Preparing for next season
If you look after your kit it will look after you next season, says Michael Brook
The last shoot of the season has taken place. For some, the prospects look bleak until the next season blossoms seven months hence. In fact, the season has not quite finished as there are two essential obligations to fulfil. For those who keep a gamebook, writing up a summary of the season could be one of them. While not everybody maintains a gamebook, every gameshooter owns a gun and attendant paraphernalia. Therein lies the other essential obligation – fettling one’s shooting kit so that one can be confident that it is ready for use come August or September. Some will do nothing until days or even minutes before the next day’s shooting; likely the same people who do not clean their shoes at the end of a day’s wearing, leaving the chore until they next put them on prior to setting off for work when time is at a premium. They may not bother to clean their shoes at all, so it is quite possible that they will pay scant attention to the maintenance of the tools of their hobby, too.
What does end of season maintenance involve? Perhaps more than some might anticipate. The obvious items will be any guns that have seen service in the justfinished season. What about essential accoutrements: cartridge bags, cartridge belts and gunsleeves? Regardless of whether they are leather or canvas, they will need attention. Then there is the wardrobe: boots, coats, breeks, caps, shirts, socks, ties, sock ties, gloves, pullovers. Other miscellanea could include: sticks, shooting-sticks/seats, ear defenders and, if applicable, your dog’s equipment, especially if he or she has a dog box or cage in your car. This list may be surprising; therefore it is worth addressing the subject in some detail.
If your gun has detachable locks, remove carefully and wipe the parts clean before greasing lightly with petroleum jelly, which provides protection against the ingress of moisture. Moisture will find its way into the locks when it rains, wreaking havoc in due course. Unlike sidelocks, boxlocks do not have removable sideplates, usually only having a removable plate under the breech, which allows access to some of the workings that can be greased with petroleum jelly.
Lock, stock and barrel
Finally, the barrels. If your gun has ejectors (most do), remove them carefully with a turnscrew. Using a pull-through and a tiny piece of cloth or cotton bud, clean the extractor housings. Inspect the seating of the top rib running the length of the centre-line between the barrels to ensure no rust has developed. Rust here can be hard to detect but, if present, can cause the rib to start to lift and detach from the barrels. Next, clean inside the barrels with a phosphorbronze brush attached to a cleaning rod. Alternatively, use a barrel-cleaning system such as a Paradox cleaner or Bore Snake. There may be resistant deposits at the breech end, which require the use of a steel ‘Turk’s Head’ brush, in conjunction with a cleaning oil such as Napier. Lastly, now the barrels are dry, examine them internally and externally for any dents, scoring and pitting; if evident, the gun requires the attention of a gunsmith.
At this stage, there is a tendency for guns to be assembled, barrels oiled inside and out, and returned to the gun cabinet. Hold off with the oil. It is better to leave them dry-cleaned and un-oiled. As guns are invariably stored vertically, oiling barrels internally will result in oil draining onto the breech face with some seeping through the firing pin seatings and into the stock, rotting the wood. Thereafter, a monthly check for cleanliness and moisture, would be a sensible precaution. While oil can protect metal, if there is any undetected moisture underneath it, particularly along the seam between rib and barrels, it will be sealed in by the oil, causing corrosion.
“It is better to leave guns drycleaned and un- oiled”