How to Clean Your Shotgun

One item I work hard on in the gun world is firearm maintenance. Yes, I know that most modern firearms are polymer-centric, yet they also need ongoing care. With that being said, let’s look at a short and sweet guide on how to clean your shotgun.

Shotguns are notorious for getting dirty.

Safety First

Before we do any cleaning, we need to talk about safety. The shotgun must be unloaded, and all ammo must be stored separately. I encourage you to remove any ammo you have stored on the gun as well. This helps us avoid the dangers of a negligent discharge.

Nothing is more ridiculous than someone saying, “I didn’t know it was loaded.” You need to open the action and visually inspect it for ammo. Now, insert a finger into the barrel to make sure. Look down into the elevator area as well as at the follower. Now close the action and inspect the follower once again just to make sure. Once you are 100% satisfied the gun is clear, you can proceed.

Visually inspect the chamber to make sure it is unloaded.

Now that we are ready to get to work we need a safe, well lit area to clean. You will need just the basics for this cleaning. A rag, cleaning solution, bore snake, and some gun oil. While I would love to go into deep detail and disassemble the gun completely, yours may be different. Because there are so many different models, we will just be doing a general cleaning on how to clean your shotgun.

Roll Out The Barrel

First, we will clean the barrel. Open the action and prepare your bore snake. Personally, I add a little cleaning solution to the snake. We want our cleaning to move down the barrel to avoid bringing any particulates or grime into the action area.

Insert the weighted lead on the snake into the action and feed it down the barrel. Let it drop all the way down until it is hanging out the bottom. Now, pull the snake through the barrel. It will be snug, but that is not a problem at all. Repeat this at least one more time. Now, the barrel is generally clean.

The bore snake will have a weighted end to help feed it down the barrel.

We now move into the action and bolt. Liberally apply the cleanser to the bolt and action area and let it sit for a moment. Now, with a clean rag, wipe out the action area. Do your best to get into the crevices and channels. There are a number of companies that make great tools to help with cleaning. Once again, I don’t know what you have available, so let’s keep it simple. Once the inside of the action is clean, close the bolt and repeat the process of how to clean your shotgun. Take your time and clean the outside of the gun as well,

Lube it

Now, we will lubricate the shotgun. Apply oil of your choice to the body of the bolt. Add some into the bar area as well as on the action bars. Anywhere you can see rub point where finish is missing need special attention. Open the action and lubricate the moving parts inside as well.

Apply oil to all metal surfaces and rub points.

Lastly, close the action and wipe off any excess oil that may be on the stock. Do a thorough visual inspection now for cracks or other issues. Once this is done, the shotgun is ready to go. Repeat this process after long-range sessions or even after the gun has been sitting in storage for a while. In many cases, we rely on these guns to protect our lives. We need to make sure they are clean and maintained. Understanding how to clean your shotgun properly ensures its reliability and longevity.

For more information, please visit https://otistec.com/product-information/cleaning-instructions/.