Gun Care In The Field

By Greg Tubbs| PUBLISHED November 15th, 2021

Here we are. Gun deer season is upon us, once again! Your blaze orange is likely hanging on a tree or clothing line in the backyard. You're all packed up and ready to head to deer camp. Your gun is all sighted in (hopefully) and prepared for that first opportunity. 

Hopefully, you cleaned your gun before you stuffed it in the case before heading to the deer woods. A dirty weapon affects accuracy and leads to unnecessary wear on the finish inside and out. Copper fouling in the bore leads to accuracy issues. The bore has rifling grooves that (from the factory) are clean, smooth, and even. 

When you shoot a rifle multiple times, the grooves fill with powder residue, lead, and copper fouling. That's right, every bullet you send down the pipe leaves a trail that needs to be cleaned out of the barrel! If left unattended, that copper skid mark will start to corrode and clog up the rifling of the bore! This creates a tight spot for every other bullet after it. Thoroughly clean your rifle after you're done shooting it. The inside of the gun is undoubtedly an essential part of being successful!

Inclimate weather can wreak havoc on the outside of your gun as well as inside. More times than not, we are hunting in rain or snow. Most of us are using rifles and shotguns that aren't built to withstand getting soaked. I've managed to drop my rifle in the bottom of a ditch once! For this reason, I keep a kit in my truck. It consists of a reel cloth, dry rag, Hoppes Oil wipes, miscellaneous hand tools, and an Otis cleaning kit. If my gun gets soaked, I am prepared!

An old towel works excellent to dry a soaked firearm. After that, you will want to wipe it down with a reel cloth or some pre-oiled wipes like the Hoppes field wipes. Never put your gun in the case wet! Rust sets in quickly on Blued or Parkerized finishes. 

Suppose you need to do an in the field deep clean. The Otis gun cleaning kit is hard to beat for packability. It has everything you need to clean a .17 caliber to a 12 gauge shotgun! It all fits in the palm of your hand! This comes in handy if you dunk your gun in the muck water and you need to clear the bore to get out hunting again. Ask for one for Christmas or your Birthday! Mine goes on every trip!

Take care of your gun, and it will never let you down! Good luck out there! Be safe!

Please remember:

• Treat every firearm as if it were loaded.
• Always keep the muzzle pointed in a safe direction.
• Be sure of your target and what is beyond.
• Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot.

Some Okayest Hunter advice: 

• Don't put your scope under your hand warmers.
• It'll fog up your scope, and when that shooter buck or eater doe comes running through, you won't be able to see them in your sights. 
• Don't leave your weapon in the woods. 
• If you get back to deer camp and your gun case is lighter than usual, it's too late, and you need to take a trip back to the woods.
• Don't put the scope too close to your eye unless you want a shiner. 
• If you're going to take a photo of a rub, put your gun next to it for height reference 😉. 
• When you start hearing shots go off, perk up, the deer will be moving!  
• Remember, squeeze the trigger, don't pull it. 
• Most importantly, no "butts," none of that, "It's not the biggest, but..." It's your tag and your hunt. You hunt how you want for what makes you happy!