If the gun became wet while being used, it must be dried by means of a soft cotton cloth on the outside without exerting pressure. Then spray Ballistol into the barrel on both ends, shake and turn the barrel several times so that all the lands and rifling, the whole of the polygon surface are reached by Ballistol. Then allow Ballistol to react for a couple of minutes so that remnants of grease and deflagration can be dissolved. Mind that the muzzle must point downward while you are cleaning your gun, otherwise powder fouling, unburnt propelling charge or other kinds of dirt might get into the system and settle there. The system might lose its smoothness and it might even happen that the firing pin gets seized.
Why gun care is important
Propelling charges also hit back into the system during ignition. Gun-smoke and tiny particles get into the movable parts and deposit there. Therefore these areas must be cleaned especially diligently with Ballistol. Cotton-wool tips and pipe cleaners will help you with that. Surplus Ballistol can easily be removed with a soft cotton cloth. What is important is that a thin film of Ballistol remains. After that pull a dry tow or felt-stopper from the cartridge chamber to the muzzle in case it is a break-joint gun or, if there is no joint, from the muzzle to the cartridge chamber and back. Always use a new tow or felt-stopper because dirt is to be removed and not to be distributed evenly. Then wipe the Ballistol-moist outside of the gun again slightly. Every now and then the rifle-sling ought to be treated with Ballistol, too, so that is does not become hard or go mouldy but stays supple and smooth.
Pistol magazines, too, must be cleaned regularly with Ballistol, because there are also traces of gun powder and the cartridge feed in the magazine must remain smooth.
Gun Care – how you proceed
Try to avoid cleaning chains or, if that is unavoidable, don’t forget to use some kind of muzzle protection. Like little strokes fell big oaks, chain-links will remove layer after layer in the muzzle area until shot precision is affected drastically. Particularly the use of wire brushes cases muzzle damage when you frequently scrub back and forth with the cleaning rod instead of removing the brush after pushing through the rod in one direction. In case of metal residue in the gun it would be best not to use any wire brushes and such harsh techniques but use Robla-Solo. Below you will find more about that. Your gun is now ready for service again or prepared for storage. If you do not use your gun for a longer period of time, it would be wise to oil the barrel. Just pull a tow moistened with Ballistol through it and the remaining film of Ballistol protects safely against corrosion under normal circumstances.
After a strenuous hunt you are often reluctant to clean the gun right away. In that case just spray some Ballistol into the barrel on both ends and a little touch on the outside of the gun and you can postpone cleaning to the following day without causing any damage to your gun. Don’t forget: the muzzle is to point downward as we have already mentioned above. Only the completely cleaned gun can be stored with the muzzle pointing upward in the gun cabinet.
By the way you can also unse Gunex to improve the outward appearance of your gun. Gunex protects against corrosion even better and longer than Ballistol does. That is why Gunex should be used above all when weather conditions are bad and when the gun cannot be cleaned for days. For cleaning your gun inside however, only use Ballistol, for only alkaline gun oil like Ballistol can neutralize acid residue efficiently and thus avoid damage. Besides, under normal circumstances Ballistol protects sufficiently against corrosion in the field of hunting and shooting.
Please remember, real browning are oxide coats that are ultrathin. Like a coat of paint for example, they also suffer from mechanical wear and tear if not treated gently. Intense rubbing can eliminate the browning quickly. Therefore you should treat the browned parts almost tenderly with a soft cloth so that you can enjoy the gloss of the deeply black browning for a long time. Should the browning be damaged anyway, you can do the repair work yourself by means of Klever Quick-Browning. More about you will find below. With some sub-caliber rifles (e.g. Remington) some parts of the gun consist of aluminium-base alloys or similar materials. Such parts cannot be browned. Consequently, those parts are varnished black with a dull finish, which comes close to the impression a real browning makes. In many cases the varnish is not oil-resistant. In that case it suffices if you clean those parts with a wet cloth. Barrel and lock however are always made of steel, which means they should always be cleaned with Ballistol.
Sometimes certain people recommend employing gun-oils containing PTFE. We strictly object to and warn against that recommendation if those products are used in the barrel or the cartridge chamber. Those most finely distributed polymers contain carbon fluorides. During ignition there are temperatures of up to 3000° Centigrade and an immense pressure increase (2000-3000 bar) in the cartridge chamber and in the barrel. Under such conditions the fluoride containing polymers decompose, and small amounts of hydro-fluoric acid come into being. Hydro-fluoric acid is highly aggressive and often causes pitting in the barrel. So, be utterly careful when you use products containing PTFE. These products should only be used with the mechanical parts, but even there they don’t have any advantages.