Rules for gun owners
The way I see it
New and seasoned gun owners can always use some tips on keeping your arms in top shape and some tricks of the trade, so this week I’ll share some of the handy rules I’ve picked up over the years.
• Keep a humidity absorbent in your gun safe if you leave it locked all the time.
• Using a good cleaner-preservative-lubricant (CLP) is a good idea. Whatever you do, never use WD-40 on any gun. It is not a cleaner, or a preservative, and not a lubricant. What it does is loosen screws and remove moisture. It can be a gun killer, especially with semi-auto rifles.
• Using a bore snake to clean your bore after shooting is a good thing, too. However, at least after several hundred rounds, a gun barrel should get a thorough cleaning with a bore cleaner, cloth swabs, and a wire brush. Make sure you swab out all the cleaner and especially any oil. Oil in the barrel can damage the barrel when the gun is fired. The bullet will actually push the oil out in front of it. As the oil heats up from the friction it will ignite and sear a ring around the inside of the barrel and damage the grooves and lands. Ever see those guys at gun shows and pawn shops using a light to inspect the barrel? The oil ring is one of the things they’re looking for.
• Use a copper removing solvent especially on .22 barrels. The buildup can throw off the accuracy of any firearm. A friend had a Marlin Model 60 that he asked me to mount and sight-in a scope for him. He told me that the rifle wasn’t very accurate and hoped the scope would improve the accuracy. He was right. Before putting on the scope, I fired several rounds from a rest, only to see the bullets land all around the bull. I knew something was wrong because the Marlin Model 60 is extremely accurate. So, I spent an hour swabbing, and brushing out the barrel and then took the rifle out to the range, putting five rounds practically into the same hole.
If you’re having trouble getting a small grouping with a pistol, here’s a couple tips you might try:
• Change your grip because cupping - resting the gun butt in the palm of the hand not pulling the trigger - is a bad habit that many have. This allows the gun to wiggle a bit and throw off your aim. Cupping is also dangerous in the event there is an ammunition malfunction, which happens sometimes with reloads and sometimes even with factory ammo. Anyone experiencing this type failure and cupping their pistol’s grip would have had their weak hand severely injured.
• If you’re right handed and all your rounds land to the right of the target or lower left, you’re likely over-pulling the trigger or you have it on your first knuckle instead of the first pad. Lower left you’re anticipating the recoil and jerking the shot. The opposite is true for lefties.
• Ammo malfunctions are rare with factory ammo but do happen, the most common being the dud. If it happens, the rule is to hold the firearm down range for at least 30 seconds before ejecting the round. The purpose of the 30-second delay is to make sure you don’t have a “hang-fire,” a delayed ignition of the primer. There are several probable causes, including ammo not being stored properly and having ammo around cleaning fluids. Be safe out there and go shoot this weekend.