Cleaning a 12g

[harlock]

How often do you guys recommend cleaning out your 12g's?

[versifier]

Doesn't matter much what guage it is, same criteria apply. How often do you shoot it? What kind of action is it? Single shots and bolts very seldom as long as they extract or eject as designed. Doubles depend on how much they're worth - a s/s truck gun/beater after bird season's over, an expensive s/s or o/u after every use. Pumps whenever they start to get sticky, depends on the model. Autos depends on recoil or gas operation - recoil like pumps, when they start to gum up, gas guns after every heavy use. Nothing pisses me off more than a tempermental gas gun - I've only owned one out of dozen or more over the years that I liked and trusted to be reliable, and I sold it in a moment of weakness.

[kg42]

Yes, it depends on the use and the local climate, weather, the way you heat your place, etc...

A shop I went to when I was a teen had guns right behind the door. One day I found rust in the bores. The owner hadn't thought about checking bores twice on new guns (he was a wonderfull guy and thanked me...; I also had a rebate on most everything there....).

It's fair to them to wipe and lightly oil guns, ins and outs without taking them apart, after each "sortie", even if not fired. Nothing fancy; one dry and one greasy cotton rags should do.
You're obviously careful about that so I guess you will check it closely. Watch the little corners the rags might be missing.

kg

[HunterDownunder]

Hi harlock.
It's a good habit to get into,clean your Guns,Rifles every time you use them,although we all,don't do it all the time.
The main thing is ,if it becomes wet,it will have to be cleaned,or sprayed as soon as possible,as surface rust appears quickly.
Remember some people are rusters,as every thing they handle just rusts,it doesn't have to be a hot day either,I even see people blowing into their barrels,which is a no no,as your exhaled air contains water.
So the best method is to keep an eye on them & wipe them with a cloth with a little WD 40,(Silicon Spray),and give the metal parts a light spray until you get home.
Another thing when storing,it is a good idea to lubricate the bore with a good quality gun oil.

[rtracy2001]

I guess I overdo it then. If it comes out of the gun cabinet, it gets cleaned before it goes back in. Now that said, I don't completely disassemble a gun just because someone wanted to see it, but at a minimum it gets a wipe-down and a light oil swab down the bore. If it goes to the range it gets a bit more intense as I run a patch down the bore (even if I don't shoot it) and the usually oil treatment. If I do shoot it, it gets the whole nine yards. This way I can take any gun in the cabinet anywhere I want to go and I know it is in a ready to fire condition.


I was always taught:
If you take care of it, it will last as long as you are capable of shooting it.