The Second Half of Shooting

Clean your gun!  Good grief!

I just bought a used .22 and I could tell as I was looking at it in the store that it hadn’t been cleaned in a while.  The saleslady said, “I bought it from a guy who hardly shot it and sold it because he needed the money.”  The grime in and around the receiver told me he might have waved a toothbrush at it once.  “Hardly shot it” didn’t sound right to me.  So home I came with it, and I tore it apart,  and I scrubbed and scraped and picked and swabbed and oiled and smoothed and NOW I have a clean gun.

Same thing happened a few years ago with a Remington 552 Speedmaster (.22) that I bought from a local pawn shop.  It was FILTHY.  Thick black gunk fell out of it when I pulled it apart.  I’ve never seen a gun that dirty.  Who in their right mind never cleans a gun?  It’s pretty easy to do.  Does it take time?  Sure.  Is it fun?  Well—that depends on how you define “fun.”  Is it satisfying?  Absolutely.

It also helps you figure out how the gun works.  I always poke around a little bit to see what’s what.  It’s nice to know what goes on when you load a weapon and pull the trigger.

And it’s a great way to teach your kids patience and the value of a job done well.