Bear Bums - Bear Hunting

I love being a gun owner. In fact, I think each hunter in the country should own another gun each year just to keep the juices flowing. With ownership comes some responsibility. Guns are something your great grandkids may receive from you. You may have your great grandfather’s guns. My dad brought a Japanese rifle back from the south pacific as WWII ended. I now own it. It’s clean oiled and works. I love it.

This may be one of the most valuable bear hunting tips that I provide.

Bear hunting can bring out the worst in a gun. The thicker the bear population, likely, the denser the forest and the more damp the environment. On a coastal Alaska bear hunt my son Jed was using my .300 Win. Mag with a blued barrel and wood stock. It is a nice Ruger bolt action rifle. No kidding, we had to clean off rust daily to keep up and when I got home I took it completely apart and found bad stuff that required a lot of work.

Here are some suggestions for keeping your gun in good shape. Remember, I’m no museum guy just a hunter with experience. As a general rule metal likes oil and wood hates it. Skin carries oil with enzymes in them that can eat metal. Water is the main killer.

This solvent should last you a while

To prepare for a hunt I use Hoppe’s Gun Solvent to clean the entire rifle. This takes off the excess oil, acids, and most stains. I try and separate the wood stock from the metal pieces as much as possible. The metal I then treat with light high quality oil, like Remington Oil. At this point I do not want excess oil. The stock is treated with a wood oil, wax or preservative to seal it little.

If the stock is the new synthetic stuff a just clean it off with a little water and let it dry. The barrel I treat the same way but with more aggression. Hoppe’s until clean then very light oil.

During the hunt I repeat these same procedures if my gun gets wet (which it usually does) or banged around a lot.

After the bear hunt I again repeat the same process only I leave more oil on the gun.

Many recommend storing a gun upside down to keep all the metal oil out of the wood. I have to say I agree that the oil will soften the wood over time but personally I think that’s overkill.

As you clean your gun pay special attention to the tricky parts like scope screws, metal hiding in or under the wood. The firing pin and action parts.

Our group of four bear hunters going to Prince of Wales Island this September will take just one cleaning kit and use it to keep up all the guns.

My strong belief is that a gun will stay reliable, workable, and good looking, with a long life if you are in love with the it. Enjoy you gun ownership freedoms and care for these instruments.

There are many good suppliers with good websites to find the maintenance stuff for your rifle. Midway USA is my favorite.