Gun Cleaning How to Clean A Rifle

In order to prevent rust and oxidation in your rifle, cleaning is the next step after shooting your rifle. Some rifle shooters only clean the inside of the bore after the hunting is done. Their reasoning is, your rifle might shoot different with a clean barrel. After all, how many shooters clean their bore after each shot? Never the less, it is always a good idea to keep a gun clean. The following instructions will show you how to do so.

Materials Needed:

  • Gun cleaning kit including:
  1. gun cleaning rod
  2. gun rod brush
  3. slot tip rod attachment to hold swabs/patches
  4. gun cleaning swabs/patches
  5. bore solvent
  6. gun oil

1. Remove action and disassemble any moving parts

Take the bolt out of your rifle and remove the clip, or floor plate before cleaning.

2. Clean the bore                                                                               

          Assemble the gun cleaning rod and attach the gun cleaning brush appropriate for your caliber of gun. Next you will have to put some bore solvent on the brush and begin reaming the bore by pushing the brush from the breach of the barrel through the end of the rifle barrel. Do this repeatedly to clean the lead, copper and carbon deposits out of the barrel. Now attach the gun cleaning swabs onto the cleaning rod.  Add some bore solvent to the patch. Begin pushing the patch through the breech of the barrel until it comes out the end of the barrel bore. Repeat this process until the cleaning patch is clean with no visible residue or dirt by attaching clean patches with solvent.

You can now push a clean dry swab through the barrel to wipe out all excess solvent.

Attach a new swab to the rod and put a little gun oil on it and run it through the barrel. Follow it with a dry patch to remove excess oil.

3. Clean all gun metal

          Take a cleaning patch and apply some solvent to it. Rub down the outside of the barrel and all metal parts on the gun. The trigger, trigger guard, clip, action, bolt, scope rings etc. Now wipe down all the excess solvent with a dry patch. Put a little gun oil on a patch and wipe the metal parts of the gun with it. Wipe excess oil with a dry patch on all components. Done, now the rifle is ready for storage!!