Proper gun care doesn’t end once your firearms are safely locked away. Even if you store your guns in a high-quality safe, regular maintenance is essential to preserving their condition, performance, and safety.
Over time, factors like humidity, dust, and residual oils can cause corrosion or mechanical wear, even in controlled environments. That’s why responsible gun ownership includes not only secure storage but also consistent upkeep. We’ll walk through practical tips for maintaining your firearms and storing them properly, so you can protect your investment and keep your arsenal in peak condition for many years to come.
Gun Care and Maintenance FAQs
How Often Should You Clean Your Guns?
Ideally, firearms should be cleaned after every use to remove gunpowder and primer residue that can attract moisture and cause corrosion.
What’s Needed to Clean Guns?
While caliber-specific kits are available, typical supplies include a bore brush, cleaning rods and cloths, solvents, and lubricant/protectants.
What Parts of a Gun Need to Be Cleaned?
Parts such as the barrel and other moving parts like the breech, trigger housing, slide, bolt, and cylinder all need to be cleaned of any dirt and residue. Then, after brushing/wiping all areas, the gun will have to be lubricated in order for it to function properly and then oiled to protect from rust and/or corrosion.
What’s The Best Way to Store Guns?
Proper firearm storage involves the following:
- Investing in a high-quality gun safe to protect against theft, fire, and damage.
- Controlling humidity within the safe is crucial using dehumidifiers, desiccant packs, or silica gel.
- Organizing the safe using racks, pistol holders, and door organizers prevents firearms from leaning against each other and causing damage over time.
- Storing ammunition separately from firearms is recommended, ideally in a cool, dry environment. If you’re going to store your ammunition in a safe with your guns, it’s recommended to store the ammunition at the bottom of the safe.
How to Practice Proper Gun Care and Maintenance
Properly cleaning and maintaining your firearms doesn’t have to be complicated, but you do need to have the right tools and take the right steps to make sure certain components are cleaned and assembled properly.
Gun Cleaning Best Practices
After every use, you should clean your firearms as residue from gunpowder and primer can attract moisture and lead to corrosion if left unattended. However, if you don’t use your firearms too often and keep them stored away most of the time, inspecting and cleaning them monthly helps ensure that no rust, dust, or internal issues are quietly accumulating over time without you noticing.
What Supplies You’ll Need
You can find caliber-specific gun cleaning kits, but typically you’ll need:
- Bore Brush: These are caliber-specific wire brushes that are sometimes paired with a boresnake (a type of cleaning cloth) to clean the barrel of a gun.
- Cleaning Rod: For those hard-to-reach areas of your gun where you might need an extension.
- Cleaning Cloth: To wipe away dirt and debris.
- Solvents or Degreasers: This loosens any residue buildup
- Lubricant and Protectants: To properly oil your guns, lubricant can help moving parts move smoothly, and protectants can offer a great seal around your guns to prevent rust or corrosion.
- Gloves: To protect yourself from any harsh chemicals
There’s water coming out of your safe after recovering it from a fire, what should you do?
Don’t panic, this is a good sign that your fire-resistant safe played its part in protecting your valuables! American Security’s fire-resistant safes feature materials that emit steam as part of the process for lowering the internal temperature. Just make sure you dry off and clean your firearms after retrieving them from the safe and re-oil them as soon as you can.
How to Clean Your Guns Properly
Here’s an overview of how you should clean your firearms.
1: Safety Check
Before you begin, always confirm the firearm is unloaded. Remove the magazine, open the action, and inspect the chamber both visually and physically.
Next, follow the manufacturer’s disassembly instructions. Field-stripping the firearm gives you access to the components that need cleaning and ensures safe handling during the process.
2: Clean the Barrel and Other Moving Parts
Start with the barrel. Attach your bore brush or bore snake to the appropriate cleaning rod and apply a solvent designed to remove carbon and powder residue. Run the brush through the barrel several times, allowing the solvent to loosen the buildup. Follow with clean patches or a cloth until they come out without residue. For longer barrels, an extension rod may be necessary to clean thoroughly from chamber to muzzle.
Other parts you can clean during this step include the breech, trigger housing, slide, bolt, and cylinder. Use cotton swabs, brushes, and a small amount of solvent to remove debris from these areas. Be thorough, but gentle; scrubbing too hard can damage sensitive parts or finishes.
3: Oiling and Lubrication
After cleaning your firearm, give each component a final wipe-down with a clean, dry cloth. This removes any leftover solvent or moisture that could lead to corrosion over time. Once everything is dry, it’s time to apply oil and lubricant.
Lubrication plays a key role in keeping your firearm operating smoothly by reducing friction between moving parts. However, it’s important to avoid having a heavy hand with lubrication, as applying too much oil can attract dirt, dust, and carbon buildup, which may hinder performance instead of helping it.
Focus on applying a light coat of oil to high-friction areas, which are typically places where metal parts slide, rotate, or come into contact during use. Depending on your firearm’s design, these areas may include:
- Slide rails (semi-automatic pistols)
- Bolt carrier group (rifles)
- Trigger assembly
- Hinges and locking lugs
- Cylinder and crane (revolvers)
- Operating rod or recoil spring assemblies
When in doubt, consult your firearm’s manual for specific lubrication areas. In addition, you want to use a small amount of quality gun oil and distribute it evenly across your gun using a cloth, swab, or applicator tip. The goal is to create a light, protective film, just enough to shield the gun from moisture and oxidation without attracting excess debris.
