the spray to sit for a few minutes before you wipe it down. Make sure to remove all of the fluid from the parts.

Next you will want to clean your barrel. Many gun owners opt to use a bore snake versus the traditional patches. Using a bore snake is as simple as spraying the floss end of it with the solvent and then guiding it though the barrel and out of the muzzle. Pull the bore snake through a second time to make sure the barrel is completely clean.

With the help of a bore light, take a look down the barrel of your rifle to make sure that it is clean. This is also a great opportunity to inspect the condition of it and make sure that there is nothing out of the ordinary happening.

Now you will want to lubricate your rifle. If you are going to be storing it for a lengthy period of time you should also lubricate the bore, otherwise it is not necessary. Use just a small amount of gun oil when you lubricate the action on your rifle - too much oil will attract dust and gum up the works.

That is about it, in a nutshell! As we always say, if you have questions, contact us! If you have any pointers to add, please feel free to leave a comment, we’d love to hear from you! Thank you for reading our blog, we hope you have enjoyed it!