I have not been shooting my center fire rifles much with the ammo shortage issues, etc. I hand load and used to take them out to do bench shooting and hunting more than I have been. I keep them in hard cases, in a cool dry part of my house.

I live in Central Texas and it is dryer than my time in Western Oregon or Minnesota. How often should I take them out to oil the inside of the barrel?

I try to check mine every 6 months or so.....but I live in Fla where it is much more humid....you might get by with a year between inspections....

I grew up in Central Texas. We always kept the outside covered in a very light coat of oil. At the end of the hunting season, we cleaned everything we'd used that year and left a light coat inside. Like Afterum said, about every 6 months or so, we'd go back and run a patch through the barrel then re-apply a light coat. Seems to keep things in good working order.

You should remember to run a patch through them prior to shooting them the next time just to remove any oil/debris/dust the oil might have picked up in the interim.

Step into the 21st century and give up the petroleum distillates; Eezox will serve you well.

I clean my firearms after hunting season, apply Eezox to the bores and forget about them. Eezox doesn't attract dust and it doesn't run back into the action when the firearms are stored vertically.

I haven't put anything but bullets through the bores of my rifles in the past 2 years.

If I'm storing mine for an extended time (until next season basically) I'll clean down to bare metal & oil the bore. When it's time to shoot them I'll run an oiled patch through them followed by a couple of dry patches so I'm shooting with a very, very light coat of oil in the bore. After that I don't clean the bore again until I put them up for next year, or after about 50 rounds if it's one I shoot a lot.

I live in the most humid place on earth and haven't had any trouble with fouled bores rusting. Smokeless powder residue doesn't absorb water like black powder residue. It seems to have protective qualities by itself. I'll caveat that with most of my barrels are stainless.

This one.

I live in CO where it is reasonably dry. After hunting season, I clean the rifles, oil with Mobile Synthetic 0 to-30 inside and out and put them in a safe, muzzle down until next summer. If you are storing them in foam lined hard cases, I'd check them periodically. That foam can cause some grief if it accumulates humidity.

Lots of humidity here so if they're not going to be used for a long time I run a patch wet with Birchwood-Casey Sheath down the bore.

A couple of dry patches down the bore before use.

Oil is a lubricant...(not a rust preventative)

If you don't believe me put some on a piece of bare metal and leave out in the rain for a day and see what happens.

You'll likely not find anything better than WD-40 for rust protection and it is recommended by the manufacturer for firearms.

Note...it is only for the metal, do not put it on your nice wood finish!

Oil is for the bolt lugs and mechanical moving parts. I put a very small amount on the lugs and run everything else dry and clean.

Shod

Shodd,

Make sure you don't get an accumulation of WD-40 inside your bolt and any enclosed trigger assemblies. They won't rust, but they will get gummed up.

The best solvent for gummed WD-40 is fresh WD-40, then remove that with Quick-Scrub or brake cleaner and then use a synthetic product intended for guns.


If you doubt this, partially fill a beer cap with WD-40 and leave it on a shelf or windowsill for several weeks or months and see what you wind up with.

You can use the search feature to see what people have said about WD-40 over the years. You will also read about the fellow that got WD-40 on his scope lens and it ruined his lens seals.

WD-40 is good for many things, for guns not so much, in spite of what the can says. A can of WD-40 and a Bic lighter does make an impressive zombie repellent.

Nifty,

Thank you for the additional info as some of what you've mentioned I did not know.

The only place on a rifle I use wd-40 is in the bore, barrel or outside metal work. I am also very careful to not get it on any other parts of my rifle.

For any mechanical parts such as trigger,bolt,etc some form of lubricant designed for firearms should be used.

I do remember reading about a number of people who have had some negative results. What I also know is that a lot of folks can tend to misuse a product....or basically operator error. I'm quite sure along with the cautions there have also been many successful users of the product when used with prudence.

As you've pointed out however there is a caution and I didn't make that entirely clear.


Shod

After shooting, target or deer, I patch and nylon brush the bore with BoreTech Eliminator, patch the barrel dry and apply Frog Lube paste to the bore and exposed metalwork. Three or four dry patches through the bore before shooting.

I periodically clean the locking lugs and lug recesses and apply a thin coat of Gold Lube to the rear of the lugs and a thin coat of Frog Lube to the bolt.

Also check the scope optics and my binos for any dust etc. Blow it off and carefully clean the lenses with a lens pen or clean lens cloth.

Clean and resharpen my knife if it has been used.

I'm with him.

Oil is lighter than water. Sure, the raindrops pelting oil will dislodge it and get underneath. In a HVAC equipped house, a light coat of oil will keep the goblins away.

I usually store mine in a safe with a heat rod to control the humidity. they get a silicone wipe down out and a light oil wipe in the bore. A couple of patches wet with carburetor or brake cleaner followed by a couple of dry patches usually results in the first shot printing right where it left off last time.

jack

^^^^this^^^^

That's the way I run too

Dale

I've always tried to put the rifles away, if I'm not going to use them anytime soon, with a clean bore and a light coat of Shooter's Choice. Never have had any sort of problem in doing that. But on the other hand, maybe an oiled bore (or whatever you use) isn't that necessary. When my Dad passed on, I got his old Ruger Ultralight 270. I know for a fact that the bore had not been cleaned more than every couple of years, because I did the only cleanings done on it. Dad hunted in eastern Louisiana and hunted on rainy days and dry days and whatever days came around. He rarely even wiped down the outside of the metal unless it was dripping water. When I got the rifle, the bore was dirty but not pitted, and shot like a champion. So after maybe 25 years of abuse, the bore was not damaged. The stock is pretty worn and a lot of bluing is worn off, but it really shoots great.

But...I'll still keep doing what I do.

During hunting season I don't ever lube the bore and only a light wipe of oil on the outside surfaces. During long term storage I use brownells cosmoline.

on a CM barrel, I clean and finish with a light oil when done for the season....on SS, I do nothing.

Same here clean and put back in the safe. I do have a dehumidifier in my safe though.

DBC eliminates the need to oil bores. I haven't done it in years.

During the season, I just wipe down after the day in the field and run a patch thru the bore just because than anything else, after the season, I do a full cleaning, and run a few patches thru a clean bore with some Rig grease and that is that, If I am going to go shooting, I run a few patches to clean out the grease and that it! I mostly hunt and shoot a Blaser these days, and the rifle dose not require a whole lot to keep it clean and ready to go!

+3

Yep. Every rifle I pick up gets coated. If I oiled the inside of my barrels all I'd ever get done is getting the oil out so I could shoot.

Never oil in the bore. They all get Eezox because it doesn't change the point of impact. And leaves a dry surface that doesn't rust.

After hunting season, I usually pull them all out of the safe and run a patch of B.C. Sheath down the bores whether I've hunted with them or not. I'll wipe down the exterior at the same time and put them away and forget about them. I only clean when necessary which is very seldom. If I'm starting load development with a new bullet/powder combo, I might give one a good cleaning first, but not always...