Am I the only one who does not enjoy cleaning firearms?

[tim]

Hunting season has been over for 6 weeks and just getting around to cleaning the rifles.
I don't know why, but I just don't enjoy it. I understand why I have to and all.
Any one else feeling the same way?

 

[JimP]

It is sad but it is one problem with owning a firearm or multiples of them.

I know some people that won't clean their rifles until next fall before they need them again. They also don't do any target shooting during the summer either and then wonder why they have a problem hitting something.

I didn't shoot any of my high power rifles this year so I got off easy, just the muzzle loader and shotgun. However next spring will come my annual empty out the gun safe and run a couple of swabs through each rifle, shotgun, and handgun. It'll take me a couple of hours to do all of them.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I shoot cowboy action with BP at least once a month and practice some between matches. I shoot 4 guns (2 pistols, a lever action rifle & a double bbl shotgun) that have to be cleaned after EVERY shooting session. Gets to be habitual. I also do like JIm, clean everything that I don't use for cowboy shooting at once, usually during the winter or spring.

 

[mallardsx2]

I clean all of my guns twice a year (even if I dont shoot them). It takes me about 8 beers each time. lol

I should mention that If I do shoot one it gets cleaned and normally fouled with one round before it goes into the safe. When I grab one out of the safe it is ready to be loaded and shot or hunted with.

I go through a lot of cleaning supplies yearly.

The only exception to this is my glock pistols....they get tossed in the parts washer every now and then, then taken out and blown off with the air compressor and then a liberal spraying of WD-40. True story...I am not nice to them. Hell of a pair of guns.

 

[tim]

the 338 wm probably only has 5 pulls of the trigger from it last cleaning. 2 to verify and 3 to kill 2 elk. But 2 weeks of Idaho elk hunting, where it was rained on, snowed on, dropped in the snow and had so many pine needles everywhere, except in the barrel.

the 6.5 probably has 3 boxes of shells thru it and Idaho deer season, so snow, rain, pine needles ect.

 

[HuskyMusky]

You don't Have to....

how many guns are you cleaning?

seems pretty quick harmless to me... I'm not doing it all the time but after shooting... I'll knock it out pretty quickly I think.

 

[taskswap]

I clean my Remington 1100 semi-auto pretty regularly or I get cycling problems, mainly failure to fully eject a shell (stove-piping the spent shell). This is particularly bad with light target loads. With the #4 Winchester Super X I shoot for actual game I almost never have that problem. I also carry spare O-rings for it, since that's its weak link.

The rest of my guns I clean once a year. But lately on camping/hunting trips I've started carrying a small cleaning kit with a break-down cleaning rod I picked up on sale from Murdoch's on sale one day. I had a bad fall on a steep descent that gave way under me this past hunting season and I fouled my rifle barrel. It was really cold, and I got snow and mud frozen onto and a little bit into the barrel. It wasn't much, but because it froze in there, I couldn't get it out and it wouldn't have been safe to shoot. I like the peace of mind of having a rod, some patches, and brushes with me at all times as well as a small can of One Shot and some swabs.

For cleaning I have all the usual gear: rods, patches, jags, etc. But I have to say the easiest thing I've ever used is a Bore Snake. Those things are magic. The only bad thing IMO is with the "standard" (brushes/patches) option, you're throwing out most of the junk with the patches. With a bore snake it tends to accumulate, so I keep mind in a ziploc.

 

[CrimsonArrow]

You’re not alone, I only clean mine enough to keep em from rusting

 

[Winchester]

I should mention that If I do shoot one it gets cleaned and normally fouled with one round before it goes into the safe. When I grab one out of the safe it is ready to be loaded and shot or hunted with.

I guess I'm learning something here.
Why would you clean it and then foul it, even with just one round, before storing it?

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I guess I'm learning something here.
Why would you clean it and then foul it, even with just one round, before storing it?

A lot of rifles will not shoot the same zero when they are cleaned. Shooting a fouling shot returns them to your zero. All of mine get a fouling shot after cleaning, except my cowboy action guns.

 

[tim]

I clean my Remington 1100 semi-auto pretty regularly or I get cycling problems, mainly failure to fully eject a shell (stove-piping the spent shell). This is particularly bad with light target loads. With the #4 Winchester Super X I shoot for actual game I almost never have that problem. I also carry spare O-rings for it, since that's its weak link.

