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8/26/2014

Gun Maintenance for Protection Firearms

By Guest Contributor 

women with guns and proper firearm maintenance
Although firearm sales have fallen over the past couple of years, U.S. citizens still own an estimated 300 million guns. Most are owned legally for hunting and self-protection, but every year there are around 75,000 gun related injuries and nearly a thousand accidental deaths. Owning a firearm for your protection is a big decision, so if you're thinking about it, you need to know everything from how it works to proper cleaning to making sure it stays out of the wrong hands.


Bullet Physics
You do not need to be a physicist to shoot a gun, but knowing how the mechanics of firearms work will help you further understand why it's crucial to properly clean and oil it. At its simplest, a gun’s effect comes from moving a small piece of metal at a high velocity. In the old days, the barrel of the gun was smooth, allowing the chaotic affects of air current to change the trajectory of the bullet. Modern guns have a bored barrel that twists the bullet as it exits. By spinning the bullet, a layer of air is created that protects the projectile from changing course. These screw-like threads on the inside of the gun are among the most important things you need to keep clean.

A Dirty Gun Is A Deadly Gun
If your reason to own a gun is based on protecting yourself and your family, the last thing you want is for it to literally backfire on you when you need it most. There isn't much room in a muzzle for the bullet so even light debris can compress the projectile in the gun. Since a bullet from the average hand gun travels at 1,700 miles per hour, attempting to stop the bullet from exploding on you could be potentially fatal.

Steps To A Clean Pistol
If and when you decide to purchase a firearm, the first thing you should do is take a safety course on how to properly and safely use and maintain it. If you're reading this article as preliminary research, here's a basic rundown of cleaning a typical handgun.

Step 1: Read the owner’s manual. A great place to learn how to field strip your model of firearm is on YouTube.

Step 2: Make sure the gun is unloaded. Remove the bullets or clip and make sure there is no bullet in the chamber.

Step 3: Depending on the gun, remove the grip to get access to the barrel.

Step 4: The barrel is the most important part of the cleaning process. Using a bore brush and solvent, make several passes through the barrel. It is a good idea to apply solvent a few times. Always pass the cleaning tool through the barrel in only one direction and be sure this is the same direction by which the bullet travels.

Step 5: Use a patch attached to a patch holder by running it through the barrel several times. The first time will be very dirty. Repeat the process until the patch comes out relatively clean.

Step 6: When the barrel looks clean, use a clean patch to apply a light coat of gun oil.


Keep It Locked Away
Gun safes and gun locks are a good idea if you have children. A safe is the more secure option, as there have been many cases of children outsmarting gun locks. The NSSF has a wonderful program to help keep guns out of the hands of childen, called Project Child Safe. Store your firearm in a place where you can get to it quickly and easily in the case of an emergency, but not so easily to where an intruder can get to it first.


Contributed By:
Lee Reyes-Fournier
©2014 ArmedCandy,LLC

4 comments:

onthedew said...

I though firearm sales have been up for the last few years.....

lalahsghost said...

Your website is very difficult to read. :(

The fadindgdark to light background for posts with black text is like having an overexposed photocopy of text. :(

lalahsghost said...

http://i58.tinypic.com/71s19c.png

Natalie Hansen said...

Thank you for including a really thorough description on this topic, especially the section on bullet physics. One of our bloggers did a more condensed write up on the topic of cleaning, which you can find here if you'd like to take a look: http://nationalcarryacademy.com/handgun-cleaning-tips/. Do you feel like she left out any key points you've mentioned here?


Natalie

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