5th Jul 2021
Tips for Cleaning Your Firearm
Whether you use a firearm for sport or recreation, making sure it is ready for use and in proper working order is an essential part of owning one. Ensuring that your firearm is maintained and cleaned regularly means it will perform to its optimum ability whilst increasing how long it remains in safe working condition.
One easy way to avoid failure is ensuring any leftover residue and sediment is removed from the inside of the barrel to prevent blockages and give the clearest path possible.
How often should you clean your firearm?
Depending on the type of firearm and how often you are using it will depend on how regularly it will need to be cleaned.
In general, the older the weapon and the more frequently it is used the more regular cleaning will be needed. If you are going on regular shooting trips or spending a lot of time using the weapon you will want to make sure it is cleaned regularly.
Older firearms are built less efficient and can be more sensitive than modern ones meaning that residue can build up faster and can collect more dirt. It is highly recommended that you clean an old firearm after every use especially if it uses corrosive ammunition as any remaining residue can even eat away at the inside of your gun due to the salt primers used.
For newer firearms, you won’t have to worry about corrosive ammunition issues, but you will still want to clean your gun after every use to stop any rot or corrosion over time.
If you use your firearm for defensive and personal protection purposes, you will not have to clean your firearm every time you carry it. However, you should still routinely maintain and clean it to prevent dust, dirt and moisture from building up. This is also the case if it is being stored over long periods as dust can still settle, affecting the performance of the firearm should you ever need it.
For any firearm used in competitions or for sport, it is even more imperative to clean them thoroughly after every use. Due to the nature of competition shooting, this can result in a firearm using a lot of rounds very quickly which if not properly dealt with can lead to reliability and accuracy issues.
So, should you clean your gun after every use?
Whilst it isn’t the law, it is strongly recommended to clean your gun after every use. Even just using your firearm once will create a build-up of residue which will have a long term effect on your firearm’s performance and functionality, even affecting the value of the piece.
Cleaning your firearm properly
It is so important to take care when cleaning your firearm. You need to make sure you are using the correct products to clean the different components of your firearm and this also depends on the type of weapon you are cleaning too, for example, you would not use a Blu Gel on a wooden stock. Research is key when making sure you are cleaning your firearm how it was intended to be cleaned.
Read our blog on the best gun cleaning products here.