4 Tips for Maintaining Your Rifles

Maintenance is one of the most crucial parts of owning a firearm such as a rifle. You want your rifles to operate at peak efficiency, as poor maintenance can cause all sorts of issues—some of which could potentially lead to injury. A gun is not a toy; it’s a tool that needs proper maintenance if it’s going to get the job done.

You can lump firearms alongside power tools as items that must be taken seriously. When guns suffer from neglect, they potentially cause trouble not just for the owners but potentially the people around them. Here are a few best-practice methods to keep your rifles maintained.

1. Learning how to handle specific accessories

While it’s crucial to learn about how to keep your firearm well-maintained, a lot of people make the mistake of neglecting specific accessorizing, including gun sights and scopes. For example, a red dot sight can be extremely versatile and useful in every situation, but if you don’t bother with maintenance, it will slowly but surely lose out on accuracy. It’s a good idea to learn how to zero a red dot sight to ensure your gun sights are ready no matter the scenario. The same thing goes for any accessories you might have for your weapon.

2. Understanding how often you clean based on its use

For example, a rifle that’s used regularly for competitions needs a cleaning session before and after every event. Maintenance is crucial to remove the soot and combustion particles left in the weapon after firing. While it might not be so bad at first, these particles can affect overall accuracy if left unchecked.

For a hunting rifle, making sure that the weapon is good to go with cleaning and maintenance before and after hunting sessions is a good idea. As far as deep cleaning goes, the more you use a firearm, the more often you should go for a thorough cleaning session.

3. Taking care of weapons in storage

Even if you keep your weapons safely tucked away in storage, there is still a chance for the metals to rust over time. As such, it’s a good idea to deep clean storage weapons twice a year. It’s better to be safe than sorry when dealing with rifles in storage.

4. Cleaning based on ammo types

Some rifles use corrosive ammo, such as historical firearms and military surplus. For those who use corrosive ammo, it’s best to clean the gun after every session. While it might be a lot of work, it’s worth the time and effort, as corrosive ammo can damage your weapon if it isn’t cleaned after each session.

Rifles are made to last, but that doesn’t mean you don’t have to keep them well-maintained. Like every other firearm, rifles need a bit of TLC to stay accurate and effective. You wouldn’t want your gun to jam due to neglect, so it’s a good idea to focus on keeping your weapons maintained as much as possible. Whether for hunting or competitions, the above tips will help keep your rifles well-maintained.