What to Do After Getting Your First Gun. So you just bought your first gun! Congratulations and welcome to the club. I know you might be excited
What to Do After Getting Your First Gun
So you just bought your first gun! Congratulations and welcome to the club. I know you might be excited to go straight to your nearest range and shoot the heck out of it, but please read and do these things before you shoot your gun.
There are a few things you might need to understand about your firearm before you begin shooting. Most guns do not come out of the box ready to shoot. Most guns are shipped “dry” from the factory or “wet,” meaning an excessive amount of anti-corrosive solvents. This is done to prevent rust and corrosion of the gun but does not protect the gun in any manner in terms of lubrication. A gun’s worst enemy is the lack of proper lubrication, so properly lubricating your gun is essential to the longevity and preservation of your firearm.
PURCHASING GUN CHECKLIST
These are the following steps that I recommend once you buy your gun
1. VERIFY ALL COMPONENTS
Verify all the components that you received match your gun. Although I have rarely seen it happen, in which a 40 magazine was shipped with a 9 mm gun, so check your components to make sure they are made for your make and model of firearm.
This should include backstraps, sights, and any other accessories in the case or box. If possible, do this at the gun store, so that they can resolve the issue immediately they can. In addition, inspect your gun for any cracks in the barrel, but most importantly, the frame.
2. READ THE MANUAL
Once you take your weapon home. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO READ YOUR MANUAL.
The manual has all the manufacturer-recommended disassembly and assembly procedures you will need, as well as break-in procedures and maintenance recommendations.
Please take the time to carefully go over the manual before operating your weapon.
3. TAKE APART THE GUN AND CLEAN IT
Take apart your gun completely and clean it, wiping off excess protective solvents, dust, or anything that might be stuck to your weapon.
I suggest boring your barrel with a barrel rod to ensure nothing gets into the barrel to obstruct it. Finally, and most importantly, you need to lubricate your gun.
Guns DO NOT usually come pre-lubricated. Firing a dry gun is the easiest way to damage your weapon, so please lubricate all components before reassembling your weapon. If you do not know how to please sign up for our weapons cleaning and maintenance course at https://www.vtgfirearmstraining.com/
4. BREAKING IN YOUR GUN
Breaking in your gun. New guns, including rifles, pistols, and shotguns, require a break-in. Despite advancements in machining and fabrication, machine parts still require breaking into a mold to achieve their final shape. Recoil, buffer, and inertia springs are all tight from the factory, and some rounds might have issues chambering or ejecting properly.
It’s not that your gun is broken; it’s that it needs a few rounds through before it really will function like it is designed to. Shotguns in particular, will require more break-ins than pistols and rifles.
Most guns can be broken in with 100-150 rounds with higher velocity (home defense). With new Shotguns (especially inertia-driven shotguns, because the force of the recoil reloads the next round) break-in would entail roughly about 100-150 slugs fired through the weapon.
That doesn’t mean that the gun will not function without a break-in in but I would not rely on an unbroken or new gun as my EDC or home defense gun until I know for a fact that it will reliably function when I need it.