How do you guys treat your hunting firearms?

G

Greg500sw

New member
I'm just wondering how other people treat there hunting guns.

They way I see it, it is a tool and nothing more. I treat them as I would a hammer, tossing it over obstacles, dragging it through the dirt, having it bounce around my truck almost every day of the year, clean it once every few month and never worrying about it.

I guess quality parts give me a good sense of mind.

How do you guys go about with your hunting equipment?
 
That's a different attitude than I have.
I have my grandfathers 1920 auto shotgun.
Had it been treated as you describe it wouldn't be here.
 
Ok, I probably should have stated, I have two types of guns, pretty guns and working guns.
I have my grand dads Spanish made side by side 10 gauge that I only use to turkey hunt and it is treated like a queen out in the field.
 
All guns are tools.

But not all tools are treated like crap.

Treat them well, and they last. Treat them like crap, and they die prematurely.

All of my firearms fall into the former category.

I still hunt with my grandfather's 1929 Winchester Model 12, and my father's 1952 Winchester Model 25 ... because each owner has taken care of them over the years.
Likewise, my ".220 Swift" still looks brand new, aside from one minor scratch on the stock. ...Even though it has been used hard since it was built in 1978.

Incidental damage (slipping, falling, and denting/scratching the firearm) is unavoidable and a hazard that must be accepted.
But knowingly letting the firearm get bounced around in a truck, burying it under snow chains, or using it as a prybar while gathering firewood are all avoidable risks (abuses, really).

I treat them well, and they return the favor.
 
what?

Hope you unload it before you toss it over an obstacle? After you toss it, or are done dragging it through the dirt, and bouncing it around in your truck, hope you check for muzzle obstructions? I'm being a bit cynical, but ......

I've got a pal that treats his guns that way. About every other season, he'll miss or lose a deer cause the scopes "off". Most all his guns have or have had rust issues, and the finish is terrible. The crowns are bad from riding muzzle down in his truck, and accuracy suffers. His 1100 was left in a case wet, and is a wreck. It won't run worth a hoot either.

I think there's an huge difference between honest hard use and pure neglect and abuse. A firearm that fails due to neglect and abuse can cost you more than a lost animal. It can maim, blind or kill you.

The old mantra "take care of your tools, and they'll take care of you" is how I treat my tools and my firearms. I got a semiauto rifle thoroughly soaked this year. When I got home, I tore it down as far as practical, dried, relubed, and reassembled. When I needed 3 quick shots a week later, then another, I knew it would run as it should. That is peace of mind to me.
 
I don't abuse mine but I don't baby them either. The guns I've used the most over the years don't have much bluing left but they don't have any rust either and most have nicks and scratches in the wood from tree limbs and fence barbs. I don't own any safe queens and don't understand the mentality behind it. Guns were made to be used not to be investments. I use mine, some harder than others but all of them show signs of it.
 
I have to agree with HAWG. We hunt rough areas and it is hard on guns. If I have one I am thinking of selling down the road, I may watch the weather I take it out in. My "Go to hunting guns are not pretty. On the side: I have been in machining or mechanical work my whole life. The one rule I adopted long ago is "Never trust a man with a clean tool box." It rarely steers you wrong.
 
I generally have at least a couple guns in my truck with me every day...as I start the day out in the woods checking traps and generally just getting out playing. I seem to rotate some of the guns now and then, but it's a random thing, and I can end up hauling anything from a trapdoor carbine to an AR15. Often times it's some version of a Winchester 92. I generally wipe down one before putting it back in the safe and grabbing another, but they don't even generally get unloaded.
I have to agree that they are tools to be used and not necessarily treated as some fragile thing to be worshiped.....but then I don't own things like "shottys, Remmys, Mossys, etc...just normal old guns.
 
Hunting gun or not, I will not swaddle it in cotton wool, but nor will I throw it around unnecessarily. I will protect it and treat it kindly when the situation allows. I will not expose it to abuse when it can be avoided.

If for no other reason than not being able to afford to fix/replace guns with regularity.
 
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I don't intentionally abuse a firearm but honest hunting dings don't usually bother me. I do have a couple of guns that don't go to the field due to sentimental value and that's entirely different.
I carry either of a pair of AR's more than any other firearm. The.223 has been carried almost daily November-May for 6 years and the 5.45 gets summer duty(May-Nov). Both carbines still look pretty good(a testament to the phosphate finish) even though cleaning is a "sometimes" thing.
Although I hear guys talk about throwing a gun over the fence or tossing in the back of the pickup, I've never actually seen anyone do these things. If they really do, I think they need some counselling.
 
I'm glad there are people that treat their firearms like trash, because I repair guns for a living. :D

Actually, I never understood how some people can abuse a gun and then get upset when it doesn't perform when called upon. I see a lot of it. Rusted guns (it was raining that day), broken parts (I was trying to get it off but it wouldn't move, so I hit it with a hammer/rock/2X4, etc), misguided repair efforts (it looked easy to do and I didn't want to pay you $$), general neglect (I always treat it that way), you name it. It's not unique to guns, the same people neglect their car/truck, their pets, their family, etc. But seriously, if you want the gun to work when you need it, you have to take care of it.
 
I have 3 types of rifles

Some I hunt in perfect weather from a stand and handle with white oiled gloves

One stainless laminate that I carry only when it's raining or rain is for forecasted

All the others get bruised up when we fall and a bit rusty in between cleaning....just like me

I have one old Remington 700 in 30-06 that has hunted 5 states and has eleven differant African animals under it's belt and it has the bruises and character to show for it
 
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I use them hard, but don't abuse them. They get wet, muddy at times and occasionally dropped or go down with me if I fall. But I try hard to prevent that.
 
I sure don't treat my guns like an episode of swamp people. Yes I will hunt in the rain, snow, sleet, and hail but not with my best guns. On most days if the conditions are going to be good I take the gun that I want. Sure it may get bumped, battered or lightly abused in the field but that's it. If it has a scope or easily moveable sights like my deer rifle, compound bow or crossbow I threat them this way.

Now if we're talking nock around field guns like shotguns with bead sights or even rifles with only open sights I'm willing to take those into worse situations but I'm still not going to use them as a hammer.

Treat something like junk and it soon will be.
 
Those good ones I inherited stay in the safe. Those junkers I inherited also. I sold to the highest bidder.
Those I bought myself. Were bought with the idea to preform in weather & terrain I carried them into. If a firearm doesn't or I loose confidence in that firearms ability too. "Down the road it goes in a heart beat!!"_ I'll buy another. Maybe the same model maybe some other manufactures product.
I'm a realist at heart and a firm believer in:~ Life is to short to hang onto something that is un-relibable / broken /or worn out to where its not practical to have it repaired. Like any other tool in the box. Guns too. Occasionally need to be replaced also.
 
usually they get beat to hell, I don't plan it that way... it just happens that way. usually they get more beat up in the safe and the truck than in the field but until i can afford a gun room where I can just hang them on the walls it'll just be that way.
 
I treat mine to a backstraps wrapped in bacon, then a few cold beers to wash it down.
And if they get dirty they get washed, synthetic stocks get removed to get all that weed seed and blood washed out, bore scrubbed and coated with G96...
 
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