...what's your routine?

Mine: check scope mount screws, visually inspect rifle from crown to action screws, inspect rifle sling and sling swivels, run a dry boresnake down the barrel, and go hunting.

I shake it. If nothing falls off, it's good to go.

I made sure it was ready to go before I put it away last time. What's to go bad if it's never touched?

I agree. I still do what I do because I would rather catch any issues at the house instead of beside my truck in the field.

Coyote's and other vermin.
Deer season ends 1/1, prep begins 1/2

Occasionally shoot primary rifle, punch paper, ring gongs, check zero and hold overs, multiple times through the year including a couple weeks before season opens. Nothing special for deer season.

I use my rifle year round, I guess I don't pick a certain day to inspect everything. Maybe I misread the question. I give it a visual inspection every time I pick it up

after season a complete Pull-A-Part extreme cleaning wipe down the whole nine yards even if it's only shot a few times. before season check side in do not clean only wipe down until after season. this is big game type rifles that I just use a little bit. environment rigs and farm rigs that carries in the truck and such well they are what they are

Wipe down,go to the pit,shoot rifle for zero,then go hunting.

Sometimes when using a new rifle i shoot it a lot just to make sure we are both on the same page and see if it stays on target.

If it's a rifle I have not handled in a while I will go through it and give it a thorough wipe down and run a patch through the barrel.

If it's a regular then I just while it down and run a patch down the barrel.

I may give it a few practice shots to confirm zero

I shoot it twice and make sure it is still on zero. That's it. I clean bores every 10 years or so.

Pre-Season Rifle Prep?
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An oil rag and some oil.
And I'm good to go.

I shoot all summer. I try to go every weekend I'm not scouting. Minimum once a month, but usually more. I hike around and shoot off my pack or trekking poles.


That's my routine I guess. I shoot it.

Pre Hunt Prep:
Remove gun from safe
Put in case
Load in truck
Carry into the field

I never run a patch down mine before hunting. I verify zero then leave it dry.... tape the muzzle in inclement weather... an oiled/wet bore from a patch will change POI

I live in the mountains in Idaho. I'm not a great hunter really but I'm convinced the critters flee from me and hide because I shoot all year and once the snow melts an I can get higher up I mostly do high angle and field positional shooting and sling work, lot of standing unsupported ans this year it was with a 270win. It keeps the rifle ready all the time.

Verify my zero at 300 yards! Usually, 3 rounds fired! Then hope to fire it again….. during hunting season! memtb

Holy schidt. You shouldn't have to check that [bleep]. All that [bleep] should be done before hand. For fu cks sake..

Pull the rifle out. Open the bolt to see if it still has the same 3 rounds in the magazine from the previous season. Put it in the case and off to the woods.

Pre season?

I shoot my rifles year round

I always pull out the bolt and visually check the bore sight alignment with the scope even if I just shot recently shot it. I once had a Leupy VariX3 3.5-10x40 track about 6 inches to the right and 5 or 6 inches up a week or so after zeroing it. Missed what I thought was an easy 200 yd shot on a big 4x4.

I do a quick visual
Check torque on screws
Shoot off a bench to confirm zero
Hunt

Check for mud daubers.

I toss mine a couple times then shoot a couple shots, learned it from big stick.

If it’s a burns rifle I just shoot, heck one shot has to get through, even if in the guts or other area, just keep shooting.😂

I run a a dry patch through the bore and shoot it at 600 to 700 yards cold bore. You know if you have any problems with one shot.

Not much. Make sure I've got enough ammunition loaded and ready to go. Check zero and off we go.

All year
Always testing loads of various calibers and makes of rifles
Keep records of components, groups , and POI
As time draws near I decide which components spark interest
Look back at records to see if POI will need adjusting for selected load
Sometimes loads I have never tested in game , but test good on paper and curious to see how it will preform

Have found any center fire will work as long as bullet placement and reality of what caliber is capable of is in tact
Lucky enough to have a 100yd range in back yard
So playing isn’t a real pain in the ass
Got some farms I can go to for checking myself and loads at greater distances
Remington 700 in 222 and 243 keep me in check On groundhogs
Paper for larger calibers
Love shooting almost as much as hunting
Kenneth

This, except I usually shoot 200 yards.

Wipe the dust buildup off the scope lens.

