Top reasons to clean your gun

Gun cleaning and maintenance is often something that is only learned and discussed in shooters early days when they are fist getting familiar with their rifle or pistol either when they are learning how to shoot or taking a safety course. It is for vast number of shooters the only time that they are take note about how to properly maintain their gun or even consider it as something that needs to be done.

I decided to write this post more as a reasoning "why" one should consider cleaning their guns on regular basis rather than talking about the methods used to get it done. There are probably as many good cleaning guides out there as there are cleaning products manufacturers and gun manufacturers combined so why add another one to the list.

Though my career as a shooter and running a business this comes up for me more often as a conversation topic compared to an average gun owner.

Coming from air rifle and smallbore rifle shooting background, I had a luxury of choosing how much to clean my guns as both air rifle and smallbore rifle will function "quite well" even with irregular cleaning. However, there were always questions looming in the back of my mind:

Is the "quite well" good enough?

Could I do better?

How can I motivate myself to clean my guns?

Here are my personal "Top 5 Reasons To Clean Your Gun"

1. FUNCTION

This is a no-brainer. Just like any other mechanical piece of equipment, regular cleaning and maintenance will ensure its reliable operation. If you are in military or law enforcement where your gun function is matter of life death and part of the job, this is a given. However, if you are hobby shooter and even a hunter, this reason might not seem as big deal.

I would disagree and say that it is just as important. You want your rifle to work consistently in both practice and competition if your are competitive shooter. If you are a hunter, there is a huge price to pay for your gun not working when you need it. Even if you just like hanging out at the range and getting few shots down on the target, there is a value in having a gun that is always in a good working condition.

2. SAFETY and DURABILITY

Guns are made to last. They are made to endure many hours of usage. Some are manufactured specifically to survive many years of harsh conditions. However, no matter how touch they are made, if not cared for properly your guns will deteriorate faster and not last as long and even become unsafe to operate. They will need more frequent servicing at a higher cost and will be harder to sell and loose the value faster than needed. No one wants that rusty beat up old gun with gunked up stock nor should anyone shoot an improperly cared for gun for safety reasons. Proper cleaning will ensure that your gun can be operated as intended.and expected.

3. AESTETHICS

Although this is very personal, most people still like their possessions to look nice. Some people are lot more particular about it, but most gun owners prefer their guns to look nice. Not old, used, tired and undesirable. That shiny new gun look can last for a long time if it is taken care of properly even with lots of usage. Nice and clean looking guns will be just more pleasant to use, and certainly nicer to show to your friends, and ultimatelly sell if it comes to that point. There are many high quality products avaible that will restore that shine to the old guns and keep your new guns looking new for a long time.

4. ROUTINE

We are all creature of habit. Although a cliche, it is also a major understatement. There are many good articles written about importance of creating a good habit and the power of good habits. Adding gun cleaning as a part of your routine either when you are packing your gear a day before you plan to go to the range or right after you finish shooting, or maybe that one eveninig a week will just help you reinforce good habits. If you clean your guns at the range it also provide a good socializing opportunity that is casual and stress free, yet productive. If you are cleaning your guns when you are getting ready for the range, it will help you build a routine so that you do not forget any of your gear. If you are doing it after the shooting session at home, it will be good time to restock your ammo box, or throw in that extra tool that you forgot last time.

5. ZEN

The Zen, The Zone, My Happy Place - we all have activities that put us in this state of mind. For some people it is exercise going out for a walk or deliberate act of meditating. It is generally a repetitive and familiar activity. Gun cleaning is both of those and many shooters, use this time to reflect. We are all busy with our lives and we rarely give ourselves permission to just turn off. Cleaning your gun could be one of those rare moments without cell phones, computer screens, where you can just focus on what you are doing and allow yourself some time for reflection, upon whatever that your daily life does not give you time for.

And if after reading this you feel inspired to give your guns some extra TLC we do happen to have some products in store that might interest you <HERE>