While the 'arctic blast' were getting here in NC is setting record low temps and messing up my squirrel hunting plans, at least it waited until after deer season closed. And now being pretty much shut in for a couple days I'm taking advantage of it to get started on the annual post season long gun overhauls.
The annual overhaul involves pulling the locks again and disassembling the hammer & frizzen items re-clean & re-lube, install new flints & leathers, so I "know" their condition while they're in storage. Then I pull the barrels, look them over, plaster their bottoms and barrel beds with fresh Lithium grease and reinstall.
Clean & polish all the brass, plaster the bores heavily again with WD40, and wipe down every square inch of the exterior with the cloth wet with Lithium grease, rack them muzzle down over night in the warm dry house, then back in their cases and into the safe.
Got the .58cal Dickert done yesterday, and the .58cal Early Virginia done today...both showroom ready for this coming fall deer season. Planning to do the .62cal Early Virginia tomorrow.
A good 2-3 hours work each, possibly overkill to some, but the good peace of mind I get from it is worth it.
The annual overhaul involves pulling the locks again and disassembling the hammer & frizzen items re-clean & re-lube, install new flints & leathers, so I "know" their condition while they're in storage. Then I pull the barrels, look them over, plaster their bottoms and barrel beds with fresh Lithium grease and reinstall.
Clean & polish all the brass, plaster the bores heavily again with WD40, and wipe down every square inch of the exterior with the cloth wet with Lithium grease, rack them muzzle down over night in the warm dry house, then back in their cases and into the safe.
Got the .58cal Dickert done yesterday, and the .58cal Early Virginia done today...both showroom ready for this coming fall deer season. Planning to do the .62cal Early Virginia tomorrow.
A good 2-3 hours work each, possibly overkill to some, but the good peace of mind I get from it is worth it.