How do I clean my gun and what do I use?

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Use grease on bearing surfaces like the knuckle of the action. In all cases you need to use all lubricants sparingly.

By Mike George

Monday, 21 July 2008

I have just bought my first ever gun - a Browning B425. As part of the sale the dealer gave me a cleaning kit containing an oil bottle and a tube of grease.

Do I need to use both when I clean the gun - and do they have special uses? If so, what do I need to use, and where?

Technical
MIKE GEORGE says:
Let's look at that tube of grease first. You should apply just a smear of it to the knuckles of the action where the fore-end iron pivots against them.

A tiny amount on the tip of the bolt does no harm, either. These areas benefit from a heavier-duty lubricant than is used on most of the rest of the gun.

The other use for the grease is when you take the multichoke tubes out for cleaning - something you should do after every shooting session.

The oil is for lubricating all the other moving parts in the gun - and it should be used very sparingly. Use a tiny drop on the ejector mechanism - the slides in the barrel cheeks and, on a Browning, the mechanism attached to the fore-end iron inside the fore-end wood.

Don't slosh it on - the moving parts should be just damp with oil on surfaces which move against each other, not swimming in it.

If you ever take the stock off to clean the internal parts of the action, you can apply extremely tiny drops of oil to all the pivot points.

But do make sure they are tiny, as excess oil in the action can get into the woodwork and soften it.

There's no need to pour oil down the barrels after cleaning.

On a regularly-used modern gun like yours, finish the cleaning process by passing a dry patch through the tubes. I use a wad of paper kitchen towel.

You can use a little oil on the exterior metal parts of the gun but, again, be very sparing.

A wipe over with a cloth just damp with oil is enough.