Top 10 gun cleaning tips

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mundaire
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Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by mundaire » Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:01 pm

From the Beretta blog, a pretty well written post:
http://blog.beretta.com/top-10-gun-clea ... t=16352131
Top 10 Gun Cleaning Tips
Posted by Jason Hanson

Some people love cleaning their guns and it’s a weekly ritual they would never miss. Personally, I’m not a fan of cleaning my guns and only do so because I want to make sure they function if I ever have to use them in a life and death situation. So whether you’re like me (and only clean guns out of necessity), or if you happen to get a thrill out of it, here are a few tips every gun owner ought to know about cleaning their guns:

Also see: 25 Trigger Pulls to Become a Better Shooter.

1. Understand how to safely take apart your gun. Today’s pistols are rather easy to disassemble, but if you’ve got any questions make sure and read the manual. The last thing you want to do is bend a part because you’re forcing something when the gun should come apart easily. Keep the manual in the case where you store your gun for quick reference, or get on the Internet and search for the manual if you’ve lost yours.

2. Never, ever have any ammunition in the room where you clean your gun. If your ammo is stored in the same workspace where you are going to clean your gun, then you need to find a new gun cleaning location. Not a month goes by where I don’t read a newspaper article about someone cleaning their firearm and accidentally shooting themself, even though they were sure the gun was unloaded.

3. Use the right cleaning products. Don’t just grab whatever cleaning solution is under your sink. Use proper gun cleaning formulas. Hoppe’s is one of the most popular and has been around forever. Ballistol is another gun cleaner that many shooters swear by. I happen to like the Slip 2000 brand of gun cleaners.

4. Stay in a well-ventilated place. The last place you want to be is locked in a little workroom with all of the fumes from these cleaners. You could clean your gun in your garage with a window open, or on a back deck. As long as no ammunition is around, either of these places work.

5. In addition to the gun cleaner, there are a few other items you need to properly clean your gun. These include Q-tips (or pipe cleaners) for the hard to reach places, a towel or rag to wipe the gun off when you’re done with it, the rod and brushes to clean the barrel, and patches to run down the barrel. You can visit most sporting goods stores to buy an inexpensive cleaning kit that contains all of these items.

6. Take your time. I clean my gun about every 500 rounds. If you own a modern firearm built buy a quality company, every 500 rounds or so is a good frequency to clean your gun. But when you do, don’t be in a rush. For a handgun, it should take you no longer than 30 minutes to clean the gun, but you want this to be a well-spent 30 minutes. Clean every nook and crevice of your firearm. Remember, this gun could save your life one day, so take good care of it.

7. Don’t forget about the magazines. When you clean your gun, you should also clean all of the magazines you’ve used in the last 500 rounds. Most pistol magazines quickly disassemble for easy cleaning.

8. Always wear eye protection. A spring may pop out of a gun or a chemical could splash into your eye. Before you even start taking your gun apart for cleaning, put on your safety glasses first.

9. Use a tray. There are many guns that have small parts such as pins and springs. If you use a tray when cleaning your gun, it may help you to not lose these small parts in the carpet or floor.

10. Don’t forget to function test your gun. After you’ve cleaned your gun and put it back together, you need to make sure it works. With a safe and empty gun, and a safe backstop, pull the trigger to see if it properly “fires.” Also, make sure the trigger resets properly when you rack the slide.
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aadhaulya
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Re: Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by aadhaulya » Wed Jun 24, 2015 1:10 pm

Very nice tutorial, like a refresher course. Over a period of time some people tend to start becoming careless leading to accidents.

Regards

Atul

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brihacharan
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Re: Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by brihacharan » Wed Jun 24, 2015 2:40 pm

Thanks for sharing (y)
It's a good refresher & reminder :D
Briha

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Re: Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by Prabhath » Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:10 am

A good and informative read. Thanks for sharing.

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Re: Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by TwoRivers » Thu Jun 25, 2015 11:33 pm

Item 2. would indicate the writer is afflicted with ammunitions that is capable of sneaking out of its container and loading itself into the correct gun. Idiots that shoot themselves "cleaning their gun" invariably do so pulling another stupid stunt, and then claiming "the gun went off while I was cleaning it", in order to sound not quite so stupid.
Suicides, too, usually get written up as "gun cleaning accidents". If you inadvertently load your gun while cleaning it, you really are too stupid to even have a gun.

Item 9. Better yet, use a shoe box. Because that is how you will be taking the parts to the 'smith for reassembly. The trade loves those "shoe box" guns. Do NOT dissemble a gun to the last pin and screw, unless you know what you are doing and know that you can reassemble it safely yourself. Curiosity should kept in check.

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Re: Top 10 gun cleaning tips

Post by aadhaulya » Fri Jun 26, 2015 1:46 pm

I tend to agree with you 'TwoRivers' but I suppose you need to be extra careful while handling a gun. Specially in India where one does not handle a gun so often.

Regards

Atul

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