Teaching kids to clean guns

[howl]

So after a shooting session yesterday my son eagerly asked if we were going to clean them. My father never taught me. You got a gun and a cleaning kit and told to do it. Of course, my father was also one to tell his kids to go play in the street and mean it. Literally.

As a result neither of my brothers can properly clean a rifle. I know because I've cleaned a rifle for them. I have a nephew who has never cleaned a gun. I hear he sells them when they don't work anymore.

So, before I get another ulcer, do we really have to watch these kids violate our hard earned rifles or can we just point at youtube or something?

 

[buckbull]

If you go the youtube route I recommend this one.

 

[pilsner]

Wait, you guys clean your rifles?!

 

[Lab]

My dad was religious about it. We had to clean the guns every time we used them or even touched them. He also taught me to never go near the gun case until he was with me. I got whooped up something fierce a couple times I tried to take a peek without him. I clean my guns no matter what every time. My friends think I am crazy. HAHA,

 

[Carl]

Cleaning practices among some of the top shooters range from:

Clean the oil out of the bore from chambering, then never touch it for the life of the barrel.

To

Clean between each and every group, for the life of the barrel.

So…there is no consensus as to how often you should clean. There absolutely is a consensus that after you clean you need to take some shots to foul the bore before you shoot for keeps. Even the short range bench guys who clean each group take a fouler shot after cleaning. If you clean your rifle every time you shoot it, it’s never in a nice stable condition for when you need to use it.

I lean hard towards not cleaning, but am still experimenting and don’t have my mind made up.

 

[GoWyo!]

If the Cu fouling in your rifles bore has turned to verdi gris, you need to a. Clean it. b. Shoot more c. Alter your cleaning methods d. All of the above