"Winter proofing?"

Sadly this hunting season for deer is officially
over for me . Does anyone have any certian way they clean and prepaire their barrel/gun for the long sitting season? It would be great to hear all of your experenced opinions! I would like to have my rifle looking like I just cleaned it when I finnaly get it out again next year? Oh, and I do store all of my guns in a 44 gun safe that has a dehumidifier in it so that part is covered! All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Cody

Clean your gun and put your preservative your using in the bore, I recommend "Barricade". Get in a habit of wiping your guns and swabbing the bore once a month and you won't have any problems. :thumbsup:

hunter3 said:

Sadly this hunting season for deer is officially
over for me . Does anyone have any certian way they clean and prepaire their barrel/gun for the long sitting season? It would be great to hear all of your experenced opinions! I would like to have my rifle looking like I just cleaned it when I finnaly get it out again next year? Oh, and I do store all of my guns in a 44 gun safe that has a dehumidifier in it so that part is covered! All suggestions are greatly appreciated!

Cody

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Sitting season????

Get to the range & keep shooting all year!

Sitting season? It's to cold to sit now, too muddy to sit in the Spring. You mean summer in the warm grass waiting for a woodchuck to show?

There's small game, target, long walks, varmints, skeet, etc., etc. Use 'em once a month and wipe the bore & metal with Barricade. Wax the stock, or at least buff it with an old t-shirt.

Well not necessarily for winter..., if you get a new gun, and are going to work with it for a month or two, sighting it in, then having fun at the range, the previous gun may sit...

So after the thorough cleaning, Birchwood Casey "Sheath" works, so does as mentioned "Barricade", and on another forum lots of the folks swear by Dexron transmission fluid. No really, the stuff for your auto transmission was first made with Whale Oil, then was made to mimick whale oil, and does a very good job of preventing rust, apparently. I may try it myself.

LD

Sheath is now Barricade. They changed the name.

If your not going to be using it for awhile just take it out every month or so and run a patch down the bore and back out. Then repeat with a patch wet with whatever bore preservative you use. If your bore was clean to start with you won`t have any problems keeping it that way till you use it again.

Winter proofing NOT, here as long as the range is open it finds its way there at least once a month or at least once every two months.

After cleaning, I've used TC Bore Butter. My wife's rifle sat 2 years with Bore Butter in it and when I suddenly realized I hadn't "touched up" that one, I ran a patch down the barrel and nothing but bore butter came back out. Checked the bore with a bore light and it looked great inside. Buttered it back up and put it away.

A tube of bore butter lasts a long time and you can get it all over...even big box mart.

store with muzzle down...just like your cf guns.(center fire)
monthly run a oil patch down the bore..
join a club or range and burn powder all year round..
come hunting season YOU will not be rusty!

Thank you for all the great advice! :hatsoff:

:thumbsup:

Stumpkiller said:

Wax the stock, or at least buff it with an old t-shirt.

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Stump killer,

Is there a particular wax you recommend for protecting the stock? Is Minwax finishing wax worth using?

Why do you recommend storing with the muzzle down?

You store the gun muzzle down so that any excess oil will drain out the muzzle end instead of draining into a patent breech or pooling on top of a flat breech and collecting dirt, eventually guming up the patent breech or clogging the touch hole of your rifle. This stuff can be a pain to get out or off if left a couple of months .

Mophair said:

Why do you recommend storing with the muzzle down?

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If an excess amount of oil is not used, it isn't necessary to store your gun upside down. Gobs of oil only cause build up. A thin coat protects metal proficiently. There is no need to go overboard with it. I store mine right side up, except for the one I have on a rack. Before shooting, simply run one 91% or denatured alcohol soaked patch down the barrel. You are now ready to load and shoot.

I guess I have been doing it wrong for about 40 years. I have never stored a gun upside down even for a short time, but I sparingly wipe the bore with oil, and run a loose dry patch down to clean out any oil before loading and never had any problems with ignition or rust, guess I just been REAL lucky :idunno: