7 essential New Year gun care tips

If the wintery weather is stopping you from getting out and shooting at the moment, it doesn’t mean you can’t still dabble in a spot of gun care at home.

An arduous task, admittedly, but neglecting your gun is a real no-no if you take your shooting seriously. Just a little effort during the winter months can go a long way towards improving the performance and condition of your gun come the spring.

Here are 7 essential gun care tips to take into 2023.

1. Check the air movement

If you keep your gun in a safe when not using it, it’s always a good idea to ensure there’s sufficient air movement around it for ventilation. However, make sure it’s dry air, as too much moisture in the air supply could cause your gun to rust. That said, there are plenty of gun safe dehumidifiers on the market to help alleviate problems like this.

2. Don't keep your safe lit or heated

If the safe temperature becomes too high, it can cause your gun and stock to warm, crack, or ‘over-dry’. Cool and dark are the optimum gun safe conditions.

3. Avoid cleaning rods and ropes

Cleaning rods and ropes should be avoided wherever possible, as they can very easily get covered in filth and other potentially corrosive substances.

A bad cleaning rod is much more likely to damage the gun bore than a squirt of hydrochloric acid down the muzzle, for example. They could well be doing your gun more harm than good.

4. Clean the chrome barrel

As a gun owner, you’ll already know that the barrel requires regular cleaning, as deposits often build up on the walls. This should be another important step in your winter gun care routine.

5. Spend extra time cleaning black powder cartridges

Staying on the subject of cleaning, extra care should be given to black powder cartridges, if your gun has them. These have become much more popular in recent years but can often leave potentially harmful deposits. So, spend extra time cleaning these if this is the case.

6. Store your gun barrel-down

This tip is pretty self-explanatory. Your gun should always be stored barrel-down so that any excess oil can drain off.

7. Remove chokes regularly

Your gun chokes should also be removed, cleaned and refitted regularly. You can use a soft-bristled brush coated in solvent or a well-greased piece of thread to do this.

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