I give it a good cleaning after season. Check action and scope screws. I do a basic wipe down and check the screws before I take it to shoot it to check the zero before the season. I guess thats a routine.

The only thing I would add here is to camo wrap the barrel and scope especially if they are glossy or shiny,

After the season do quick zero/group check.....clean barrel and put away.........pre-season check zero/grouping....wait till season.....go hunt.

Take it to the range and check zero (couple of shots at 100 and maybe 300 yards) take it home, wipe it off and good to go.

Depending upon the rifle and when I shot it last all this plus maybe a 3-round group n paper to make sure nothing evaded a visual inspection.

never really gave it much thought.

As others mention, several of mine get shot all through the spring and summer, so they are already good to go. A couple only get 15-20 rounds a year (usually magnum sporter rifles) and I'll check zero on those a few weeks before season, generally on a cool and still morning in October. My range is about a mile from the house. They'll generally get shot at 200/300 and sometimes 400yds, depending on the rifle. Sometime just before season I will clean all the lenses on the scopes. I'll make sure I have at least 15-20 rounds or so loaded for the low-volume rifles and more like 30+rounds for the ones I enjoy shooting more frequently. I might carry 10-12 different rifles hunting in any given deer season.

Well I shoot them more than once a season. So, if anything is messed up, it will show itself when I'm shooting.

This has worked for me to 40 years now.

Make sure the hole still goes all the way down the barrel.

Go hunting!

Wonder how many of us could benefit from taking our own advice to others on this one.

After hunting seasons the guns get fully stripped, stock off, and throughly cleaned and checked. Months prior to the season they are shot and checked for zero. Despite using a torque wrench on the stock bolts, the zero almost always changes, usually minimally. Barrel is fouled and zero is checked. Hunting shots are usually cold, dirty bore. Once checked, the barrel does not get wiped down. Oil in the bore will change POI, maybe minimally, but it will change it. Two inches at 100 yards might not matter, but six inches at 300 yards surely does.

I’m really amazed at how many folks recheck the torque on all of the screws.

Mine are torqued with Loctite applied to clean threads……it would be quite a feat for them to loosen! If they did, it would be very apparent at the 300 yard zero check!

I did fail to mention the “bore obstruction” check. Though, mine always has electrical tape re applied post hunting season, or post interim shooting……so, there should be no obstructions! memtb

I arrived in camp one day about forty years ago, and found the 165 gr ballistic tips were seated a few 1/1000s long for the bolt to close on my 30-06. Out of 100 rounds I managed to seat the bullet a little deeper on about 20, and killed a deer with one shot the next day.

But aftet that every round got cycled through the rifle before leaving home.

I always fired a couple fouling shots at home or along the road before arriving at camp.

That old 670 really tossed the first shot from a clean bore. By the third she settled into head shooting grouse to 80 yards mode.

I take my stock off after every hunting season. I don't neglect them, but I'm hard on the rifles. Snow, rain, twigs, pine needles all get under the stock especially where the barrel is free floated. No other option but to take the stock off and clean it and then retorque it.

Rifle prep?
My rifle is just a prop to fool the wife, it doesn’t even leave the case at camp.
We just drink, play cards, smoke cigars, and tell lies at deer camp.
There’s no deer in Nevada.

Yes Sir I am aware of that. I was not clear on the patch process. I store my guns with a well lubed barrel. So when I say I just run a patch down it, it is a dry patch to remove any excess oil.

I’ve never understood this obsession with “sighting in” the old deer rifle the day before season opens every year. If my rifle shot where I pointed it this year, how does it sitting in the safe change where it will hit next time I get it out? I cannot remember ever needing to adjust a scope after it was initially set, unless I changed scopes, mounts, loads, etc. Same goes for sights.

I used to be anal about shooting everything right before season. Didn't want to miss the big one because of something I messed up.

But year after year of nothing ever changing, and with the addition of allot more rifles.... I don't anymore.

It'd take me a week to check what I might pull out of the safe maybe possibly but probably not.

I'm blessed to be able to shoot off the back porch. So year round I'm shooting something. That's when they get checked.

Other than that I grab what I feel like and go kill deer.

I like “full length” bedding to minimize the risk of debris or freezing water(expansion) getting in the barrel channel and causing a pressure point.

I don’t hunt as aggressively as I used too, so it stays relatively clean. If it gets submerged…..then a disassembly would certainly be in order! memtb