What initial steps do you do prior to shooting a brand new gun?

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Just bought a new 509 Midsize from the local gun shop with a very nice indoor range. All I did is remove the price tag and start shooting. Didn't even spray any lube in it.
 
I read the manual. If it calls for anything to be done like disassembly, cleaning and lube, I do it. Otherwise I look the gun over for anything that looks odd or out of place. I run a patch with cleaner in it. Wait a few seconds and run a bore snake through it twice and it’s off to the range.

Tearing the gun down and doing things your way might just void the warranty if anything goes wrong.

Read the manual first. Proceed from there.
 
BSA1 said:
Just say NO to WD40. It is not and never has been intended for use in firearms.

New / New to me. I clean the bore with Shooters Choice. Depending on how blue the patches are (copper fouling) I may also use a brass brush. I usually use Shooters Choice to clean the action and internal parts also.

I lube everything that slides with Tetra Gun Grease and parts that
pivot (hammer, trigger pins and springs) with Mobil1 5 W 30 Synthetic Motor Oil. I change the oil in my vehicles myself so I drain the last few drops from the jug into plastic squeeze bottles. A little goes a long ways.

For rust protection inside the barrel I use a little Breakfree CLP.

For exterior protection and penetrating stuck parts and screws I use G-96. This stuff has a strong smell perfect for the mancave. The instructions says treat the parts three times. I inherited a Winchester Model 12 Takedown that the barrel was frozen solid to the receiver. It took myself and a friend to both beat and pound on it with our hands to finally free the barrel. Three G-96 treatments later and it comes apart easily.
Click to expand...


This is new to me.


Good to know!
 
I read the manual if it's a model I'm not familiar with. Then I disassemble, clean, lube, and inspect and then dry fire to get a feel for the trigger. Then I add a scope and rings if necessary and bore sight. Only then does it get some real trigger time.
 
Break down the gun and clean and lube. Load all magazines up to full capacity and let them take a "Set" for at least 48 hrs. Do the same with the recoil spring. Rack and let it take a set. When I take it to the range, I only load up to full capacity, MINUS ONE. Shoot that way for all training sessions.
 
Unless I've owned this type of gun before, I will read the manual at least once. It's funny how many questions a new owner has about a gun that are answered in the owner's manual... Weird, huh?

I will usually field strip the gun and do a quick clean/lube. This is done more for familiarization than because I'm worried about the gun being dirty or unlubricated. It's just nice to have seen the whole gun, inside and out, before you take it to the range.

That way, when you get it home after its first shooting session, you know if that weird "feature" was there when you bought it or if something has changed. I've also found the odd problem or two with this approach. One gun had what I think must have been blasting media filling one area of the frame. Probably not great having a bunch of abrasive junk floating around in the gun.

If there's anything unusual in manual of arms, I might run through that a few times with dummy rounds
 
never bought a new firearm. for old ones, get manual, do full inspection, clean, inspect, clean again, lubricate - dry cycle with snap caps, function test, do some dry fire practice, fix anything that fails inspection or function testing, clean, inspect, lubricate, function test, dry fire … until I go through a complete cycle a couple times with everything going perfectly, I don't fire it … usually I'll own something for a month or two and eventually get around to feeling familiar with it enough to put rounds through it. for semi-auto, I start with one live round followed by a snap cap. make sure it ejects and loads the next round correctly. then 2 rounds, then three .. then full mag.
 
A light cleaning, then swab the barrel out with oil. The oil under the soot makes it easier to clean, later.
 
Clean and lube. And don't forget to grease the bolt cocking cam.

I keep a spray can of oil in the truck and many times have I had to pull it out to spray a "Hardware Store New" firearm, particularly auto pistols. Semi autos should never be run dry. You can force a manually operated weapon to cycle, but it is better to lubricate the things instead of beating on the mechanism.

WD40 is not a good lubricant. It has a light oil which evaporates and leaves a silicon layer which turns gummy. You are better off rubbing things with an oily patch saturated with motor oil. Or any light oil, there are lots of good ones, but it is hard to beat the price of motor oil.
 
Aim1 asked:
What initial steps do you do prior to shooting a brand new gun?
Click to expand...

Before buying a new gun I thoroughly inspect it so no further inspections are conducted after purchase and prior to shooting.

I keep WD-40 away from the firearm.

After getting a new gun home, I field strip it, clean it, oil it, reassemble it and test for function.

I then load it with factory ammunition (other than the first ten or so rounds though a new gun, I reload everything I shoot - rimfire excepted, of course) and test fire it.
 
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