The rest of my guns I clean once a year. But lately on camping/hunting trips I've started carrying a small cleaning kit with a break-down cleaning rod I picked up on sale from Murdoch's on sale one day. I had a bad fall on a steep descent that gave way under me this past hunting season and I fouled my rifle barrel. It was really cold, and I got snow and mud frozen onto and a little bit into the barrel. It wasn't much, but because it froze in there, I couldn't get it out and it wouldn't have been safe to shoot. I like the peace of mind of having a rod, some patches, and brushes with me at all times as well as a small can of One Shot and some swabs.

For cleaning I have all the usual gear: rods, patches, jags, etc. But I have to say the easiest thing I've ever used is a Bore Snake. Those things are magic. The only bad thing IMO is with the "standard" (brushes/patches) option, you're throwing out most of the junk with the patches. With a bore snake it tends to accumulate, so I keep mind in a ziploc.

task,
I always put tape on the end of my barrel. But I use an eberlestock pack and it always has pine needles in the bottom of the scabbard, I don't want them in my barrel, so I tape no matter what the weather or season.

 

[JimP]

As for shooting from a fouled barrel, what happens if you miss your first shot?

What happens if you shoot at a animal 2 or 3 times and he gets away, do you take it in and clean it? What if the next animal you see is only a half hour later?

I usually don't worry too much about shooting from a clean barrel because I am not shooting for a score but at a animal that has a large kill zone. But there is always that question.

 

[memtb]

Hunting season has been over for 6 weeks and just getting around to cleaning the rifles.
I don't know why, but I just don't enjoy it. I understand why I have to and all.
Any one else feeling the same way?

I rather enjoy it..... about once every 2 or 3 years! memtb

 

[Winchester]

A lot of rifles will not shoot the same zero when they are cleaned. Shooting a fouling shot returns them to your zero. All of mine get a fouling shot after cleaning, except my cowboy action guns.

CC,
I agree that "A lot of rifles will not shoot the same zero when they are cleaned. "
But I store mine clean and then take a fouling shot when I take them out the next year to start confirming zero and practicing with them.
To me, that seems better than storing them fouled for a few months.
What do you think?

 

[tim]

CC,
I agree that "A lot of rifles will not shoot the same zero when they are cleaned. "
But I store mine clean and then take a fouling shot when I take them out the next year to start confirming zero and practicing with them.
To me, that seems better than storing them fouled for a few months.
What do you think?

depends on when it is cleaned. cleaned right before the season, foul it. cleaned after season, I don't foul it.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

My .220 AI Swift shoots 2" to 3" high the first shot after it is cleaned, always has. Just a habit I got into many years ago. I generally clean my hunting guns after the season and shoot a fouling shot before I sight in before my next shooting session.

 

[taskswap]

task,
I always put tape on the end of my barrel. But I use an eberlestock pack and it always has pine needles in the bottom of the scabbard, I don't want them in my barrel, so I tape no matter what the weather or season.

I have one of those (eberlestock with scabbard) this year to try out but I didn't last year. Up until now I've been shooting with a muzzle brake. I haven't wanted to mummify it with tape, it felt a lot more drastic than just the patch-over-the-end a lot of folks go with. This year to accommodate the scabbard I may remove it though and do just that. Not because of the tape - it's mostly to save the 1.5" the thing adds. But that's a nice additional feature...

 

[manitou1]

My guns get cleaned after each seasons use, after a hard multi- day hunt or any time exposed to moisture. I actually enjoy it. I went through many to find ones I really enjoy shooting that achieve the accuracy I desire and carry well. Keeping them clean and checked is as important as changing the oil in my truck or scouting my next hunt.

 

[Rich M]

I like stainless rifles and am notorious for not cleaning the bore. Use Flitz metal polish on outside...

Simple solution is a bore snake. $10-$15 pet caliber and you are golden. Not a deep lead/coppet cleanse but enough to get the basic crap out.

When I shoot for groups I will clean with 3 pulls of bore snake between groups during cooling periods.

They are handy.

I Never clean the internals and don't even know what thay look like.

 

[memtb]

As to clean bore vs fouled bore. This is speaking with my limited experience. With our rifles, the small bores “seem” to need a fouling shot or three (3), while our bigger bore stuff “require “ none or one. Example.....our .223 Rem requires 3 shots before “settling in”! My wife’s .338WM and my .375AI, could get by with “no” fouling shots. Though, in verifying our zeros prior to our fall hunting seasons, they will get fouled!

Someone mentioned taping the muzzle. Our muzzles are always taped when in the field. When or if the rifle is fired......the muzzle is retapped! We both carry a roll of electrical tape in our daypacks. It’s myriad of uses go well beyond just taping the muzzle! memtb