Why you should clean and oil your gun
To ensure longevity of your firearm, it's crucial to maintain your gun with regular clean and oils. Not only does it help extend its life, but it also enhances reliability. In this blog, we'll discuss why cleaning and oiling your gun is an essential aspect of firearm maintenance and how you can do it at home.
Reasons to Clean & Oil Your Gun
Prevent Corrosion: Corrosion is a common problem for firearms, especially those that are exposed to moisture, salt, and other environmental elements. Over time, this corrosion can damage the metal parts of your gun. Rust, pitting, and other forms of corrosion can affect both reliability and accuracy. Regular cleaning and oiling of your firearm can help prevent corrosion by removing any built-up moisture and providing a protective barrier to prevent rust and other forms of corrosion.
Maintain Reliability: A clean and oiled gun is more reliable than one that is dirty and poorly maintained. The oil helps to lubricate the moving parts of your firearm, reducing friction and wear, and ensuring that it operates smoothly and efficiently. Additionally, regular cleaning and oiling can help you identify any problems with your firearm, such as worn or damaged parts, allowing you to address these issues before they become more serious and affect the performance of your firearm.
Prolong Life: A well-maintained firearm lasts longer than one that is neglected and poorly cared for. Regular cleaning and oiling helps to prevent corrosion and wear, extending the life of your gun and helping you get more use out of it.
Safety: Cleaning and oiling your firearm is important for safety reasons. A dirty firearm is more likely to malfunction, putting you and those around you at risk. Regular cleaning and oiling helps ensure that your firearm operates safely and reliably, reducing the risk of accidents and malfunctions.
Maintain Accuracy: In extreme cases, where the gun is corroded, a lack of regular maintenance can reduce the accuracy of the firearm. To maintain accuracy, guns should be regularly clean and oiled.
How Often Should You Clean & Oil Your Gun
Over cleaning your firearm can cause malfunction because you’re putting a lot of wear on your gun by taking it apart so much, especially roll pins or parts made of soft metals. How often you should clean your gun is based on how you use it. Here are our recommendations for the follow use cases:
We recommend cleaning your hunting gun before you put it away for the season.
If you’re an avid duck hunter, we suggest cleaning your gun mid season or maybe even a few times per season.
If you shoot for fun on the weekends, we recommend cleaning your gun when it begins to malfunction.
If you’re competing in a shooting event, we recommend cleaning your gun before the competition.
Clean and oil your gun after every time your gun gets wet.
How to Clean & Oil Your Gun
At McCluskey Arms, we use an ultrasonic cleaner as a part of our clean and oil process. This helps us clean harder to reach places. If you’re performing your own clean and oil at home, follow these steps:
Make sure the gun is unloaded and there is no ammunition in the work area.
Gather the necessary materials (cleaning solvent, gun oil, cleaning patches or cloths, bore brush, and a cleaning rod).
Disassemble the gun to your comfort level.
Clean the bore. Dip the bore brush in cleaning solvent and scrub the inside of the barrel. Run a cleaning patch through the bore to remove any debris. Repeat until the patch comes out clean.
Clean the exterior of the gun. Wipe down the outside of the gun with a cleaning cloth dipped in solvent. Pay special attention to the slide, frame, and other areas where debris may accumulate.
Dry the gun. Use a clean, dry cloth to remove any remaining solvent and allow the gun to air dry completely.
Oil the gun. Apply a thin layer of gun oil to all metal surfaces, including the slide, frame, and barrel. Avoid over-oiling, as excess oil can attract dirt and debris.
Reassemble the gun and test it to ensure proper function.