Pheasant Hunting Gun Cleaning Tips

Putting that pheasant hunting gun in the safe or closet without cleaning it thoroughly after walking several miles chasing Kansas ringneck pheasants is all too easy sometimes. Feet are tired. Dog is fed and watered. Make sure the gun is unloaded and tuck the gun away for the night. “I could clean it, but I’ll be out again in a couple of days,” one might be the thinking. Some hunters clean their shotguns more often than their teeth. Others, well, it rates up there with the frequency of changing the furnace filter.

Here are a few reasons to clean that pheasant hunting gun after every trip to the field or to the gun range:

1. Unknown objects from the wild might be lodged in it. After a day of walking CRP this season, I noticed the action on my Browning pump had a little catch in the action. I found a six-inch stem of bluestem grass stuck next to an action bar. Luckily, I discovered this at home instead of in the next field.
2. The fouling and dirt in a barrel can deteriorate the barrel and throw off the shot pattern. If seemingly impossible misses occur on upland birds or clay targets, consider the cleaning frequency.
3. The action needs to stay cleaned and lubricated. Newer guns, especially, will seem “dry” or stiff sometimes. A range master once told me that this will only improve with more use and keeping it cleaned and lubricated.
4. Protect that investment. Wiping the outside of the shotgun with a silicone-treated gun cloth protects the surface area from rust and protects the finish.

So, don’t wait. Clean that shotgun every time it leaves the gun safe. Someday, that old gun will still look and work like brand new.