It seems to form a barrier between the corrosive fouling and the metal.
The fouling then comes out very easily in the form of a powdery grey residue rather than the usual sticky, sooty mess.
Dangers of obstructing gun barrels In the countryside, normal life goes on in wintry weather. And that includes shooting, which usually thrives in snowy conditions. A bit of old-fashioned hard weather keeps the birds from straying, while a decent covering of snow adds a winter wonderland aspect to a driven…
Take 10 minutes to clean a semi-auto shotgun properly every time you use it and you’ll avoid a lot of issues. Another reason is that you also save money on repairs and get more for it if you ever want to trade it in or sell it. Lack of cleaning…
Bruce Potts finds out what happens when you shorten a barrel and fire .270 Winchester rounds
What can you do if your choke tubes are stuck fast in your shotgun? And how can you prevent this happening?
Always store guns muzzle down When you put your gun back in your gun cabinet don’t put it butt down. Always store guns muzzle down. The reason for this is that any oil or cleaning fluid left in the bores will run out onto the floor of your gun cabinet.…
Storing a shotgun The usual way I care for my shotguns when I put them away at the end of the game season is as follows: Intermittently strip the gun. Make free with gun oil, drenching ejectors and breech so they look like the aftermath of a shipping disaster in…
Shotgun cleaning Faced with a bill of just over £800 for putting his grubby old gun back together, a local sportsman wasn’t very receptive to my advice that it was a good idea to get it serviced at the end of each season, or every two at least. He asked…
Problems with rifle accuracy frequently frustrates rifle shooters. It’s not surprising really. A rifle is a fine precision instrument. Everything within it needs to work correctly. Many things can affect rifle accuracy. Some you can fix yourself, others you will have to bring to a gunsmith’s attention. Four things that…
Choosing gun oil The world of product marketing is a murky one indeed, and for those of us on the receiving end it can often seem like the art of adding a word or two to justify extracting a few quid more. Unsolicited use of the word ‘artisan’ is an…
I have finally, after much grunting and cursing, succeeded in loosening and removing the stock bolt from my Miroku 6000. When I re-assemble the gun after cleaning the action, must I put the bolt back as tight as it was?
Gun cleaning: I have been told that if I clean my .22 rimfire it will lose its accuracy. Is this true?
How to clean your rifle: You’ve been out with your rifle, had a great day, but it’s come back filthy and soaking.
Never neglect gun cleaning. A little effort will keep your guns safe, reliable and rust-free Do not put a gun in a gun slip into a gun safe. You want air movement Do not put a heater or a lightbulb in your gun safe. Your stock will over-dry, warm…
There are a number of accessible working parts on a shotgun that need lubrication.
Q: With all this rain of late, do you have any tips for cleaning my rifle scope and keeping it safe? Bruce Potts, our resident expert gives his advice A: People tend to put a scope on a rifle, then forget about it and never consider cleaning it until something…
If not, you will have a badly fitted and sometimes dangerous moderator and suffer the consequences of moderator failure long before its sell-by date. It constantly amazes me that some people never clean their rifles, let alone any ancillary equipment – they are just stacking up trouble for the future.…
A: If you used a cleaning kit that was designed for airgun barrels it is very unlikely that you’ve caused any damage. The most likely cause of the loss of accuracy is your barrel being too clean, as pellets seem to run best when there’s a fine film of lead in the bore. I’ve known it to…
A: Cleanliness is next to godliness but when cleaning a rifle, especially the action area, it is very difficult to clean the section where the bolt recesses into the action. The locking lug area in a rifle’s action accumulates primer residue, cleaning solvents, debris and brass chips. These can all affect a rifle’s performance. I use a Sinclair…
A reader asked: How do you touch up a synthetic stock? Mine is really scratched. Shooting Times rifle reviewer and stalker, Bruce Potts, had this advice for airgun maintenance: Synthetic stocks can be practical against knocks and scratches and keeping a rifle’s zero from shifting as, unlike wooden stocks, they don’t warp in bad…