Attention All Sports Clays Enthusiasts!

Hello Sporting Clays Enthusiasts, the spring sporting clays season is around the corner, and we thought we would bring up some good points about the importance of strip cleaning your shotgun.

What we have found over the years is that when shotguns have been shot all year and then stored away for the winter, all the dirt, grime, and powder residue from shooting builds up, drains, and works its way into the actions, and settles in the important working parts of the shotgun - whether its a double barrel or auto loader. For those of you that store them in soft cases with barrel up or broken down in a take down case the warmth of your home causes the powder residue to become more liquid. It drains into the working parts of the gun, such as inertia blocks of an Over/Under, which stops the movement of the inertia block to set the second barrel for the second shot on doubles. As for auto loaders, and the way they are built the problem can happen - and much faster - given the fact that the action is more open and the trigger group is more susceptible to drainage, not to mention the gas system of most auto loaders. 

When this occurs and the Guns are brought out into the cold spring air this mixer of dirt and grime coagulates, or in lay-mans terms solidifies around the working parts that it settled on over the winter, creating the problem mentioned earlier. 

Here are some things to do before the season for a more enjoyable time at the clays course:

• Get your shotgun strip cleaned before the season starts for a positive function of the gun.
• Don't oil a gun too much. Over oiling will create this problem faster.
• Use quality lubricants on your Firearm.
• Use grease on the hinge pins, not oil. Oil can drain off. Grease is a better lubricant and seals dirt out of the hinge points ( its not metal on metal that wears metal its the dirt in between).
• ALWAYS clean ALL working parts of a NEW firearm. Manufactures coat guns with a protective coating that when fired repeatedly heats up and becomes a glue, which can bind the Firearm locking system and make it hard to open.

Bring your gun to a professional shop to strip clean the firearm for your season opener.    

        

Keep your powder dry,
Jim Kromka
Kromka Sporting Adventures LLC.
WEB: kromkasportingadventures.com
Mobile: (862) 812-3846
The Art & Science Behind the Shot