Part V. SHOTGUNS: EQUIPMENT, CARE AND CLEANING

Chapter 14. Care and Cleaning of Guns and Equipment

Good firearms deserve good care. That would seem obvious, but it is surprising how many rifles and shotguns are not at top field shooting proficiency because they have been abused or neglected. Much of this neglect stems from the fact that many hunters believe that with the inception of non-mercuric, non-corrosive primers there is little reason for cleaning firearms. But that isn't so. Non-mercuric, non-corrosive primers have simplified cleaning, but they have not eliminated it.

I put in a day in ruffed grouse cover recently, hunting from good daylight until a severe storm canceled out my day. Dur­ing the forenoon a brilliant sun played hide and seek with the racing stormclouds. My shotgun was exposed to a muggy heat which moistened the barrels with sweat from my hands. In midafternoon the thunder caps piling up against the hills touched off a rainstorm which lasted the better part of two hours.

After the hunt I had the not unpleasant chore of cleaning my shotgun before putting it back into the rack. First I took the barrels down. Examination of the tubes showed drops of water inside near the muzzle—something which would pit those mirror smooth barrels within twenty-four hours, unless the shotgun was properly cleaned and oiled before being put away.

Several dry flannel patches passed through the barrels with my cleaning rod served to mop up the moisture and removed all powder residue. But to make doubly sure, I changed my last patch and warmed it thoroughly in front of the fireplace before the final swabbing.

The outside of the barrels and all metal work received this same dry treatment with a flannel rag. Then I passed a brass brush through both tubes to loosen and remove any lead which might have collected from my field shooting. The heart of a shotgun lies in those mirror smooth tubes, and a brass brush is the best method of keeping them polished to perfection. This insures a minimum of shot deformation—good uniform patterns.

Any pitting, any minute roughness in a shotgun barrel is paid for by spotty patterns. You cannot be too careful in this final polishing and cleaning. Send your brass brush back and forth several times. Don't be afraid of injuring the choke. Brass brushes are comparatively soft; shotgun barrels are made of good modern steel.

After polishing with a brass brush, I swabbed the bore with some Gunslick bore cleaner designed to neutralize any residue from the powder or primer mixture. There are several other excellent preparations for this purpose on the market. Hoppe's Powder Solvent number 9 is good. So is Palma Compound.

A light gun grease should be used on the outside metal parts of your gun as a protection. This should be applied immediately after the arm has been dried. It should also be reapplied before field use. A bit of grease worked into the in-letting where wood and steel is joined, before going afield, serves to protect the wood from moisture, preventing swelling and warping under normal use.

Forearms and stocks should be gone over carefully with a dry rag, removing all moisture, sweat and oil residue after a day afield. Once the stock is thoroughly dry, examine the finish. That beautiful myrtle wood stock, or black figured walnut, will be beautiful only so long as it is taken care of, both in the field and after the hunting trip.

Probably more misinformation has been put out about stock finish than any one thing connected with guns.

The late Alvin Linden recommended a good grade of soar varnish, applied in several thin coats, to obtain that so-called "Linden oil finish." And Old Scratch, as Linden was called by outdoorsmen, probably knew more about stocks and stock finishes than any one man in the profession. Experiments have shown that wood treated with boiled linseed oil, beloved of many gunners for an oil finish, will absorb water just about as readily as untreated wood.

There are several oil type finishes on the market, however, which are excellent for protecting and enhancing the beauty of a striking piece of stocking wood. One of the best of these is put out by the Mashburn Arms Co. Good oil type finish is marketed under the name of Lin-Speed. While these finishes have some linseed oil in their makeup, they have additional properties which seal the wood with a moisture-proof seal.

A stock of beautiful wood is a joy forever. But in field use it will eventually become marred. Scratches will appear in spite of your best field care. These can be removed with steel wool when they become too conspicious, and the stock refinished without trouble.

One of my gunstocks, a beautiful light colored myrtle wood, made for me at Art Richardson's Gun Shop, Coquille, Oregon, has had two seasons in the squirrel and deer woods. This stock is now more beautiful than the day it was placed on the rifle. Occasional scratches are carefully worked out of the wood. After a trip afield, I dry it carefully, then touch it up with a bit of Lin-Speed Stock Finish, working the finish into the wood with the tips of my fingers.

Two seasons of use have materially darkened the fiddleback myrtle from which this stock is made. It now has the color appearance of a well used old violin.

Rifle and handgun cleaning pose about the same problems as that of shotgun care. Barrels should be well oiled and free from moisture when they are laid aside for any appreciable length of time. Pass a few dry patches through the bore im­mediately after field use. Then swab with patches moistened with Hoppe's number 9, or some other good bore cleaner. The bore should be wiped out before field use, or you may up the pressure of your first shot needlessly.

There is one other precaution in the care of rifles which should be watched. During the cold, blustery days of autumn when the storms are on the make, moisture sometimes collects in rifle barrels from flakes of snow. These often congeal into ice. A Rifle, such as a .30/06, a .220 Swift, a .348 Winchester, or other high intensity weapons, can very easily bulge the barrel, or even wreck the gun, when fired with such an ob­struction in the tube.

After a hunting season is a memory, and you are storing your guns for the year, especial precautions should be taken to see that they come through this inactive period in good condi­tion. Obviously, they should be stored in a dry, well ventilated place. Those requirements are usually met in any well warned house. Where most riflemen fall down in storing firearms is in the final preparations in cleaning and oiling. A fairly heavy gun grease, applied liberally inside and out after the final clean­ing, will protect your firearms for months. The application of this grease to the bore should come only after two of three final cleanings and inspections have shown that there is not the least vestige of rust or powder fouling in the gun.

Do not plug the barrel with a rag under the mistaken idea that you are keeping moisture out. Leave it open. Allow the air to carry off any moisture due to the sweating of the steel.

Sling straps should be carefully oiled before being taken afield. Best for this is neatsfoot oil, well worked into the leather. Apply as much as the leather will absorb, returning to this task several times before going afield. This will keep it soft and pliable, even when it is subject to wet weather.

In selecting sling straps, incidentally, be sure you are getting the best of leather, or all your oiling and care will not help. Avoid those spongy leather straps. Select those made from the best oil tanned calf hide. Best of the carrying straps which I have used are those "Guide Straps" put out by Williams Gun-sight Co., Davison, Michigan. These in the best grade come in hand tooled leather. They are light, and complement a beautiful gun in every particular.

Revolvers and pistol holsters should also receive this same application of neatsfoot oil. Work the oil into your holsters until they are thoroughly saturated, both inside and out. Wipe off the surface oil so that it will not get on your hunting clothes. Now you have a holster which will give maximum protection to your sidearm at all times.

There is no justifiable reason for neglecting firearms on hunting trips. Just a little thought given to the problem of field cleaning materials will turn up a light, compact field cleaning kit. A jointed cleaning rod which can be taken down for trans­portation, a small can of bore cleaner, a tube of gun grease, a few dozen flannel patches, and you are all prepared for any field eventuality, such as storms and severe weather.

Your gun should be gone over nightly around the campfire, then stored for the night in a dry place, not too close to the fire, lest you fog your scope, or dry unevenly, the wood of your carefully stocked rifle, causing it to change its center of impact.

All in all, the care and cleaning of small game guns and equipment is not an unpleasant task. There are a lot of fine hunting memories wrapped up in the chore, and it is the one way to insure the superb accuracy built into your guns.