Once lubricated and oiled, reassemble the firearm and perform a quick function check to confirm everything is working smoothly before storing it away. This might include sliding certain components back and forth to spread the lubricant evenly and check to see if enough was applied.
How to Take Care of Your Guns After a Fire
It might be jarring when you uncover and open up your gun safe after a fire and find water pouring/dripping out from the interior. While it might seem alarming at first, this is actually a good sign. If your safe is from American Security, the moisture is likely the result of our fire-resistant materials doing their job. These materials release steam to lower the internal temperature, helping protect the contents from extreme heat.
With that being said, moisture and firearms don’t mix well for a long period of time. This is why always keeping your guns properly oiled is so important. A light coat of oil can provide an extra layer of defense against unexpected exposure to humidity or water.
After a fire, take the following steps as soon as possible:
- Remove all firearms from the safe.
- Wipe down each piece thoroughly to eliminate any moisture.
- Allow everything to dry completely in a well-ventilated space.
- Reapply gun oil and lubricants to restore that layer of protection.
- Conduct a function check to make sure each firearm is still in working order before placing it in a new secure storage solution.
Gun Storage Tips for Long-Term Protection
There are a few best practices you should follow to properly store your arsenal from unauthorized individuals and ensure that you’re not exposing your firearms to the elements.
Use a High-Quality Gun Safe
Choosing the right gun safe isn’t something you want to put off, especially when it comes to protecting your firearms from theft, fire, or long-term damage. We’ve had numerous customers tell us they wished they’d gone bigger, chosen a fire-rated model, or picked a safe with better long-term durability. The good news? These issues are preventable with the right investment up front.
At American Security, we’re known for building some of the most trusted, high-performance gun safes on the market. Whether you’re looking for premium protection with our BFX series or something more budget-friendly like the TF series, every safe we make meets industry-leading standards for security and quality. You’ll find options in multiple sizes, colors, and configurations to match your collection and your space.
Not sure which safe fits your needs best? Visit an American Security dealer near you. They’ll walk you through the options and help you choose a model that gives you confidence and peace of mind for years to come.
Control Humidity
One of the most overlooked aspects of firearm storage is humidity control. Even in a secure safe, excess moisture can lead to rust, corrosion, and long-term damage to your firearms. That’s why we recommend monitoring the internal environment of your safe, especially if you live in a region with high humidity or fluctuating temperatures.
One of the most effective ways to regulate moisture is by installing a safe dehumidifier. These devices maintain consistent humidity levels, helping to protect your guns from the gradual wear and tear caused by condensation and damp air.
For added protection, you can place desiccant packs or moisture-absorbing silica gel inside your safe. These compact, affordable solutions help absorb excess moisture and are easy to replace as needed.
You can also find digital hydrometers online to place inside your safe to help monitor and gauge the internal temperature. To keep the temperature consistent, we recommend storing your safe in a cool, dry environment. Avoid areas where conditions can fluctuate, like a garage or shed.
Strategic Gun Safe Organization
Proper organization inside your gun safe isn’t just about aesthetics; it plays a large role in protecting your firearms from unnecessary wear, scratches, or damage. Stacking or leaning guns against each other can lead to dings, scuffs, and even functional issues over time.
To keep your collection secure and accessible, use dedicated storage solutions like rifle racks, pistol holders, and door organizers. These help maintain spacing between firearms, prevent shifting, and make it easier to access what you need without disturbing the rest.
All American Security gun safes come equipped with a built-in door organizer, giving you added space and flexibility without additional costs. Whether you’re storing long guns, handguns, or accessories, a well-organized interior extends the life of your collection and makes routine maintenance easier.
Whenever possible, it’s best to store your ammunition separately from your firearms. However, if you need to keep both in the same safe, be careful not to overcrowd the space and place the ammunition at the bottom of the safe.
Using dedicated storage containers for your ammunition is a smart way to stay organized and create a designated area within your safe. Just like your firearms, ammunition should be stored in a cool, dry environment to prevent moisture damage, corrosion, or reduced performance over time.
Key Takeaways on Gun Care and Maintenance
Proper gun care and maintenance help you preserve your firearms for the long term. With the right habits and tools in place, you can extend the life of your collection and keep it in excellent condition for years to come.
Here is a quick recap of the best practices we touched on:
- Always disassemble your firearms before cleaning.
- Use the proper tools, such as bore brushes, cleaning rods, and solvents.
- Apply lubrication sparingly to moving parts to reduce friction without attracting excess residue.
- Store your firearms with care by using racks, door organizers, and storage containers.
- Keep ammunition separate when possible and store it in a cool, dry environment.
These best practices are meant to help you preserve the long-term value and lifespan of your arsenal, and it’s important to invest in the right security solutions to help you achieve that. Explore American Security’s wide variety of gun safes, featuring coveted industry ratings and features that will give you the peace of mind you and your family deserve.