Target Sports

GUN MAINTENANCE: KEEP IT CLEAN

Created on 14th May 2009

Cleaning your gun needn't be a chore - especially if you follow Richard Atkins' easy 10-step guide

Charity may begin at home - but cleaning doesn't, at least not when it comes to your shotgun. The process should begin soon after you have finished shooting and before making the journey home so that your gun gets at least a basic clean before being put away in the cabinet. We often find ourselves short of time once back home and the temptation to put off cleaning once there can be all too great. Luckily modern guns usually have chrome-lined bores, which don't get too damaged by a lack of proper care and attention - but this doesn't mean you should get into the habit of putting yours away uncleaned.

There are several levels of maintenance which apply, and these range from a quick wipeover at the shooting ground to preparing for long-term storage should the gun be put away for some months without any use. In between these two is a regime of regular cleaning and maintenance that should be considered normal for most occasions. We'll cover the pre-storage clean in the future, as well as taking a look at cleaning semi-autos. It's the first and last of these regimes that we're going to take a look at this month.

Range cleaning

You'll need to carry patches and rods in your car for this quick and basic clean. Napier's Field Patches are good: these come in a box of 10 and are soaked in a gun cleaner that also contains VP90 vapour inhibitor. A good basic two- or three-part rod is required, like the easily-stored Tetra Valupro shown here, which comes in a handy plastic box. I've also found the Paradox long mop useful. This is a two-piece rod coated in a glass fibre-type material on a full-length fluffy mop. Once the patch has been pushed through, that mop can be given a number of fast reciprocating strokes through the barrels to remove the majority of light fouling, including some lead, or plastic fouling from plastic wads. A quick spray down each bore with an oil containing preservative, such as Napier VP90, will then ensure that any possibility of corrosion is
removed. This preservative can also be used externally; you should give the gun a wipe with kitchen roll or similar too, as putting a wet gun into a gunslip and leaving it will cause rusting - you may even notice some the very next day.

GMK's handy cleaning mat makes cleaning away from home easy as well as avoiding damage to either the gun or the surface you choose to clean it on. It is thick and soft with pockets for small items (like choke keys and tubes, brushes etc) and it can easily be cleaned when soiled.

Home cleaning

This is the more thorough regime that you should ideally treat your gun to even if you performed a preliminary clean at the range. You'll need a rod (or rods); cleaning patches made of cotton fabric or, like Napier Super Clean, a high-strength woven material; a phosphor bronze brush; a brass or nylon jag; barrel cleaning fluid; and gun oil. Items useful for more thorough cleaning which may not be needed each time include gun grease and a chamber brush. That's your kit; now here's how to use it in a few simple steps.