Shotgun Maintenance & Care

[BeeMaa]

Nothing in the "shotgun" section about shotgun maintenance & care? Shocking to me considering the number of members I know have some of the most elegant, beautiful and OLD shotguns. How do you care for yours is the short question...

Everyone has their own ideas of what it means to take care of a shotgun..from a once a year wipe down to detailed disassembly and cleaning EVERY TIME, we all have our preferences. Personally my preference is to hunt, shoot and use my shotgun as a tool designed for a task...then come home and give it the care I feel it deserves for serving me well in the field. To that end I've been doing some internet research to find what other do to keep their shotguns (specifically break action but certainly all are welcome) in good working order after the hunt or a day at the range.

Grease? Oil? Where to use it? Where not to? How often? What about wood care depending on stock finish? What products are you using? Here is an example of how a UK shooting instructor choses to care for his O/U. I don't think this is a complete and comprehensive review of everything shotgun maintenance related, but it's a good start.

 

[RockSlinger404]

A good friend and amazing trap shooter taught me to clean my shotguns with Q20/WD40 after every shoot. He uses general purpose grease to lubricate the gun, however I switched to vaseline after watching a Purdey video (as that is what they use). I at least wipe down the gun with Q20 before putting it in the safe and immediately after the shoot if we were shooting in the rain. I've seen that my Browning's barrels will start to rust after a shoot in the rain within a few hours. The sweat from your hands also encourage rusting.

This is a nice Krieghoff video showing how to lubricate the gun:

 

[Nevada Mike]

I have a simple routine to care for my SxS and O/U shotguns. I learned this when I used to shoot ducks on salt water, but it applies any time you use your gun outdoors.

I start by using a gun sleeve when ever I take my guns afield - it protects against knocks and dents and provides some protection from dust while driving back raods here in AZ.

Immediately after the hunt I remove the forend and barrels. I use a wooden cleaning rod with a jag and push a piece of crumpled paper towel down each bore to remove the first level of burnt powder, etc. Then I use a bronze brush with a patch wrapped around it - the patch soaked in Shooter's Choice or Hoppe's No. 9 (I like the smell of Hoppe's) I push the brush and patch through the bores a couple times and let the gun set of 5 minutes or so, then go to a clean patch over the brush and scrub through each bore repeatedly, using a clean patch for each pass. When the patches come through the bore clean, I make another pass with a patch with solvent, then visually inspect the bores. If satisfied I make a final pass with an oily bore mop (I use sperm oil, but there are many other suitable products). Then I wipe down the exterior with an oily cloth an inspect for dirt and blood in the exterior. Blood will rust metal very quickly, so inspect carefully. At this point check the hook and wipe off any grease. It gets re-greased the next time I assemble for use. I like Pro-Gold gun grease.

I wipe the forend metal and check for dirt in the recess that houses the ejector hammers. I give the hammers a tiny drop of oil. I wipe the wood with the oiled cloth just to clean it.

I check the action for operation of the locking bolts and use a Q-Tip to remove dirt from the recesses and wipe any grease from the hinge pin. If the gun has a cross-bolt, check function and lightly oil as needed. Check the sliding safety for smooth operation. Possibly put a tiny drop of oil under the slide - IF NEEDED. Most safeties are simple arrangements with a flat spring and sliding piece with a small detent and it's steel on steel, if water (or sweat) gets under the slide it can freeze the safety mechanism. Better to check and prevent this when you are putting the gun away, obviously. Then I use the oiled gun cloth to wipe down the exterior of the action and butt stock and stow the gun in it's case or re-assemble (greasing the barrel hook) and put in the rack or into it's sleeve for storage.

Some guns have removable sidelocks. Don't remove them unless the gun is obviously wet and in need of careful removal and drying/oiling. Fiddling with removable locks invites wear and damage to the inletting, which lessens the water resistance of the gun. If the gun is a 'drop lock (as a Westley Richards A&D might) these can be removed and cleaned/oiled without penalty.

That's about it unless something is found that needs further attention.

 

[Andrew Short]

Nothing in the "shotgun" section about shotgun maintenance & care? Shocking to me considering the number of members I know have some of the most elegant, beautiful and OLD shotguns. How do you care for yours is the short question...

Everyone has their own ideas of what it means to take care of a shotgun..from a once a year wipe down to detailed disassembly and cleaning EVERY TIME, we all have our preferences. Personally my preference is to hunt, shoot and use my shotgun as a tool designed for a task...then come home and give it the care I feel it deserves for serving me well in the field. To that end I've been doing some internet research to find what other do to keep their shotguns (specifically break action but certainly all are welcome) in good working order after the hunt or a day at the range.

Grease? Oil? Where to use it? Where not to? How often? What about wood care depending on stock finish? What products are you using? Here is an example of how a UK shooting instructor choses to care for his O/U. I don't think this is a complete and comprehensive review of everything shotgun maintenance related, but it's a good start.

Thanks for posting!!!

 

[Ridgewalker]

I only cleaned mine once a year after bird season. They are break action and I took them apart to carry them in a hard case (Americase usually). Each part is placed in a silicon bag before going into the hard case. I use one of these after each day’s hunt prior to going into the bag:

Outers - Shotgun Cleaning Tools

www.outers-guncare.com

The rest was wiped down with a silicon cloth.
I used minimal grease and oils because many of my hunts were in very cold temps. Think of the Canadian border in Montana in November!
I would do a major cleaning at the end of the season taking everything apart, wiping clean and using a thin lubricant wiped on all metal parts (think Barricade is the current name).
Depending on the weather, or if I was heading off for a long hunt, I might put a light Renaissance wax on everything…metal and wood.

To me the key is to keep it clean of blowing dirt, snow and rain. Always wipe it down after a day in the fields. I’m a pretty simple lazy guy. I just want my guns to outlast my hunts.