A firearm serves many purposes for its owner, whether it be protection, passed down from generations as a precious heirloom, or a collectible. These need to be respected for the potential danger that they are. You should ensure that they are stored safely in locked cabinets where they are inaccessible to anyone but the owner and only loaded when in use.
A big part of owning firearms is taking the utmost in care and maintenance with the appropriate gun cleaner. Regular cleaning and servicing will keep the piece operating at its optimum, create a sense of reliability for those who come to depend on them, and preserves the overall value. But the process needs to be first and foremost with safety as the number one priority, meticulously, and with care.
How To Safely Clean A Firearm
Cleaning any weapon should be done with great care, precision, and primarily safety. It should occur in an area where children aren’t exposed to the equipment due to the potential for accident or injury and the chance for them to grab parts. Follow these tips to ensure safe gun cleaning:
- TIP #1: Check to make sure that the piece is not loaded before you begin. But you should always treat the weapon with care as if it is loaded. Too many accidental injuries, even fatalities, occur because ammunition is missed while cleaning. There should be no bullets in or near the area while the equipment is out.This is also one of the primary reasons why you should be isolated, along with the pieces on which you’re working. When taking time to keep children and other family members out of harm’s way, even pets, their safety is assured.
- TIP #2: Follow the rules associated with gun safety even when the weapon is disassembled. That means you don’t point it at anything unless you have the intention of shooting. When the muzzle faces another object, person, or direction, it can potentially destroy, injure, or bring fatality. Always ensure that it points down while working on the piece or when transporting. Make sure you always know what the target is if the gun were to go off.
- TIP #3: This trigger should never be touched unless you have the notion to shoot and even then, make sure there is a target. The suggestion is when it’s time to polish the trigger, pick a designated point of focus for the weapon despite the fact that it is not loaded and maintain that target while working. The target should be a mark that you would feel good with a bullet engaging if the weapon were to fire. Make sure the firearm is lined up and stays there before anything touches the trigger. For guidelines on proper handgun maintenance go to https://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-a-Pistol-(Handgun).
- TIP #4: Isolating yourself could mean going to the garage or an area outside the home (in a well-ventilated area due to the solvent’s fumes). Walls inside a home won’t prevent bullets from breaking through into another room and creating havoc or hurting someone. An apartment or any home attached to another family is inappropriate, particularly with thin walls. You would need to take them to someone else for cleaning or go to a safe site. Otherwise, you would be putting other people at risk, creating a liability for the complex.
- TIP #5: The process should be time-intensive, gradual, and precise. Cleaning is something that no one should rush through, or it can create mistakes that pose a danger when it comes time to engage the weapon. Every detail need caring for methodically with great focus and concentration. This is another reason to isolate yourself when initiating the procedure. You don’t want to be distracted or interrupted while working. It is something that will require your full mindset and great attention to detail.
- TIP #6: There should be no ammunition near the weapon until it is reassembled, not even afterward. The gun needs to be put back together with extreme care and in meticulous order with the muzzle always pointing at something you have no problem in shooting. It’s not okay to have bullets out or ready to put into the weapon. After the gun cleaning, it will go back into a locked cabinet. When in storage, a firearm is not to have any ammunition in the chamber. The only time a gun needs to have bullets in it is when it’s time to use it. Otherwise, a loaded gun has no place in a family household.
- TIP #7: Ensure that the weapon goes back into the cabinet as soon as it’s reassembled, and the case is locked immediately. Never leave a firearm lying out whether loaded or not, particularly in the presence of children. It serves a potential risk for accident or injury.
In taking extra time, precaution, and effort in cleaning your various firearms, you not only protect yourself from danger due to dirt and debris causing malfunction but preserve the piece. When the trigger is engaged, there is a little ‘explosion’ leaving sediment and residue inside the barrel, making it critical to use a cleaner regularly to maintain functionality.
The procedure should take place after each use but particularly when you shoot multiple rounds as with target practice. It is essential to retain proper operation, but it will help maintain the integrity and value if these are heirlooms or weapons that you invest in as part of a collection.
Final Word
The safety of how you handle and care for your gun is especially important as an adult to children who watch you as their role model. For those who may hunt or use these as protection for their home, kids pay close attention to how the firearms are used. If you are exercising common sense, ensuring a great deal of caution, being slow and careful as you work with each one, they will learn to do the same.