Teach Deer

Gun Cleaning 101

There are a few items that you need to purchase:
1. Full length (about 40") one piece cleaning rod with shotgun adapter (avoid the 3 piece systems)...
2. Bronze wire brush in your shotgun's gauge
3. Nitro solvent (like Hoppes)
4. Break Free CLP
5. Thread lube (if Choke Tube equipped)

Process
1. Begin by cutting up a couple of old plain T-shirts into 2"x5" strips (you can also buy precut patches)
2. EMPTY THE GUN OF ALL AMMO AND PUT THE AMMO AWAY!!!
3. Disassemble the gun into major components (field strip)...this should include the barrel

The Barrel

4. Wet a patch with Nitrosolvent and push through the barrel from the breech end (repeat several times)
5. Attach the bronze wire brush to the cleaning rod and push through the barrel from the breech end (I will also pull the brush back through the barrel...though I know of several people who do not advocate this)...repeat 5-10 times.
6. Remove brush and then pass a dry patch down the barrel (repeat this with clean patches until the patches emerge from the barrel still clean).
7. Dampen the last patch with Break Free CLP and pass it down the barrel a couple of times.
8. Pass one last dry patch down the barrel once to remove all but a thin coat of the Break Free

Choke Tube

9. After the barrel has been cleaned, remove the choke tube with the tool provided by the company.
10. The choke tube bore will already be clean via the barrel, using a patch with Break Free (see #7) clean the threads and repeat on the barrel's threads.
11. Dry both the choke tube's threads and the barrel's threads with a dry patch.
12. Apply a thin amount of Thread lube to the choke tube's threads and re-insert into the barrel.

Action
Depends on the type of action

13. Use Break Free to clean the action, especially the bolt/breech face.
14. Unless the shotgun is wet, I usually avoid disassembly of the receiver...instead I use a can of compressed air (made for cleaning computers) to blow debris out of the action.
15. Lightly lubricate the action with Break Free (I never use oil as it can "gum up" in cold weather.
16. Reassemble the shotgun

Finishing Up

17. Using a cloth (like a larger square of T-shirt), I wipe off the metallic exterior parts of the gun with a light coating of Break Free and buff dry (wooden stocks can be wiped off with a paste wax or water sealant).

A shotgun that is wet, needs to be disassembled into at minimum its components (like the trigger group, bolt assembly, magazine tube, etc) and dried and cleaned to prevent corrosion.